Mt Lemmon

Several days ago, while the coach was in the shop for a few minor repairs, Misha and I climbed in the car and took a really neat drive.

It’s been several years since I’ve driven up to Mt. Lemmon, when several friends were in town visiting. This is a special drive to share with visitors.

I'd forgotten how nice it is for the locals too!

It’s only about 30 miles from downtown Tucson, but it’s a completely different geology and climate!

You travel up a scenic winding road from the valley floor up into a saguaro cactus forest in the foothills, past hoodoos, up into big boulder strewn mountains, and into the pine, fir and spruce trees of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

This is one of the Arizona “sky islands” in the Coronado National Forest. http://www.skyislandalliance.org/explore.htm

If it was winter, the road might be impassable, open only to residents with chains on their vehicles! Snow, real snow, every winter! Enough to ski on!

In the summer, it’s about 30 degrees cooler than in Tucson – a great escape from the heat!!

Since it was a week day, traffic was really light – the drive up was wonderful. Magnificent views around each bend.

I was delighted to see that the damage from the horribly devastating fire of 2003 is recovering beautifully, as is Nature’s way. http://emol.org/tucson/mtlemmon/

Much was lost in that awful fire, historic homes and shops, old growth timber. And even though there are areas still showing signs of the fire, everything is greening up, with new homes and business popping up everywhere.

It was a refreshing, cooling drive! We even rain, and some hail! And it was 100+ downtown!

The only traffic jam I ran into was when a big flock of wild turkeys decided to cross the road!

We had some extra time before we had to be back, so next we drove to the Saguaro National Park.

http://www.saguaronationalpark.com/

The Park consist of two districts, West and East with Tucson right in the middle, preserving more than ninety-one thousand acres of the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert.

We visited the larger of the two – Saguaro East, the Rincon Mountain District. There was a $10 fee to enter the park, but it was such a lovely day, we decided to spring for it.

There are lots of hiking trails, 128 miles of them, but the drive itself is only 8 miles, through the heart of an extensive saquaro forest.

It’s a one way road, and although I wasn’t very impressed when I started out, the park just kept blossoming before me.

It is truly beautiful – clean – many different forms of cactus, many in bloom from the monsoon rains. Birds flitting from flower to flower. Butterflies.

Saw a pink racer (that’s a snake, a pink snake, that comes by its name because it slithers so damned fast!).

I drove the Cactus Forest Drive twice through this sample of our Sonoran Desert because it was just so pretty and restful and peaceful and full of life.

The delightful day was made even better when I found that all the problems with my coach were little ones, easily fixed, and it didn’t cost me a fortune!