The iconic view of Arizona is a desert with saguaro cactus. In reality only a small portion of the state conforms with the obligatory cactus. Much of the state is high deserts or mountains. North and west of the low deserts, the land rises abruptly along the Mogollon Rim and you enter the world of the Colorado Plateau. The average height of the Plateau is over 5000 feet above sea level and there are mountains going much higher.
You may not associate Arizona with cold weather, but in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona, Hawley Lake had a reading of -40 degrees F. (-40 degrees C.) on January 7, 1971. While this low temperature does not compare with other really cold locations, it would certainly come as a shock to someone expecting to wear shorts and a T-shirt. Even with this extreme temperature, it is not unusual for young people raised in Phoenix, just a few hours away, to have never seen snow.
One of the highlights of the Mesa Days Celebration used to be a huge pile of snow trucked in from the mountains. Families with smaller children would stand in lines just for the chance to stand on some snow and try and make a snowball. This contrast with the cold weather of the mountains and Plateau is really commentary on how little local people travel around the state, particularly in the winter.
One time while staying on the Plateau, the temperature was a balmy -17 degrees F. below zero and I attempted to open my Suburban which had become covered with ice. I finally got the rear door open to load our gear, but when I closed the door, due to the cold temperature, the rear window shattered. We fixed the problem, temporarily, by taping some clear plastic over the window with duct tape. It can get cold in Arizona.
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