The Funny (and Embarrassing) Story of How I Thought I Discovered a Time Warp in Arizona

I feel like it’s impossible to be neutral about Daylight Savings Time — either you love it or absolutely can’t stand it. The Grand Canyon State definitely falls into the latter category, as there has been no Daylight Savings Time in Arizona since 1968. A voluntary extra hour of daylight in a desert climate has its drawbacks, so I can understand why the permanent switch to Mountain Standard Time (MST) was made. Not all of Arizona quit observing Daylight Savings Time, however. The Navajo Nation still does, and I had no idea of this when I visited Arizona for the first time in 2014. My ignorance lent itself to quite a funny story, and I’m going to share it with you today. 

I was on a cross-country road trip with my sister, and one of our stops was the majestic Grand Falls, located in the Navajo Nation near Flagstaff. As soon as we drove onto the reservation, the clocks on our phones jumped back an hour. At first, we just thought it was some sort of weird glitch, but only until we noticed the clock in the car had also changed. By this point, we were thoroughly weirded out.

To set the scene, getting to Grand Falls involves driving down a long, dusty red dirt road essentially in the middle of nowhere, and we didn’t see a single other vehicle the entire time. The bizarreness of the whole situation coupled with the sheer seclusion created an almost mystical energy that was so profound, it could practically be felt in the air.

Many places in Arizona — especially in nearby Sedona — are known for being “energy vortexes” and attract spiritually-minded folks from all over the world. That being said, I was (and still am, to be honest) pretty skeptical of such things, but my sister is a total believer.

Even still, I was starting to question everything after seeing the time change; part of me wondered if we had somehow gotten ourselves caught up in a time warp or wormhole of sorts. That may sound silly, but your surroundings play a big part in your state of mind, and everything was so surreal that I couldn’t really think straight. Plus, we didn’t have any cell service, so it wasn’t as simple as just Googling "What state doesn't have Daylight Savings Time?"

Despite having no clue what was going on, things worked out in our favor. We spent about an hour at the falls, so when we left and the clock went back to normal, it was like we had never even been there! Essentially getting a free extra hour in the day was a perk neither of us was expecting (but no complaints were made!).

We went years without knowing what actually happened, but one day, I came across the information that the Navajo Nation observes Daylight Savings Time, and all the pieces fell into place. Honestly, sometimes I wish I had never discovered the truth. Life is more fun with a little mystery!

I wrote an article about my experience at Grand Falls if you're interested in learning more about the sacred natural wonder. Unfortunately, it is no longer open to the public, so I'm beyond grateful I had the chance to visit when it still was.

Did you know this fun fact about Daylight Savings Time in Arizona? If not, have you ever had a similar experience that left you asking "What time zone is AZ in?"

Living in the only state in the lower 48 that doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time is pretty cool — it makes us different! There are so many things to love about Arizona, and you can rep your state pride with stylish clothing and outoor gear from Wear Your Roots.