We recently took a short travel to Arizona, with sightseeing in Casa Grande and Scottsdale. When you are from the Midwest as I am, your first impression of the desert is that it is somewhat devoid of color. But a closer look reveals that there are more colors to be found in the desert than you might realize.

Cactus can appear in a variety of colors, even if mostly shades of green. But their flowers can take on all kinds of colors.

While visiting the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, you experience the relative monochromatic nature of the desert, where the earthy tones of the sand are juxtaposed against the tones of the desert sky.

And then there are the colors of the sky at sunrise and sunset. I hadn't had a good sunset chase in quite a while, so it was fun to get out and anticipate the sky colors against the silhouette of the Camelback mountain as seen from Scottsdale.

I found the southwest desert to be accented with color, as evidenced by the local art scene. Wreaths of red peppers hanging to dry are found outside small storefronts, and there were plenty of public art sculptures to be found to keep things visually interesting.

Give the desert a chance, if you get the opportunity to go there, and the colors will come to you.