November 30th: Winter rains have arrived ! Before heading to the mountain, call the Pima County Sheriff's Hotline: (520) 547-7510 for road conditions.
Recent Blog Posts
December 3, 2018 Late Fall 2018: Sweetwater Wetlands and Agua Caliente
Mt. Lemmon AZ Images: Photography from the Catalina Range, and more! |
Northern Cardinal, male
Agua Caliente Park, November 2017 |
This site features photographs from Mt Lemmon and its environs, including Tucson and its surroundings, with occasional forays beyond the Sonoran Desert. To see what is happening today, click on Journal to the right. [Yes, it is really a Blog].
For the Seasons of the Catalinas, click on Seasons. Contact me - I would love to hear from you. Search the site with the Search box to the right at the top. All photographs on this site Copyright Henry Johnson. Use by permission only. |
|
Check out the Mt Lemmon audio tour released by the University of Arizona College of Science in late 2015. You can load the tour app on your phone, and listen to it as you drive up the mountain. The text is synchronized to your drive, and encourages stops at Windy Point and Aspen Vista. Truly outstanding!
|
Follow Mt Lemmon AZ Images on Facebook
|
Selected Reading:
Much has been written about Mount Lemmon, and the surrounding Catalina range, but here are some of my favorites books.
Much has been written about Mount Lemmon, and the surrounding Catalina range, but here are some of my favorites books.
- A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, with an Introduction to the Madrean Sky Islands, by Richard C. Brusca & Windy Moore. Foreword by Bill Broyles. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2013. A beautiful book, 8 x 10" spiral bound in full color on great stock, covering geologic history, a section on hiking, and picture guides to common plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, and arthropods. Chapter 6 describes a drive up the Mt. Lemmon highway, with 10 recommended stops. Tip: remember to put the book in the car before you leave! Includes a glossary and selected references.
- Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona, a Field Guide to the Santa Catalina Mountains and Other Nearby Ranges, by Frank S. Rose. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2011. This is a wonderful book, and another "must carry" item when visiting the Catalinas. Visit Frank's website and blog for up to date postings: http://franksrose.com
- Mountain Trees of Southern Arizona, A Field Guide, by Frank S. Rose with Foreword by Matthew B. Johnson. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2012. Unwilling to rest after cataloging all the mountain wildflowers, Frank Rose went on to tackle all the trees. Again, a fabulous volume with vivid color photographs on glossy stock. Available on Amazon, as are the other volumes above.
- Birds of Southeastern Arizona, by Richard Cachor Taylor. R.W. Morse Company, Olympia, Washington, 2010. 430 pages, 4 x 6", full color, easy to put into your pocket on a walk. Excellent color coding for different families of birds, putting related species together. Each entry is two pages, with excellent pictures on the left page, and descriptions including range on the right. Available on Amazon.
- Look to the Mountains, Revised Edition by Suzanne Hensel. Mt. Lemmon Woman's Club, 2006. Includes chronology of the Aspen fire in 2003, with photographs. An excellent history of the mountain with maps and photographs. The first edition (2003) is available on Amazon.
- Forged by Fire: The Devastation and Renewal of a Mountain Community, by Mary Ellen Barnes. The author, daughter of mountain pioneer Tony Zimmerman, interviewed victims of the 2003 Aspen fire, as well as firefighters and those who led the renewal, to create this account. Named one of the ten top Southwest Books of 2005. For more on the author, and her other books, see her website, http://www.marylbarnes.typepad.com/
- The Road to Mount Lemmon: A Father, A Family, And the Making of Summerhaven, by Mary Ellen Barnes. An excellent personal account of the life of Tony Zimmerman and his family, told by his daughter Mary Ellen Barnes. A great view of the mountain, and Tucson before the rapid growth of the second half of the 20th century.