Our household started the day a bit later than we had intended, but it turned out to be a delightful day despite only getting to half the events we had hoped to attend. The first one started at 9-ish, as in the a.m., at 9,000 feet. A mountain brunch. Actually Summerhaven, the mountain town where we were meeting friends for a birthday brunch, is only 8,200 ft. in elevation. But still that is quite a bit higher than Tucson at 2,650 ft. And we got there quite a bit later than 9-ish, but we were not the last to arrive.
The scenery on the way up was stunning, as always.
A view of Tucson from the Catalina Highway as we begin the trip up.
Buddy, as seen in the side mirror, is very happy to be on the road to cooler climes.
A view of Hitchcock Rock at Windy Point as we pass by.
And more great rock formations on the way up. I am not sure what the common name for the duck-billed rock is, but we always called this Nixon Rock.
First view along the drive of the area that burned the Summer of 2003. The fire was called the Aspen Fire. About half of Summerhaven burned in that fire.
Another view of the new growth with the still standing trunks of trees lost to the fire – closer to Summerhaven.
Then we arrived in Summerhaven and the Cabin.
And we had a wonderful time celebrating with the birthday girl and friends.
Plant. Unidentified, but delicate and beautiful, by the cabin.
Small lap dogs had a wonderful time.
As did big dogs too.
Then on the way down the mountain, for old time sake we stopped at the turn off to the road we took many, many summers in a row, long ago, to where our daughter went to Girl Scout Camp, Saguaro Girl Scout Council, along Organization Ridge Road. Many memories.
Rain to the North of the Catalinas across the San Pedro Valley
Or maybe it is looking out over Tortalita. Hate to admit it but I’m not sure.
This is such an absolutely complex and varied ecological area. For info to beef up your geological perspective, I recommend this publication. It has a bunch of information you can use to identify geological formations at some of the well designed pull off Scenic Vistas along the way. (We were reminiscing today about how the Catalina Highway to the top of Mount Lemmon has changed from road to real highway.)
The mountains around here are called Sky Islands. To find out about the biology and biota of these islands with sea of desert all around check out the Sky Island Alliance. And if you want to find out more about connecting the islands so wildlife can migrate (No border fences!) check out the info about wildlife corridor design.
Now back to the travelogue.
Vistas that I once could not view for more than a second or two… because the heights freaked me out so much… but that I can now experience outside of the car!
One of my favorite pics of the day. View is of Thimble Peak in the distance. You can view Thimble Peak from the other side if you take the tram up Sabino Canyon.
The ability to experience such diverse climate, flora, and fauna in a drive up the mountain range that borders northern Tucson and takes only an hour is one of the fortunes given to you with residence in Tucson.
When I was married in the Summer of 1989 on the top of Mount Lemmon, the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains, the record high temperatures in the Tucson Basin were above the 110°F mark. It was in the 80s in Lemmon Meadow where we held the ceremony and camp-o-rama reception.
So long ago, geesh, I still drank Budweiser… why I was holding a Bud when we had a keg of Harp and vat of chilled Moet Chandon I still do not know.
Me on my wedding day, so long ago. Near the top of Mount Lemmon, in Lemmon Meadow.
Hubby and daughter posing in Lemmon Meadow with our two dear furry friends who are no longer with us, 18 years or so after Hubby and I were married there.
Mount Lemmon, by the way, was named for Sara Lemmon a botanist in the late 1800s who was the first white women to climb the peak and describe and gather botanical samples from the unique biology of the range.
So anyway, I was jumping in and out of the truck to get pics of this or that and when I came back to the truck after getting the image of Thimble Peak, I felt like the guy in the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Cecilia.”
Someone had taken my place.
But soon we were back to the land of Saguaros.
Saguaros are trees and this is a Saguaro forest.
By the time we got back home and were to clean up and attend another birthday party… it was ready to storm and we were exhausted. The evening was spent watching Marlene Dietrich in Witness for the Prosecution and then in Shanghai Express on TCM.
I’m sad that we did not make it to another friend’s birthday bash for her hubby’s 30th 39th birthday, but one of the rewards of being old enough to know better is knowing what your limits are before you have reached or exceeded them.
So that is what we did today. Sometimes I absolutely love my experiential fortunes!
Fun sharing your day the photos.
Glad you could come along for the ride!