Friday March 17th 2017

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. My activities for the day had nothing to do with Ireland, Leprechauns or Saints. On a day that set the daily record for temperature in Phoenix, I went for a hike in the desert.

Saguaro Cactus near the entrance of the arboretum.

It’s not as strange as the written statement. I visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. It is located in the Tonto National Forest about an hour east of Phoenix. The arboretum contains carefully cultivated desert plans mixed with a variety of native plants and terrain. The park contains a small body of water called a lake, a creek and some steep terrain. The main trail goes around and partially over a large Magma Ridge.

Consistent with the time of year, many of the desert plants were in bloom. Most of the year the desert is brown and dark green. This time of year yellows, violets, and shades of red join the color spectrum. It is a very pretty display. This blog entry contains some of the pictures I took on the walk around the main trail.

Ayer Lake

Looking back at the Lake from higher up the trail.

Picket Post house

Steep decent

Drop off on side of trail.

Narrow path along the creek.