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Are There Opossums in Arizona?

April 11, 2011 By Andrea Aker 2 Comments

Q: My wife swears she saw an opossum the other night while walking the dog in our Mesa neighborhood. I think she was seeing things. Settle our bet. Are there opossums in Arizona?

A: Are there opossums in Arizona? Are you kidding?

Why do you think some parts of the state are uninhabited? There are opossums out there the size of St. Bernards, mutated by the drift from nuclear testing back in the ’50s. Their teeth are as long as car keys, and they are notoriously short-tempered. In 1973, a group of Boy Scouts camping near…

OK, I made that stuff up. I thought it might be more interesting than the real answer, which is: Sort of.

There are opossums in Arizona, although it is highly unlikely that the missus saw one in Mesa. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Arizona’s opossum population mostly confines itself to the area from Tucson south to the border.

Filed Under: Natural Surroundings, Odd Observations, Southern Arizona Tagged With: wildlife

Trivia on Arizona Cities & Towns: Can You Pass?

February 9, 2011 By Andrea Aker 2 Comments

Test your knowledge of cactus and wildlife of Arizona with this short quiz, originally published in Marshall Trimble’s Official Arizona Trivia. Don’t scroll down too quickly. The answers are posted shortly below the questions. When you’re finished, leave a comment with your score. Did any answers surprise you?

1. What Arizona city’s name means big house?

2. In what city is Fort Whipple Veterans Hospital located?

3. Where is the monument to camel driver Hi Jolly (Hadji Ali) located?

4. Where is Phantom Ranch located?

Filed Under: Dose of History, Northern Arizona, Small Town Scene, Southern Arizona, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: history, place names, trivia

Why are Phoenix and Tucson so Different?

January 28, 2011 By Andrea Aker Leave a Comment

Q: My grandpa and grandma live in Tucson, and when we visit them, I always wonder why are Phoenix and Tucson so different?

A: This is an excellent question. The answer would fill a volume or two, but the short explanation is: History, dear child, it’s all about history.

In the great scheme of things, Phoenix is a fairly young city.

Granted, the Hohokam and other Native Americans lived around here for centuries, but a permanent European presence was not established until the Army opened Fort McDowell in 1865. The hay camp that supplied the fort eventually became Phoenix.

By contrast, Tucson’s European roots go back to 1694, when the tireless missionary Father Kino founded a small mission roughly near the Miracle Mile overpass at Interstate 10. Not far away was another village Kino called San Cosme de Tucson. It was more or less the northern most point of the Spanish settlement in what is now Arizona.

Filed Under: Culture, Dose of History, Southern Arizona, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: early arizona, history, phoenix, tucson

The Story of Sarah Bowman: Yuma’s First Citizen Left a Lasting Impression

January 21, 2011 By Andrea Aker Leave a Comment

One of the most colorful ladies who ever rode the old West was Sarah Bowman of Yuma. She didn’t fit the common frontier stereotype woman—calico dress, sunbonnet and a youngster hanging on each arm with another tugging at her skirt. In fact, there wasn’t anything common about Sarah. They called her the Great Western, after the biggest sailing ship of her day. Since she stood 6′ 2″ that didn’t seem to bother her; in fact, she liked the comparison.

The red-haired lady with blue eyes was a Southwestern legend in her own time. She could literally sweep men right off their feet (and did on more than one occasion). Because of her bravery during the Mexican War at the battle of Fort Texas, the soldiers affectionately dubbed her the American Maid of Orleans.

Filed Under: Dose of History, Southern Arizona Tagged With: early arizona, history, legends, mexican war, storytelling, yuma

Two Arizona Cities Rank Among America’s Drunkest

December 30, 2010 By Andrea Aker Leave a Comment

With New Year’s Eve on the horizon, many Arizonans are stocking their liquor cabinets and planning their bar hopping destinations. Yet how often are we likely to party year round?

ASU and UA alum shouldn’t be super surprised to discover that Phoenix and Tucson made the list of America’s Top 40 Drunkest Cities, according to The Daily Beast. However, we didn’t come in as high as you may have thought.

Filed Under: Culture, Food & Dining, Southern Arizona, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: phoenix, rankings, tucson