Today was another one of those exceptional days. We decided before leaving Mexico that we wanted to drive up to the ski area on Mt Lemmon in the amazing Santa Catalina mountains just outside of Tucson. We had no idea what we would find at the end of the 27 mile paved road which climbed and climbed up through the various canyons, twisting through various stands of hoodoos, amazing rock formations that to me resembled the heads of Easter Island. We kept passing the various markers for 5,000 ft then 6,000, 7,000 and finally 8,000 feet. We left behind the dry rocky slopes and graduated to pine and oak and then up to a bit of snow left on the northern sheltered slopes near the top.
We were pleasantly amazed at the ski village at the end of the route. It apparently is a year round village with permanent residents, a few stores and a community centre. We puttered around there for a bit and then realized that our 27 mile trip had taken almost 3 hours and we had better skeddale back down if we were to make it back for tea and cookies.
Below is a little photo journal of the day. Some of these were shot through the windshield of the truck so there is a little glare.
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| Looking out over the Tucson valley. |
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| Snow on the shady side of the mountain. Our first snow of the winter. |
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| At the ski area. |
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| Cottages at 8000 ft. elevation. |
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| In the pine forest. |
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