Desert Frosting!

Most may have the impression that the desert southwest is a hot, lifeless place.  Yes, it does get hot in the summer, but there is an abundance of flora and fauna that lives here, in fact thrives throughout the year.  And while most associate us as a Winter destination, we do get snow here!  In fact, we've had several storms that have dropped several feet of snow in the higher elevations of nearby mountains, and I heard that they might have gotten some down in the valley while we were in Illinois a couple weeks ago.

Today another storm came through, and dealt a catastrophic hand to normally pleasant tourist activities.  The first round of the PGA golf tournament was cancelled this morning, and it will also have an effect on the big Tucson Rodeo Parade tomorrow, and also for a series of soccer tournaments currently in town as well.  It snowed for a while today while at work, which I missed, but I did catch the snow level in the Catalinas north of town on the University of Arizona's "Sun Cam", shown at upper left. 

Tonight I peeked out in the back yard and saw it coming down pretty heavily again for a bit and snapped a couple flash pictures of snow and cacti.  It is always incongruous to see snow-covered cacti, but it happens more often than you think.  I think on average, it snows in Tucson about once per year, even at the lower elevations of the city.  There have been memorable snows over the decades of more than just a few inches, but of course, the good thing about it here is that it typically is gone in a few hours as the temperature rarely stays below freezing for more than a few hours or overnight.  Just the way I like it!