Hometown Monday

Mesa, Arizona is on the rack today. I began traveling back and forth between Quartz Hill and Mesa when I was about five years old. I'm pretty sure I was in love with Mesa and everything Arizona had to offer from a very young age. I was an Arizona everything fan first before anything else. Arizona Diamnondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Coyotes were my sports teams. I've wanted to attend Arizona State University since I was about eight. Some thing in life you stumble upon and you find that it's just a part of your blood. Arizona was that way for me. My family dad grew up there, I ended up growing up there and now my little brothers who are 12 years younger than me get to do the same. There has been many changes throughout all this time. My dad tells me stories about where we live now used to be desert and orange groves. He and a childhood friend used to go bird hunting and romp through the desert together. Now all of that land is developed and commercialized into residential areas for the exploding population of Maricopa County. Surprising to the knowledge of most people Mesa is one the largest cities in the United States just barely edging out Miami, FL. In fact I even remember when I was younger that we could drive down the road and be in alfalfa fields as far as the eye can see. Orange groves covered the land giving off the aroma of citrus in the evenings when the weather was mixed just right. Now all that remains are patches here and there and to really get out of the city we need to drive for about 30-45 minutes.

Mesa resides in what is known as the east valley and continues looking eastward to the Superstition Mountains. These mountains have been the backdrop of my life. I have hiked them, camped in the them and watched them become covered in snow when the valley decides to have a freakish winter storm, which all though incredibly rare, it happens and is one the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. During what we dub our monsoon season, the monstrous storms gather weight behind these mountains with clouds billowing up to an unimaginable height and then roll across the valley making Arizona home to some of the most incredible lightning and thunderstorms in the country. The Mesa Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is only a few miles down the road from me. This is a wonderful destination for many across the entire country during Christmas time when the Temple is covered in thousands of Christmas lights making it truly a sight to behold. Also, during the easter season we have the Mesa Easter Pageant. Please visit this page for more information regarding the pageant, http://www.easterpageant.org/2011_Easter_Pageant_FAQs.pdf

No matter where I go or what I do in life or even where I end up, Mesa will always be home. My life has basically come full circle in this place. I have been from one extreme to the next in this town and thankfully it still loves me for who I am.

"Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to." ~John Ed Pearce