Haboobs

Yesterday I was asked to go to Douglas, AZ to look at a nest on a power pole. Great, field work, I was excited to go. I knew Douglas was far but man, its far.


See Phoenix in the center there. Now look towards the south east, at the bottom there touching Mexico. Yep, there is Douglas.

My co-worker drove us down and 4 hours later we arrived in the town. It was very much like a town you would think would exist in the southwest, or maybe the Midwest.

We found the nest, determined that it was Ravens sitting on eggs, and then it was back to Phoenix for us.

It was a gorgeous day out but as we headed home it looked like rain. Well then as we headed up the highway, somewhere between Tucson and Phoenix, it just got weird. I noticed dust blowing across the highway, but it looked almost like someone was plowing a field. It didn't seem that bad at first. But... The winds picked up considerable as we headed towards the dust. Oh wow, I think we are about to drive straight into a dust storm.

Tumbleweeds flew across the highway, some small, some very big. There was nothing Laura could do to avoid them, she had to plow right through them. They exploded in front of us. It got darker as the dust got heavier and traffic slowed to a crawl. Some people pulled over, but the highway was still visible. At this point the sun was completely blocked by the dust and it was this strange reddish brown color everywhere around us. We kept on going, Laura did great.

It seemed like forever before we finally drove out of it. We were almost back into the Valley before the skies cleared around us. I looked out my window and this is what I, and people heading south on the highway, saw.


She dropped me off at my car and as I headed home toward south mountain you could see the dust cloud coming. Luckily when it reached the mountain it fizzled out and didn't turn up much wind or dust.


That was the craziest thing I had ever seem. It was like being in a blizzard, only it was dirt not snow.

Thu 69°F/98°F

Fri 72°F/101°F

Sat 73°F/101°F

Sun 68°F/100°F

Summer has come upon us now. I think we will be in the high 90's and 100's now for several months now.
Bring it!
But with summer comes the saguaro blossoms. So with the bad comes the good.

-Nina