I have never seen the kind of landscape I did at the lower elevations, the combination of rock formations and cacti, mostly saguaro. It’s stunning. Then, at about 5000 feet the cactus disappeared and more familiar scrub appeared. At higher elevations there were incredible rock formations which reminded me of Castle Crags above Lake Shasta. Some even seemed like huge, natural versions of the Hawaiian rock pile monuments. Then there were evergreens and even snow. We went as far as Summerhaven, the aptly named village at the top. It was burned a couple of years ago in a lightening-sparked fire, but has been largely rebuilt. The legendary pie shop was the only surviving structure and we had hoped to have tea there, but it was closed, so we just drove back down. It was a very, very cool trip.
