I love Arizona.
Arizona is the 48th state in the union, the last of the contiguous states to be admitted. We became a state in 1912.
One of the reasons we were last is that Arizona was the first state to give women the right to vote. When we applied to become a state, the other states demanded that we revoke the women’s right to vote. The state legislature did just that, and we were allowed into the union.
That very same year, Arizona then approved womens’ suffrage and joined 8 other states – beating the 19th amendment by 8 years.
The climate is unforgiving here in the Sonoran desert. The plants, the animals, and the climate all bite back. We don’t take a trip to the grocery store without a bottle of water. Rattlesnakes are a challenge while hiking. Monsoon brings flash floods, and dust storms look like something out of a science fiction movie.
So why do I like it here? Independence, maybe. Our saguaro cactus live only here. We have coyotes, javelina, mountain lions, bobcats, bear and other wildlife.
We are still a part of the wild west. We carry guns openly, and people don’t look twice. We target shoot in the desert, camp, fish and kayak. All the things that I grew up with back east as a kid and young adult. This is one of the last places we can still practice those skills.