Advice Please Regarding Arizonas Animals (Tombstone: hotels, scorpions, camping)

[british]

I am visiting Arizona near the end of this month and will be travelling from pheonix to the grand canyon via sedona and then making my way to tombstone.

I have probably become overly concerned about the spiders, snakes, scorpions and gila monsters from all the reading I have done recently. Do I need to bring a specific first aid kit with me? I am not doing any massive hiking routes and I am staying in hotels not camping. Probably the maximum I can walk due to a disabiltiy is about a mile from a road if that so I should never be too far away from my vehicle.

Regarding the weather and the type of clothes I am packing can you confirm if I am bring the right clothes. For the grand canyon I will be dressing for snow conditions, and the remainder of my travelling I will be in jeans and shirts possibly shorts and T shirts for Tombstone area.

My footwear will be substanial walking boots although as mentioned previously I dont walk very far these days, I dont know about sandals due to the unfriendly animals but I will be wearing trainers as well.

Any advice is appreciated.

[azdr0710]

don't bring a first-aid kit....you will have no problem with critters based on how you said you'll be traveling...don't worry about animals!!....you may see a coyote darting across a road, if you're lucky.....most animals are scared to death of humans.....

what are "trainers"?...are they what we call sneakers or tennis shoes?...if so, you'll love them out here....the areas you say you're going to are all very casual....bring a light jacket for cool evenings, jeans, comfortable cotton stuff...it may rain, so a light rain jacket???.....

don't forget distances out here are great....Grand Canyon to Tombstone is about eight hours, but I presume you'll be breaking that up.....

drive carefully....remember we don't do daylight savings time....

[british]

Thank you very much for that information. I am the type of person who reads as much as possible about a location that I end up probably going to deep in to the subject. Thanks again for giving me some perspective. What we call trainers are your sneakers, tennis shoes.

Shane

[saffordpastor]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

don't bring a first-aid kit....you will have no problem with critters based on how you said you'll be traveling...don't worry about animals!!....you may see a coyote darting across a road, if you're lucky.....most animals are scared to death of humans.....

what are "trainers"?...are they what we call sneakers or tennis shoes?...if so, you'll love them out here....the areas you say you're going to are all very casual....bring a light jacket for cool evenings, jeans, comfortable cotton stuff...it may rain, so a light rain jacket???.....

don't forget distances out here are great....Grand Canyon to Tombstone is about eight hours, but I presume you'll be breaking that up.....

drive carefully....remember we don't do daylight savings time....

Actually a First Aid kit is a good idea anytime you are traveling and hiking.

Never know when you might need to bind up a wound caused by the Velociraptors and Giant Gila Monsters that roam the Arizona Outback....

[Ponderosa]

With all the rain we have had, there has been a rash of chupacabra sightings around the Grand Canyon this year.

[UrsusMinor]

Rattlesnakes are the most courteous of the venemous snakes of the world--they let you know where they are and that you ought to stay away. And they generally stay put, coiled up, waiting for you to go somewhere else.

Gila monsters are pretty chunky and not given to dashing after you. If you set eyes on one in the wild, you should count yourself lucky.

Scorpions and spiders are the real desert problems. But as long as you aren't 1) sleeping outside on the ground without a mesh tent, or 2) sticking your hands under things, you should be fine. (Keep in mind that in the desert, most things spend a lot of time hiding in dark places.)

I grew up in and around the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, and am an avid backpacker and hiker. I'm 56, and I yet have to be attacked by any of the beasts you list--though I've had many startling warnings from the rattlers.

If you want some place where the wildlife is hostile, try Australia--the only part of the planet where the majority of the species of snakes are poisonous. And has man-eating crocodiles and incredibly aggressive sharks. And deadly poisonous octopi. And equally deadly tiny jelly fish. And several species of dealy spider. Heck, even the male playpus has poisonous spurs...

We're pretty mellow here in the Southwest.

[lyzzard]

If you're going to sit on a smallish rock, tip it over with your foot first to look for a scorpion. That's they only way I think you would encounter one, and that's how most people get stung outside too. The most likely place anyone is going to see a Gila Monster is at the Zoo, so no worries there. You're more likely to step on a spider than get bit by one. Common sense will keep you safe from all of them.

Lots of snow up north right now, but you sound pretty prepared. A general first aid kit would work just fine. Good luck and have fun!

[mohawkx]

Bunnies! Watch out for the bunnies when they swarm in the spring. Death from a thousand nibbles.

[Grannysroost]

We have some jackrabbits out here that are bigger than my dogs...

[british]

All advice is really appreciated even the funny ones. I am really looking forward to my visit.

thanks again to you all, and I must add this site is by far the most informative I have come across.