On our final trip, Jack, Peggy, Jim and I went to Mt. Lemmon, 25 miles above the desert floor. Traveling up the Catalina Highway, you climb from 2,389 feet to 9,157 feet above sea level. As you can imagine, the changes in the landscape are pretty spectacular.
At the bottom of the mountain range, we're in an area of cactus, mesquite trees
and large homes.
As we climb, it doesn't take long before the scenery changes. About 7 miles up the highway is the Gordon Hirabayashi Campground.
The elevation is 5000 feet above sea level with lots of large oak trees as well as mesquite, catclaw and manzanita The campground was originally the site of a federal prison camp. During WWII, it was used to detain Japanese-Americans. It is named after Gordon Hirabayashi who was one of only three Japanese-Americans to directly challenge the government's relocation order. He defied the order to evacuate his home in Seattle then turned himself in to the FBI and fought his case to the Supreme Court. He lost the case and was required to report to the federal prison camp. But the government would not provide transportation, so Hirabayashi hitchhiked alone from Spokane, Washingtion, to Tucson to serve his sentence at the prison camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The next area of interest on the highway is Windy Point.
At 6,600 feet, the Point has a visitor's stop, rest area and some of the most spectacular views overlooking the city of Tucson. The area was built by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, using a large number of prisoners from the old prison camp over a period of 18 years. The strange rock formations in the area called hoo doos can be seen for several miles along this part of the road.
Next stop: the top of the mountain and lunch at the Iron Door Restaurant in Ski Valley.
The restaurant is near the summit of the mountain and the temperature as we got out of our car was about 62 degrees. Quite a contrast from the heat of the desert. We sat on the patio and were comfortable with the sun warming us. The patio is famous for its hummingbird feeders which attracts lots of birds. If you're not familiar with these tiny creatures, they are very territorial and you'll see lots of dive bombing by the more aggressive birds to keep others away from their favorite feeders.
The view from the patio is the ski area with its runs and its ski lift. The lift runs all summer long, taking visitors up and down for great views of the valleys surrounding the Santa Catalina Mountain range.
After lunch, we drove to the top of the mountain and Peggy and Jack hopped on the ski lift and rode it down. Peggy had never been on a lift before and was a bit hesitant at first but, when she got down, she let us know it was quite a ride!
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