Another beautiful day in Tucson for touring. We drove up to Mt Lemmon via the Catalina Highway.
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| Road Route |
The winding road is around 25 miles from the base to the town of Summerhaven at 8,000. Mt Lemmon is at an altitude of 9,000 ft. Note the Highway in photos below.
The drive features many vista pullouts and hiking trails. The area was originally used by the US Army at Fort Lowell in defense against the Apache in the 1870's and 80's. In 2003 the Aspen Fire destroyed more than 250 homes and 6 businesses. Today the area is rebuilding and features many very nice homes and businesses. The General Store is a popular stop featuring homemade fudge and other items. There are no gasoline or automotive services, but they do provide EMS through the fire department. The Mount Lemmon ski area is the southernmost ski location in the USA.
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| Summerhaven |
This seems to be a popular route for Cyclists..sure give them credit as they are ascending from 2,000 ft ti 8,000. In 2010 the Mount Lemmon Marathon saw nearly 800 participants finish the race.
I definitely recommend this drive when in the Tucson area. The rock formations are beautiful and the hillsides on the first 10 miles of the drive are abundant with Saguaro. Be sure and stop at Windy Point Vista.
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| Saguaro |
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| The Cataracts |
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| Rather Precarious |
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| Long Way Down |
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| Hole in the Rock |
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| Retaining Wall on Highway |
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| Interesting |
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| Looks Like Snoopy |
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| Hoodoo Vista Point |
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| Duck's Bill |
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