Mt. Lemmon: From Mexico to Canada in Two Hours

The Santa Catalina Mountains lie just a few miles north of Cactus Country RV Resort in Tucson. The Catalinas, one of southern Arizona's "sky islands", rise sharply from the desert floor to pine-covered mountaintops. Ed and I drove to the summit of Mt. Lemmon, the tallest peak at over 9000 ft. The Sky Island Scenic Byway twists and turns up the mountain for 27.6 miles. Along the way, the vegetation changes from lowland desert with saguaro cacti, to high desert scrub, to forests with pine, fir and spruce trees. The effect is the same as driving from Mexico to Canada - all due to the change in elevation!

Mt. Lemmon is part of the Coronado National Forest. The $5.00 toll collected by park rangers helps fund improvements such as scenic overlooks, picnic areas, and campgrounds. The first scenic overlook afforded us views of Houghton Rd. (the road we took from Cactus Country - long and straight all the way.) We are still at the elevation of lowland desert, within the first couple of miles of the road before the toll station where the official mileage count begins.



The Babad Do'ag Vista (Tohono O'odham for Frog Mountain) presented a panoramic valley view of Tucson. The name "Tucson" comes from another Native American word meaning "at the foot of the black mountain."



At Thimble Peak Vista, around 5000 ft. elevation, we have left the lowland desert and reached the relatively barren high desert - arid and scrubby. Tucson lies just behind the Peak.



At Windy Point Vista, at Mile 14, just a little more than halfway to the summit, we found traces of the white stuff - what's that called? - it's a four-letter word - oh yes, S-N-O-W!



I preferred this view to the south-west from Windy Point Vista. Awesome!



This view of the San Pedro River Valley (to the north-east from Mt. Lemmon) was taken just a few miles up the road. Notice the evergreen trees. Completely different scenery, isn't it?



On this morning, it was around seventy degrees when we set out from Cactus Country. As crazy as it sounds, we ate lunch at the Loma Linda Picnic Area surrounded by more of that icky white stuff!





The temps were in the low sixties at this approx. 7400 ft-. elevation but there was still enough snow that this family made a couple of snowmen.



Just visiting snow isn't so bad. So we pressed on to the village of Summerhaven at 7,840 ft. elevation. I chatted with Debbie, the owner of The Living Rainbow gift shop.



Debbie has lived in Summerhaven for over twenty years. In 2003, forest fire ravaged 80% of the village. Debbie lost her home and her shop but has rebuilt both. I love her tag line - "You can't sink a rainbow". What a great spirit she has. Her shop is well worth a visit. I told her that this is where living in an RV has its drawbacks - no room for souvenirs other than pictures.

Just beyond Summerhaven is the turnoff for Ski Valley. Skiers and snowboarders were enjoying the day in their own way - foreign to me but a boon for Tucsonians who love snowsports.



Finally, the view from the summit of Mt. Lemmon - no hiking necessary!

Tanque Verde Canyon

The Tanque Verde Canyon trail provided us a wonderful vantage point to enjoy an Arizona sunset.



The canyon is reached by following Tanque Verde Rd. east to the end where it becomes a dirt and turns into Reddington Rd., leading to Reddington Pass. The trail was bit too steep and rocky for us to hike to the Falls, especially with the dogs. But Duncan and Roxie enjoyed a short romp. We loved the mountain views as the setting sun bathed the desert cactus in golden light with dark skies in contrast.



I found this piece of Saguaro skelton along the trail. The ribs of the cacti can be used to make wooden walking sticks for hiking.



The setting sun lights up the clouds.

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

Sabino Canyon lies north of Tucson in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. The park is part of the Coronado National Forest and is a wonderful refuge for hiking, biking and picknicking. The road is closed to traffic but tram tours run every half hour, making several stops at which visitors can get off and pick up a later tram. The road was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and included nine bridges criss-crossing Sabino Creek. Sadly, severe flash floods in 2006 washed away several bridges so the tram can only go halfway up the canyon.





Sabino Creek runs as a trickle through the canyon during the winter. Can you imagine the raging torrent that it becomes during monsoon season?



These boulders shook loose from the canyon walls during an earthquake in northern Mexico in 1887.



The tram made its final stop at this mid-point.



Ed and I enjoyed this panoramic view of Sabino Canyon facing east. After living on flat desert land for two months, it was a refreshing change to be in the mountains. We look forward to climbing Mt. Lemmon and visiting the ski resort. No, we won't hike and we won't ski - but we'll drive up and visit snow!

Biosphere 2; Oracle, AZ

Do you remember, back in the early 90's, the story of the Biosphere 2 in Arizona? I was fascinated at the time by the notion of eight people, sealed inside a glass dome, determined to live self-sufficiently for two years. They grew all their own food in a 3-plus acre microcosm of our own earth, the original biosphere or what they termed Biosphere 1. Major climates of the earth; rain forest, savannah, and desert, plus an ocean complete with a coral reef, were re-created under glass. The eight Biosperians all survived, although emergency oxygen did have to be pumped in at one point. (Microbes consumed oxygen at a greated rate than the scientists had predicted.) So what became of Biosphere 2 and the Biospherians?

Here it is today.



For $19.95 per person, with a 10% discount for AAA members, you get a one-hour guided tour. Our tour guide has been giving tours since September 1991, when the experiment began. We learned that Biosphere is, was, and always has been privately owned and funded. The project was conceived as a way of experimenting with systems for sustaining life that could have applications in extended time space travel and exploration.

Imagine passing through these air-lock doors, knowing that you and seven other people are solely responsible for your collective survival.



The living and working areas of the Biospherians lie just inside this entrance. Each person had their own apartment totalling less than 500 square feet, consisting of a living area on the main level and a spiral staircase leading to sleeping quarters. Here is one version done as an artist's studio.



Each of the eight Biospherians took turns cooking all the meals for the crew for one week at a time. Here is their communal kitchen.



Remember, nothing is coming in or out of this 3-acre dome for three years. Would you really want to use oven cleaner, bleach, or even hairspray, if you lived inside here? And this dome is just a microcosm of our planet earth. This started me thinking and wondering why we want to pollute Biosphere 1, our own earth, with such toxic chemicals.

The Biospherians grew all their own food and each one ended up losing a fair amount of weight. They did get their coffee though - one cup for each person every two weeks!

A variety of climate zones was replcated under the glass, separated from the climate-contolled living quarters and office space. First up, the rain forest. Note the humidity which shows up as fog in the photograph. You really didn't see it while in it.



A short boardwalk brought us to the savannah, with a view of the Catalina Mountains beyond the dome.




Beyond the savannah lies the desert. This desert was replicated not to be like the Tucson area desert, which is the Sonoran Desert, noted for the saguaro cacti. No saguaros were brought into the Biosphere. Rather, the intended environment was that of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. This desert is a "fog" desert because it gets moisture from the sea on both sides.



It was no small engineering feat to keep the temperature and humidity tightly controlled in every zone. Here is a small part of the basement, with the pumps and storage tanks for handling water in the desert basement.



Also located underground are the "lungs" of Biosphere. Think about it - as temperature fluctuated so would air pressure, and the amount of space required for the air would expand and contract. The black ceiling material would rise and lower accordingly. (The support brackets that you can see in this picture were added after the experiment of the closed environment ended.)




Access to views of the man-made ocean tank also lies underground. Posted on a sign next to the tank is this explanation:
"The Coral Reef Biome contains 750,000 gallons of water. 100,000 gallons were brought by truck from the Pacific Ocean off San Diego. The other 650,000 gallons of seawter were prepared by mixing 'Instant Ocean' (a commercial sea salt) and Biosphere 2 well water."

Fish still swim in these waters. Here is a small section of living coral reef.



Ed & I had a chance to chat with our guide after the tour. Ed wanted to know if there were any species that tried to "take over." It turns out that Morning Glory vines were a real problem. Morning Glory is outlawed in Arizona and we all wondered what the botanists were thinking who allowed it in Biosphere 2. I asked what beacme of the original 8 scientists who conceived, designed and inhabited the Biosphere fifteen years ago. Most of them have never come back and some, in fact, were not welcome to come back anyway. Apparently, there was a lot of interpersonal tension and disagreement. I am looking forward to reading Jane Poynter's book, "The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2". It's on backorder from the publisher but I am looking forward to getting the scoop from Jane as a true insider!

Desert Blizzard

The term "blizzard" doesn't usually refer to 2 inches of snow, but it does in Arizona. The morning commute was a mess, roads were icy, bridges had to be closed, schools were cancelled. No sand, no salt, no shovels, no snowplows. Here's what we woke up to. This is our street at Cactus Country RV Resort. Ed's van is the white one on the left.



This morning's view of the Santa Catalina Mountains, north of Cactus Country.



All I wanted to do was take pictures this morning. But, hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go. This is Freedom RV in Tucson. I've never seen snow on RVs and (shudder) I hope it's the last time!

Desert snowstorm

Well, I think the title about sums it up. I never bargained for snow in the desert but it's here. We're supposed to get 1"-3" tonight. These were all taken in and around Cactus Country RV Park, where we are staying in Tucson, AZ.



This is where I normally take the dogs for a walk in the desert where they can run off leash.



Prickly pear cactus in the snow just a few feet from our motorhome.



These cows look none too pleased to have snow on their backs! They graze in the open range land around our park.

Mt. Bether mini-reunion

A wonderful opportunity presented itself this week for three dear frends to get together after not seeing each other for a number of years. Ed & I had already reconnected with Kathy (McDonell) Lemay and her husband, Jerry, who live here in Tucson. Cathy Seymour, who lives in Sacramento, California, with her husband, Michael, was visiting Arizona last week for a conference in Wickenburg, Arizona. So we all met in Phoenix to have dinner at Claim Jumper's Restaurant. The waiter snapped this photo of the three of us just as dinner was served. Huge portions and delicious, too!


But the best part was getting caught up with each other's lives and the years just melted away as we talked. Kathy L. is teaching art to elementary school students. Cathy S. designs displays for major perfume houses for Macy's Department Stores, as well as painting murals and doing other freelance art work for personal clients. Kathy snapped this picture of me and Cathy S.


Hopefuly, soon we can hook up with Linda (Allen) Christensen. She is spending the winter in Yuma, Arizona, with her husband, Peter but couldn't make it to dinner with us this time. Linda and Peter are full-time Rvers too. If it weren't for that dang thing called work, we would have seen each other for sure by now. Just gotta get our busy schedules coordinated.

Saguaro National Park

What do you associate with Arizona? The huge desert cactus, with arms outstretched, surely comes to mind. The saguaro (Suh-WAR-oh) cactus is unique to the Sonoran Desert here in southern Arizona and part of Mexico. Saguaro National Park protects this fragile plant, along with other smaller cacti and an astonishing variety of birds and animals. Ed & I took a picnic lunch to Saguaro NP East, which is just a few miles from our RV park. (The western section, much smaller, is adjacent to Tucson Mountain Park and the Desert Museum.) Our destination was the eight-mile Cactus Forest Drive.

Along with the saguaros, I am entranced with the mountains that surround Tucson. When we were here four years ago, I scarcely noticed them. After all, we had come down from the Rocky Mountains and were admittedly jaded by mountain scenery. But after three winters in flat-as-a-pancake Florida, our appreciation for their beauty has been renewed.


However, these guys are the stars of the show in Saguaro National Park.


I was surprised to learn that the saguaros grow very slowly, mostly in spurts during the rainy summer months. ("Rainy" is relative term - the desert only averages 12" total a year and months can go by with no rain at all. Summer monsoons can cause flash floods. Winter rains are lighter and produce snow on the mountaintops.) Saguaro seedlings may only measure 1/4" after one year. After 15 years, the cactus may be barely a foot tall. By 50 years it can be as tall as seven feet. Not until it reaches about 75 years old does the saguaro sprout branches or "arms". This specimen is likely over 100 years old.

Many birds use the saguaros to build their nests, carved through the waxy skin. Here is a phainopepla, which resembles a blue cardinal. If you click on the picture to get a larger view you'll be able to see his crest.


Near the end of our drive I caught sight of this crazy-shaped cactus with arms all twisted. What happened here?