Sky Island Scenic Byway-Tuscon, AZ

     We took the day off yesterday as Debbie was feeling a little under the weather.  As I recall, our plan was to travel down to Tombstone, but we'll have to check that off the bucket list later on this week. Obviously because of my incredible nursing skills, today she was up and ready to venture out on the road.

     Yesterday while Debbie was convalescing, I struck up a conversation with my neighbor from Colorado, who suggested a drive up the Sky Island Scenic Byway.  It seems to have many names, including Mount Lemmon Scenic Byway, General Hitchcock Highway, or Catalina Highway, but they are all the same place.  One other name you'll see as you start up the highway is a welcome sign to the Coronado National Forest.  This morning we headed out, retracing our steps up to the Saguaro NP, and continuing on toward the Santa Catalina Mountains standing tall before us.
     As we started climbing from the Sonoran Desert floor, we were amazed at the number of bicyclists who were heading the same direction we were.  I was quite impressed since I knew the highway was going to approach the 9000 foot elevation level before ending!  Starting up the highway, we were amazed at the number of Saguaro Cacti covering the hillside.  There were way more than the number we saw in the Saguaro NP, and we wondered why this area, which was right outside the NP, was not included.

The Saguaro's were standing tall as we worked our way up, through hairpin turns, taking the opportunity to stop and enjoy each scenic vista.  There are many of them, and each one gave us a magnificent view of canyon walls climbing straight up, or views out over the massive Tuscon Valley and Rincon Mountains that spreads out below us. There were numerous trailheads along the highway, and I would imagine they would include some incredible views.  The temperature at the base was just about 60, and we anticipated a drop of about 30 degrees before reaching the top.
   

We popped out of the Saguaro's at about 4000 feet, and massive rock formations sprinkled with juniper and pine trees unfolded ahead of us.  There were massive granite rocks with smaller boulders appearing to be balanced precariously on top.  Multiple hoodoos sprang up everywhere among the outcroppings, quite similar to what we encountered in Bryce NP.  Except these appeared to be made of granite instead of the sandstone we encountered in Utah.  

     We knew there was a ski area up on top, and as we climbed, more and more snow could be seen along the highway and up into the forest.  It was a beautiful day, in the mid 50's, and the melting snowpack was filling the canyons with cascading waterfalls and babbling brooks.

 Continuing up in elevation we entered into thick ponderosa pine forests, and passed the turn to Rose Canyon Lake, which was closed till spring.  This 7 acre lake is stocked with trout, and there a campground that's just begging us to stop by.
     Stopping at one of the numerous pull-offs, we found a display from the U.S. Forest Service advising that every 1000 feet in elevation is like driving 600 miles north, and by the time we completed our journey to the top, were were in an environment similar to the Canadian border.  What were we thinking?  Aren't we here to escape the weather up North??

      As we approached the small village of Summerhaven, we spied a right turn directing us up to Ski Valley, the southernmost ski area in the U.S.  We sat in the parking lot, enjoying our lunch and the occasional skier or snowboarder coming down the mountain.  We walked over to the small lodge area and noticed that the chairlift seemed to disappear over the top of the mountain.  Turns out, the chairlift carries skiers up the mountain to about the 9100 foot level, where they can enjoy quite a significant run back to the base lodge.  

     What a delight it was to be able to experience the Sonoran Desert and a Ski area, all in the same day.  With temps in the mid 50's, beautiful sunshine and no wind, Debbie was starting to get the itch to go in and rent a set of skiis, so I knew it was time to get her down off of this mountain. As we worked our way down, we were amazed to see the cyclists, (remember those guys) racing back down the mountain with their GoPro's mounted to their helmets.  I wonder if they all made it down?
     If you get to Tuscon, pack a lunch and come and enjoy this scenic byway.  It's easy to find, and well worth the time.  Bring your skiis or your snowboard if you dare.  The snow was 3 weeks old, and the conditions looked excellent.