Exploring Kitt Peak

Kitt Peak

https://www.infotonicsmedia.com/about/buy-diazepam-canada.php Roadside View of Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

https://www.frolic-through-life.com/2025/01/lzse321i5 My younger daughter flew in for a weekend visit just before it was time for me to leave Tucson. She loves science, any kind of science, and so we drove to Kitt Peak to see the National Observatories.

click here The white domed observatories on top of the 6,875 foot summit aren’t the only an amazing sight on the 50 mile trip west of Tucson. There is also plenty of breath taking desert and mountain scenery on the drive. We drove the  first 45 miles  on paved roads through the Tohono O’odham Reservation and the Sonoran Desert. The last 12 miles were on a maintained mountain road with patches of snow — from a mid-April storm a few days before we visited — and spectacular views of the desert floor and snow spattered, adjacent mountain ranges. (Next post!)

Kitt Peak Welcome Sign

http://lisapriceblog.com/96kjlqw7 Kitt Peak Welcome Sign © 2011 Bo Mackison

Purchase Tramadol With Mastercard Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated by an association of universities throughout the country (including the University of Wisconsin at Madison) in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. We even saw a Bucky Badger decal on one of the scientists lab stands. My daughter is an alum of UW, so she was pleased to see the Wisconsin mascot on duty at one of the observatories.

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Observatories on Kitt Peak

https://www.saiidzeidan.com/qd6jwgena Observatories on Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

Valium Roche Online This is the largest collection of optical telescopes in the world. It’s a rather amazing display of scientific buildings, all clustered on the very top of a desert mountain.

https://www.rmporrua.com/pakaf4wj0d9 The tallest telescope in the photo is the Mayall 4 meter (158 inch), one of the world’s largest telescopes. It resides in an 18-story building. There is an elevator that provides access to the 10th-floor observation deck and panoramic views of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico, but this particular telescope was closed the day we were there.

https://opponix.com/6a1ixlse Just one more reason for me to return to Kitt Peak at a later date. I’d also love to stay for the night show and see the stars using one of the observatory’s telescopes.

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

Can You Get Tramadol Online McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

https://www.prestoavenuedesigns.com/save/buy-diazepam-with-mastercard.php This is one of the more unusual buildings on the peak. It is the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope which produces a 30-inch image of the sun by using mirrors in a slanted 500-foot corridor. Only 200 feet of the tunnel are visible, the other 300 feet are below ground level. You can go inside the building and check out the long chamber and view the mirrors. Not only is this telescope a scientific wonder, it is also an architectural wonder. It even won an architectural award in 1962, rather an unusual accomplishment for an observatory.

1.3 Meter Telescope on Kitt Peak

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https://hereisnewyorkv911.org/0b4qmd4 This is one of the smaller telescopes, and one used by visitors during the nightly viewing tours. The larger telescopes are reserved for professional and student astronomers, though even they have to play a form of astronomy-roulette. They sign up for a viewing time months or years in advance and if their chosen evening’s view is obstructed by clouds, they have to sign up on the list again. Luckily there are only a few cloudy evenings  each year in this part of the Sonoran Desert.

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Open 2.1 m Telescope

https://osteopatiaamparoandres.com/pxpa2hv5 Open 2.1 m Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

https://www.iql-nog.com/2025/01/19/kerw7zylyju The 2.1-meter (84 inch) telescope was the first large instrument on Kitt Peak for night-time observing. We were able to go inside for a close-up view of the inner workings, plus view an educational exhibit on the telescope. Astronomers use this scope to observe distant stars and galaxies in both the visible and infrared spectra.

Valium For Sale Online On the day we were there, we watched as the telescope opened and closed several times.

Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona

http://geoffnotkin.com/laygu/buy-diazepam-europe.php Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona © 2011 Bo Mackison

click One last photograph, proving that, yes, it does snow on the peaks of desert mountains. I thought I had escaped winter’s snow by coming to Tucson, but my daughter was delighted to see the snow, and stomp in it, and make a few snowballs to throw at me.

https://riverhillcurrent.com/jg4yynaau Seems she thinks the desert is too hot and prefers Wisconsin winters to Tucson winters. Amazing!

go to site Reminder: I am having a drawing for one of my photographs or a set of photo art note cards in appreciation of all the support my blog readers gave me while I was on my Tucson adventure.  To enter the drawing, leave a comment on the April 13 post — check out the drawing information and directions on how to enter.

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https://www.pslra.org/20r3489fo85 Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has been living in Tucson for the last ten weeks, exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” she is now on her way back to Wisconsin, but will be posting photographs from a few more Arizona destinations.

Hiking Brown Mountain Trail

Blooming Ocotillo

Blooming Ocotillo © 2011 Bo Mackison

There are trails that criss-cross the desert and desert mountains surrounding Tucson. Tucson Mountain Park, which runs along much of the west border of Tucson, is one of the most easily accessible areas for day hiking. Best of all, there are hikes for all levels of difficulty and time required. It is a simple matter to stop at one of the many asphalt pull-offs to take a photograph or two–such as this photo of a blooming ocotillo that was only a few feet from the road–and a ten minute hike to check out the desert landscape and plants. Or, with basic preparation, it is convenient to plan an all day hike through the Tucson Mountains.

Brown Mountain in the Tucson Mountains

Brown Mountain © 2011 Bo Mackison

One of the first hikes I took in Tucson Mountain Park was a climb up (and down) Brown Mountain. I thought Brown Mountain was aptly named since it is a mountain mostly of brown rock with scattered saguaro and other cacti.

Wrong. Brown Mountain is named for the first administrator of Tucson Mountain Park, a Mr. Cornelius Brown who was instrumental in creating the park in 1929 and was an agricultural agent in the region from 1920 to 1945. (Thank you, Mr. Brown, for without your forward thinking, these mountains would be dotted with all types of structures. Instead, except for a few special use permits, these mountains are quite pristine.)

I went looking for information about this mountain in one of the many reference books about Arizona that I have gradually collected over the past 4 years. I don’t usually laugh when researching “rocks” but I discovered in the book Roadside Geology of Arizona by Halka Chronic that these mountains are made of up so many different kinds of rock–ancient lava flows, volcanic ash, Paleozoic limestone, and more–that geologists call this mixture of rock the Tucson Mountain Chaos.

On Top of Brown Mountain

On Top of Brown Mountain © 2011 Bo Mackison

The trail is a loop trail circling the north and south ridges of Brown Mountain. There is are two trail heads–one at Brown Mountain Picnic Area and the second at Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area. When starting at Brown Mountain, there are a couple of washes to cross and a rocky trail before reaching the switchbacks that climb the mountain. When starting from Juan Santa Cruz, the trail head is behind the picnic site north of the rest room. Rock steps carved by the CCC in the 1930s lead down to a wash, and then up on the other side where a switchback trail ascends to the ridge.

Sea of Saguaro

Sea of Saguaro © 2011 Bo Mackison

There isn’t a lot of elevation gain, so even though most references consider this a moderately difficult hike, there are only a few short sections that require much effort. And those sections are worth the effort, for the view, if not breath-taking, is interesting. To the west, the peaks of Baboquivari and Kitt Peak are visible on clear days. And there are saguaro everywhere, a virtual sea of saguaro.

View of Arizona Sonora Desert Museum from Brown Mountain

View of Arizona Sonora Desert Museum © 2011 Bo Mackison

One also gets a birds eye view of many desert attractions in the near by area. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum just beyond the Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area. The Desert Museum is the second most visited destination in Arizona, second only to Grand Canyon National Park. I’ve visited several times and it does give an excellent overview of the Sonoran Desert–a combination botanical garden, zoo, arboretum, and learning center. Just down the street is Old Tucson Studios, a tourist site and movie set for many of the classic Old West movies. And Saguaro National Park is adjacent to Tucson Mountain Park, so you can take advantage of National Park programs and ranger led hikes, if you want.

What a great area filled with a variety of features to visit when in Tucson. And with so many different activities  to choose from, it never seems too crowded.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.” She spends a portion of each day exploring the desert.

A Matter of Perspective

Ocotillo Thorns

Ocotillo Spines @ 2011 Bo Mackison

This is an ocotillo, one of the most plentiful plants in the Sonoran desert. It offers a great lesson in perspective. When you look at the ocotillo, do you first see its long, sharp spines? And when you notice the spines, do you see them as a threat to you or do you see them as the protector of the plant?

The ocotillo, a major shrub in the Sonoran desert, acts more like a succulent than a woody plant. It can absorb sunlight for photosynthesis through its leafless stem during the dry seasons. And when there is a desert rain, it will produce full grown leaves within three days. This plant has both primary and secondary leaves. When the primary leaves fall off the shrub, the remaining woody stalk elongates and becomes a spine.

Ocotillo Blooming

Ocotillo Blooming © 2011 Bo Mackison

Perhaps your attention is first drawn to the bright cluster of flowers at the tips of the branches, to the beauty of the tightly clustered  red cylindrical blooms.

Ocotillos are a favorite of migrating hummingbirds. The ocotillo is often the only spring desert flower in abundant bloom, even in very dry spring seasons. Hummingbirds, which migrate  from Mexico to their breeding grounds as far north as Alaska, pass over the desert in huge numbers and get their nourishment, the nectar, from the bright red tubular flowers.

Ocotillo Star

Ocotillo Star © 2011 Bo Mackison

Or perhaps you see the ocotillo in a different way. Perhaps, when you look at the ocotillo from a unique angle, you can imagine a desert full of woody stars.

So many perspectives, all from the same plant. Just depends on what you focus on, what you notice, and how closely you look. What part of the ocotillo first attracts your attention?

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson through the first week in April, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts,  and blogging about “Bo goes solo”. She is learning much about life as she studies the plants in the desert.

In the Desert – Visiting Saguaro National Park

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In the Desert © 2011 Bo Mackison

The trip to Saguaro National Park has been one of the highlights of my stay in Arizona. I hiked in the Tuscon Mountain Unit on the west side of Tucson, the smaller of the two units that comprise the park. Rincon Mountain Unit is just east of Tucson. The two units are actually separated by the city of Tucson and together they protect more than 90,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert and thousands of saguaros.

Purples, Yellows, Greens in the Desert

Symphony of Desert Color © 2011 Bo Mackison

I love the Sonoran desert region. I love the desert surrounded by mountains. On some winter days, you can stand on the fringe of the desert, look into the mountains, and see the peaks covered with snow.

When I hiked in Saguaro NP, I stopped for a while along the trail. There was no other person in sight, just me and the cacti, the jackrabbits, and a pack of four or five coyotes that sprinted across an arroyo a hundred feet away. I stood there, the sun warming me when it appeared, but there was a fairly heavy cloud cover and the desert light seemed to flicker off and on.

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro © 2011 Bo Mackison

I put my camera in my backpack, and just stood there in silence, listening, watching. I became intensely aware of this “place”. The desert is very grounding for me. I felt very solid and strong, standing in its midst, surrounded by this expanse of land.

The desert is by no means a desolate area. My photographs are a testimony to the wealth and diversity of the many growing plants, the contours of the land, the occasional bird or animal flushed from its daytime resting place. I stood near several saguaros, all at least twice as tall as me, all like poles. They had not yet sprouted any arms.

Suddenly I peered at my feet. I thought for a moment I had sunk into the earth, I felt that connected with this desert.

But no, I was standing just as you would expect. I shook off the feeling, and laughed a bit at my sudden fancy. But I do, feel a strong connection with this land, with this whole region. I don’t know exactly what that is all about, but I’m going to keep exploring and I’ll pay close attention to what happens.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  And she is discovering more than she had anticipated.

Desert Sun – A Poem of Faith

Arizona Desert

Staring into the burning desert sun. Desert heat
rises, sears my soul, the searching soul, seeking light.

I sink into the sand-earth, the desiccated cactus roots unable to support me.

Be not distraught. Reach out. Stand upright.

The sun drops off the edge of the world, night slips in quietly, settles,

A star shimmers.
And another.

I have journeyed long,
watched sunrises and sunsets, the ascents and descents of many moons.

Now a multitude of stars alight the heavens, milky streams of light, and with faith
I await the return of the sun.

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This is a contribution to the poetry challenge being run by the Abbey of the Arts: Entering the Desert’s Fire.  In the invitation to share a poem Christine writes:

I invite you this week to write a poem about your own invitation to enter the refiner’s fire – in alchemy lead is transformed into gold through heat and this becomes a metaphor for the human soul.  click What is the lead within you ready to be transformed into something treasured?