Mt Lemmon and Frederick Douglass

Our last few days at Tra-Tel RV Park were busy as usual doing a bit of exploring, using the Santa Cruz River Trail and taking in a play, something we have not done in a while. The temperature continues to be well above normal with highs in the 90's. Good news, the rain we had early in our visit has moved on so we have had sunny skies.

We went to this one man play about Frederick Douglass. It was sponsored by The Invisible Theatre, a local theater group. Mel Johnson Jr. did a great job playing the role of Douglass as an old man telling the story of his life. What the president said about him was correct about this play, “Frederick Douglass is an example of someone who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I noticed,”. 

If you are in Tucson and want to escape the heat then the place to go is nearby Mt. Lemmon. Yes, we saw many bicyclists riding the road with a 6,500 foot elevation gain over 20 plus miles to the top. It is a really tough climb, but an easy, quick trip coming down. 

Going to the top the changes in weather and environment are the same as driving to Banff, Alberta in Canada.

The road winds slowly up through the five climate zones, easy in a car, really hard on a bike.

Standing near the edge, but behind a rock. You can see the road below.

Nanc loves living on the edge.

Hoodoos, tall thin spires of rock protruding from the ground. We saw a rock climber scaling one of them.

The vegetation changes the higher you go.

The five vegetation zones from desert to mixed conifer forest you pass through. If you were driving north at the same elevation you would find the top one somewhere in Montana.

OH NO!!!  Who knew you can ski so close to the desert in Tucson? This is the only way we want to see s##w, on a sunny day in the spring when it is 65.

Once you reach the top you can see the valley and the mountains over 60 miles away to the north toward Oracle. 

We checked out Summerhaven, a neat little ski village, at the end of the road. Even though it was only in the 60's it was warm enough for Nanc to be sitting outside without a coat. Guess being closer to the sun at 8,000 feet helps.

More hoodoos, these look like a couple people guarding the highway.

A drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon is well worth it if you are in the Tucson area. There are great views and a chance to escape the heat of the valley below.

Because it was getting hot earlier in the morning we started our walks before it heated up. Look who else is also up early in the day.

We saw six coyotes cross the trail and disappear into the scrub plants in the river wash. We had seen signs of them since we arrived here but seeing six at one time was very neat.

Looks like it is time for us to move on. See what they added to the sign at the RV park. Who knew snakes had their own season. We had paid $320 plus electricity for a month at Tra-Tel. We were leaving a couple days early for the Escapade and when I went in to pay for the power they said we had a credit because we were leaving early and owed nothing for electricity. That is the first time that has ever happened. If you are looking for a nice little park at a great rate in Tucson check out Tra-Tel.

We left Tra-Tel RV Park and are now 20 miles down the road at the Pima County Fairgrounds for the 57th Escapade. We were so busy at the Escapade that I am way behind with the blog. We will be heading to Deming tomorrow so maybe I'll be able to catch up.