Up the Mountain

I want to say 'thank you' to fellow RVers Sue and Mo of the MoHo and Other Traveling Tales fame.  Sue and Mo stayed a few days at the Agave Gulch RV FamCamp here at Davis-Monthan AFB and hunted us down.  It was very nice of them to say hi and introduce themselves.

They were in the midst of doing laundry and hanging out and we chatted for a while.  If you get a chance, I know you'll enjoy their blog.  Sue really does a nice job with it.

Wednesday has been our usual golf day but I picked up a bug and wasn't sure I was up to it.  Instead we decided to go for a drive up to Mt Lemmon.  Wow!  That was way more than we expected and totally worth the time to see.  The panoramic views were spectacular and the change of scenery up the mountain and around the back side of it were drastic.

We started on the outskirts of Tucson and found ourselves on the Mt Lemmon Scenic Byway.  It has been described as the equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a short span of 27 miles.

We saw a number of cyclists the way from the edge of town and up the mountain.  In fact there must have been 25 or 30 people climbing the mountain.  One thing about this area ~ it very accommodating to bicyclists.

 We had to stop a lot to take some pictures of the saguaros and the vista over the city.

 Up the mountain, the climb was quite steep.  The rock formations were beautiful.

 At a number of scenic view stops, there were parking areas and quite a few had toilet facilities.

The photo below is of Jeff, whom we met while he was coming up the steep hill. He was glad to stop for a couple of minutes and chat.  He's a newcomer from Chicago and recently relocated to Phoenix.  Out for his first accent of the mountain with his friend who was a few hundred yards back.

 More spectacularness...

 Nice facilities along the way.

 We went all the way up to the Ski Valley at Mt Lemmon and then drove a little farther.

Pam taking in the views.

On the back side of the mountain, across the Santa Catalina range, you could see the San Pedro River Valley below.

Near the top of the road we saw some snow.  Pam had to get out and jump in just to say she did it.  And for a photo to send to the kids.  Yes it was COLD!  Temperature on the mountain was 57 degrees.  Back in Tucson, 23 miles away, it was 88 degrees.

It was a great drive and I recommend it.  The way down the mountain went a lot quicker although I tried not to use my brakes too much.  It was very steep at times but the highway was in great condition.  

Still, I would not be tempted to take the RV up the mountain and stay at one of the mountain campgrounds we saw along the way.  We saw a 5th wheel parked at one and I imagine it took some doing to get it there.  Seems as if the area is more conducive to pop up trailer and tent camping.

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today!  We appreciate you taking the time to do so.  Until next time...