Three Times Three

May has seemed to become my time of year to visit Boyce Thompson Arboretum as last week marked my third annual trip over. I take great delight in that place: there is something so unique and heartfelt about its beauty. And now that it is a familiar place, I know, too, the best way to plan a visit.

Start in the morning and go on the sunny trails first. That is, bear to the left for the Sonoran Desert Exhibit, Chihuahuan Desert, South American Deserts, Boojum Cove and the other little trails that lead up to the Picket Post House. Then I like to take the turn over to the High Trail. This time coming back down, I visited the new trails in the Wallace Desert Garden, then with the completed loop came to the picnic area to break for lunch. 

Now in the warmer part of the day and freshly fed, I went with leisure to the shady trails. I made my way first back up to the Clevenger House just past the bridge where I'd made the turn up to the High Trail before. This house and the surrounding Wing Memorial Herb Garden is one of my favorite areas. They had the door to the house open this time; I don't believe I'd been inside before. And a quick visit to the nearby Pistachio Grove is nice; when else do you get to see pistachios growing on a tree? 

This done, I retraced my steps to go enjoy the Palm Grove and Pine Loop and Eucalyptus Forest and then ended up somewhere around the Australian Deserts to finish off my day.

I do enjoy a bit of quiet exploration and wandering and resting. Boyce Thompson is the perfect place to let your imagination run free and to enjoy a bit of the Southwestern outdoors in a way that feels both wild and enclosed (that is, a park/garden versus a remote trail). And though May is the only time I've gone, it's a great time to go because it isn't unbearably hot yet and yet it's warm enough that you will hardly see anyone while you're there. So you get to enjoy the solitude of the place--or the company of whoever you bring with you.