Last week’s trip to the Superstition Mountains included a stop at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum is the largest and oldest botanical garden in the state of Arizona and one of the oldest botanical institutions west of the Mississippi. Founded in 1924 as a desert plant research facility and “living museum”, the Arboretum is located in the Sonoran Desert along Queen Creek, beneath the towering Picketpost Mountain. It’s located on U.S. Highway 60, an hour’s drive east from Phoenix and 3 miles west of Superior Arizona.
We chose to explore the park by walking the Main Loop Trail, with a slight diversion along the High Trail. Although we didn’t photograph much of the garden areas, we were rewarded with some very scenic views along the trail.
Our first stop of note was Ayer Lake, a true oasis in the desert. Following is a sequence of photographs taken in this very picturesque area. This first picture offers an overview of the lake from the trail on its east side. Because it’s a botanical garden, it includes a number of trees, plants and bushes that are not indigenous to the Sonoran Desert, the palm in the foreground for example.
I really like this scene take at the lake’s level. The early morning light is great for photography and the calm water has allowed me to get some very nice reflections.
I like the tree on the left so much, I zoomed in to get this close-in picture of the tree and its reflection. I think it’s even better than the previous scene. My opinion only.
Moving along the path, we descended into Queen Creek Canyon, a riparian area that attracts Sonoran Desert wildlife and migrating birds. Visitors have seen bobcats, javelinas, coatimundis, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, hawks, hummingbirds, and vultures. Two hundred and seventy bird species have been spotted in the park and the Audubon Society has designated the Arboretum as an Important Bird Area. The mansion in the distance was built in 1923 by the arboretum’s founder, William Boyce Thompson.
Traveling along the canyon we entered wooded areas that presented some very nice photographic opportunities, including this interesting tree shading the pathway.
Despite it being late November, there are still signs of autumn, the coloured leaves on the canyon’s trees below Magma Ridge.
This is a very typical desert scene, viewed from the highland trail as we approached the Australia Desert Exhibit.
As a former resident of Australia, I can attest to the authenticity of the scenery in the Australia Desert Exhibit. It all seemed very familiar to me. Although I can’t claim to have visited a drover’s woodshed, this building is very typical of an old, derelict structure you might find in outback areas of the country.
A visit to an arboretum would certainly be incomplete without examining some of the many plants, bushes and trees on display. There are far too many to photograph and of course no one wants to see all of them anyway. Here, in the following slideshow is a brief sampling of some of the interesting flora I saw. Click on the right side of the image to advance; on the left to reverse.
I REALLY LIKE TRAVELLING WITH YOU …THANKS
Very nice work, Peter. I also particularly like the close-up of the tree and its reflection. Enjoyed the commentary also.