The desert is actually quite beautiful if you can get past the heat of summer. The smell of the desert after a rainstorm is incredible, and when the wildflowers bloom we have blankets of colors all over. Winters can be cold, but we don’t get snow and we usually only have to wear shoes and long pants for about 2 months. The rest of the year it’s shorts and flip flops. Summers are so hot you literally see people driving with oven mitts because their steering wheels are too hot to handle. The colors of the landscape are nothing but drab browns and sickly greens begging for moisture by then. The sun fades paint, rots fabric and plastic in one season, and burns your skin. The highs in summer get to 110 + for days and weeks with overnight lows in the 90’s. When monsoon season comes it’s slightly cooler, but muggy on top of the heat. I imagine your friend doesn’t usually visit anytime from July through September. We are critically low on water and projections for the next 100 years indicate it’ll be unlivable here for that reason by then.
The nomads…technically here they are often squatters. They stay in the desert until it gets hot, not short term camping but squatting on public land. Some of those folks are decent. Many often leave oceans of trash behind when they leave, and that kind of lifestyle attracts some undesirable folks which can also be very dangerous. Make sure you don’t wander onto the reservations, and know how to protect yourself.
Outdoor activities are possible all year long. Hiking, camping, kayaking, cycling, fishing. Pretty much anything is possible regardless of the season. Granted in summer you’re out there before dawn sometimes, but you can still get out there. We have the ability to carry our firearms too. People do.
The only reason I’m here is because I got a job based here about 20 years ago. Hubs can’t do the cold and snow which is fine, I don’t want snow. I would like to retire to a slightly cooler climate when it’s time though.
