Sunday was forecast to be the hottest day, up to 96°F, so we scheduled a drive up to Mount Lemmon, elevation 7000 feet. This involved stopping at a lot of viewpoints with short walks to rocky points so we got to recuperate from yesterday's strenuous hike and take advantage of the truck's air-conditioning.
The day was a lesson on Arizona's so called Sky Islands, with a tour of 7 different ecosystems as we climbed in elevation,
Fairy duster grows in the lower desert ecostems
topping out at the "Canadian" ecosystem with Douglas fir, pines and typical Canadian birds.
Like this spotted towhhee
The road ends at Tucson's little local ski hill, and there was even some snow left on the slopes.
Bird of the day was the yellow-eyed (Mexican) junco, though perhaps we should have chosen the American robin, a real rarity in Arizona, though not to us.
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