While many other parts of the world are scorching in the summer sun, this year’s monsoon in Arizona has made up, in a way, for the last two “nonsoons.”

As this year’s monsoon season winds down, the higher elevations in particular are becoming green with wildflowers coming out.  All a person has to do is drive about an hour in almost any direction, heading for higher terrain, and the reward is green landscapes like we have not seen for some time.

Heading south to Flagstaff on US 89 is already a scenic drive. With the spring-like growth, the contrast between green and red is striking. The Navajo Nation has seen a lot of rain this year, and some say that they cannot remember the last time they saw “the Rez” so green.  Seeing tall stalks of corn in a dryland farm puts a smile on a person’s face.

A drive to St. George reveals that the Rez is not the only beneficiary of the rains. The Colorado City area offers photographers another red cliff line with green meadows. As one gets closer to Hurricane, the greenery tapers off, but even in St. George, the rocky ground is greening up.

The Page area is getting greener as well, though not as dramatically. Areas that were bare sand a few weeks ago are now revealing some small greyish-green leaves sprouting out of the ground, as well as other plants emerging from their slumber.  

It’s a great time for a short road trip to see what nature has to offer in this “second spring.”