Windy Point   I got up at 3am yesterday in an effort to shoot the stars just as the moon was rising at Windy Point.  As I was heading up the mountain, I noticed the clouds starting to roll in.  I was ticked at first, but they were thin clouds and I thought I'd still give it a try.  I was up anyway.  Although the clouds prevented me from effectively shooting star trails, they did add drama to the night sky.  They also made for a spectacular sunrise.  I'll post those shots later.  After sunrise (when it got light enough to see) I found a bunch of places I can't wait to get back to.  I'll be revisiting this area soon. Windy Point is located along Catalina Highway (official name is General Hitchcock Highway, but no one uses it) going up to Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains.  It is the ... 02/07/2013

~ HooDoos Conversing ~ Outlanders have no idea of the beauty to be found in and around the city of Tucson, Arizona.  National TV is partly to blame.  The weatherman shows a map of the United States, and points to the desert southwest painted red on the map, while Chicago is green.  "Be glad we live in Chicago!  It's 105 in Tucson today!"  Here along the road to Summerhaven, the temperature will be 20 degrees cooler, and when you get to the top, you might as well be in southern Canada! The Catalina Highway begins on the desert floor, and wends its way 26 miles through some of the most magnificent scenery and geology to be found anywhere in the United States.  It's a great drive for motorcycle enthusiasts. This pullout in a four mile stretch peopled with 'hoodoos' is one of my favorite. ... 10/04/2011

Escape to Oktoberfest at Mt. Lemmon, Tucson, AZ With the approach of "fall", our thoughts turn to cooler weather and the upcoming holidays. OKtoberfest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Harvest festivals -- to name a few. Today, at 7 p.m. it was still over 100 degrees. We had a few cooler days, and the mornings are good for walking now, but when it's still this hot in the valley, Mt. Lemmon looks better than ever. And, what timing! Oktoberfest began last weekend with a bang (or shall I say a polka band!) and from now through October 10, all kinds of goings on are going on top of the Mountain! This 20+ year celebration is held at Ski Valley, and will continue on Weekends from noon to 5 p.m. The activities are free, with a $4 parking charge. A performing troupe featuring German dances will be sho... 09/21/2010

In the previous post, I wrote about Summerhaven on Mount Lemmon as a great getaway for Tucson residents - summer or winter.  In that post, only homes for sale on Mount Lemmon were mentioned. There are several building lots for sale in Summerhaven, as well as land acreage on Mt. Lemmon too!   Should building your own mountain paradise with a desert below you suit your fancy - or perhaps investing in some acreage on Mount Lemmon be more your speed, I'm TucsonKent.  Your Tucson real estate agent. 05/11/2009

As temperatures start climbing into the triple digits, people in Tucson generally head for one of three places: Indoors To the lakes To the mountains One of the beautiful things about living in Tucson is that all three are close by!  (Okay, so indoors is always close by - whaddya want, its MY blog) There are great getaways on the water within a short drive of 2 hours or so...and Mount Lemmon is even closer.  In fact, you've seen it countless times - its the backdrop for most of the scenic photos you've seen of Tucson.  Right in our own backyard is Coronado National Forest...with a 9,000 foot mountain!  Ski Valley is the southernmost ski area in the United States. For generations, Tucsonans have enjoyed cabins and summer homes on Mount Lemmon.  Close enough to make it simple & easy - but... 05/11/2009

  In case you missed it, go back, and move your cursor over each photograph to see a description of the photo.  God's creation is just fantastic!  In case you haven't yet joined the Active Rain Group Active Rain Fit Club, now would be a good time to click the active link there, and join up! Here's the story: Memorial Day Hike Down Mt. Lemmon to Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona (Part 1) Memorial Day Hike: Mt. Lemmon Summit to Catalina State Park (Part 2) Memorial Day Hike: Mt. Lemmon Summit to Catalina State Park (Part 3) Memorial Day Hike: Mt. Lemmon Summit to Catalina State Park (Part 4) I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.Think of me as your local expert. 06/06/2008

If I could have paid to have a helicopter pick me up and fly me out, I would have given it serious con-sideration.  The only way out (other than walking) would have been rescue by mules, and that would have made the newspaper! My legs weren't obeying my mental commands, and the pace slowed considerably as a result. My compadres rallied to my aid, and I found out what real teamwork is all about.  Wade carried my pack above his own.  Jim and I found that I could step down without falling if he went before me, and allowed me to steady myself with my left hand on his shoulder before taking that next excruciating step down.  It was downhill, and down again.  Always down.  By this point, we knew darkness would overtake us hours before we completed the hike.  Wade called his college-age son Jo... 06/05/2008

My friend Eleanor Thorne commented on the last segment "Were you crazy?"  To which I freely admit that sometimes, I am.  This was one of those times. Six or seven miles into the hike, we came to one of the really steep parts.  The trail was a series of switchbacks, taking us back and forth down a 30 to 40 degree slope for more than a one and a half miles--without a break.  The two teenagers ran down and around granite promontories, and then ran back up to report what they'd seen up ahead.  Kids! If it were possible to bottle their energy and sell it, I would have paid a grand sum for just a little.  My quadriceps, under the constant tension of the downhill steps, were beginning to give out.  We had plenty of Gator Ade, and I had brought potassium pills, so cramping wasn't a problem, but... 06/04/2008

  (If you're starting with this post, you might want to check out Part One first: Memorial Day Hike Down Mt. Lemmon to Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona.) Someone commented on the first part of this story that they don't think of Arizona as being cold.  That depends on elevation.  Friends hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim last Tuesday, starting in the falling snow at the north rim, warming to 90 degrees at the bottom, and then back up to the south rim.  It's cold at 7:00 in the morning when you're above 9,000 feet!  It doesn't matter whether you're in Colorado, Arizona or Canada.  We had started by driving to the summit of Mt. Lemmon, where we arrived--nearly two miles into the sky--at that early hour.  On top we found Friday's snow still covering some of the ground, and the whipping... 06/02/2008

There was snow cover on top; the Friday before Memorial Day, the road to Mt. Lemmon from Tucson has been closed because of snow for a time, and it still lingered at 9,250'. Five of us drove to the summit, and spent all day hiking down to Catalina State Park, 13 plus miles away, and a good mile and more down. The weather couldn't have been better, and we met only one hiker all day.  He was coming up from the bottom, and had been hiking for two days. The trail is part of the much longer Arizona Trail, a project that is still in process.  Mt. Lemmon is located in the Santa Catalina mountains, the northern boundary of the basin that is Tucson proper.  The 26 mile highway which connects Tucson with the community of Summerhaven on the top of Mr. Lemmon passes through every ecosystem you would... 06/01/2008