Wednesday - last day in Tucson

Packed a lunch, loaded up the dogs and headed up Mt. Lemmon for a picnic.  It was another hot day, forecast to be in the high 80's again.    Distances are deceiving out here, we can see Mt. Lemmon, seems like we're camping right below it,  but we drove almost an hour to get to the road that leads  to the top!   Our campground is about 2600 feet above sea level and by the time we reached Ski Valley (atop Mt. Lemmon) we were at 9157 feet.  

We stopped at a picnic area at about 4000 ft. where it was still relatively warm - 72 degrees.  

We ate our mesquite smoked turkey sandwiches and Carm's homemade cookies and enjoyed the expansive views of the valley below.  Then we got back in the jeep and continued our ascent.  We wondered if there would be any snow at the top, its only March after all.  

We drove through "forests" of Saguaro cactus, then hillsides of yucca and creosote bushes and up into fabulous rock formations and hoodoos as we gained altitude.   

some rocks were the most beautiful colors

The road eventually took us through deep pine forests with bear warning signs every few miles. The air was cool and clean and clear.   Delightful.

We parked off the side of a seasonal road (Bear Wallow Road), still closed, and got out to see where it led, to stretch our legs and give the dogs a good long walk.   We grabbed our sweatshirts (the temp. was down to 50 degrees) and set off down the dirt road.  Lewis raced back and forth, up and down the slopes, while Sasha followed her nose with great enthusiasm.  We walked about  half a mile until we encountered quite a bit of snow!

Catch it Lewis!

digging Lewis

Flying Lewis

As you can see, Lewis enjoyed the snow.  Sasha carefully skirted it and continued into the woods, following untold scents.  I wonder how far she'd go if we didn't keep an eye on her and call her back every so often?

We walked back down Bear Wallow Rd. to the jeep.  Two very tired doggies slept the rest of the way to the top and back down to Tucson.    

Back down the same road, stopped at AJ's for some dinner fixings and home by 5:30.  We sat outside with our evening cocktail and watched the birds filling their bellies for the long night ahead.     I had a good phone conversation with Jesse as the sun set on another full day.