Sunday, March 1, 2015

I read a post on Facebook that linked to an article, 50 things you should not miss in the west. The Sky Island Parkway in Tucson, AZ, was included and was only a short drive from Benson. It seemed like the perfect route for a leisurely Sunday drive. We learned about "Sky Islands" last year in one of the Arizona museums, but we really did not get to experience them. They are ecosystems contained on the mountains, isolated from each other by desert valleys. This drive covered 27 miles and climbed 5,800 feet, providing a dramatic change in the environment as the elevation increased.

Some of the houses in the foothills were massive!

On the valley floor and continuing up to almost 4,000 feet, the Saguaro were prevalent. They were evenly spaced (we guessed the limited amount of water did not allow them to survive too closely together) and blanketed the ground. Very suddenly, they disappeared as we gained altitude. Joani found they are very sensitive to temperature and higher equals cooler, so no surprise there.

Looking back at Tucson in the valley.

It became more and more difficult to see Tucson as we climbed.

The road had some really dramatic switchbacks to help manage the climb up the mountain. There were a lot of cyclists on the road. The struggle uphill was apparent as they pedaled wildly in low gear to barely make headway. On the downhill side, the riders had looks of grim determination as they concentrated to avoid disaster, flying downhill at 30 or 40 mph.

The switchbacks and lack of trees allowed you to see the road, far below.

Climbing through 6,000 feet, it was clear there were a lot of freeze/thaw cycles creating the Hoodoos and delicately balanced stacked rock formations.

Looking back at the road we had just traversed.

High above the valley floor, the cacti were replaced with aspens and pines.  Of course, it cooled significantly and I was certainly thankful that Joani had brought along our coats.

At the top of Mt Lemmon, there was a ski resort. It is the southernmost ski area in the US. I don't know how much skiing they were able to do this year, but there was still some snow on the slopes and the wind chill did not allow us to stay out for long.

Don't let the shorts fool you, it had to be in the high 30's (with wind chill) at the top of Mt. Lemmon!

There were still traces of snow on the ski slopes.

We took a little more time with the trip down the mountain, stopping for some of the more interesting formations.

The rock in the picture below looked like a super villain from just the right angle.

Back down on the valley floor, we passed signs for the Saguaro National Park on the way home. It's not like we were going to be closer anytime soon, so we took a little detour.

It seemed a bit strange to have a National Park such a short drive from so large an urban area. On the plus side, the drive was very short.

We arrived just before closing, so we practically had the park to ourselves.

I don't know why I found this sign so amusing - I'm sure it would have been more important to me if I had been on two wheels.

It was nearly sunset and the sky was full of color as we tried to cover the loop drive quickly before the park closed.

I think we will count the timing of our trip into the Saguaro National Park as one more of the fantastic opportunities we have had to see this beautiful country!