Sunday, May 17, 2015

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.

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