Boyce Thompson Arboretum Visit Pt. 3 - Ayer Lake

After the greenhouse, it's back onto the trail and onward to Ayer Lake.

This is a pretty-much-generic-shot of the main trail.  You get an idea of how nicely maintained the park is.  And that, yes, there actually is green stuff in the desert.

This is Ayer Lake.  I know, a lake in the desert, who woulda thunk it?  It's fed by nearby Queen Creek. 

There are fish in the lake and other critters nearby...

...which are depicted on tiles on a nice wooden deck overlook.

Dey got de crawfish here!  I'm gonna catch some and boil dem.  Or not.

Unfortunately, they call them 'crayfish.' 

Here's a cool purple cactus I spotted on the way back to the main entrance.  I suspect it turns this color when flowering. 

There are lots of plants for sale at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum's main entrance.  Very reasonably priced - most were less than $5 US. 

There's also a small but nice gift shop with a good selection of shirts, trinkets, and many books on Southwest plants.

Next time I'll plan for a whole day in the Arboretum.  We only had an hour or so and it was nowhere near enough time.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum Pages:
Part One - Main Trail
Part Two - Greenhouse
Part Three - Ayer Lake (This page)