Apr 27 Skyway Island Scenic Byway up to Mt. Lemmon in Tucson

    Mt. Lemmon is a ski resort in the Corronado National Forest.  And, yes, our Senior Pass enabled us to get in free.  Brochures tout this byway as being like driving from Mexico to Canada because you start in Tucson, which has an altitude of 2,389', traveling to 4000' altitude with saguaros peppering all the mountainsides.  They immediately stop growing at that elevation.

We didn't get a good picture of them covering whole hillsides

     There were a number of campgrounds, with some not being open yet.  We didn't drive into any, but I saw two large fifthwheels through the trees in one.

The rock wall had beautiful rocks of so many colors-wish we'd taken a picture from the front.  The high rocks reminded me of those you'd put in the bottom of an aquarium.

The tiny peak straight out is called Thimble Peak.  Mt. Lemmon is the same general direction from Tucson as Sabino Canyon where we traveled last week.  We could see this peak from there, too.

There are many switchbacks on the way to the top - see the road below the high rocks on top.

Several people were looking at the ropes that were attached to the top of the rock, but no one was climbing when we saw them on the drive up and they were gone when we came down.

 

Window rock

Tucson, mountains and the horizon

 By the time you reach the pinnacle altitude of 8,000' you are in pine, fir and spruce trees.  A few miles past the 8,000' point you reach Summerhaven Ski Area at 7,840'.  The one-way trip is over 30 miles. 
    I decided to look up more elevations which should be of interest to many of you reading thise.  Pasco's is 387' and Phoenix' is 1211'.  Because Tucson is twice the altitude of Phoenix it often has cooler temperatures.
    We saw about 50 bikers on a Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.  There were no cars parked at the bottom so they obviously continued riding home or to one of the strip malls where they had parked (supposition).
    At the bottom of the byway it was 73 degrees, then we noticed 61 and then 55 at the top.  It was 77 when we returned to the bottom.
    We saw "bear crossings for 8 miles" signs, but no bears.  A large bird of prey must have just snatched a rabbit into its talons as we rounded a corner and saw it start flying.  There were various deer crossing signs, but no signs of them either.  One placard at a stop said "there's copper and gold in them thar hills."
    As we approached the byway there were some beautiful homes.  The ski resort has nice ones, too, with many being log.  38 people live year-round on the mountain, including the current number of 8 school aged kids who get bussed down on school days.  I'm sure it could be treacherous during many of the winter weeks.  With that few they probably use a van of some kind.
    Part of the mountain experienced a fire in 2008, and some barren trees were still visible today.

Apr. 25th Beautiful trees in Mesa and Ft. Lowell in Tucson

    We spent Easter in Mesa at Ev's sister's - we don't know if it's been 30 years or longer since we had the last Easter together!  The purple jacaranda tree and orange oleander bush are both on her street.   Several years ago I read a good book called The Jacaranda Tree ( by Roseanne Bittner, I think) and there was a street in our hometown in Iowa called Oleander Street.

    On the way back we stopped at Ft. Lowell Army Post in Tucson.  It was built in 1862 but moved to this spot in 1873.  At that time a stand of trees was planted, called Cottonwood Lane.  (Can these be the original trees?  Signs don't say.)  They said this was a real oasis in the middle of the desert.  The fort was closed in 1886 after Geronimo surrendered.  The fence around the museum (former housing) is made of the Ocottilo plants that we see everywhere.  The sign said it was common to use these as fences around porches.  The trunks have long thorns, so I'll bet the children didn't touch them more than once.   This was home to infantrymen and cavalrymen.  The housing walls were 20" thick adobe.

Apr. 26th Our house is progressing and livestock along the road

 front view

back, showing the covered patio-great room

looks out onto it - dining room on left and seating area on right

We see signs all over that have a picture of a cow and say "free range" - no fences.  We've never seen one until taking a ride out past the subdivision yesterday and we saw 8 within a short time.

We are so happy here already.  We love the weather.  We sat outside at my sister's in the Phoenix area from Saturday afternoon when we arrived until dinner-ate on a patio at the restaurant-back onto their patio, on patio from morning, through Easter dinner and until almost bedtime Sunday.

We have spent time with friends of Tom's mother who winter in Tucson area and have already seen a lot of the sights nearby.  There will always be something to do and somewhere to go!

Apr 20 & 21 Tubac and canyons in Tucson, along with beautiful trees,cactus

    Wednesday we drove about 40 minutes south of Tucson to a small town called Tubac.  Most people think Arizona's history began in Tombstone, but Tubac went in and out of Spanish control and through Apache raids for many years.  The Presidio (fort) there succombed to raids over and over and eventually survived.  This little town is actually the home of AZ's first school and newspaper, along with the first currency.
    Today it is basically an artist's haven with lots of galleries and shops with local and Mexican artwork.  I really liked some of the Mexican tin art and plan to get some things for our yard this summer.  We didn't have much time to spend there, so will go back and continue our exploration of all the wares!  Tom left my sister and I to shop while he visited the Presidio, old school, etc.

    Thursday we were shown some neat areas right in town by friends Dick and Sue Duxbury.  First stop was Sabino Canyon.  A tram goes up the canyon past 9 stopping areas.  You can get off and hike whenever you want.  The canyon is very steep and has experienced fires, rock slides and other forces of nature, but the road has been rebuilt.  This is a Federal monument.

    Next we drove just a little ways to Vendana Canyon.  We were only allowed to travel to the top because they know friends who live there and were able to go through security.  There are some less expensive homes down below, in addition to a hotel.  Up the hillside are multi-million dollar homes with multi-million dollar views.  The contractors give a prospective buyer a range of between $400,000 - 800,000 to prepare a lot to build on!  Guess if you have to know more exactly, you can't afford it.  No dynamite is allowed.

This Saguaro stands in front of a hotel - it is probably about 200 years old and weighs thousands of pounds

    We ate lunch on the patio of the hotel and looked up at the houses we had just driven by.

    This is a Palo Verde tree - the State tree of Arizona.  They are everywhere and this one is in the lot next to ours in the campground.  We are fortunate to be here this week as many cacti are starting to bloom, and often the flowers only last a week or so.

Exploring Tucson area - mid April

    I (Ev) brought a cold with me and it hit with a vengeance a few days after we arrived, curtailing our sightseeing with friends, going out to eat on our anniversary, etc.  We were able to attend a potluck at our new subdivision before that, where we met about 25 people who we enjoyed.  They know of a very few musicians that have moved in so Tom will have to meet them eventually.
    Apr 10
    We visited a mission named San Xavier.  It was founded by Jesuits in the 1600's, one building was built in the early 1700's and this one was built in the 1770's.  It is still an active house of worship and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area.  The walls inside are very pretty, and the pictures don't do them or the ceilings justice.

    Apr 13
    We drove through the eastern portion of the Saguaro National Monument.  Tucson averages 11.5' of rain per year.  It always amazes us to see the signs that say "Do not enter if flooded".  We are aware of this danger from hearing our relatives in Phoenix talk about it.  The ground gets so packed that when there is a flash rain it doesn't seep through it, but becomes a "wash", a small river or creek type area.  Cars can get washed away and people have drowned in those areas.
    In their 150-200 year life, the saguaro produces 40 million seeds and it is believed only one may sometimes survive to replenish existing plants.  During its first 35-65 years it grows to about 6' in height.  At 70-100 years it grows its first arm (I've named them nubbins-Ev)  Teeny ball shaped things that stick out from the trunk.  The cactus sometimes grow 50' tall.  Many have one or two arms and many have several.  The tissue is 85% water, causing the tall ones to weigh as much as 16,000 pounds!  Jelly and candy are made from the fruit when it blooms.  Pictures of the fruit remind me of an opened pomegranite.  Many of the saguaro have one or several bird holes.
    Apr 17
    Today we drove through the Tucson Mountain Park and the western portion of the Saguaro National Monument.  First, we watched a video at the visitor's center that explained the Sonoran Desert is very young - only 10,000 years old.  Tom read this week that oceans came in and out of this area over the milleniums.  This desert runs from Arizona to eastern California and Baja California and Northwestern Mexico.  Inhabitants include deer, coyotes, all kinds of rodents and ground squirrels, many types of birds, bobcats, Gila monsters (lizards), scorpions - all part of nature's food plan.  When the video was finished the screen pulled up, the curtains parted and huge windows showed the desert scenery outside.
    Saguaros are protected by law.  This week Tom read a book about gun laws in AZ. and it told a story of how one shooter received his justice for illegally shooting up a saguaro.  It finally fell over on him and crushed him (remember they weigh thousands of pounds).
   The video was narrated by Tohono O'Odham Indians whose lands comprise 27% of AZ.  They view the desert and saguaros as sacred spaces and things.
    Today we saw many saguaros with unopened blossoms - they are so different - some blossoms are on the tops of some, some only at the end of an arm, or on all arms, etc.  Most hadn't opened yet.  It has been a very dry Spring, though we had 15 hours of rain one day a week ago.  This portion of the park had thousands with no arms yet and the cacti grew clear to the ridges on top of the mountain peaks. 

shows size.  If arms are bent down they've experienced damage from snow or something

2 pictures showing dead saguaros

we haven't learned the name of this cactus

    It is typically in the 80's in April, but when we left this area at 11:15 it was 94.  We came down into a valley with homes as far as you could see.  Many are built in the pueblo (Santa Fe) style - low, square, stucco type.  They are usually painted a light brown which blends well into the landscape. 
    As I type this in late evening we are listening to a songbird we can't identify and watching the moonrise over the campground.  Arizona is the only state that doesn't go to daylight time so it has been dark for an hour.

April 2011 Moving to Arizona

April 5   
    It was so windy Monday night that we felt like a ship at sea in our camper and got very little sleep.  Left at 6 and were on the road 11 hours, stopping for gas, lunch and a half hour nap in our rolling bedroom.  Tom pulled the 31' camper with the Ram pickup and I drove the SUV.  We found a secluded KOA campground and slept like babies.
    Wed:  Left before 6 and drove nearly 12 hours, though we really hadn't intended to.  But decided we wanted a short final day tomorrow so we could get settled at the campground on the base in Tucson.  This is the third time we've driven this road since December and we did our sightseeing then and will travel it back and forth to Washington for many summers ahead, we hope.
    Thurs:  We slept in till 6:30 and washed our flannel sheets while we got ready.   As we were ready to leave, Tom noticed one of the truck tires was low so he used his small compressor and it took 40 minutes to bring it up 30 pounds.  We headed out and stopped 40 minutes later to look at it and it ws down again.  He pumped it up again and we went back about 2 miles to a tire place where they found 2 nails.  That was the only problem we had and we felt blessed since we had 3 vehicles and were riding on 14 tires.

    We were able to rent a spot at the RV park at the family campground on Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, which was our hope (cheaper, since we'll be here 3+ months) .  This prickly pear cactus in starting to bloom.  We have seen several with yellow flowers and one with orange ones.  The round one behind is a barrel cactus which gets flowers too.  The similar one behind it is a new saguaro one.  I will discuss their heights and weights soon and it surprised us that the bases of the saguaro are thinner than the barrel cacti that stay low-many are lower than this one.

                                   this bush is an ocotillo and we've seen them 15' high or more