Tag Archives: sunset

Nov19

(Guest Post) Why Phoenix?

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Today’s guest post was written by an old friend of mine who currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

It’s November 1st and finally, I believe the summer has left us. Don’t get me wrong. We will still have days with temperatures in the 80s but the evenings and the mornings are so cool and comfortable and finally wearing long pants is an acceptable dress code.

This summer has been especially hard on this perimenopausal woman in her late 40s. The temperatures have been no higher than other years and the fact that the hundred degrees last until October is normal. But my ability to cope with the warm temperatures is not what it was 20 years ago.

When I moved to Phoenix, many friends asked “Why Phoenix?” “What’s in Phoenix?” And honestly for years I had no answer for them. It’s flat, it’s brown and it’s very new and modern compared to other cities in the United States.

Tovrea Castle

Tovrea Castle

The history here only goes back to the 1940s. Convincing the city council that we need to keep those buildings from the 40s and 50s has been a challenge. Hence why everything is so new and modern. So when I find a building that is unique/different/older I get super excited and I must go inside and explore! That’s the case with the Tovrea Castle. The Ellis Shakelford House. The Security Building downtown. Luhrs Tower.

When I moved here 20 years ago, Phoenix was only supposed to be a temporary layover to my next destination somewhere on the west coast. I never intended to stay this long but good jobs, a great husband and my beautiful daughter all led to me becoming an Arizonan. I’ve not forgotten my roots. I will forever and always be a Louisiana girl. Nolagirl at heart. For that is where I found my true spirit, my true self. But now when people ask me what’s in Arizona, why Phoenix, Arizona, I can say: the Grand Canyon, street corn, fresh homemade tortillas, a sunset and

Phoenix Sunset

Phoenix Sunset

sunrise every morning and night that can take your breath away. Sonoran hotdogs. The Superstition Mountains. Home of Miranda Rights. Witnessing the evolution of a grass roots art and historic preservation community. My family. My community.

The photos were taken by the author.

May21

Why

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It’s not a question. Why is actually the name of a place in southern Arizona.

IMG_6274According to Wikipedia,

Why (O’odham: Ban Hi:nk) is a tiny unincorporated rural community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It lies near the western border of the Tohono O’Odham Indian Reservation and due north of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona. It is approximately thirty miles north of the Mexican border where Lukeville, Arizona, and Sonoita, Sonora, Mexico, border each other, and ten miles south of Ajo, Arizona.

The population in Why at the 2000 census was approximately 116.[1] Why Not Travel Store

There’s not much in Why. In addition to a few homes, there’s a restaurant called  Grannymacs Kitchen that boasts chicken decor, decent food, and a totally uninterested staff. There’s also a gas station/convenience store combo called The Why Not Travel Store.

Coyote Howls Campground and RV Park is also in Why.

According to the campground’s website,

Coyote Howls…is located in the heart of Arizona’s Great Sonoran Desert…surrounded by low mountains and plentiful in desert vegetation and wildlife…

Coyote Howls is a combination of two campgrounds to provide your ideal desert camping experience. The two campgrounds that make up Coyote Howls are simply Coyote Howls East and Coyote Howls [W]est.

IMG_6275

Coyote Howls East Campground consists of nearly 208 acres with 600 campsites. The sites are large, random in shape and placement. These are our “primitive camps”. There are no hookups, so your trailer or RV needs to be self-contained. There are, however, restrooms, showers, dump stations, and water faucets scattered throughout the park…

So why is Why called Why? In a January 2014 post, Arizona Oddities says,

Many years ago [in 1949, according to Coyote Howls history], Peggy and Jim Kater homesteaded at the base of  the Little Ajo Mountains near the junction of State Routes 85 and 86. Because the junction formed a Y-intersection, they simply called their place “the Y.” Eventually, the Y attracted so many other residents that the community needed a post office. When postal authorities asked for a town name, the Katers said it should be “Y,” like it always had been.

But Arizona law required all town and city names have at least three letters, so the name was changed to Why because (a) people were always asking why anybody would live in such a remote place and (b) because “Why” rhymes with “Y”.

The Arizona Department of Transportation later removed the old Y-intersection for safety reasons and replaced it with a conventional T-intersection. But Why is still Why, and most everybody who goes there still asks why.

Why no longer has a post office. Folks who need a post office box rent one in Ajo. But Why is still a community, if not quite a town. It’s a good place for folks traveling south on Highway 85 to get gasoline, and it’s a good place to get away from any sort of hustle and bustle and watch the sunset.

Why Sunset

The Arizona Oddities article says Why was established at the junction of highways 65 and 86. I took the liberty of correcting that, since I know highway 85 is the main route through the community.

I took all of the photos in this post.