It's About the (RV) Journey....: Aqua Caliente Park and Mt. Lemmon......

During my water exercise class (hahaha), someone told me about a lush park that can be found right here in the desert. Well, one day, on the way to Mt. Lemmon, we put it in the GPS and got there ourselves. It was like a mirage in the desert. Really! It is a Pima County Park, which used to be a ranch and a hot mineral springs spa. Now, it is a lovely park. Though there are cactus plants, the area is lush with palm trees, orange trees and a pond. In addition, there are nice walking paths, tons of picnic tables, a gift shop, education center and clean bathrooms.

Oh, did I mention you can help yourself to oranges. We had some and they were delicious. We spent about an hour walking around this lovely park in the middle of the desert before heading out to Mount Lemmon, one of the ski areas in southern Arizona.

are we still in the desert?

check out the cactus growing out of the palm tree

that's unusual!

Really Tom...are you in Hawaii?

so pretty

the pond...affected by the drought

giant palm trees

taking a walk on the birding trail

so pretty...even without leaves

and the cactus grows in between

turtles sunning

cool pic with the reflection

the desert? really?

very tropical feel to this place...its refreshing too!

looking for birds

unexpected ecology for this area

pretty

yes, we are in the desert

nice

grabbing an orange from the bottom of the tree

these look really good

lunching

the oranges ARE good!

We headed out to Mt. Lemmon after our nice lunch in the park. It is in the Coronado National Forest, and there is a skiing here. The elevation is about 9600 feet and they get about 200 inches of snow per year. Sounds like the skiing is great!

The houses we passed in the area were enormous, and very well appointed. They were nestled in the hills among the cactus. We can't see most of the houses because they are usually hidden by the brush. But, when the houses are on the hillside, its a different story. Haha.

The drive up to Mount Lemmon is really nice. The road winds around frequently in switchback fashion, but the grades are not steep and the road is wide, so no need for white knuckles. The road also has wide shoulders, and there are plenty of bikers on it. The environment changes along the way...beginning with the desert ecology and moving along to pine trees at the top! The difference along the way is striking. I'll let the pictures tell the story. Enjoy!