February 1 – February 18, 2023
MOUNT LEMMON
Mount Lemmon (named after Sara Plumber Lemmon one of the first westerners to ascend the mountain in 1881), with a summit elevation of 2,792 m, is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is is one of the Sky Islands in Coronado National Forest, located north of Tucson and you can see its snowcap from all over the city. There is a ski resort at the top: the southernmost ski destination in the continental United States.
The drive to the top takes about 1 hour. Sky Islands offer drastically different environments as the elevation changes rapidly. Driving up the Mt. Lemmon Highway is the biological equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a stretch of only 26 miles! The roads offers fantastic views and we stopped at numerous viewpoints to admire the scenery. About two thirds up the drive, snow appeared by the side of the road and soon we were surrounded by a snowy alpine scenery. We even had a picnic in the snow!
There are numerous trails for hiking, biking and rock climbing. In summer people retreat to Mount Lemmon to escape the heat where it is an average of 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than metropolitan Tucson.
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SABINO CANYON
Sabino Canyon is a significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains north-east of Tucson. It is a popular recreation area providing a place to walk, hike or ride the shuttle which takes you all the way into the canyon.
We decided to walk rather than taking the shuttle. It is a 12 miles round trip. The trail (called Phoneline) follows the contours of the canyon and offers great views.
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DE GRAZIA GALLERY IN THE SUN
The DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun celebrates both the life of Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia (1909-1982) – (click to learn more about the artist)- and his art. DeGrazia and his work are characterized by their rebellious approach and passionate depiction of Southwestern life. The artist bought an acre of land in north east Tucson to build his first adobe studio in 1944.
In 1952, DeGrazia built the Mission in the Sun as the first building constructed on the property in memory of Padre Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit priest ( see entry under previous post, San Xavier Del Bac) and dedicated the mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Following his own building plans, DeGrazia and his friends carefully handcrafted the adobe constructed building.
De Grazia was very close to the Yaqui native american tribe and many of his paintings depict everyday life as well as important Yaqui celebrations such as the Deer Dance or Yaqui Easter celebrations.
Click on the below link to see details of the permanent exhibitions
https://degrazia.org/exhibitions/permanent-collection/
We went with Emily (friend met at Virginia’s), who knew and met De Grazia and gave us a private tour of the Gallery.
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