My trip to Arizona Jan. 2011

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This is the last for now. Will post more tomorrow.

Karen

Karen, very nice scenes....that's what I picture in my mind when I hear Arizona. Glad you had a great time, and will be returning.

So glad you had a great time Karen and such wonderful pictures. The sunsets are simply gorgeous!

Beautiful shots Karen! Love the sunsets. Arizona is on my husbands bucket list!

Thanks, guys! A great place to have on one's bucket list.

Karen

Beautiful pictures. Amazing trip.

My wife and I have a dream that when she retires in 8-10 years we will take a road trip across the US. Looking forward to going through Arizona for sure.

Thank for posting. Loved it.

Thanks. You guys should definitely go. Certainly an amazing place to see.

Karen

Wonderful Pics Karen, looks like you had a great time!

Thanks for sharing.
I have cousins that live in Mesa and my sil and her hubby are planning on moving out there in the next year or so.

great shots Karen.... looks like a nice trip

looks like fun, I used to go to Tuscon quite a bit, Suguaro National Park was great

nice visit

Nice pix. Reminds me of the years I spent in Ariz. Next time you go, besides the ones you mention, you might also want to visit these other arboretums or botanical gardens:
ASU Arboretum (Tempe)
Boyce Thompson Arboretum (Superior)
The Arboretum (Flagstaff)
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson)
Tohono Chul Park (Tucson-one of my sons was married there amid the cacti!)
TucsonBotanical Gardens (Tucson)

Glad you were able to extend your visit, Nuts. Beautiful shots. I'm going to share them with my grandyson. We studied about desert habitats.

Karen, thanks for the stroll. Lovely sunset shots. Patti

Thanks, everyone!

Don, I've been to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, and really enjoyed it. Took lots of pics, but that's when I was doing film. Would like to go again and get some digital shots. Personally, I feel my digital shots are far superior to most of what I did on film, except for maybe my slides. I would love to get a digital SLR so that I can use a polarizing filter again. I got some really nice looking pics with that one filter, and it's one I used most of the time. Thanks for the list of all the other nice places to visit. I will have to check some out on my next trip.

Debi, I have not been to the Saguaro National Park yet, and would love to go. Also would love to visit the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, though that's way down by the border, and a long drive from the Phoenix area. The organ pipe cactus apparently is rare in the US, though common in Mexico. They cannot tolerate any cold. weather. They only grow on the south facing slopes in the National Monument. They bloom at night, and the flowers close by mid-morning. One would have to go to the monument in the early morning during the blooming season to see them in bloom. One of my friends had one in her front yard in Mesa. I'm wondering if it's still thriving, as they've have a couple of cold snaps with temps in the 20's overnight this past fall and winter. I will have to ask her about it.

Jen, I used to live in Mesa and would like to move back there someday. I miss it. I like Apache Junction even more, which is just east of Mesa. I lived in Mesa for 4 years, then moved here in March of 2002 after my mother died in 2001. I have some regrets about leaving AZ, but then I would not have gotten into gardening like I am now if I had not. I lived for 17 years in northern NV, and I did do a lot of gardening there, but when I moved to AZ I did not have my own place, so no gardening for 4 years. I did ceramics to replace the gardening bug. Now I'm hooked on DL's, especially, among other things. I'm hoping to one day have my own place in AZ and grow DL's there using drip irrigation. I may not be able to grow many of the ones I can grow here, due to them needing a cold winter for dormancy, but there are many I could grow there that I cannot grow here.

Share with anyone you want, Jan. I sure don't mind others enjoying my pics.

Here are pics from a hike I did by myself in Bulldog Canyon, just outside of Apache Junction, off the Apache Trail (S.R.88).

Karen

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A view of Superstition Mountain.

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Fish Hook Cactus

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Fish Hook Cactus

BTW, this is actually an off-road trail for those who want to get a free permit to take their 4-wheel drive vehicle out there or ATV's. http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XFT002-046

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It takes 2-3 hours round trip to complete the trail with a vehicle (not counting stops to pee or take pics). I hike for about 3 hours round trip. Don't know how far I got. I stop frequently for photos and resting, though only sat down once to eat a sandwich.

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This is a friendly cowboy I met out there. He was nice enough to pose for a picture for me.

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Last for now on this hike. My sister said dinner is ready. I have more to post, but will do that later.

Karen

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