Arizona, Ingrid's Corner

Best of Both Worlds

by Ingrid

rose flowersThere’s nothing like being surrounded by agricultural fields and yet having every imaginable store available within a fifteen minute drive. Top it off with an abundance of awesome hiking trails in the surrounding area and I’d say we’ve stumbled upon the best of both worlds.

Within an easy ten minute drive from the RV Park, I have my choice of Safeway, Fry’s, or a super Wal-Mart to stock up on necessities. Along the way to the store, I pass cotton fields and rose fields. Yes, beautiful fields of roses in all colors as far as the eye can see.

agriculture
acres of roses surround Luke Air Force Base (seen in the distance)

I adore roses. About the only thing that might top this are fields of tulips.  I’ve seen some stunning fields of tulips during Holland, Michigan’s Tulip Festival. I wouldn’t want to have to pick between tulips and roses…..yep, my two favorite flowers.   Being the girly girl that I am, I love flowers and they always put a smile on my face.

As I drive to the grocery store bebopping to tunes on the radio, I take in the sight of acres of roses to my left, acres of roses to my right, Arizona Mountains in the background, sunny skies, a light breeze, and 70 degree temperatures. Any of life’s little problems that I may be dealing with at the time seem to fade, even if for just a bit.agriculture

The fields of rose plants will eventually be harvested, split, divided and sold to nurseries and retailers for consumers to purchase so they can add landscape beauty to their yards.  At one time, the agricultural fields in the Phoenix area were abundant with citrus plants; oranges, lemons, limes.  I’m not sure why the farmer’s have switched from citrus to cotton and roses, but the rumor is margins and ease of growth.  Cotton and roses can also withstand a rare winter freeze much easier than the citrus. However, there are still plenty of citrus groves, they just happen to be located in other parts of the valley.agriculture

Although I may not have initially been too thrilled with this RV Park and its location, I’ve since discovered plenty of beauty and convenience. Yep, these roses sure can make a gal smile 🙂agriculture

67 thoughts on “Best of Both Worlds”

  1. These are beautiful! I am so happy that you are getting a chance to see some of these beautiful highlights. Glad you have the time to stop and smell the roses. 😉

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  2. Pingback: Harvest Time | Live Laugh RV

  5. Ingrid, sounds like a lovely drive for sure. Your Rose photos are outstanding! I guess, if we try hard enough, we can always find beauty in nature, which brings a smile! Send me some of your sunshine! Needed ASAP!

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    1. Thank you. It’s been cold but sunny so I can’t complain. We’ve seen the rest of the country under snow, ice, and rain. Sending some sunshine your way….. 🙂

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  7. Such beautiful blooms! You certainly landed in a beautiful — and convenient –part of the country. Isn’t Holland something to see in Spring? It sure does live up to its name.

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    1. It has been years since I last visited Holland MI and thus long overdue for a revisit. It sure is gorgeous when the tulips are in bloom. I am definitely enjoying the fields of roses here especially as I see the ice and snow photos on the internet. Stay warm!

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    1. Oh, I am so not missing the bad weather in other parts of the country. Although the nights here have gotten down to freezing, the days warm into the 50’s. It’s been wonderful hiking weather. Four miles are plenty for my paws. I can’t imagine 10 plus on concrete! Thinking of you and counting down the days 🙂

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    1. Wow, thank you so much. I wish the words would come as easily to me as the photos. I’m suffering from writers block these days 😉

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  10. Thank you so much for those gorgeous photos. Here I sit in icy cold Ohio and needed something to lift my spirits up. This blog did just the trick.

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    1. You welcome! What a nice comment. I don’t envy you sitting in OH. Even in Phx it has been cold….near freezing at night and a high of 57 during the day. But I’ll take that over snow and ice any day. Hope you get in lots of baking and enjoy your holiday prepping. It’s this time of year that I miss a regular kitchen.

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  11. Conveniences seem such a luxury I think more in the winter and darkness. In the summer with long days, I seem to be able to move less out of my comfort zone. Absolutely beautiful pictures of the roses! We are opting into a RV resort now in Gulf Shores for the winter…SW will come next year. Just got a NEW rig…post coming soon but had MORE STRESS on our plates last few weeks and this dealer’s parking lot is getting tiresome! Monday we’ll be settled and can enjoy a little of the holidays! Thinking you head to TX soon…or maybe that’s a month off. Keep warm and keep the splendid photos coming!

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    1. OMG…..how exciting. I can’t wait for you to share the new rig with us. Sounds like you’ve found some pretty nifty beach spots so I think you’re wise to keep hanging in that part of the country. The desert isn’t going anywhere and will wait for you’re arrival next winter. We’ll head to the Gulf after Christmas 🙂

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    1. We woke up to 34 degrees outside and no heat in the RV….ran out of propane 😦 Fortunately with the sun out it warmed up rather quickly and we had 60’s during the day. Now we’re filled with propane and ready for the freezing temps tonight. Thankfully no snow!

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      1. Why is it a person always runs out of heating fuel in the middle of the night. I remember when my oldest was a baby. We had a waterbed so didn’t notice when the heat went out. I got up to give her a bottle and she was a baby-sicle! Poor cold baby. Brought her back to bed with us. Fortunately she didn’t get sick.

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    1. Yesterday I just discovered a barren field but covered in rose petals. I’ll eventually share those photos. Quite frankly we needed to be parked and regroup. Thus, it has turned out to be a positive experience, but I’ll be ready to hit the road in 3 weeks 🙂 Texas here we come!

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        1. Oh no….did not intend to shatter anything. Actually this has turned out to be exactly what we needed. So I really shouldn’t complain. I might even consider a return visit…..cannot believe I just said that, lol.

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          1. There’s a nice park on this side of Phoenix – McDowell Mtn Regional Park. It only suffered a microburst the once that I know of! lol Of course we were there then.

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  15. Wow, As much time as we’ve spent in the Phoenix area, we’ve never seen a field like that! Thanks so much for showing it to us. I just wish you had a “smell o blog ” so we could enjoy their fragrance. Its probably a good thing that we aren’t near those roses though, Dave would have a hard time not sneaking in under cover of darkness….he always brings me flowers when he finds them unattended……
    Sue

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    1. This is our third winter in Phoenix, but our first time staying on the far west side of the valley. We had never seen these cotton or rose fields either until this visit. Our son lives in Phx, thus the frequent visits, but I’m about ready to head to the ocean. Your FL photos are quite enticing 🙂

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    1. We’re staying at Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort on the far west side of Phoenix. We’re expecting freezing temps tonight as well….brrrr…..but fortunately upper 50’s low 60’s during the day.

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    1. Yep, we’re still at the fancy RV Resort until Christmas. I just returned from Safeway a little while ago. There’s things I refuse to buy at Wal-Mart. It’s not a bad location at all but I’m ready to hit the road 🙂

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  20. Now that Rose field would be heaven to drive by. I think I enjoyed the wild Lilacs around Julian California most last spring. I wonder what a field of lilacs would smell like.

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    1. Oh, Lilacs in bloom would be beautiful and had to smell heavenly. I couldn’t get close enough to the rose fields to capture the aroma but they sure were pretty.

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  21. Having worked for a florist, I had to strip the thorns from a gazillion roses to make wedding bouquets, floral arrangements…Some roses have a few and some have MANY..I guess that’s why roses are not my very favorite..But that whole field of them is very beautiful!! If I do have a favorite flower it would be the Wisteria you find hanging all over in the South…very lovely to me, especially those white ones! Enjoy the Southwest,we are expecting an ice storm this weekend.. ;-(

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    1. Freezing tonight in Phoenix….brrrr. I think this storm is getting all of us 😦 I think if I had to work with those thorns regularly, my love for roses would definitely wane. Wisteria? I’ll be sure and keep my eye out when we’re in Texas. Stay warm!

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    1. Very pretty and a shocker. One doesn’t expect to see fields of roses in the desert southwest. I hope they don’t harvest too soon!

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  23. Gorgeous roses!
    And I so love Tulips too. One of the highlights of my visits to Amsterdam is the flower market (imagine the NYSE, but for tulips!). It’s unreal! And, of course, just the fields and fields of tulips in the countryside.

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  25. I love roses, if I found fields of them like the ones that you photographed, I’d feel as if I had died and gone to Heaven! I can only imagine how wonderful the scent of that many roses mingling together is.

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    1. As I was driving by one of the barren fields, it gave off a cast of red and pink. Perplexed, I stopped and walked closer….the ground was covered in red and pink rose petals. Between the cotton and the roses, it’s been quite fun seeing these plants and fields up close.

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  27. On our drives to Surprise we enjoyed the rose and cotton fields, was strange (to us) to see them blooming in December. We ended up really enjoying the rv park we were at for many of the same reasons. Hope it doesn’t get too cold there, not looking forward to the next few days of traveling.

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    1. It’s suppose to freeze tonight….brrr. You and I were probably driving by the very same fields. It’s so interesting to be surrounded by these fields and yet have all the stores less than a mile away. Safe travels to you 🙂

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    1. The Valley seems to have gotten plenty of rain this year thus leading to lush plants. With the impending weather, the full-hook ups are really nice to have….heat is going 🙂

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    1. Freezing temps in Phoenix tonight. Seems to be a big cold front blanketing much of the country 😦 The pink shots are my favorite too!

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