A Sad State of Affairs in Arizona

I did not start this blog as a political soapbox to stand on regarding Arizona politics, and I'm not about to let it turn into that, either. However, it's kind of hard to ignore the news regarding Arizona's budget crisis. The more I hear about it, the more I realize what a sad state of affairs this is for Arizona.

In case you haven't turned on the TV or read a newspaper in the last couple of years, let me bring you up to speed on the subject. The State of Arizona makes money by collecting taxes from individuals, businesses, and on the sale of goods. All three sources of income have been hit hard as the home-buying frenzy of the past few years abruptly came to a halt.

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Geologic Hazards: What Arizona Home Buyers Need to Know

According to a recent article on CNN Money, the city of Phoenix has the 3rd highest rate of home foreclosures in the country. The abundance of cheap property is attracting a lot of first-time and investment home buyers. There are a lot of important things to consider when buying a home, but few people ever stop and consider the probability of geologic hazards.

No, I'm not kidding you. While it is true that Arizona is a remarkably safe place to live, that does not mean it is without risk. In fact, the geography and climate of Arizona make it an ideal location for a few very unique types of hazards. Fortunately, the Arizona Geological Survey has published a FREE handbook to alert home buyers of the potential geologic hazards that are common to Arizona.

The Home Buyer's Guide to Geologic Hazards in Arizona is a must-read for home buyers anywhere in Arizona. It alerts buyers to potential dangers such as flooding, soil problems, subsidence cracks, Radon gas, abandoned mines, karst, and earth fissures.

The guide is available as a free download from the Arizona Geological Survey website. Each chapter is split up into Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files for easy viewing and printing.

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Weird Arizona Features Local Legends and More

I've always said that there's more to Arizona than just golf courses and suburban sprawl. If you need proof, just pick up a copy of the book "Weird Arizona."

This book contains some of the greatest local legends and best kept secrets of Arizona's history, and it's all stuff that you won't find in ordinary Arizona travel brochures.

Weird Arizona by Wesley Treat features over 120 stories that cover everything from Roadside Oddities to Unexplained Phenomena. Have you ever wondered about the origins of Meteor Crater, or the gunfight at the OK Corral? What about the famous Phoenix Lights of 1997? They're all in here, along with plenty of other good tales that you may not have heard of before.

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Arizona Drivers Love Vanity License Plates

Vanity license plates are almost a way of life in Arizona. If it seems like you see vanity plates all the time, it is because just over 5% of Arizona drivers have a custom or vanity plate. We rank 12th in the nation for vanity plates according to a study conducted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

Earlier this year, the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) released a new custom license plate design in partnership with Arizona Highways Magazine. The new plate features a crop of saguaro cacti silhouetted against a colorful sunset of purple, orange, and yellow.

The plate's vibrant colors and high-contrast white letters are quite different from the standard Arizona design, which made it a perfect fit for me! I have now joined the ranks of the hundreds of thousands of Arizona drivers with a vanity license plate.

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Free Admission to Arizona National Parks July 18th-19th

The sixteen National Parks and Monuments scattered throughout Arizona are some of our state's greatest treasures. If you have been waiting for that perfect time to visit one, this weekend is it!

This weekend is one of the rare "Fee-Free Weekends" sponsored by the National Park Service, where all admission fees are waived. Yes, that includes the Grand Canyon!

Over 100 National Parks across the country will be taking part in the second of three "Fee-Free Weekends" for 2009. The complete list of participating parks and monuments is posted on the NPS website.

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A Word of Caution About Abandoned Mines

With all of the golf courses, high-rise buildings, and the new Valley Metro light rail system, you might think that Phoenix has lost its Wild West charm. Although downtown is full of modern amenities, let me assure you that the desert is still a dangerous place. This is Arizona after all, where activities such as mining run deep in our history (and our land!). I think this is a great time to talk about the dangers of abandoned mines.

Phoenix has grown tremendously since the 1940s, when many of the mines in Arizona were shut down due to World War II. Mines that were once in remote areas are now literally in people's backyards. Our growing city is full of people who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, camping, climbing, rock hounding, and 4-wheeling. Many of these people are unaware of the dangers of abandoned mines as they venture out into the desert for fun and adventure.

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Go With the Flow at Arizona Falls

There is a very cool place in Central Phoenix that most people do not know about. It's on Indian School Road just past 56th Street, and accessible through Herberger Park. This is the location of Arizona Falls.

"What is Arizona Falls?" you might be wondering. Well, it's a lot of things. It is the location of a major elevation drop in the SRP canal system. It was the first hydroelectric power plant in the City of Phoenix. Finally, it is a historical feature of Phoenix and a neat place to visit.

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Arizona Trivia and Little-Known Facts

There is so much more to Arizona than just the Grand Canyon. Today's post is all about the weird and interesting things you may not know about Arizona:

• Arizona is the 4th largest state in terms of area and 16th largest when it comes to population.
  
  
• The "Five C's" of Arizona are: cotton, cattle, citrus, climate, and copper.
  
  
• Arizona's highest point is Humphrey's Peak at 12,633 ft.
  
  
• Arizona became the 48th state on February 14th, 1912.
  
  
• Arizona is home to Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS), the largest nuclear power plant in the country.
  
  

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