Cactus Blossoms at Boyce Thompson

A couple of days ago, I posted a short overview of our visit to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Since Highway 60 has just been widened to four lanes most of the way, the Arboretum is an accessible day-trip from the Valley, and well worth the visit. It took up about 40 minutes to get there, making it closer than the Cerreta Candy factory, or most of the West Valley.

Here are some photos of the plants in the gardens that were taken last Saturday, at the end of April, with a temperature about 75 degrees and partly cloudy... a perfect day to visit.

The Palo Verde Trees are blooming all over the desert. I was talking to my sister (who lives back East). She said on a blog she read, one lady was lamenting the fact that there were no blooming trees in the desert. I think they were discussing the lovely forsythia and all the trees that bloom in cooler climates. Ummm... we have mesquite, palo verde, ironwood, and lots of others, including plenty of imports like citrus and apricots.




Palo Verde blossoms up close. See that pretty green bark?



Here is a beautiful plant. I accidentally had the camera on the wrong setting, so a section of my photos came out dark. With this tiny flower, the photo is stunning. These flowers are about as big as my pinky fingernail.



These are the staghorn cholla blossoms (Opuntia versicolor). There were yellow, orange, and red versions of these blossoms.


Here is a prickly pear which is just covered with blossoms and fruit.


And here is a close-up photo of the Prickly Pear Blossoms. These ones are yellow.



And these prickly pear blossoms are light orange.



The Mescal Bean bushes were covered with these pretty flowers. Not as spectacular as cactus blooms, but still really neat.



And here are some golden barrel cactuses. Which reminds me of a nice survival myth that has been circulating for many years. No, you cannot get water from a barrel cactus, or any cactus. The stored water is very acidic and will make you ill. They are not the desert's version of a watermelon.



Here is a funny flower. These are pretty white blossoms, right.



The funny thing about these, is that the flowers are bigger than my hand. Try looking through the viewfinder of a digital SLR camera while taking a photo of your own hand next to a cactus sometime. I am lucky I didn't stab myself on the spines.



This is a funny tree near the end of the highline trail. It grew in a crack, then sent its roots down the cliff face.



This is a cute little cactus with some other flowers mixed in.


Some more cactus blossoms. Color not photoshopped.


This little cactus was hiding behind a bench right next to a cliff wall, so I had to hold the camera down behind the bench and shoot random photos until I got a good shot.


Wow!


This cactus had petals that were as delicate as carnation petals.


Well, that's all for now. Where should we go next? Tucson or Flagstaff?

Changes

So, for whoever has my blog in a reader, I have a question. I made about five changes to the previous post. Does a new notice show up in your reader every time I found something to fix and re-published the post about the Boyce Thompson Arboretum? I sure hope not. I was trying to get the photos to look ok, and my spacing was really strange.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

One of the best Springtime day trips in Arizona is a visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. At this time of year, late April, all the cactuses are blooming, and so are many of the other plants. It is still cool enough to spend most of the day roaming over the well-built paths, through the beautiful gardens.

Colonel Boyce Thompson built his Picket Post home on the side of a hill overlooking the canyons that now are filled with the plants of the Arboretum. The house itself is pretty neat to see from below, with rather spectacular, hand-built retaining walls.

The gardens themselves are more spectacular, however. Boyce Thompson wanted to build a world-class botanical garden. 75 years later, he has certainly succeeded. The gardens are well-planned and the plants are mature and well-tended. There are huge Eucalyptus (gum) trees, cactuses, and thousands of other plants from all over the southwest and the world.

The setting for the gardens is a canyon with some cool rock formations. In fact, a small home was built onto an alcove in a canyon wall. Can you spot the house in the photo on the left?



I'll give you a hint. You can probably see the doorway in the lower left corner. The Clevenger House is only about nine feet tall, and completely covered with Honeysuckle vines. The vines were growing clear up the cliff.

This little house has an herb garden surrounding it, and we all had fun smelling the different herbs. Lemon Balm was my favorite, but lavender is a very close runner-up.

There was a neat old building with two greenhouses on each side. One of the greenhouses was full of cactus, and the other had succulents.



We sat and relaxed in the hummingbird garden for a while before the gardens closed, trying to get a photo of the elusive hummingbirds. We were not as successful as we have been other places, because these tiny birds were pretty skittish.

Can you even see the hummingbird in this photo? He is in the center, eating from the Aloe Vera blossoms.



Some of the paths were closed, but there was still plenty to see. The children's favorite was the singing bridge. The suspension bridge crossed Queen Creek, which was dry, and led to the highline trail.

What do most children (and many adults) do when they are presented with the opportunity to cross a hanging bridge? Bounce up and down halfway across, of course. Then run back and forth while jumping on the bridge to see what happens. This particular bridge had a very musical squeek as the children ran up and down, earning the nickname of "the singing bridge." Since there were no other visitors around, we let the children amuse themselves for a while, seeing if they could get a song from the three notes.

Overall, everyone had an enjoyable day, and the children were begging to come back next week. We probably won't be back soon, but only because we have a huge list of other places to visit.

I'll have to post some of the cactus flowers and plant photos later.

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum has different hours in the Summer, so check out their official Boyce Thompson website to help plan your visit.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures. These are some photos we have taken recently of native Arizona hummingbirds.

We have an orchid tree in our back yard that has been blooming for a month now. This tree seems to be a favorite hangout for hummingbirds, so we have been able to get some photos as the birds eat from the bright purple flowers.






This Broadbilled Hummingbird is very colorful: blue, purple, and green. It loves the desert honeysuckle plants.



This hummingbird also loves the desert honeysuckle, but decided to perch for a while.



When we saw this Costa's Hummingbird, it had just been raining, and the temperature was pretty cool. The bird fluffed itself up and hunkered down on a branch of a fairy duster plant. It was pretty disinclined to move, although it stayed pretty alert.








This bird is probably a broad-billed hummingbird as well. This one was at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson. Even in a cage, they don't hold still very long, and are difficult to photograph.



This little guy must have been taking a nap because we were able to get up pretty close for a few shots before he took off to wherever he went into the neighborhood.



We also have some aloe vera which the hummingbirds love.

Where does this trail go?

The day we hiked the Peralta Trail was pretty warm for February. When we headed out from the trailhead about 8:30, it was almost 70 degrees. By the time we returned after noon, it had warmed up to the high 80s. With only sporadic shade, it was quite toasty, and we ended up sharing a lot of our water with some of the less well-prepared members of our group. We had enough water to get everyone down safely, but only because we had carried two extra gallons of water.

About a quarter of a mile from the end of our hike up and back the Peralta Trail, two college-age men asked us where the trail went. One of the two men carried a half-full bottle of water. Neither had packs of any type.

"Hey," one said. "Where does this trail go?" Not really understanding what the two wanted to know, we pointed out where the trail went up the canyon to the saddle. Others pitched in to tell them how wonderful the hike was, and what a great view there was from the top. A short discussion followed, and the two headed up the trail. We had determined that the two actually had no idea where they were or where they were headed. Did they just drive around the desert on back roads until they found a parking lot, and head up the nearest trail?

It had taken me a few minutes to process their question, because the concept was so foreign to me. Never have we driven randomly around and hiked up whatever trail we found. Maybe you can do that back East, but here in Arizona, you can get into a lot of trouble really fast if you don't know where you are and what you are doing.

We hope they turned around before they got too far along the trail and got into trouble. With a half bottle of water between the two, they could get pretty dehydrated hiking four and a half miles. When hikers are warned to "be prepared for conditions" that means that they should check the weather, know where they are going, and carry enough food and water to safely complete the hike. Also, to let someone else know where you are going and when you are supposed to return.

A superficial survey of the stories on local Search and Rescue websites show that most rescues are those of inexperienced hikers who got in over their heads. A majority seem to be out-of-state visitors or newcomers to the area.

The two guys we met didn't show up on the news, but they could have been added to the list of statistics and merited a press-release by the search and rescue team that came out to look for them. Even if they stayed on the trail, dehydration is a real problem. Walking Arizona had an interesting post on dehydration in the Sonoran Desert here.

So just stay safe, and make sure you know where you're headed when you go out hiking.

Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle and the Weaver's Needle Overlook

On our recent trip up the Peralta trail, the weather was lovely. The popularity of this trail in good weather is such that the second parking lot was almost full by 8:30, and the trail was rather busy. A group of scouts was heading up with their backpacks for an overnight campout at about the same time we were heading up.

As we hiked up the trail, we saw some wildflowers, although not as many as in some years. Twice, hikers in our group brushed up against cactus, leaving them each with a pant leg and shoe full of spines. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult to pull out the spines.

The Peralta Trail is a popular, moderately easy hike into the Superstition Wilderness Area. The trail leads to Fremont Saddle and a really nice view of Weaver's Needle. The best time to hike this trail is in the Fall or Spring, followed by Winter. Summer is not a very good time to hike this trail, since temperatures top 100°F.

The trail is easy to follow and starts by crossing a small stream in several places, swinging from the west side to the east side of the canyon. About two-thirds of the way into the canyon, there is a little bit of exposure to some dropoffs, where parents will need to hold onto small children. Don't let this discourage you from bringing your children along, however, because they love the trail. Toward the end, the trail leads to a small series of switchbacks on the east side before reaching the summit. The trail is not too steep, but towards the end of the hike, can be more strenuous. The trail climbs approximately 1,400 ft. over 2.25 miles. Elevation at the saddle is approximately 3,700 ft.

Upon reaching the Freemont Saddle, the volcanic plug known as Weaver's Needle is visible. If you have a good pair of binoculars, you can focus them on the summit of Weaver's Needle, where visitors will be pleased to see an American Flag waving in the breeze. The summit has little caves and boulders, and so climbing around and exploring the saddle can be quite exciting.



Most hikers turn around at Fremont Saddle. For those continuing onward the trail goes north into Boulder Canyon, and continuing on for several miles before connecting with the Dutchman's Trail. However, the trail is not as well-built or maintained, so past the saddle, hikers will do less hiking and more boulder-hopping. Those who feel like climbing the Weaver's Needle would be advised to skip the climb unless they are skilled technical climbers with full climbing equipment.

The saddle also provides excellent views of the Superstition Wilderness. There is also a small window and cave on the way up.

Weaver's Needle is famous due to its association with the "Lost Dutchman" Gold Mine. Or was is the Dutchman's lost mine? Stories say that the Needle could be seen from the mine. Or was the mine supposed to be in the shadow of the Needle? With all the treasure hunters that have wasted their time looking for the lost mine, don't get caught up in the search. The needle can actually be seen from quite a distance and from a number of locations in and out of the Superstitions. Fremont Saddle offers a unique close up view.

Casa Grande

Well, it's worth a visit... once. Once you've seen Casa Grande, there is not much reason to go back. However, it's pretty impressive if you take the time to learn about the building. The Casa Grande or "big house" is a 4-story, 11-room structure which was built about 700 years ago. It is surrounded by other smaller structures, including a small ballcourt.

The huge protective structure detracts from the views, but without the protection, Casa Grande's main buildings would deteriorate further. The current canopy was built in 1932, and it has pretty much allowed the ruins to remain without further deterioration. Because Casa Grande is built from adobe, or mud brick, it is rather fragile. The walls have been stabilized with plaster and brick.

Casa Grande is about 40 by 60 feet, and the walls at the base are about four feet thick. Inside the main structure, there is a good deal of graffiti left by visitors from the time of the Spanish explorers up through modern times. According to a few fuzzy photographs in an old binder in the visitor's center, there are carvings or pictographs inside the main structure, but they are not visible from the outside of the building. Visitors are not allowed inside the main structure.

Aside from the drive, you can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours in the park, but unless you are a researcher, photographer, or archeologist, there is not enough to interest you for longer than that.

Children have fun filling out the Junior Ranger Booklets, and receiving their Junior Ranger Badges. Also, they liked the pair of Great Horned Owls that had taken up residence in the protective structure.

For more information, you can check out the official National Parks page for Casa Grande National Monument.

Am I allergic to citrus?

Recently I overheard a comment from a lady who was complaining about her allergies. She said she couldn't stand it when the citrus trees bloomed, because she was very allergic to the pollen. Now that was a new one to me. I grew up here, and I knew people allergic to ragweed, olive trees, and other stuff. I couldn't remember anyone being allergic to citrus trees. The fruit itself, yes, but not the pollen.

So I did a little looking around, and found out that the lady was probably wrong. There are a lot of other common allergens that send out pollen at the same time the citrus trees are blooming. Citrus trees are a good scapegoat, because the scent is pervasive. Ahhh... the smell of citrus blooming in the spring is absolutely heavenly.

Anyway, citrus trees do not have pollen that drifts through the air like that of ragweed or other plants. Like the pollen of most other fruit trees, citrus pollen is sticky, and insects transfer the pollen from one flower to another -- the good ol' honey bees. Unless you stand under a citrus tree and shake the branches, or stick your nose directly into a flower, you can't really come into contact with the pollen.

Therefore, even if you were allergic to the citrus pollen, it is unlikely that you would come in contact with enough pollen to have an allergic reaction. The past month has had very high tree and weed pollen counts, but not citrus.

You can see the primary allergens for Phoenix (or your area) on Weatherbug.

So, good luck figuring out what you're allergic to, but it's almost certain that citrus trees are not the culprit.