Almost all Arizona summer lawns consist of Bermuda grass. It is one of the few grasses able to withstand our searing summertime temperatures and arid conditions.  However, despite what most think, this resilient grass did not come from the balmy island of Bermuda. Bermuda grass came from Africa.  According to sources, it was first introduced in America back in 1751, years before the United State was even formed. Back then it was often used in the southeastern US as a forage grass.  Later it became popular on lawns, golf courses and parks.

One of the features of Bermuda grass is it’s ability to spread. You can plant a few sprigs of it in an area and soon have a complete lawn. How fast does Bermuda grass propagate .  One study determined that a single square meter, if provided with water and suitable soil, and allowed to spread, would cover an area equal to 50% of the land mass of the entire world within one year.

In the mid 20th century you could buy property in Arizona’s ritzy Paradise Valley community for about $500 an acre.  Today, you will spend about that much per square foot on a home.  The median price of a home there is close to $2 million dollars and some houses sell for $10 to $14 million each.

At restaurants, county fairs, and roadside stands you can buy a Navajo Taco throughout the west. It consists of fry bread topped with things like hamburger meat, cheese, tomatoes, onions, etc. This was probably a traditional food of the Navajo Tribe right?  Not Quite.  The Navajo Taco was actually “invented” by a Greek restraunteur in Arizona in the 1960s.

Although there are a couple of states that are larger, the following comparisons give you and idea of the state’s size.

• Arizona is larger than the country of New Zealand.
• Coconino County alone is larger than New Hampshire, Delaware, and New Jersey combined.
• Santa Cruz County, one of our smaller counties, is larger than seventeen nations.
• Maricopa County is larger than the state of Massachusetts.
• Arizona is larger than the entire United Kingdom
• Arizona is larger than Pennsylvania, Delaware, and all of New England.

Arizona has a number of redundant place names.  Among the most notable are:

• Rillito is Spanish for “little river”  Tucson’s Rillito River mean “Little River River".”
• Picacho is Spanish for “peak”  Between Tucson and Phoenix, one of the most notable landmarks is Picacho Peak.  So it’s “Peak Peak.”
• Mesa is Spanish for “table.”  North of Phoenix you will find Table Mesa.  The name would be “Table Table.”

You’ve been bitten by a venomous Gila Monster and it retains its vice-like grip on hour hand. How do you get it off?  The jaws of this creature are incredibly strong. Trying to pull the jaws open or pry it off is often unsuccessful. The longer you leave it on, the more damage it will do.

There are several old-wives tales that you some suggest.  For example, some say that it will release itself if it hears the sound of thunder.  Walking around with a venous creature attached to your hand, waiting for the next rainstorm does not side like much fun.  There is another tale says that all you have to do is wait until sunset.  The creature will let go when it sees the setting sun. Both of these old wives-tales are just that, old-wives tales, and will not work. 

Expert recommendations I have found include the following:

• Submerse your hand, or whatever part of you was bit in water, completely submersing the creatures head. It should let go in order to breath.
• If no water is available, wrap the creature’s head in in a towel or blanket.  This may frighten it and it may let go.
• Instead of trying to pull it off, push it forward.  The teeth face backward.  By pushing forward you may be able to loosen its grip and dislodge the jaws.
• Grab it by the tail and pull.  This will make the wound worse, but sometimes works as a last resort.

The best advice is to not get bit in the first place.  Gila Monsters cannot bite you unless you get close to it. If you find one of the creatures, observe it from a safe distance.

During the 1800s, the town of Wickenburg decided that instead of building a jail they would just chain prisoners to a Mesquite tree located on a street corner in town.  One night they arrested a rather burly drunkard who was “tearing up the town.” The “Jail Tree” was already full of other prisoners so they chained him to a huge log nearby.  The next morning the  prisoner and the log was missing.  They found both of them in a nearby saloon.