What time is it?

I’m at Lone Rock Beach campground on the Utah side of Lake Powell. Utah is on Mountain Daylight Time.

Just down the road is Arizona which, in it’s curmudgeonly way, rejects Daylight Saving Time. So it’s on Mountain Standard Time. You’d need to keep the time difference in mind if you have some time-critical thing you need to do in Page AZ, such as embarking on a tour.

However, the Navajo Nation observes Daylight Saving Time since the reservation is in Utah and New Mexico besides Arizona. That means if you’re staying in Page, and if that hypothetical tour operator is a Navajo taking you to Antelope Canyon, you need to readjust to Daylight Saving Time.

But the Hopi Nation, which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, follows the rest of Arizona. Moenkopi—the western gateway to Hopi—is across the street from Tuba City, which is Navajo.

Oy.

Of course, Arizona’s position is that everyone else should scrap Daylight Saving Time. Problem solved. And everyone else’s position is that Arizona should stop being stubborn.

Meanwhile, last week, I was moving back and forth between California, Nevada and Arizona. Time zones weren’t an issue in that case, since Pacific Daylight Time is the same as Mountain Standard Time.

Fortunately, time is generally irrelevant to me these days. I go by my internal clock, by the sun, by impulse. There’s now and there’s later. Time only matters when I’m dealing with other people. Ew, people.