Sunlight Through The Aspens on Mt. Lemmon– Computer Painting by kenne
When the mind’s eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality,
it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently;
but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay,
it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting,
and it seems to lack intelligence.
— Plato, Republic
Image by kenne
Lonely ski slopes
off the mountaintop
surrounded by a
forest of color, with
small brooks passing.
So it is with me
to hike the Aspen Draw
up the slopes
under the fall colors —
sun mingling with leaves.
Once near the top
a girl with yellow hair
passes by without
saying a word, not
knowing I was there.
A stranger to
everything
and everyone
just passing through
this lonely world.
— kenne
Image by kenne
Fall Colors Hiking The Aspen Draw Trail — Image by kenne
— kenne
SCVN Friday Hike on Mt. Lemmon — Images by kenne (Click on any of the images to see slide show.)
Yesterday’s SCVN Friday Hike started at the Ski Valley parking lot where we took the Aspen Draw trail up to the top of the ski runs, then the Mt. Lemmon trail, looping back on the Meadow Trail. Combining these three trails gave us a six-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,200 feet. The hike included a stop of the Lemmon Rock Lookout.
The weather was great, so I was able to get a lot of photos, which I will be sharing, starting with the previous post and some others after this posting.
The SCVN summer hikes on Mt. Lemmon will conclude after the two remaining hikes (August 23 & 30). The SCVN lead hikes are part of our Public Interpretation program, which includes Walks, Hikes, and Demos, designed to help participants learn about and experience the wonders of Sabino Canyon, the Santa Catalina Mountains, and the Sonoran Desert.
kenne
Aspen Draw Trail On Mount Lemmon — Images by kenne
While hiking the very dusty Aspen Draw Trail on Mount Lemmon I saw my first columbine flower of the summer. It was one of the few wildflowers currently blooming on the mountain. It is very dry in the Santa Catalinas. Much of the trail has a top layer of gray power dust. The summer rains are needed to help bring on the wildflowers. The few that have appeared are short in height and the blooms aren’t lasting very long.
Last summer this blog probably had too many columbine images because they are so irresistible. I hope I will soon be able to post a beautiful fresh-looking columbine.
Here are two links to posts last June:
https://kenneturner.com/2012/06/14/capturing-the-moment-golden-columbine/
https://kenneturner.com/2012/07/03/one-of-my-favorite-wildflowers-golden-columbine/
kenne
Images by kenne
![[AT] workhorse](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49583400337_e6689628e0_s.jpg "[AT] workhorse")
