Phoenix 2: Canyon Lake, Botanical Gardens, Heard Museum

This post features photos taken on two different days of our Road Scholar seminar. On February 7, we travelled to Canyon Lake where we boarded the steamboat "Dolly" to tour the Lake. On February 8, we visited the marvellous Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden where we saw many of the botanical features which our leader Jeff had taught us. On that day, we also visited the Heard Museum where we experienced the myriad of cultures and art of Native Americans of the Southwest. The comments here have been taken from Naturalist Guidebooks, or Wikipedia, or comments made by our guides.

Throughout our Phoenix Road Scholar program, we stayed at the Embassy Suites. The rooms were excellent and the food, especially breakfast, was terrific. 

After travelling by coach through the Superstition Mountains to Canyon Lake, we boarded the tourist boat Dolly.

The view from the dock allowed us to see the dam in the distance and some of the mountains rising above the Lake.

As we sailed slowly up the winding channel, we enjoyed tremendous views of the rocky cliffs and the vegetation clinging to the edge.

The steamboat captain pointed out this ledge where a family of Bighorn Sheep live. Unfortunately, they retreated just before I got my camera focused.

The Saguaro Cactus thrive on the edge and at the top of these cliffs.

The captain encouraged us to check out the silhouettes of popular figures carved by nature into the rocks (like J.S.Bach).  I couldn't identify any of them, but it was fun trying.

We returned to dock the ship in mid-afternoon and saw this beautiful scene behind us. We got back in mid-afternoon, and that gave us enough time to travel further on the Apache Trail. We were glad the bus driver was experienced, as the trail was narrow, windy, and steep.

Our leader, Jeff Wiles, pointed out many of the geological features of the canyons and valleys.

This was the view at the top of the trail.

Our Road Scholar friends posed for a group portrait.

On February 8, we arrived early at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens. Jeff gave instruction as we followed the pathways. This 150 acre Garden boasts more than 4,000 species of cactus, succulents, trees, and flowers of the desert. It enables visitors to appreciate the mysterious landscape that typifies the Sonoran Desert.

On arrival, we were delighted to enjoy the garden sculptures by Carolina Escobar. She uses vibrant colours and shapes using steel and resined fabric to create organic sculptures.

All species of Barrel Cactus have single stems. The ones in the middle and on the left are Arizona Barrel Cactus and are normally 2 to 4 feet tall.

The Fishhook Barrel Cactus is appropriately named.

The tall tree in the middle is a Boojum Tree. Its English name was taken from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark". The branches stick out of the trunk at right angles. The indigenous Seri people believed touching this plant will cause strong winds to blow.

This is a Santa Rita Prickly Pear Cactus. Prickly Pears produce vibrantly coloured blossoms. The pads grow in dense clusters.

The Cactus Wrens typically nest in the Saguaro Cactus. We saw them in many locations.

The Ocotillo are leafless for most of the year. But following a rain, narrow leaves appear briefly. Spring flowers are red. Planted in rows, Ocotillo become living fences.

There are 20 species of Cholla Cactus. They have cylindrical stems composed of segmented joints. The shiny spines are actually modified leaves, and they often seem to glow in the sunshine. But the advice always is "Don't touch".  

The Fairy Duster is an evergreen shrub that loves sun and heat.

The Red Spine Barrel Cactus was one of my favourites. (I like to photograph red subjects.)

The Round-Tailed Ground Squirrels were fearless! They ran throughout the gardens, and sometimes just stretched out on the ground beside us.

Jeff pointed out that the sunshine sometimes shines through the pads of the Prickly Pear revealing the boney structure inside the fleshy surface.

The Saguaro Cactus has a regal look. Mature saguaros are typically 20 to 50 feet tall and they can store one ton of water. Saguaro arms appear when the plant is 50 to 100 years of age, and the plants can live to be 150 to 200 years old.

This photo and the next one show the wood trunk and branches of a dead Saguaro. 

The Creosote plant is thought by some to be the world's oldest living plant. Its flowers and foliage feed many species of insects. It has been used by aboriginal people as medicine for many illnesses including snakebite. Its secretions have been used to waterproof baskets and to mend pottery.

Anna's Hummingbird landed near me as we walked the paths of the Botanical Gardens. The forehead and the throat flashed a brilliant, iridescent red in the sun.

This sketch shows how Native Americans harvested Saguaro fruit.

We saw many Gambel's Quail. They scurried along the desert floor looking for food. The black head-plume ("or "top knot") made them easy to identify.

Parts of the garden were captivating.

Juice from Prickly Pear fruit buds is used in drinks, syrups, and candy.

This is my favourite Cholla Cactus photo.

From the Desert Garden, we drove to downtown Phoenix to visit the Heard Museum. It is a small, but renowned museum which celebrates Native American people, culture, art, and history.

The pottery on display crossed many cultures and surveyed thousands of years of many Native cultures.

My favourite part of the exhibition was the Kachina dolls. The Kachina dolls, still used in the Hopi culture, reflect spiritual beliefs. A key part of that belief is that everything is and was spirit.

Hopi Kachina dolls are effigies meant to be treasured and studied. They are not considered idols of worship or children's toys. Kachinas represent spirits - spirits of natural elements or animals, or deceased ancestors, or deities.

Displays at the Heard Museum helped us to understand the rich cultural heritage of the many people who have preceded European settlement in the desert area. Over thousands of years, many varying groups of people developed a variety of successful ways to adapt to life in the desert.