Summerhaven was our destination for the day.
Summerhaven is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a permanent population of 40. There are many small cabins most of which were rebuilt after the Aspen Fire of July 2003 -Wikipedia
We saw evidence of the 2003 fire and saw an area where park models (summer cabins) were being moved and set on the mountainside. The elevation is listed at 7700 feet above sea level, although we were at an elevation of 8000 feet before reaching the little hamlet. It is also home to an observatory used for astronomical study by several universities, including the University of Minnesota. We did not search for the observatory.
We saw all we wanted to see. Found the geocaches in Summerhaven, so it was time to head back to Tucson.
The Catalina Highway, also called the Mount Lemmon Highway, as well as the Hitchcock Highway (after Frank Harris Hitchcock) runs up the Santa Catalina Mountains 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 and cyclists, and has been recently designated as the Sky Island Parkway, part of the US National Scenic Byway system. - Wikipedia
An unpaved road to the summit on the north side of Mount Lemmon starts in Oracle, which is on Arizona Route 77 north of Tucson. It offers a secondary route to the top. This route is popular with off-road 4x4 drivers and with off-road or dual-purpose motorcyclists. This road ends at the Catalina Highway near Loma Linda. Before the Catalina Highway was built it was the only route up the mountain.
Now I wish we would have ate up there, looks delicious! Sherry
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