Saturday - March 26
With the weather finally warming up and a
check on
wildflowers that might be blooming, we took a day-trip out to the
Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
It took us longer to get there than expected because the driver of the
vehicle didn't go exactly the way the nagivator suggested,
however! ;-) What would have been about an hour's drive turned into
more like an hour-and-a-half, and we fought through the traffic at the
Renaissance Fair again. Oh well, it's all part of the day, right? LOL
It was probably about noon when we arrived at the arboretum, and the
weather was perfect. The elevation there is higher than in Casa Grande
so it was a little cooler, which made it perfect for all the walking we did.
That's a story in itself that we'll get into later. LOL
"The chief attraction at the Arboretum is the system of nature
trails, with over two miles of combined length that weave through
the botanical gardens. These gardens represent the "living museum"
of plants capable of living in the Sonoran Desert of southern
Arizona. Many are native species; others have been introduced. A
series of Interpretive Ramadas are located along the Main Loop Trail
to provide information to Arboretum visitors."
Bruce & Howard headed for the gift shop and candy bars while Geri and
Lynn wandered around the plant sale outside the entrance. Fascinating
how many species/varieties of cactus there are and their different
colorations, displays, etc. We marveled at what Mother Nature had
created; hairy ones, big ones, little ones, some with spines, some with
flowers and other without. Beautiful! Wish we were going to be
around the end of April/first part of May to see the Saguaros bloom.
We've only seen one and that was years ago, but their flowers are gorgeous.
Only problem is, one has to be in place early ... like 6 a.m.! Ha!
Saguaros are night bloomers and lose their flower as soon as the day starts
to warm. We happened to be in just the right place at just the right
time when we saw one bloom on a Giant Saguaro. Maybe we'll get lucky
again someday.
In the meantime, we had plenty to see as we walked through the arboretum!
This little lizard (chameleon?) popped out long enough for us to see him and
recall our encounter with geckos in Hawaii during mating season.
They're cute, but boy are they noisy! They barked all night long when
we were there!
Pretty ornamental decorations with slumped glass flowers, it
appeared, to take a picture of Lynn. That brought up the topic of
slumping pieces of glass, and she thinks she might like to get into that
next season.
A colorful cactus garden greeted us as we started our tour. We
certainly chose the right time of the year!
Colorful Mohave Asters? were just the start!
Brilliant displays abounded!
Pretty Aloe hybrid of some sort.
In the Hummingbird and Butterflies area, we noticed this
little Ruby-throated hummingbird
diligently guarding a feeder
hung below him. Pretty little birds!
As we wandered along the north Main path, we took some of
the side paths.
One display was a typical ceremonial circle from Australia, I think.
This replicated an Australian seep (fed by hoses), where natives could gather water,
probably very much like what we learned about at the Salada ruins.
Saguaros like rocky soil. These looked like
sentinels to be climbing the hill
toward the top.
Silver Torch cactus. So pretty!
And a Toothpick cactus growing next to it.
Hedgehog getting ready to pop out!
Golden Barrel cactus patch!
Two old timers! ;=) It takes a Century/Millennium plant about 50
years to bloom. The stalk grows about five inches a day during the
growing season! That's fast! The parent plant was as tall as
Bruce. We wondered how tall the stalk would be when it finished
growing. See the little plant in front of the big one? That
might be the next parent plant. Once the cactus blooms, the whole
thing dies and starts anew in a runner.
This bloom is on a Mohave yucca. Ivory white and so pretty.
Check out the size of this Prickly Pear patch! Huge!
We saw a Boojum tree at Biosphere2 in the Australian Outback
display. The climate where they grow in North America is the same as
the climate where they grow in Australia. Interesting!
Otherwise known as the Candle tree. Can you see why?
Senita, aka Mexican Fence cactus.
Wonder what this gnarled-up cactus will look like in the
future.
Ayers lake is used for recycling water to irrigate the gardens.
There were schools of little minnows swimming around. Don't think I'd
be eating fish out of this lake!
The Boyce Thompson Hedgehog named to honor the Arboretum's
founder.
It has an almost-iridescent
fuchsia flower. Stunning color!
Color everywhere, and see the cactus with the "hair" on
them? Cracks me up!
We made it along the north side of the
Main path
past Ayers lake to the gazebo and oops, time for potty break #1! The
only restrooms were at the VC, so we covered the Main path back.
Beautiful walk, although Lynn & Geri walked more rapidly than Bruce &
Howard. LOL
Relieved, we took a turn and walked the south side of the Main path.
Totally different from the other side! Much more desolate looking and
more like one might expect a desert arboretum to be. Take a
virtual
tour of the facility for yourself and see! If Geri lived
nearby, she would have a membership and walk through it many times!
Wonderful place!
Apparently, there was a group of artisans who made several of these
statues as an exhibit at the Arboretum, and this one was purchased to stay
at the site. Bruce has always like chicks who wear baseball caps!
"Visitors and staff alike were thrilled
at the 2002 exhibit
of "Chapungu: Custom and Legend, a Culture in Stone" when the
magnificent Zimbabwean sculptures were here on the grounds, enjoyed by
tens of thousands of people."
More saguaros, of course, but why do some grow a few long
arms and other many shorter arms? We pondered that question throughout
the park.
The swallowtail butterflies were everywhere.
Gorgeous!
Bruce didn't have to be reminded of this, thank you very
much! ;=) But it's nice that they have their own part of the park.
This is looking back at a suspension bridge we crossed.
We had fun making it jump up and down as Lynn said, "Okay, Bruce, that's
enough." LOL Spoiled sport!
Don't you think this house looks rather contemporary? It actuality, it
was Boyce Thompson's and built in the early 1920s as far as we know.
Boyce Thompson ... "returned to politics for a short while after
the war (WWI) but disliked politics. He found his greatest interest
in a new home he was building in the Arizona hills, near the town of
Superior. This is where he built his Picket Post house. When a
friend asked him how much land he owned around Picket Post House, he
replied, "I own it all as far as the eye can see, because I love
it." The fact was that the first years, he owned none at all. The
land was part of the Crook National Forest and the house was built
under a permit of the Forest Service. By purchasing land in northern
Arizona that the Service wanted he was able to make an exchange that
which gave him ownership of over four hundred acres. Thompson is
reported to have been happier in his Picket Post home than ever
before."
The name, Picket Post house, is derived from the nearby mountain of the
same name.
Boyce
Thompson ... "soon picked Franklin J. Crider, University of
Arizona, to establish the Boyce Thompson Southwest Arboretum on a
portion of the 400 acres. The initial mission of the Arboretum was
to study the plants of desert countries and to make the results
available to the public. In 1924 he also established
the Boyce Thompson Institute for
plant research in Yonkers, New York. After suffering a
stroke in October 1925, his left arm and leg were paralyzed. He had
driven himself too hard. There were many things he wanted to do. He
had dreamed of a rich old age, when he would have time to enjoy his
home, his garden, his grandchildren. His strength and vitality never
returned. After the Stock Market crash in October 1929, he was
convinced it was a prelude to a greater disaster. He sold stocks
heavily and from the hundreds of millions he had collected in the
three previous decades, he was down to his last 100 million in early
1930. He died from pneumonia in June 1930."
We heard that the State of Arizona paid $2.9MM for the house
and there it sits! Because of the condition of the plumbing and
electrical, it has been too costly to renovate. Private donors are
being sought, we heard, to save this lovely old home so it might be used for
weddings or corporate functions, etc. The interior is beautiful from
what we heard. Mr. Thompson also had an elevator installed to lower
him from his home to the gardens, through which he was pushed in his wheel
chair daily until he passed away.
To finally be in a place he loved and then die at age 61,
which agreed was old at that time, seems so sad. As they say, live
each day as if it were your last; tomorrow isn't guaranteed.
Continuing on back around the path were more flowers.
The delicate Mountain Globemallow was gently blowing in the
breeze.
The place was alive with bees, butterflies and birds
Claret Cup cactus!
Fascinating and beautiful place, but by the time we were done walking back
and forth for potty breaks and going where we didn't think we were going to
go, we must have walked ten miles ... in the searing heat ... with no water
... uphill both ways ... in a snowstorm ... with no shoes!
All that walking made us hungry, and the
Heart Attack Grill
seemed to be calling our names. Howard & Lynn hadn't been there before
so we introduced them to a place that has been on Diners, Drive-ins and
Dives, one of their favorite programs. As our nurse, Tracy, tied
Lynn's gown on, Lynn started checking out and giggling at the menu.
She and I traded places after this picture so she could also
see what was going on. "It's nothing like what I expected," she said.
We rocked out to the music, ate Flatliner fries while waiting for our burgers and
overall had a great time!
This young man had a quadruple bypass burger, and he ate every bite!
Of course, that was cause for celebration. Everyone cheered, clapped
and the air horn sounded. Didn't notice whether he got a ride out to
his car in the wheelchair, but one is definitely needed after eating two
pounds (after cooking!) of hamburger!
Okay, dig in Lynn! We each had a single bypass. We almost got
that down, but Howard & Lynn succeeded in eating the whole thing! That's a
half-pound of real hamburger, none of the 10% stuff.
