In this strangest of all summers, it is important to remember there is still room for fun. This season, why not set up a backyard movie theater? When Arizona summer is all about beating the heat, outdoor movie screenings are a great way to enjoy the outdoors and some quality time with your family after the sun’s gone down. Choose …

While Arizona can be a great place for growing a garden, the summer months with their full-force desert heat and sun can pose a particular challenge for producing healthy plants. While many vegetables aren’t well adapted to desert summer, consider planting a “monsoon garden” that can take advantage of summer rainfall.  Monsoon gardening is best done with plants that have …

There’s no shortage of fabulous places to explore in Arizona. Just a few hours drive northeast from Phoenix, Petrified Forest National Park offers a sweeping panorama experience of natural wilderness. Petrified Forest is rich in geologic and human history, as well as one of the main research and discovery sites in the United States for paleontology. Including the gorgeous vistas …

Wow, it has been hot! Arizona summers always kick the thermometer up a notch, and this year is no exception. For better or worse, Phoenix and its surrounding area have to adapt to waves of extreme heat and it is important to understand basic heat safety to avoid serious health consequences when it gets super hot outside. Extreme heat causes …

In a year full of uncertainty, it’s nice to be able to count on something. Every August, this year included, the astounding Perseid Meteor Shower takes over the night sky. The Perseids are the biggest meteor event of the year, visible in the sky from July through late August, with peak visibility in mid-August. This year, mark your calendars for …

Phew! We are really moving into the deep heat of the Arizona summer. When temperatures soar into the triple digits, we’re never far from thoughts about how to stay cool. Lucky for us, we run a sunscreen company!  Sunscreens are one of the best ways to beat the central Arizona heat, but we can think of a few other “hot …

From tarantulas to tarantula hawks, the bugs of the Sonoran Desert have an intimidating reputation. While some of our insects and arachnids are large, poisonous (or both!), many common bugs you’ll encounter in Phoenix aren’t big or bad at all and play integral roles in the desert ecosystem. Land of a Thousand Bees While that’s not Arizona’s state motto, it …

When you think of mushroom hunting you probably picture a mossy forest floor and damp fallen logs. What probably doesn’t come to mind is the arid land of the Sonoran Desert – but, surprisingly, the intrepid mycophile can find a wide range of mushrooms in the myriad microclimates of the region.  Learn With an Expert First, a few words of …

One thing is for sure, 2020 has been full of surprises. While few things are certain these days, one thing that you can rely on is Central Arizona’s summer heat. With temperatures starting to climb regularly above 100°F, it is important to have a plan for how to keep cool. The public closures that social distancing entails for public health …

Your day-to-day life in Central Arizona probably involves our local tangle of highways and interstate freeways which wrap Phoenix and its surrounding region in busy human traffic. While we get our bearings on these highways, it may surprise many of us to learn that the land we live on is also part of another kind of super highway – one …