Arizona's Table Top Mountain

A familiar landmark looms largely In southern Pinal County in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona — Table Top Mountain. This highest peak in the area at... more

by Judy Kennedy

Title

Arizona's Table Top Mountain

Artist

Judy Kennedy

Medium

Photograph - Digital Art Photography

Description

A familiar landmark looms largely In southern Pinal County in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona — Table Top Mountain. This highest peak in the area at an elevation of 4,373 feet, sits in a wilderness area bearing the same name that is managed by the United States’ Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The only thing separating it from Mexico approximately 27 miles to the south is the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation which is sparsely populated. The Vekol Wash also runs through it, so this part of the desert has seen a lot of smuggling activity and can be potentially dangerous. Still, it provides many rewards for the brave hikers and nature lovers who want to get away from it all for a while. Once you leave Interstate 8 behind and travel south, it’s a good hour to the trailheads due to the primitive dirt road that leads there. There’s a direct, strenuous trail to the summit, and then many meandering trails through ancient lava flows. The summit not only reveals fantastic views, but also mysterious rock walls that have never been properly identified or excavated by archeologists. It is a wondrous site to behold, and can be seen from every south-facing window in my home. As I’m writing this, it is directly in front of me, always in my line of view no matter what I’m doing. Unfortunately, I’ve never climbed it, but I’ve been to the base with my husband and dogs. Hiking in the remote area around my home, I’ve taken many photographs where it’s been caught from some angle or another in various seasons of the year. In the headline-producing winter storm of 2020, it received a fluffy white eather cap of snow that was a sight to behold! Some of those photographs are forthcoming. This is an older photograph dated (July 7, 2007) that I digitally modified to look like a painting in a short series of artistic expressions. It represents the typical Sonoran Desert landscape full of giant saguaros and other desert flora with Table Top ever-present in the background.

Uploaded

July 26th, 2020