Dear Maia, Isaac and Virtual Wanderers,

Sometimes cosmic things happen on road trips. Like being at Monument Valley or Sedona or Salinas Pueblos on Easter morning. I don’t plan it that way intentionally, but somehow the holiday lines up with the road trip dates in strange and wonderful ways.

So today was Arbor Day in Arizona and most of the US. And where were we? At the Arboretum! I would not have known except I asked Google about hours and it mentioned the Arbor Day connection. I mentioned it to another visitor and they also weren’t aware.

But, back to the start. We woke up in a mid-century hotel in Superior and headed about 3 miles west on Highway 60 to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I discovered this place on an early road trip with my dog Maizzy when we Serendipitously took US 60 from Phoenix to New Mexico.

The Arboretum was an immediate hit – my live of plants and my love of the Southwest came together like a Reese cup. I don’t think we have missed a year since then. I love how they have arid-loving plants from different regions in different sections. It’s like walking through all the deserts of the world in a few hours.

It’s the largest and oldest Arboretum in Arizona. I’ve seen the growth through the years. The newer Wallace Desert section is my favorite. So that’s where we headed first. We’ll, second. First, we had a picnic.

This place never disappoints. Although I’m a bit bummed that the peak bloom was so early this year. It was a bit less stunning than usual today.

Once we got done with the desert, we walked through the shadier deserts down as far as the suspension bridge. Because it’s a temperature shock for Colorado dogs, Koko and Kachina were stroller riding and Cimarron was in her purse carrier all day. So, the trail beyond the bridge is too rough. I did it the first year with Maizzy in a backpack.

We wound back around to the main trail and down to the lake. Then back to the entrance, where they have a plant sale always. And, I buy plants, always. I decided to get some interesting aloe to maybe propagate and sell at Country Flair and my upcoming “driveway sales.” Boyce Thompson has varieties you won’t find at big box stores.

So, with plants crammed into the Fit, we headed a few miles east to the motel in Globe. I was going to take the long route to Winkleman but was enjoying the desert walk a little too much. Besides how often do you find yourself at your favorite Arboretum on Arbor Day?

Happy Trails, GM Cathy Hartt