The Weather Report

• According to published information, Casa Grande, Arizona, has a dry desert climate. Annual rainfall is about 8.5 inches. Average temperatures in December are daytime highs of 67 (20+ in Canadian) and nighttime lows around 40 (about 4 C). I think these are decent daytime highs and the nighttime lows I don’t care about since my motorhome has a furnace.

• When the sun goes down, which it does quite quickly and spectacularly shortly after 4:30 p.m., the temperature follows. Air conditioners are switched off and furnaces switched on to ward off the chill of the desert night. My at-home habit of crawling into bed early to watch TV or chat on the phone has been replaced by a holiday habit of crawling into bed early to devour a few chapters of an all-time favourite book before drifting into a sound night’s sleep. I brought a stash of such books from home, collected over many years, each one a treasured friend. One book with more than 600 pages has a cover price of $3.95, which gives you an idea of just how long I’ve had some of these books.
  

• The day I arrived in Casa Grande the temp was about 75 F. Happily, I shed my blue jeans in favour of shorter, lightweight pants that I’d bought from a beach vendor in Mexico. Ahh, it was perfect!
  

• After the eight-day drive from Victoria to Arizona, the knowledge that the following day would be strictly for relaxation made the prospect of retreating to the over-cab bunk even more enticing than usual. As I climbed the ladder, I recited the rules of over-cab sleeping. The first rule is: don’t sit up in the dark because the 24-inch clearance between the mattress and the roof means you just might knock yourself out. The second rule is: don’t hop out of bed because there’s a 54-inch drop to the floor. Of course, it’s not the drop that hurts so much; it’s the sudden stop at the bottom.

• My peaceful night of zzz’ing and sweet dreams was suddenly interrupted by a drumming sound on the roof that startled me awake and almost caused me to break both of the over-cab rules. Less than 20 inches above my head, I could almost feel the first odd beats and then the steady hammering to which they quickly escalated. I’ve heard that sound many times before but was jarred by the context of this being a dry desert climate. Yes, the familiar beat of a west coast winter howling storm driving raindrops against the window like tiny rockets. Looking out, I could see the palm fronds slashing back and forth in the wind and light reflecting off the torrent of water that was streaming down the middle of the street. I could picture all those dry lakes, creek beds and gullies I’d seen along the road filling up with water and I wondered how many folks were stranded in those areas posted with “Flash Flood” warning signs.

• Casa Grande storm drains consist of open cement gullies. Palm Creek Resort has its very own, called ‘the canal’, and the entire resort is actually slanted toward the man-made lake on the golf course. Those drains got a work-out that night. And the next day. And the day after that. Thunder. Lightening. The whole nine yards of nasty weather that folks like me came to Arizona hoping to avoid.
  

• I think the official word to describe the weather since then would be ‘variable’ which seems to mean ‘maybe it’ll be nice; maybe it won’t.’ The promise of a return to sunny days and hot temperatures looms like a carrot on a stick.
  

• On cloudy days, silver linings come in the form of spectacular sunsets. The cloudier the better for replacing the usual orangey-yellow smudge on the southwest horizon with bright pink streaks streaming across a brilliant blue sky, followed by clouds that appear to have burst into flames of radiant orange and fiery red. It is well worth the interruption to hot desert weather just to see those sunsets.

Palm Creek has a monthly craft sale at which outside vendors set up tables to peddle their wares. Along with the usual array of Christmas crafts, leather belts, jewelry, kitchen gadgets and magic creams guaranteed to reverse all signs of aging, there was a long table laden with fleece pants and jackets. As I rummaged through the fleece in search of some ‘seasonal wear’, the vendor told me that he can pick out the new arrivals by their skimpy clothing. When they question why anyone in Arizona would need fleece clothing, he just smiles and says, “See you next month.”

• This morning I donned my fleece pants and jacket for a walk to the library in search of the morning newspapers. While there, I checked the national weather map to see what’s happening in places closer to home. In Seattle where temperatures are somewhat lower than in Victoria, yesterday’s high and low were 47 and 44 F (about 8 and 4 in Canadian). In Bismark, North Dakota, which allows a reasonable basis for guesstimating Winnipeg temperatures, the high and low were 42 and 13 (which roughly converts to +5 and -11 C).

• Hey, folks, I’m feeling warmer already!