2015 Tucson: Mount Lemmon (5/17/2015)

Sunday, May 17, 2015
Sunny and clear today, perfect for a trip to the northwest of Tucson and climbing Mount Lemmon.

View towards Mount Lemmon from Ginger's house

Part of the house

The front yard (KAH) (5/16/2015)

Tilework (KAH) (5/16/2015)

The guest house (KAH) (5/16/2015)

Ginger and the sweat lodge (KAH) (5/16/2015)

Company van

Mount Lemmon was a destination that was left out of the itinerary, put in, taken out, then put back in again. We had hoped to meet up with a high school classmate in Phoenix, AZ, but at the last minute that didn't work out. So Mount Lemmon was back in, and we had Ginger to chauffeur us into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Not like all those crazy bike riders!

View from Babad Do'ag Vista

Babad Do'ag is the O'odham name for the Santa Catalina Mountains, and means Frog Mountain.

Santa Catalina Mountains with saguaros

Tucson is located at 2,643 feet above sea level and Babad Do'ag Vista is at 3,600 feet. In the climb to Mount Lemmon, we were to pass through six ecosystems, the equivalent of traveling from Mexico to Canada. The ecosystems are: Sonoran desert, semi-desert grassland, oak woodland and chaparral, pine-oak woodland, Ponderosa pine forest, and mixed conifer forest.

Tamiko, Ginger, and Karen at Windy Point Vista

Because the road was so winding, Karen thought this should be "Whine-dy" Point Vista, rather than Windy Point. A gentleman taking a break from bicycling up the mountain took the photo. We asked about the bike ride down the mountain, but he doesn't do that anymore at his age! He gets chauffeured.
Windy Point Vista elevation is 6,600 feet.

The windy road

Windy Point Vista view of Tucson
(can you see the 'A' on Sentinel Peak
slightly above dead center?)

The letter 'A'

View from Geology Vista

Cyclists pass Geology Vista

Mount Lemmon is the second hump from the left (KAH)

Ginger has spent a lot of time on Mount Lemmon, helping with owl research and befriending elderly residents. She took us up to a cabin with a view.

Stone cabin

View down the "back" side of Mount Lemmon

Ginger's almost cabin

Ginger made those shade curtains!

Hmm, a Buteo jamaicensis/Red-tailed Hawk?

Snow on Mount Lemmon, elevation 9, 159 feet

Evidence of the great fire of 2003

Populus tremuloides/Quaking Aspen

Ski Valley ski slope

Village of Summerhaven that had to be rebuilt after the 2003 fire

Synthetic ravens on a house number marker

Ginger has often rented this cabin in Summerhaven (KAH) 

Tamius dorsalis/Cliff Chipmunk

Next: Sabino Canyon.