12 Dead Giveaways You’ve Lived in Arizona Too Long
You give every cholla on the trail a wide berth, and you carry tweezers just in case.
Newcomers learn why the hard way. Arizonans just know.
Here are the dead giveaways you’ve lived in Arizona too long.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. State laws and city rules are subject to change.
1. Calling It the Valley
Calling the metro area the Valley without explaining it is a giveaway all by itself because you never have to say which valley you mean.
The term means the greater Phoenix area, a basin between mountain ranges that’s known as the Salt River Valley.
Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe and Queen Creek make up the East Valley.
The West Valley takes in Glendale, Avondale, Goodyear, Peoria and Surprise.
The nickname “Valley of the Sun” dates to 1935, when a local advertising agency coined it for the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.
2. Telling Avenues From Streets
Phoenix puts its numbered avenues on the west side of town and its numbered streets on the east side.
The avenues stretch west past the city limits to 595th Avenue, and the streets run east to about 230th Street.
If you can tell an avenue from a street without a map, that’s a giveaway.
Some lifelong Phoenicians hear a number and know which side of town to head for.
3. Saying the Names Right
A Copper Courier guide to local pronunciations spells out TOO-sahn for Tucson, HEE-la for the Gila in Gila monster and suh-WAR-oh for saguaro.
If you say all three without a second thought, that’s a giveaway.
Both MOE-gee-yawn and MUG-ee-own are acceptable for the Mogollon Rim.
4. Turning Around at the Barricade
Turning around at a flood barricade is a giveaway, and Arizona’s flooded-road law is why.
If you drive past a flood barricade on a public street or highway, you’re liable for the expenses of any emergency response to get you or the stalled vehicle out.
Many longtime residents turn around and don’t think twice.
Driving through costs more.
What the Flooded-Road Bill Covers
The law caps what you can owe at $2,000 for a single incident.
The bill can cover police, firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services at the scene, plus the salaries of the responders.
It leaves out charges from a regulated ambulance service.
Your insurance policy may exclude coverage for this bill, so the cost can land on you.
5. Counting 110-Degree Days
Do you know how long Phoenix’s record streak of 110-degree days ran?
Phoenix hit 31 straight days of highs at 110 or above in 2023, a record.
Keeping count of triple-digit days is a giveaway, and that summer gave you plenty to count.
The streak finally ended when the high topped out at 108 degrees.
The old record was 18 days in a row, set in 1974.
6. Leaving the Saguaro Alone
Leaving a saguaro alone is a giveaway because Arizona’s Native Plant Law lists it as Highly Safeguarded.
Locals often admire a saguaro where it stands and leave it be.
Even if you own the land, you need a permit from the Arizona Department of Agriculture before removing a saguaro.
Hands off.
7. Giving Cholla Room
Staying clear of a cholla gives you away.
Chain-fruit cholla is also called jumping cholla, but the cactus doesn’t jump.
It clings.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument says the joints of chain-fruit cholla are designed to detach when an animal walks within reach.
The barbed spines hook into your coat or skin if you brush past, and the joint hitches a ride.
Carry tweezers to remove any cholla joints when you’re out walking.
8. Planning Around Shade
Tree canopy across Phoenix census tracts ranges from 2% to 30%, and the median tract has 11%.
So the shade you get depends on which neighborhood you walk through.
Planning your route around shade is a giveaway.
Some Phoenix residents pick the shady side of a sidewalk.
The Shade Phoenix Plan calls for more than 27,000 new trees and 550 new shade structures.
9. Skipping the Clock Change
Arizona law rejects daylight saving time and keeps the state on standard time.
The Navajo Nation is the one exception in the state, and it does observe daylight saving time.
Skipping the twice-a-year clock change is a giveaway.
If your clock is radio-controlled, the National Institute of Standards and Technology says to turn off its automatic daylight saving function in Arizona.
10. Using the Canals
The Salt River Project (SRP) says its canal banks opened for recreational activities in 1964.
Using a canal bank as your walking path is a giveaway.
The Arizona Canal, built between 1883 and 1885, runs more than 38 miles and is the longest in SRP’s system.
11. Chasing Fall Color
Driving north for fall color is a giveaway, and the canyons are where you go.
Oak Creek Canyon’s deciduous trees keep showing color well into November, according to the Coconino National Forest.
Trees at higher elevations around Flagstaff reach their prime in early October.
So early November still works for your canyon drive.
Psst! How much do you know about the Grand Canyon State? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Grand Canyon State IQ
Answer these questions on official symbols, landmarks and firsts. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
In 2024, Arizona made which world its official state planet?
12. Checking the Heat Warning
In 2024, Phoenix had 45 days of trail closures due to extreme heat warnings between May 1 and October 13.
Checking for a heat warning before you hike gives you away.
Whenever the National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Warning, Phoenix restricts the Echo Canyon and Cholla trails at Camelback Mountain.
The Piestewa Peak summit trail is restricted too, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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