Mt. Lemmon

Only 27 miles from Tucson there's a ski resort at the top of Mt. Lemmon. We decided to take a ride there along Sky Island Scenic Drive.

As the road starts to wind up the mountain, the vegetation is paloverde trees and saguaro cactus.

At the first vista point, we could see the road we came up.

As we climb higher the saguaros disappear. Biologically speaking, the drive up the mountain is like driving from Mexico to Canada. Watch how the vegetation changes as we go.

Just a few photos of the windy road.

We could see Tucson on the valley floor.

This is Barnum Rock, named for Willis Barnum, Tucson Boy Scout leader in 1916. See how we are in the trees now?
This is the San Pedro River Valley. On a clear day you can see New Mexico from here.

Looks like there has been a fire recently.

We rode to the summit of Mt. Lemmon and walked on two of the summit trails. This is where Meadow Trail and Lemmon Trail diverge.
Meadow Trail. Mt Lemmon is 9,157' tall so we got out of breath quickly due to the elevation.

View of rocks along Lemmon Trail.