Arizona In The Summer - October 2, 2025

“Standing On The Corner in Winslow, Arizona” 

We recently visited Phoenix, Arizona, arriving August 26 and departing September 22nd.  When we were telling our family and friends about our plans to visit Arizona at this time of year, many of them thought we were crazy.  “Isn’t it over 100 degrees there in the summer?!”. “With all the Trump nonsense going on in the States, why do you want to visit there?!” “Shouldn’t you spend your money in Canada?!”  Those were all valid questions.  We’ll address them one at a time.  

First, the weather - yes, the temperature in Phoenix is quite hot in September.  It averaged in the high 30s Celsius (95-100 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and in the high 20s Celsius at night (85-90 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.  We knew what we were getting into.  We knew we’d rely on air conditioning in our accommodations, in our car, in the restaurants and malls.  But how is that any different than an Ontario winter where we rely on the heating to keep us warm in the winter, in our homes, cars and the buildings we visit?  It’s not.  And, as we suspected, if we have to choose between tolerating extreme heat and extreme cold, our recent summer trip to Arizona confirmed…we choose heat! 

I’d respectfully submit that it’s easier to tolerate the summer heat in Arizona than it is in Ontario.  Why? There is no humidity in Arizona, as it’s the desert.  So once a breeze kicks up from a car window or a golf cart, or you find some shade, you find relief from the heat.  You can’t say that about Ontario heat, because most of our heat is due to humidity, which doesn’t disappear in the shade.  I’m not suggesting visiting Arizona is July or August when the daily high temperature hits 120 F ( 44 degrees Celcius), but September onwards is bearable.  

This recent trip to Arizona was our third time visiting there in 2025. The other two times were in early February and then again for the whole month of March. During all three visits to the United States in 2025, Donald Trump has been President.  We’ve interacted many times with Americans during these trips. We don’t hate America; we don’t hate Americans, in fact we have good friends who live in the United States. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the US recently, I would say some Americans are nice and somewhat apologetic for nonsense coming out of the White House.  But most Americans have become desensitized or have tuned out this noise. Now, that's not a good thing as some real harm is occurring because of the actions and statements of the President, but I can understand why many Americans have tuned out; there is a lot of noise right now and people who don’t want to think about politics don’t invest the time to filter out the nonsense; they simply tune out everything.  

We are not fans of Donald Trump; we cringe at some of the things he says and does, and sometimes I get angry at the damage his actions and statements have caused around the world.  But we are not going to let Donald Trump ruin or takeaway the place we’ve been enjoying long before he became President. We’ve been visiting Arizona in the winter since 2012 and it’s become like a second home for us, and certainly a great place to escape the Ontario winters. This is why we visit the United States and will continue to do so.  Our most recent visit to Arizona was to try it out at a different time of year, and we really enjoyed our trip. 

In terms of spending money in the United States, I don’t feel I'm being unpatriotic by visiting America or purchasing American products.  Our logic is the same as the reason we keep visiting the US.  Donald Trump’s buffoonery is not going to stop us from spending money on the things we’ve enjoyed for many years. The trip to Arizona is one example, the other example is drinking California red wine.  That is something I've enjoyed for decades, and while I'm not a fan of President Trump’s behaviour, I'm not going to allow him to take away something I really enjoy, California red wine.  Yes, we can get great red wine from Australia and I'll continue to enjoy that and use it as a substitute while California products can’t be bought at the LCBO. But, if I can get my hands on some California wine, I will do so.  

One of the things we did on this trip was visit Tombstone, the site of the famous Gunfight At The OK Corral, back in 1881. The reenactment of the gunfight was entertaining, but having seen it once, I'm not in a rush to visit Tombstone again. The name “Tombstone” comes from its founder, Ed Schieffelin, who was told when prospecting that all he would find was his tombstone. The town became a booming silver mining center in the 1880s, featuring many saloons, gambling halls, and general frontier commerce. Over time, silver mining became unsustainable (flooding of mines, falling prices), and the town’s mining heyday declined. Rather than vanish entirely, Tombstone reinvested in its history and became a tourist destination celebrating its frontier past. When we visited, there were hundreds of visitors milling about the main street of Tombstone. 

We also visited Winslow, Arizona which is made famous by being referenced in the band The Eagles 1972 hit song, “Take It Easy”.  In Winslow they have “Standin’ On The Corner” Park.  It’s a park commemorating the Eagles/Jackson Browne song, and includes statues of songwriters Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, a mural, a flatbed Ford truck, and the Route 66 logo painted in the intersection.  The second verse of the song goes like this:

“Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

Such a fine sight to see

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford

Slowin' down to take a look at me

Come on, baby, don't say maybe

I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me

We may lose and we may win

Though we will never be here again

So open up, I'm climbin' in

So take it easy” 

Being fans of the band The Eagles, we’ve been talking about visiting Winslow for years, and I’m glad we finally did it. If you’re a fan of the band, and you find yourself in Arizona, definitely take the drive to Winslow.  

When the local retail and restaurant staff found out we were Canadian, they were happy to see us, as they definitely noted a drop in the number of Canadian visitors in 2025.  Advance flight bookings from Canada to Arizona for April-September 2025 are reported to be down over 70% compared with the same period in 2024.  Vehicle entries from Canada into Arizona in 2025 are also down sharply, having dropped 38% as compared to 2024. These numbers and comparable data for Canadian visitors to Las Vegas and New York City would suggest Canadians are indeed staying in Canada in 2025. Yet, despite what the numbers say, our flight back from Arizona to Toronto in late September was full.  Maybe the passengers on our return flight have the same outlook we do; we are staunchly Canadian, but to let some political nonsense, from an incompetent individual, deprive us of the things we enjoy is not ok.