Jo’s walking again and so are we after much too long! I posted about Mr. Lemmon before, a mountain near Tucson where you can pass through five or six climate regions, starting with low desert and ending near the top with a ski area and lots of trees. You drive the designated scenic byway up and take it back down and there are plenty of pullouts where you can stop to take in the scenery. The intrepid cycle rather than drive and there are more than you’d think as Mt. Lemmon is the most popular biking climb in the US and one that can be done pretty much year-round.
A mile and a half from the top most people stop to take in the view or eat at the restaurant and this is where you catch the ski lift in winter. But although the road continues to the top, my husband suggested we walk. Now a mile and a half doesn’t sounds like much, but it’s a bit steep and at about 9,000′, provides a lot less oxygen than where we live at 1237’/377m! Fortunately, the walk doesn’t lack views, the perfect excuse to stop for a moment, although they’re worth stopping for whatever the reason.
There were lots of these fuzzy guys still looking nice and green even while catching downed leaves. Up this high there are deciduous trees, including aspen, to give up their leaves so I could feel as though it really was fall. 🙂
It made me happy to find this vintage, beautifully restored 1971 VW Beetle at a pullout as I had a bright yellow ’75 Super Beetle for a number of years. It was a sad when we had to sell it because we couldn’t get a child’s car seat in the back. There are quite a few older Beetles here because there’s no snow or salt to attack them.
The most exciting think for me was finding beautiful frost near the top in areas where the sun didn’t reach. 🙂
The view from the top was rather special. We’d hoped to be able to see the observatory but the road to it was closed and we weren’t sure if we were allowed to hike up. Besides, we still had to go back down and although it does take a lot less time, it works your quads hard, just in different spots than climbing up. We felt rather good about completing the hike, especially since my husband has been working almost non-stop and when he does get a chance to exercise, he cycles, again using leg muscles very differently from walking. It put us in the mood to enjoy our first in-restaurant meal together since moving here in early 2020, at a Greek restaurant that garnered lots and lots of great online reviews.
for Jo’s Monday Walk
This, that and the other thing 