Assumptions and Expectations

Whether through the influence of television, movies or other medias certain assumptions formed in my mind through the years. For example I assume the desert is hot, windy and sandy and I assume the north is cold, icy and snowy. Yet at no point has weather really met my expectations on this trip. Our experience of rain today in Arizona is odd but common enough. However SNOW in the desert...it just doesn't compute. The pictures above and below were taken in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The snow/slush lasted for about a mile or two and then disappeared as we crested the mountain. But, again not a particularly uncommon occurrence. When living in Minnesota though the only time we here about Phoenix, Albuquerque or Los Angeles is in the searing heat of summer. We make no complaint about the weather we are experiencing but we are flabbergasted at how if fails to meet our assumptions and expectations. Experiencing a place first hand appears to be an exercise in correcting assumptions and breaking expectations.