I really like how clean and neat everything looks in a city with a desert climate, although I did miss the bright green tropical foliage of South Florida.

Most of the houses we passed in the suburban area of Scottsdale had gravel lawns with a few landscaping accents such as cacti, palm trees or desert shrubs.

Since this area doesn't experience much of a climate change or significant rainfall throughout the year, most of the roads were perfectly smooth. It was a welcome change from the potholes and car sickness causing undulations on the old highways of New York that I recall from my child hood.