Southern Nights

     It was December 14th, 2009 when I arrived in Arizona! I remember it all too well! I had entered Arizona by way of a blizzard snow storm so I never actually saw the "Welcome to Arizona" state line sign. What a RIP that was! A few hours later I saw a welcome station but the lights were all off so it looked kinda creepy. I stopped anyway. I walked around and met some people that told me I had been in Arizona for about 3 hours already. I was in disbelief.. my understanding is that the reason there was a blizzard was that it was still winter and I was in the high country off the I-40. 

I had stopped somewhere in the mountains.. beautiful area in all honesty. I snagged something to eat and then kept going. I remember it was very dark as I passed thru Winslow. I would have stopped to see the famous statue from the eagles tune but I was driving and it was late so I didn't even think about it bing there.. I recall just remembering it had something to do with the song. I drove right through. Eventually, I ended up seeing a HUGE sign for the Grand Canyon State Park off the highway which looked pretty damn intimidating! Then, right there on the left, a sign.. finally.. I-17 to Phoenix! I turned left and headed onto a huge mountain. The first thing I saw was a truck ramp for runaway trucks. I kept going but I had no idea where I was or what mountain I was on. I saw various exits with pretty wild names that I can't recall. About half way down I came across a huge sign that said Camp Verde which I later found was in Verde Valley.  I saw I needed some gas so I had to go there. Turns out, it was just a name of the small town, it wasn't really an actual camp. I filled up there, they told me I couldn't go through the Reservation (I have no idea if they were joking or not) so I went back into the mountains on my way to Phoenix. 

I was following another car that was doing about 60mph if not better. It was a winding road all the way to the bottom. It was pretty damn dark out! All I could do was follow headlights. When I finally made it to the bottom of the hill, it was a long straight shot and I was on the phone with Diana and Garrett. They guided me into Phoenix. I passed the State Farm Stadium which was renamed.  They lived in Phoenix which was in the West Valley. Now, keep in mind that I had no idea that there were different parts to the valley at the time let alone east and west.  I stayed in a hotel in Tolleson which is a suburb city next to Phoenix. When I woke up, there were palm trees everywhere. This was my introduction to Arizona. It kinda felt somewhat surreal. 

Of Course, Tiger was included in everything I did. Tiger was the center of my attention. I couldn't do anything without making sure he was taken care of and ok first. I then went to meet Diana and Garrett for the first time. I was in different hotels for a few weeks until I realized it was time to get an apartment.. basically "shit or get off the pot" hand on the trigger.. whatchya gonna do?!? I began looking, On Dec 31st, 2009 I found a pretty good deal in Glendale. I had no real clue as to where I was and Diana wasn't really telling me anything. A little help and guidance would have been nice for a newbie! 

I really had no idea what I was getting into, the only thing I knew was that I was getting an apartment for about $500 per month! for me, at that point in time was a good deal so I took it. Summerhill Place apartments was a dump, but it was a place to stay and crash for a few months! Drugs in the apartment below me but we got a long so I didn't say shit! The place had Section 8 living and hookers down the street near Bethany Home! Ya, the good life! LOL just what the fuck did I get myself into and why the hell didn't Diana or Garrett say anything to me about the area before I snagged it? I mean, it was my first time introduction and they were veterans of the area.. certainly they should have known or was it that they just didn't care or was it that they just didn't want to get involved even though we were "friends".  I WOULD NOT have let a friend of mine rent a place in that area. I survived and it was what it was. While I was there, I took walks and discovered what it was like to be in extreme heat.. well, cough! cough! 

I setup Tiger in the apartment and left for a little while to go spend NYE at Diana's place.. 70 degrees poolside and gun shot noises at midnight!  I went back to my apartment and got a blow up bed for me and Tiger. I had no real idea what the hell I was doing or what I was going to do.

On New Years Day which was day one in my first apartment I remember opening up my door and seeing the sun beating down.. I didn't think much of it. I was barefoot and took one step out onto the concrete.... YYYEEEEOOOUUUCCCHHH!!! I jumped up and back into the apartment! Damn it was hot on my feet.. like BURNING HOT! Lesson Learned! Later I took a clear bottle of water that was CCCOOOLLLDDDD and went for a walk.. a long walk, a walk down Glendale Ave towards Old Town Glendale which was at 59th Ave and I was at 67th Ave.. .the joke was on me! I was holding the bottle and decided to take a drink, HOT HOT HOT.. bubbling .. the SUN got to the the water in the CLEAR bottle.. No, I hadn't thought that through! I spit that out FAST! Yup! First class newbie idiot mistake! Lesson Learned! 

I explored the area and then went job hunting. Most of the calls began to come in from the 480 area code which pointed to the East Valley. I didn't know this until I spoke with the front office. I ended up finding a job at Pearson software at 101 and Ray. It didn't last long for a few reasons but why get into those.. they were pretty stupid reasons and they weren't my fault even thought I kinda got blamed and let go in the process. Raw deal but then what else is knew?!? I had decided that instead of waking up super early and driving an hour to work, that I was going to move to the East Valley which is more modern and better up kept anyway. Better Vibe. Diana said there was nothing out here and it was all cookie cutter.. but she way way way off point. 

I eventually ended up moving to Parklane Apartments which was a small step up from where I was.. not too much better but at least it was in a better area. After staying there for about 2 to 3 years and getting harassed by a neighbor called Andrew.. I finally moved again to a much better way quieter place where I still reside today!  In the time I've been living here, so much has transpired! It's pretty hard to believe that I've been here this long to be honest! Sometimes I wake up and even go through the day thinking.. Huh.. Arizona.. it wasn't until I went home for a birthday weekend and spent 4 days there when I came back and got off the plane and realized, wow, quiet, no judgement, peacful.. at last I had finally made peace with the idea of Arizona! The other factor was that my Oldest Best friend in the world Pete and I had a long one and one heart to heart about MI vs AZ. In his words, you've been in Arizona for a while now, do you really wanna come back to this crappy weather and the frigid cold and snow? Do you really wanna leave what you have there? Is it working for you? Don't make a rash decision because of me. It's a huge decision and it's ok if that's where you need to stay. I thought long and hard about his words which really put me at ease. Now, a very old friend and former dance partner Ann had been telling me, take. your time, make peace with Arizona and see the beauty for what it is rather than what you think it should be. Talk about wise words.. but i'll be honest, it took a while for these words to "work their magic" and make me "get it"! What can I say.. lol I was a bit slow on the uptake! Thanks Ann! You know I'll ALWAYS love you! You've always been honest and gave me your best even in the worst of times you did your best even when sugar coating it to give it to me straight! I'll always love you for that! 

Now, I can't forget that also, another best friend of mine told me, do I have your number? do I know where you live? Then what's the problem? It's all good and I completely understand! Thank you for that and since he doesn't want to be named or mentioned.. ya, we talked about my thanking him.. I'll refrain. I appreciate your more than you'll ever know!

There are so many mountains all around, parks, landscapes, farms, horses, the multiple forest , federal parks, a small drive to any mountanous areas to drive to a spot where you can look out over the valley and take it all in. So many different attractions, mega hiking opportunities, just hours away is the "high country" they call it.. we're in "The Valley"  where it stays warm or hot and rarely cold unless you're in the mountains. At first you just notice lotsa dirt but you gotta remember, we're in the Sonoran Desert but where we are is a developed area. I constantly wondered if we were in the desert.. well, we are, it's just developed! The actual desert with dunes and undeveloped is a few hours away.. but I don't have a 4 wheel drive ride to go find it! When I drove here I had my 4x4 explorer but it died. I was forced (due to local economy) to go midsize suv.. hence a cookie cutter smaller SUV. It is what it is. 

At a certain point, I drove for Lyft and Uber for a good 8 months to a year.. talk about an (almost) self guided tour! Take rides and drive anywhere and just about everywhere! You get to know the valley real well! Now, it doesn't matter where I am.. I don't get lost or stuck.. I've always got a way to get around wherever I am and find alternate paths. In the time I've been here, I know the Valley as well as I do back in Michigan where I'm originally from.  

Of the mountains here, I would say South Mountain has some of the best view over the Valley, whereas Superstition Mountain has beautiful view of the back areas with lakes. So much to do with so much to cover and see. 

 It's been 15 years now since I arrived in Arizona. I arrived here December 14th, 2009. After a few weeks I decided it was time to get my first apartment and call it a day! On December 31st of 2009 I secured an apartment in an area that, well, my friends should really have never let me rent in but they wouldn't tell me that and held their opinion to themselves. WHY would you not help guide someone that was new to the area let alone the state?!? It was Glendale (which is quite the quaint place) but a bad area of Glendale.. not the "cute" area everyone knows of. Later on I would discover that I was in the PITS of Glendale and the PITS of apartment SKID row! We're talking bottom of the barrell, hookers that took to the streets at night, housing with Section 8 and so on. I had no idea!!! On top of all that, the west valley as i learned I was in is home to so many shady places, we're talking places that are fronts for Sex Shops, if there was ever a definition of "The Wild West".. this was definitely it!  Drugs, Sex, Weapons.. you name it you can find it, get it etc! I had no idea! Plus, in my complex, a van drove around that kidnapped people and I had no idea about that either. I had learned there was a huge field next to our complex and later in the year, the police and helicopters were trying to catch someone so they locked down the area.. OK, it was time to go go go! On top of that, as it turned out, while I do get along with everyone and I can be pretty cool.. my downstairs neighbors were dealing drugs! Um, yup! I got the fuck out! The complex signed off on my leaving but then later the manager told me to come back for an inspection.. FUCK THAT! They signed off, I was outta there! No longer my problem and they changed management anyway so I said FUCK YOU, I'm out! I left for greener pastures in the "East Valley" . Keep in mind, not *ALL* of the west valley is like what I just described! Buuuutttt, the west valley is way older than the east valley and once I saw the east valley, I just felt way more comfortable. Better crowd, company, vibe etc! 

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd actually stay in Arizona! 

When I first arrived in AZ aka Valley of the Sun aka Grand Canyon State aka land of Desert Rats (people that live here), I thought to myself "I guess we'll see how it goes".. the jury has been out for more than 10 years..yup! a solid decade! Going back home to visit after getting homesick and other reasons.. there was a clear difference and still is between MI and AZ. Weather, Humidity, Up keep, Landscape and a trip to the mountains is just minutes away. I live within "spitting distance" to wherever I need to go in all honesty. 

I've seen and done many different things here. It's essentially the land without judgement so to speak. It's sunny and peaceful in many ways. It can be welcoming and friendly but to be honest, it does depend on where you are, where you go, where you live and how you conduct yourself as well as how you treat others in kind.. but, isn't that pretty much ANYWHERE you go live in any state? Sure! Certainly! The difference is that here, it gets pretty damned hot! 

There are a ton of mountains, they surround the valley. The grass isn't "Real".. it's called Bermuda and Rye Grass so.. crab grass! Very different from real grass other states have. Why? Because real grass can't survive in this environment. The landscape can be very beautiful. There are huge forrests that take up quite a bit of land here called the Tonto National Forrest. Pretty cool place actually. 

Every day I keep discovering something new! To best honest, there's really no such thing as "you've seen all there is to see".. not in Arizona. Now, to be fair, the same can be said for Michigan.. so much beauty there! But that's an entirely different story all together! I'll always love my home state where I came from!