Arizona Trip - Day 7

We had a nice trip today to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Tempe, about 20 minutes away.

The facility is huge with every kind of cactus and succulent you can imagine. We learned that all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti - go figure.  The gardens are arranged around several loop trails, each with a particular theme. The main trail is the Desert Discovery Loop Trail.  The other trails: Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Loop Trail, Sonoran Desert Nature Loop Trail, Center for Desert Living Loop Trail, and the Desert Wildflower Loop Trail all branch off of the main trail.  There are also several special exhibits through the gardens focusing on various forms of artistic expression.  Some of the sculptures we saw would take more time and contemplation than we were prepared to give them today.  We believe many of them would not appeal to every artistic taste. There is also a very interesting exhibit of sculptures built with replicas of various kinds of fruits and vegetables representing the four seasons - kind of like Mr. Potato Head with seasonal decorations (check the pictures).

A highlight of the visit was a very interesting butterfly exhibit in an enclosed outdoor setting.  There were lots of different kinds of butterflies flying around and landing on many different kinds of plants and flowers.  They also would land on you and were not easily spooked.  The setting was photographer's dream.  We took a lot of butterfly pictures and viewer discretion is advised.  We asked a volunteer docent where the butterflies came from.  She said some were native and others came from back East. Many of them came from a butterfly farm where they are cooled down in a refrigerator, slowing down their metabolism and compressing their wings.  They are then sent in cool pack containers by overnight Fed Ex to wherever they are going.  Upon arrival, they are thawed out and live for 2-4 weeks.  We are not sure the Butterfly Rights Organizations  would approve of all this, but that's the way of the world for butterflies.  Regardless, it was a beautiful exhibit that has brought a lot of enjoyment to the many visitors who have been there.

We also had a great lunch at the garden's restaurant and later, lemonade at a snack bar near one of the trails.  While relaxing there we saw many quail who were not shy and are apparently used to people leaving scraps on the ground.  We also saw a roadrunner scoot by - too fast to get the camera and take a picture but we think we heard it say "Beep-Beep" as it went by.  Other wildlife sightings included a prairie dog in a tree (a strange sight), a rabbit, and other birds we could not identify.

Tomorrow night, we are going to a spring training baseball game in Scottsdale (Giants v, San Diego).  We will probably visit some other local attractions before the game.  We're not sure what just yet, but will figure it out in the morning.

Day 7 Pictures