We have only visited Mount Graham once, for a weekend "camping" trip, in our Dutchmen 20' travel trailer, on Saturday and Sunday, September 18th and 19th, 1993. Our visit happened to coincide with the dedication of the University of Arizona telescope on top of the mountain. Near the entrance to the forest an environmental group was protesting the construction of the scope. Although we were sympathetic to their cause, there wasn't much we could have done at that time but to drive on through the protest and on up the highway to Acadia campground. There were lots of State police, bus loads of guests, and lots of traffic.

The campground, at 6,500 feet in the Coronado National Forest, is up in the pines and had an asphalt paved road and trailer pads. It's a small campground, with plenty of shade. The overnight fee was $5.00. There are picnic tables, drinking water, and vault toilets. There were only three to four sites suitable for a trailer.

We were the only overnight campers, so it was really quiet. The overnight temperatures were cool, with occasional breezes. There were very few insects about. The only disturbance was in the late afternoon of the day we arrived. A carload of noisy protesters drove through, shouting at us for camping when we should be protesting. On Saturday a group of picnickers had a toy poodle that kept coming over to visit us, climbing right up into our trailer.

I don't believe we did any hiking on that trip. Our main goal was to get away from the city and relax, and to enjoy the scenery and quiet of the forest. None of that happened.

We did drive farther up onto the top of the mountain, where there are more campgrounds and a lake and very nice views of the surrounding desert valleys. There were little springs, several streams, and lots of tight roads with steep drops. The temperatures up high were very comfortable. We spotted gray squirrels with reddish backs and whitish tails. They were very playful. There were also chipmunks, woodpeckers, and some junco-like birds. One of the squirrels was eating a mushroom near its nest. We also saw several toadstools.