Fortunately, there are many activities in Palm Creek RV Resort somewhat compatible with COVID 19 restrictions. Neither of us attend any club meetings, and “Eat-in” dining is prohibited. All of the activities in which we participate are outside, including pickleball and golf. I play pickleball at least once six days a week, and Kay plays every other day.—we look like the walking wounded with elbow and knee compression sleeves, body bruises from pickleball hits, and miscellaneous cuts and scratches—it is a contact sport!

We have tried to venture about the area at least one day a week, depending on what other things are scheduled. This past Saturday, June 16, we drove south to Tucson, then east to Mount Lemmon. With a summit elevation of 9,159 feet, Mount Lemmon is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest. The summit of the mountain is approximately twenty degrees cooler than the base. Therefore, large amounts of snow fall during the winter months, making it a cool escape and popular tourist attraction for Tucson and Phoenix inhabitants. It is reported that Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, on the mountain’s northeastern side, receives 200 inches of snow annually, though we saw very little snow during our visit.

Beginning in the high desert filled with various species of cacti at about 2,500 feet in elevation, the Catalina Highway, also called the Mount Lemmon Highway, as well as the Hitchcock Highway runs up the Santa Catalina Mountains from the east side of Tucson up to Summerhaven, at the top of Mt. Lemmon, in an alpine, evergreen filled forest. The beautiful, curving road is a favorite drive for tourists, for locals escaping summer’s heat and especially for cyclists who make the long, difficult ascent jut to ride down at unthinkable speeds. We saw hundreds of cyclists making this grueling ascent.

The long drive to and from Mount Lemmon was uneventful, except that having forgotten our lunch (my bad), we stopped at Summerhaven for lunch snacks, being careful to socially distance from the crowds.