Kirstin Olmon - The Best in Tent Camping: Arizona

A S OUR PLANE MADE ITS BUMPY ARRIVAL at Sky Harbor International Airport, the kid next to us frowned out across the runway and mumbled resentfully, I hate Arizona. Its so brown. We exchanged wry smiles, hearing the echo of so many other voices, even some long-term Phoenicians we know. Later we mulled over the injustice of it. Obviously this boy has never camped by the rushing Black River or seen the broad meadows and towering pines above the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We planned exactly where wed take this poor, misguided youth to show him just how green this state can beup to the verdant crowns of the southern sky islands, the Chiricahuas, Pinaleos, Santa Ritas, Santa Catalinas, Huachucas; along the emerald riparian corridors of the Verde, Gila, and San Pedro rivers; and into the cool forests of the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains.

Then wed bring that kid to the desert again, to reveal to him the kaleidoscope of hues that it takes to make brown from an airplane window. In the spring, wed hike him around the Superstitions and down to Picacho Peak to show him hillsides carpeted in yellow as the Mexican gold poppies and brittlebush bloom, and dotted with purple lupines and orange and pink mallows. Hed see the startling fuchsia, crimson, and lemon yellow of cholla, hedgehog, and prickly pear flowers against deep-green cactus skins. Finally, wed make a grand tour of Sedona, Sycamore Canyon, the Painted Desert, and the Grand Canyon, to see all the vivid colors of the earth itself.

We have no idea who that boy was or how he ended up spending his time in Arizona, but this book is for him and all the kids out there like him.

Perhaps youre a visitor from elsewhere, or maybe youre a new Arizona resident wondering what youve gotten yourself into. If metro Phoenix is your main frame of reference, you might be forgiven for having some misgivings. Theres an old joke that Arizona has only two seasons, hot and hotter, but cheer upyou can find spring, summer, winter, or fall within a five-hour drive at almost any time of the year. Somewhere in Arizona, theres a landscape and a climate to please almost everybody. What weve tried to do in this guide is help you find those places that will suit you best. Were making a few assumptions along the way: that you love the outdoors, that you favor peace and quiet but are sometimes willing to compromise, and that you appreciate a wide variety of different experiences. In short, that youre a lot like us.