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| Going up Mount Lemmon, outside Tucson, Arizona. July 2019. |
One of my Tucson cultural informants took me up to Mount Lemmon for a recon mission.
Mount Lemmon is very attractive to Tusconans during the summer oven season, as its air can be 30 degrees cooler than the desert floor.
Mount Lemmon is within the Coronado National Forest, which I first encountered here and here in 2013.
On our way to the summit, we pulled into one of the picnic areas for lunch at a picnic table shaded by coniferous trees:
- Lightly spiced cold shrimp
- Three kinds of cheese, sliced in small squares
- Small red peppers stuffed with, yes, cheese
- Slender crisps
- Cream cheese wrapped in ham
- Thick cuts of smoked bacon
- Montes chardonnay
- Dried mangoes
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| Picnic lunch, going up Mount Lemmon, outside Tucson, Arizona. July 2019. |
A blue and gray mountain bird eyed us in the hopes of an invitation, which we pretended to ignore.
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| Picnic lunch hopeful, going up Mount Lemmon, outside Tucson, Arizona. July 2019. |
While exploring the miniature village of Summerhaven, we came upon a Byzantine Catholic church devoted to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
At this point, I must surrender to my middle-school alter and confess that the first thing that came to mind when I saw the name of this church was: knots ==> ropes ==> bondage games. OK, now with that sophomoric detour out of the way ....
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
The story of how this church came to be is here.
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
My companion and I were lucky enough to arrive while one of the church creators was on the property and available to give a tour. Another couple joined us as well.
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
I am enchanted by stories of ordinary folks who have a vision for creating something beautiful, something of emotional or spiritual sustenance, to share with their community. I saw this in Caucasus Georgia. I saw it here and here in the United States.
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
The owners bought a Paul Revere bell for the church. Well, the bell was actually cast by Paul Revere's son.
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| Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
From the church, my companion and I moved up to the summit. You can still see the evidence of the 2003 Aspen Fire.
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| Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
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| Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
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| Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
The air? Deliciously cool. I even shivered once.
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| Mount Lemmon, Arizona. July 2019. |
The aspens made me nostalgic for the aspens in the Sacramento Mountains above Alamogordo.
1 comment:
Thank you!
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