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Baboquivari peak, and mountain
range. The peak is 7730 feet in elevation, roughly a mile above
the basins on either side.
"Baboquivari " is the Anglicized version of the Tohono O'odham name meaning, "a neck between two heads." It's the Tohono O'odham (Papago) sacred mountain, the place where Elder Brother lives and from which he brought the people (which is what O'odham means) to inhabit this land. Kitt Peak is at the northern end of the range--the home of some of Arizona's most important telescopes. The dry desert air makes for near ideal observation conditions, though Tucson's light pollution continues to encroach on them.
"A grey-green forest stretched between jagged volcanic
peaks. Up close, it wasn't an impressive forest. Its leafy canopy
was sparse and seldom rose above head high, though thick saguaros
and the spiked whips of ocotillo branches rose considerably farther.
The forest's floor was covered with occasional clumps of grass
and a myriad of sharp things, thorned and needled, protruding
from soil that was not much duller. The ground seemed equal parts
sand, sharp gravel, broken rock, and dust. Teddy bears peered
out of those woods, their soft, cuddly forms just one more desert
mirage. These were cholla cactuses and their deceptive fur nothing
but a pelt of wicked spines. Not a friendly landscape, J.D. decided.
On his better days he appreciated its stark beauty for that very
reason."
Excerpt from The Grey
Pilgrim (2000 edition).
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