Melbie Toast
Mountain View at Windy Vista Point Near Mount Lemmon, Tucson, Arizona
A HOT DAY IN TUCSON:
To escape the heat of 110+ degrees in the valley in Tucson, Arizona, on June 17, 2007 we drove up to the nearly 8,000 ft. elevation of Mount Lemon, where the temperature plumeted to 78 in the 40 minutes it took to drive to the top. This is a photo I took at Windy Vista Point about halfway up the mountain. You can see the road we traveled up through the mountains, and in the far distance the city of Tucson. It was a spectacular view at Windy Vista Point for we could see the city of Tucson sprawled out in the valley below, and the mountains of Sonora, Mexico in the far distance.
I lived south of Tucson from 1984 until 1999 (in Green Valley, Amado and Sahuarita) and worked in Nogales and Tucson for several years before moving to Washington DC. This photo was taken on my the first trip back to Tucson in over 8 years... it sure was sure nice to see the "old pueblo" again and the beauty of the desert, mountains and wide open spaces of the beautiful State of Arizona.
INFORMATION ON MOUNT LEMMON:
Mount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, AZ. It is 9,157 feet above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of Sarah Lemmon, wife of botanist John Gill Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband in 1881.
A small town called Summerhaven is on the mountain, which includes many cabins only occupied part of the year. Much of this town was devastated by the Aspen Fire of 2003, and recovery is still taking place. It is near Ski Valley which is the southernmost ski destination in the continental United States.
The location 'Windy Point' was built by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, using a large number of prisoners over a period of 18 years.
The Catalina Highway goes from the east side of Tucson up to Summerhaven, at the top of Mt. Lemmon. The beautiful, curving road is a favorite drive for tourists, for locals escaping summer's heat, for motorcyclists, and cyclists. The highway has been improved recently, but the speed limit has also been lowered to 35 MPH (56 km/h) due to concerns about the highway's safety during peak traffic times.
Source: Wikipedia
Mountain View at Windy Vista Point Near Mount Lemmon, Tucson, Arizona
A HOT DAY IN TUCSON:
To escape the heat of 110+ degrees in the valley in Tucson, Arizona, on June 17, 2007 we drove up to the nearly 8,000 ft. elevation of Mount Lemon, where the temperature plumeted to 78 in the 40 minutes it took to drive to the top. This is a photo I took at Windy Vista Point about halfway up the mountain. You can see the road we traveled up through the mountains, and in the far distance the city of Tucson. It was a spectacular view at Windy Vista Point for we could see the city of Tucson sprawled out in the valley below, and the mountains of Sonora, Mexico in the far distance.
I lived south of Tucson from 1984 until 1999 (in Green Valley, Amado and Sahuarita) and worked in Nogales and Tucson for several years before moving to Washington DC. This photo was taken on my the first trip back to Tucson in over 8 years... it sure was sure nice to see the "old pueblo" again and the beauty of the desert, mountains and wide open spaces of the beautiful State of Arizona.
INFORMATION ON MOUNT LEMMON:
Mount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, AZ. It is 9,157 feet above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of Sarah Lemmon, wife of botanist John Gill Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband in 1881.
A small town called Summerhaven is on the mountain, which includes many cabins only occupied part of the year. Much of this town was devastated by the Aspen Fire of 2003, and recovery is still taking place. It is near Ski Valley which is the southernmost ski destination in the continental United States.
The location 'Windy Point' was built by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, using a large number of prisoners over a period of 18 years.
The Catalina Highway goes from the east side of Tucson up to Summerhaven, at the top of Mt. Lemmon. The beautiful, curving road is a favorite drive for tourists, for locals escaping summer's heat, for motorcyclists, and cyclists. The highway has been improved recently, but the speed limit has also been lowered to 35 MPH (56 km/h) due to concerns about the highway's safety during peak traffic times.
Source: Wikipedia