What I remember most about Arizona is the smells -- the smell of sagebrush, the desert, the air.

The air conditioning.

At times, even now, I can remember those smells, almost unprovoked from memory, as if I can conjure them up at any time I choose. Photos remind me of the scents, as do books and movies. I don't know if any place has stuck in my mind as well for so long merely because of the way it smelled, particularly such a good scent.

When Bryan and I returned a year later, for Courtenay's wedding, and spent a few days on our own up in Flagstaff and Sedona, I looked forward to the desert aroma before I'd even left New Jersey.

A little more than a year ago, I picked up a candle in a Chelsea boutique because its label advertised a desert scent. Even that brought back the memories of Arizona in the summer.