Ditat Deus (God Enriches) the 48th State

Most of you probably know which states were the last two to join the Union: Alaska and Hawaii. They joined the United States in 1959 within months of each other. But you know which state was the one just prior to them? Arizona. In 1912. (New Mexico and Oklahoma are the other two states admitted in the 1900s.)

Arizona’s slogan is “The Grand Canyon State,” but there is so much more to Arizona than the gorge created by the Colorado River over thousands of years. It is a bit like Idaho being known for its potatoes. Idaho is so much more than a crop. But, I digress. Back to Arizona… I think Arizona’s state motto is much more appropriate: Ditat Deus, which is Latin for God Enriches. And boy, does He ever!

Arizona has a piece of each of the four deserts in the United States: easternmost part of the Mohave Desert, a tiny portion of the Great Basin Desert, the northernmost part of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sonoran Desert. Rarely do people think of the desert as beautiful. But I’ve got receipts, as they say.

Arizona is so much more than a pretty picture. It’s the Biosphere II, the gorgeous red mountains of Sedona, the Titan Missile Silo, Antelope Canyon, a tea party hosted in a lavender farm, Spanish missions, Saguaro cacti in bloom, Walnut Canyon, and the Chihuly glass exhibit in the Desert Botanical Garden, to name a few.

Oh, yeah. And the Grand Canyon.

The photos below are of the tea party I attended with a couple of tea-party loving Arizona friends. It was set in a working lavender farm, just outside of Tucson – a perfect sendoff on my way out of Phoenix on my way back to Texas. I even made my own hat for the occasion!

Off the beaten path and just down the street from the lavender farm is Biosphere II. I didn’t have time to tour the facility because I was on a time schedule getting back to Texas, but if I am ever in the neighborhood again, I’ll definitely schedule a tour.

Some of the other interesting sites are highlighted in photos below.