Walking in the Sunshine

Yesterday (October 29) we went to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum which is east of Mesa near a town called Superior.  It had a 1.5 mile walk through cacti and succulents and other plants native to the area.  (For more information see http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/plantsandanimals.html.)  It was about 30 C so quite warm for a walk.  At the suggestion of one of the staff, we did the uphill side first so that we were not climbing so much when we were more tired.  Actually, although the trail is a bit rough in spots, we didn't find it difficult.  (I walk a mile every morning so the only added thing was the rougher terrain.)

(You can see some of the walking path here.)

 

 

It went up quite high where it was dry and rocky and then dropped into an almost lush little valley where there were even fruit trees like the Dwarf Pomegranate.

I saw one small lizard about the size that Beth used to keep in a terrarium.   We saw some nice butterflies and a few birds.  There are bird watching locations so I imagine that if you sit there at quiet times you might get some nice sightings.

I just love the desert plants so this was a real treat for me.  I could look at cacti and succulents all day!

And check out this eucalyptus:

 

 

This tree is 8 ft. across at the base and 100 ft. tall.  It was planted  about 1928 (give or take a year or two, I can't quite remember).  I couldn't stay on the path and get the entire height of it.

 

And here is another interesting plant we saw:

 

The sign says Mexican Jumping Beans is you are having trouble reading it.

And just to prove that I spare no danger to bring you this blog:

 

 

 

Since Casey was back at the motorhome, we didn't stay all day but did stop at a place in Superior for lunch.  I choose it because there were lots of Harleys in the parking lot so I figured that the bikers from Mesa and area ride up there just to get out and cruise and stop at this place.  We had homemade Mexican food (not very spicy) and big glasses of iced tea.( Despite having water with us on our walk, we were still quite thirsty afterwards.)

It was a well spent time.  I would go again.  Check it out if you are in Southern Arizona.