View allAll Photos Tagged mtlemmon
Mt. Lemmon Middle Bear Picnic Area
We stopped here for lunch after seeing the Blue-throated Mountain Gem at the Visitor's Center. We were the only ones in this picnic area and as we approached the table where we were going to sit, this little junco was perched on the table seemingly waiting for us. We got pretty close before it finally took off from the table. Thanks little junkie (as Elliot likes to call them).
It was 6:20 p.m., very windy, overcast, hazy. The sun had been hiding under the cloud cover for some time. I'd just about given up on getting any decent photos when the sun emerged from the clouds, highlighting the Galiuro Mountains in the distance.
It was also cold up there. I got chilled to the bone while taking photos - my fingers were white and numb - due to the radical change from the 100-degree-plus days we've been having in Tucson and not having taken a warm jacket with me. When you're baking in the desert heat in the valley, it's hard to imagine that, one hour later, after driving up Mt. Lemmon, you'll need a jacket and a warm hat!. It was a bracing change. I am very grateful that Mt. Lemmon exists. It provides welcome relief as we await the start of the summer rains.
Cars wind their way down Catalina Hwy after dark on Mt. Lemmon. Located on the north side of Tucson, the road climbs 7000 feet in 26 miles.
It was cool in the desert and the the clouds were low, so I drove up to Mt Lemmon very early in the morning, November 2009. The wind started moving the heavy wet clouds fast against the southern face. There wasn't a soul in sight and it was just me, these old trees, and a brewing storm. It was an exciting event...gets the blood pumping for sure.
[EXPLORE #152 2012Dec21]
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More photos from last weekend at Mt Lemmon, north of Tucson. We were fortunate enough to be there early before the snow was trampled by visitors to the mountain community.
We crossed the little stream and went for a walk up the hill. There was a blue jay at the edge of the water. Up the hill we spotted 7 wild turkey hens.
Had a great short trip to Southeast Arizona for birding. This Yellow-eyed Junco with a bug was found at Incinerator Ridge on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona.
This simply must be seen large. You miss all the drama otherwise!
Large on black link: View On Black
a Mexican Jay looks about curiously. The pink gape and light edge to its bills indicate this might be a first year bird
Mt. Lemmon, Arizona
There's only one paved road up Mt. Lemmon, but it has many names: Mt. Lemmon Highway, Catalina Highway, General Hitchcock Highway. And, more recently, it was designated as the Sky Island Parkway, part of the US National Scenic Byway system.
To get this photo we climbed up on a retaining wall (approx. 20 inches wide) at the edge of the sheer drop-off at Geology Vista Point, and put the tripod and camera up there, being extremely careful at every moment where we placed our feet and the feet of the tripod. Thank you, Charles, for your very patient "key grip" services. :-)
Balancing the bright sunlight on the hoodoos with the deep shadows in this image was a challenge which I did not meet to my satisfaction. However, I will try again, perhaps in the morning with different light/shadows.
Male, American lifer #553. my record shot. It was a species we targeted, based on eBird reports indicting Mt. Lemon will be the right spot in September. indeed, at the very top, there they were!
Raced up Mt. Lemmon to try to get a sunset shot from this spot before it was too late. Made it just in time. It's a lovely drive which I'd recommend if you are visiting Tucson.
Windy Point after rain during the monsoons last July. I've been really negligent about posting on Flickr lately, so hopefully I can get caught up again soon. This was my on my first day out with my Canon 5DS R... I love it!
Harvestmen (Also known as Daddy Long Legs) - "The Opiliones are an order of arachnids commonly known as harvestmen. Their closest relatives may be the mites. They can be easily distinguished from even long-legged spiders by their fused body regions and single pair of eyes in the middle of their cephalothorax." "The most obvious difference between harvestmen and spiders is that in harvestmen, the connection between the cephalothorax and abdomen is broad, so that the body appears to be a single oval structure. The Opiliones have a single pair of eyes in the middle of the head, oriented sideways. However, some species, are eyeless." (Source: Wikipedia)
©R.C. Clark: Dancing Snake Nature Photography
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Mt.Lemmon
These rock formations are discovered on route to the 9,000 foot summit of Mt Lemmon as the highway curves past Windy Point. This is looking back down, south across the lights of Tucson to the distant Santa Rita mountains toward Mexico beyond. The main road doesn't go up and over, only back down the way you came, so except for the few people who live or work on the mountain the many thousands who make this 29 mile trip are looking to discover, explore, have fun and enjoy the beauty of mother nature. Perhaps make an image.
"Serenity" - Rose Canyon Lake
©R.C. Clark: Dancing Snake Nature Photography
All rights reserved
Mt.Lemmon
Windy Point Vista's Hoodoo. Click to enlarge. Taken along the Mt Lemmon Highway at Windy Point Vista which is at nearly 7000' elevation in the Coronado National Forest. There are several other pullouts to see the many other hoodoos along the road. The highway continues to the top of 9,157' Mt Lemmon (and to the southern-most ski area in the US) in the Santa Catalina Mountains which form the northern boundary of Tucson, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. More in PhotoStream and/or Landscapes album. (Courtesy photo by Rick Williams)