They're Leaving in Droves!

Yesterday at least one couple I know of left for the cold north. This morning another 3 pulled out.... tomorrow two more. We can nearly see clear to the clubhouse from our spot in the corner. Pretty soon it will be just us, Scott and the snakes! It was over 90 degrees today here in Apache Junction and not nearly so nice everywhere else. We will hang in here till the middle of May or until I see more snakes than people!


Rode to the mountain today. Mount Lemmon (9,157) and the little community of Summerhaven near it's summit can be a welcome relief from the desert heat it is typically 30 degrees cooler than the valley. The weather dictated that we move our normal ride from Wednesday to Tuesday to take advantage of the calm skies and high heat (90+). High winds and cooler temps are called for tomorrow.
One of the rides we've been putting off until it warmed up is the ride to Mount Lemmon, located just northeast of Tucson and home to the Mt. Lemon Ski Area. At 8,300 feet it isn't a terribly tall mountain to those of us used to the Cascades, Olympics and Rockies, but there was still patches of snow on the ground.

The worst part of the ride is the 105 miles of straight, flat, two-lane, 65 mph hiway between Apache Junction and Tucson. At least it isn't I-10.

The road up Mount Lemmon is maintained by the U.S. Forrest Service and as such, the posted speed limit is 35 mph and there is no passing all the way up. There are, however, plenty of pull-outs and look-outs and rest areas. The speed limit frustrates a lot of people, but if they'd just take a deep breath and enjoy the view instead of hurrying to the top so they can turn around and hurry down, the trip would be better for everyone.
There were only three of us today - Scott, Jerry and myself - and next week it will be just Scott and I.