Phoenix to Las Vegas.

Arizona
Phoenix to Las Vegas
May 2001

Yeah, I know it's blurry... Phoenix sits in the "Valley of the Sun," a hot, flat, dry desert but as you travel north from Phoenix, the landscape changes. This photo, taken about 70 miles northwest of Phoenix on highway 93, gives some idea of the rolling hills and large boulders that dot the landscape in west central Arizona.

If nothing else, the Arizona landscape is constantly changing. The desert valley of Phoenix gives way to rocky boulders and some miles further down the road, the desert again flattens out, with some mountains off in the distance. There is some green vegetation as you look across the desert floor, but there is a lot more empty sand than there are green bushes.

That vegetation can survive at all in this harsh climate is a small miracle. We drive by "washes" - rivers that are nothing more than dry river beds 11 months of the year. Most notable is the vast emptiness of the land. As far as the eye can see in any direction, there are no houses or people - just vast open spaces. In a unique way, very impressive!