Though I live in Payson, I
spend a lot of time in the Valley. I meet a lot of different people, and during our conversations, the topic of weather invariably comes up. Snow Birds in particular seem to feel an obligation to express to me their hostility toward snow.

I had this fellow from Iowa tell me the other day that the primary reason he moved to Arizona was to get away from the dreaded white stuff. Said he had strapped the snow shovel onto the roof of his car in Des Moines, and just kept driving until somebody pointed to it and asked, "What the heck is that thing?", which just happened to occur in Mesa, and he's lived there ever since.

Now, probably just as many native Arizonans have shared with me their solemn intentions to avoid the frigid curse of the cold country at all costs, insisting that the only thing they want to brush off the car's windshield in the morning is dust. I listen and nod my head diplomatically, all the while resisting the temptation to say, "But, it's a dry cold!"

You see, I'm not that crazy about snow myself. That's why I live in Payson. We're barely an hour north of Shea, but the 5000' elevation ensures that in July, it's a heck of a lot cooler than Mesa, and in January, a whole lot warmer than Prescott or Flagstaff. There are acres of cross-country skiing at Forest Lakes, 30 minutes east of here, and an inner-tube snow-play hill in Strawberry 30 minutes north. Here at home, we get a couple, three inches... just enough... then the next day, it's 60 degrees and just a pretty memory.

The truth came out the other day, though, when we had our first snow. Great big, soft, fluffy flakes, the kind that flit from side to side, then hit your face with a soft, wet thud. As it came down, I took a walk through Rumsey Park. There were a few locals out and about, but when I saw entire families frolicking about in street shoes, I started checking license plates. Sure enough. Iowa. And California, New York, Colorado and Wisconsin, among others. I think I even saw my dusty buddy from Buckeye embroiled in a snowball fight with two teens from Tucson.

The truth is, it's just not Christmas without snow. You don't need a lot. It doesn't even need to snow where you live, just close by enough so you can go see it. It's the icing on the cake, the frame around the picture, the flowers in the vase.

Now, for those of you who are coming up this weekend, all we ask is that you drive safely, enjoy and protect the outdoors, and continue to visit us often in this winter wonderland full of beauty, friendly people and immense opportunity.

By the way, if you'd like to see with your own eyes what things look like around here, take a cyber-stroll thru any one of our four Galleries in the RIMages section of the site. Click the button and enjoy!