This is part two of a journal entry about a recent overnight trip to for Phoenix to Tucson which include some moderate terror and some great joy. As I stated in the previous entry the mechanical problems and change of schedule on Saturday night had put me in a funk and I woke up pretty cranky the next day. However, I really wanted to get my mojo back so while the Wrench Wench slept in a little I was up before dawn hoping to catch some great "sunrise over the mountain" pix. Some reading in the local literature in the hotel room told me that Catalina Mountain Park was just up the road a ways. So in the pre-dawn hours I took my tools and flashlight down to the bike, wrenched on the starter a little bit, which seemed to help, and headed off toward the park.
Because we had not planned for any real early or real late riding there was not a lot of warm stuff packed in the panniers. So, it was pretty chilly ride to the park. I turned off on the exit and drove into the park. A few hundred yard in I encountered the ranger booth. At the booth was a stooped over, elderly woman who regarded me, dressed in full black riding gear, and my motorcycle with profound distrust. I told her I just wanted to come in the park and shoot a few sunrise shots. She was clearly trying to discourage my interest by pointing out that is was yet a ways 'till sunrise. Not swayed by this argument I told her I would need time to set up so that would be OK. Her next tack was to lay the six dollar charge on me which I would be subject to if I was in the park longer than 15 minutes. She made an obvious show of checking her watch and telling me "exactly" when I had to be back. No problem, I handed over six buck, she reluctantly gave me a pass and off I went.
Navigating the narrow, unmarked roads by high-beam it very quickly became apparent that the paved portions of the park were very short and led to RV parking spots and the heads of hiking trails. No way to get any elevation for the shots I wanted. Checking the clock on the bike I noted that there were 3 minutes left of my alloted 15 free minutes. Quickly motoring back to the small, dimly lighted haunt of my nemesis I reminded her of the time and asked for my money back. After another bit of unpleasant exchange I returned my pass and got my six bucks back. I watcher her watch me leave in the rear-view. It was obvious she was happy to see me go.
It was still dark when I arrived back at the hotel so I made do by taking some shots of sunrise over the Santa Catalina Mountains from the window of the hotel room.
Sunrise over the Santa Catalina Mountains from a thid floor hotel window
Patti slept in kind of late and we lazed around the room for a bit, went downstairs for the free breakfast-which was unexpectedly excellent, then had to make a decision on what to do that day. The working plan was to go visit Tombstone, but after a bit of research it became apparent that, in spite of its colorful history, it was merely a tourist trap and we wanted something less touristy and a bit more interesting. So, we opted to drive out into the Sonoran desert and visit the Kitt Peak observatory.
In order to get to Hwy 86 we had to travel the length of Tucson from north to south. Given our newly acquired sensibilities gained by living in Phoenix for six months we assumed an hour and a half drive at least. It turned out to be more like 20 minutes.
Turning west on Hwy 86 we headed onto the Tohono O’odham wilderness.
Riding west into the Tohono O’odham wilderness
Not too far on down the road we came to the intersection of 86/386 which turns roughly north.
Looking north from the 86/386 intersection..probably not visible at this picture scale but you can see the dome of the 4 meter telescope dome at the far upper right
From the same vantage point, but with a bit of zoom
It is a fair distance down 86 to the bottom of Kitt Peak, but the road is reasonbly well pave with a minimum of rock and sand patch hazards to be avoided. Once you start climbing the peak it goes from 2000 feet of elevation to 7000 feet in just under 12 miles. Quite a ride. Because the mountain is made of granite there are none of the hazards of rock slides on the road or patches of blowing dust that have characterized so many of our other mountain rides, very pleasant.
A couple of views ascending Kitt Peak
The tempature began to drop dramatically as we rapidly gained altitude and the wind also picked up considerably. Enough that once we had reached the top and parked in the visitors lot we needed to dig out another layer of clothes.
Red at the chilly and windy top of Kitt Peak
Note-In order to get a scale for this picture, the four-meter telescope pictured in the upper right is ten stories tall from it's base to the bottom ring of the dome. The actual dome towers another several stories above that.
Places of this nature, observatories, etc, have always fired my imagination and this was spectacular. Having been a regular visitor to such places as Griffith Observatory and Mount Wilson with their few attraction, the scale of this instillation was amazing! The four-meter optical telescope in the upper right of the above photograph towered over the parking lot with other mysterious and magic structures stretching into the distance.
Ok I have been working on this post now for quite a while...the best is yet to come, but also some very detailed work to do on it. I am going to publish this one and get to work on part 2. Keep your eyes open for that. In the meantime...keep your eyes on the road and your thoughts in the stars...
BMWeerman
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