The Sky Island Scenic Byway Revisited

This highway road that we traveled to get the changes in climate from the Arizona desert to the Canadian-like forests is called the "Sky Islands Scenic Byway" because it gets its name from such biological diversity as the Arizona desert floor to the Canadian like pine forests. By the time you get to the top of Mt. Lemmon, the surrounding mountains are like "islands in the sky." 

We've seen all kinds of signs throughout our travels---moose signs, armadillo signs, cattle crossing "open range" signs, and my favorite--"Watch for animals" signs (geez, that's a lot of help! What kind of animals? deer? roadrunner? prairie dogs?) and panther crossing signs...today we saw our first "bear crossing" sign...watch out for bear the next 9 miles, but we didn't see any bear!

This beautiful highway is one of the only paved roads leading to the top of Mount Lemon, the southernmost ski resort in the U.S. We did not see any ski activity, and only a little bit of remnants of snow. But I got excited to see snow in Arizona! And I even made a snowball and threatened to get Eldy with it, until he pointed out the "No snowplay" sign at the resort....must be quite a few people get the itch to have a snowball fight if they are transplants from somewhere else, like me! We were hoping to have lunch at the restaurant at the top of the mountain but it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we went looking elsewhere.


We saw many, many serious cyclists on the highway climbing up to the top of Mt. Lemmon, and coming back down. This is a major training venue for professional cyclists apparently. I can't even imagine the dedication and stamina it takes to ride a bike from 3,000 feet starting at the BOTTOM to the top--9,000 feet, but they were doing it!  On  the way down, we passed a lone female cyclist who was boogying down the mountain, doing at least 40 m.ph.h.! Yikes!

Partway down the mountain, we saw a little community nestled in the foothills of the mountains. There were lots of log cabin houses and a lodge. This area was called Summerhaven. They had a really cute little restaurant called the "Cookie Cabin & Pizza"...it was great!

This drive was about a three hour drive from the start of the byway to the finish, but you could easily spend another couple of hours exploring all the overlooks and taking time out to photograph the fantastic scenery...see the little ribbon road down below? That shows you how high up we are....

Wherever we go, there's always a risk taker who wants to get out and look over the edge of some precipitous canyon or rock ledge...usually, it's me! But this time, it was someone else. And we usually see somebody's parent nearby, if it's a young kid, saying, "Ok, honey, that's far enough! C'mon back! You are making me nervous!" This young woman's mother was a nervous wreck watching her daughter go right out to the edge to look down...made me nervous, too!

It's going to get really, really hot early here...record breaking 99 degree high, they are saying...UGH!!!!
We're going to have to find some indoor activity.....(Oh, BOY! says E.) Um-m-mmm....like going to the Biosphere 2, an indoor science museum maybe?  (oh......)   ; >    See you later.......say Sparky and Eldo....

We'll Take the High Road

We decided to take a scenic drive yesterday along the Catalina Highway.  Officially, it is known as Hitchcock Highway, but everybody calls it the Catalina. This 27 mile highway out of Tucson, AZ takes you from an elevation of 3,000 feet at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains, all the way to the top of Mt. Lemmon, which is 9100 feet. The highway starts of Tanque Verde Road in Tucson, then as the road climbs, the vegetation changes from Sonoran Desert to the high forests of the Canadian zone...so it's like driving from Arizona to Canada in a brief period of time. The temperature changed from 87 degrees to 57 degrees during the drive....boy, did that feel good!  It took us about an hour and half from Casa Grande to get to the start of the Catalina Highway.

The overlooks are spectacular, the geological formations AMAZING! Isn't it incredible what Mother Nature has done with all these rocks!?...there are cool pine forests and hiking trails and beautiful picnic areas...there are campgrounds, but the highway and campgrounds are NOT big rig friendly.. It's a trip best made by car or possibly a class C motorhome. Places to turn around are few and far between....

We'll take today and tomorrow to show you some of the most wonderful views.....Here are some today....

It's a big world out there, and we're just a tiny, tiny part of it. (See the tiny trio standing on the rocks?)...but what an impact we have on our planet!

We'll see you out on the Catalina Highway again tomorrow....also known as the Sky Island Scenic Byway....you can certainly see why!