Hi all,
I'm heading to Phoenix, AZ on August 30th for the start of a road trip with my brother.
Well, as a native-born Arizonan, I'm glad to hear that you're coming to check us out! You'll be arriving pretty much around the same time that I'm due to head out to Detroit for school. I'm envious; I live and breathe dry weather, and any mugginess kills me.
Right now we're in the monsoon season, so it's a bit humid here (though that tends to break off in short order). Don't expect much rain while you're here, but it could very well happen in small amounts. August can be a harsh month, but statistics show that this is actually a cool year... amongst the lowest amounts of triple digit heat in the last decade.
Hydration is CRITICAL if you sight-see, and i mean DEADLY critical. We get a dozen or so tourists who end up dead or comatose due to exposure, especially in the mountains, and it could be prevented by drinking a lot of water. Last year I believe there was a teen boy from Canada who died because of this very reason. Everything that you hear about the harshness of the sun in the desert is true: without water, headaches come in short order, then dizziness, nausea, the whole deal. If you are going on a road trip, bring extra bottled water. Even if it's hot when you drink it, your body will regulate the temperature internally.
If you wander off the beaten path and take in some of the desert scenery, avoid sticking your hand in crevices or walking too closely to hidden brush or semi-exposed rocks: everything that bites or stings hang out in places like that, and unlike in the cartoons and movies, rattlers don't always rattle. If you have light hiking boots, I'd recommend them over running shoes in the wild. Also, it goes against common sense, but light weight long sleeves will go a long way, especially if you are the type who sweats a great deal. The sweat hits the cotton and it has a better chance of being reabsorbed back by your skin, or at the very least can add extra coolness to our otherwise oven-like midday breezes. And concentrate a great deal of emphasis on putting sunscreen on your neck. The arizona sun can burn the weirdest of places: Ears, feet, etc. Apply accordingly.
On the political spectrum, don't worry about it: with recent court actions, Sheriff Joe is pretty much just going to keep to sweeping in at workplaces suspected of employing illegal aliens and neighborhoods known to have drop houses and the sort. My grandma is a UK war bride and in her 60+ years of living here, she's never been hassled once. We actually dig the accents around here, so if you find yourself around the ASU campus (just a few exits down the 202 from Sky Harbor), hit one of the bars near Mill Ave and maybe you could find some interesting conversations. Just make sure it's not too noisy, else your magical voice will be negated!
As for our roads, the city streets are 45 mph, residential is 25, and most of the major highways (like the 101, 202, and 60) are 65, though patches of construction can push it to 55 or lower. Avoid the freeways on weekdays from 6:30-9:30am and 3:00-6:30pm, especially the closer you are to central Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Also, Sky Harbor can be a bit confusing to get out of, so ask ahead of time the best directions from one of the staff there. You wouldn't believe how many times I've seen near-misses over there with people darting across 3 lanes to make an exit, because of how quickly one can miss something.
Edit: Also, if you've got the time, the Phoenix Zoo and Botanical Gardens are but a mere few exits from the airport as well. They make for a good exposure/baptism to the heat, with lots of shaded rest areas at the zoo, and it's very inexpensive to check out. Mornings would be the best time to go, as that's when the rare mexican gray wolves come about and the heat isn't so unbearable.
