Wednesday morning we realized we had not done any geocaching in Tucson. We looked at the areas we had not visited and found that Catalina Highway going to Mt. Lemmon was a treasure trove of caches. The road is 28 miles from base to peak with many pull outs and vistas where you can stop to hike one of the many trails. Bob prepared the GPS and the clues to aid us in our hunt. I fixed a picnic lunch. We set out for Catalina Highway. 
The first cache was located near the first vista area. There were a few muggles (people) around, but once we walked on the trail going below the vista, they couldn't see us. Bob found the cache near a prickly pear cactus.
Our next stop was Molina Canyon Vista. There were 2 caches Bob marked somewhere in the canyon. We had to leave the overlook trail to try to find the caches. Unfortunately, the caches were down some steep rocks. We decided to leave them for another cacher.
We explored the canyon area near a waterfall.
We went down some rocks that were not quite so steep to get near the waterfall. The footprints in the sand let us know that others had been there before us.
We contemplated walking downstream, but we knew there was another waterfall that would be difficult to get around.
We returned to the car and drove to the next caches Bob had marked. We found both caches with no problem and then decided to skip the next few caches so we could get to the top.
As we approached the Palisade Visitor Center there was a sign that said to continue on the highway you needed 4-wheel drive or chains!
We pulled into the visitor center parking lot to ponder our next move. 
This was the first time in 19 years that Bob and I had seen this much snow!
Yes, Bob is standing on a snowbank without a jacket. The air was comfortable at this level, but cooler than when we started our trip at the base of the mountain. 
As we looked around, several vehicles that were not 4-wheel drive and didn't have chains passed the visitor center on their way down the mountain. Since we made it this far, we decided to go on to the peak--Mt. Lemmon.
As the elevation increased, so did the snow on the sides of the highway. The views were incredible.
At the top, we found that the ski area was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It appeared to be a small ski area with two chair lifts--one for the big slope and the other for the bunny slope. If there were any more lifts, they weren't visible from the parking area.
The bunny slope is behind the pedestrian sign in this picture.
We drove through the village of Summerhaven our return trip. There are a few houses with inhabitants, but most are snowed in until spring. We found a cache at the edge of the village.
The next cache we searched for was at a picnic area about 2 miles from the village. The drive was plowed and the tables were accessible. However, the cache was in an area of snow that was like an ice skating rink--hard packed and slick. We couldn't find a way to get to it without sliding to the bottom of the hill! We decided to pass that one and head back to the rv.
We enjoyed the trip to the peak and will return to find more caches in the future!
Thursday we plan to visit the airplane boneyard.
2 comments:
Wow you certainly have been on the go go go since early January when I last looked at your blog. The snow is very pretty. I love to see snow everywhere and really enjoyed that about a year ago in Minnesota.
Looks as if you're on an endless vacation! Great! Keep Going!
See you soon.
Yes, we have been staying busy. There is so much to see and do. We don't know when we will be back in this area and we don't want to miss anything of interest.
Joyce and Bob
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