One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things.
— Henry Miller
Journey with like-minded, lifelong explorers and spend a day discovering amazing things about the world around us. Whether it is a “behind-the-scenes” visit to an artist’s studio, a hike through a southern Arizona riparian habitat in search of elusive warblers, a journey through history following the trail of Spanish missionaries, or an in-depth cultural immersion in lands beyond our own, join us and engage the world, you never know what you will find!
Cancellation Policy
For one-day travel events:
- within two weeks of registration, but at least one month before date of trip = full refund
- at least two weeks before date of trip = 50% refund
- less than two weeks before date of trip = refund only if your space can be filled
Flowers & Birds with Pinau Merlin at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Tuesday | April 4 | 7 am to approx. 5 pm | $130 members, $150 general public
Climb aboard the bus for another wildflower ed-venture! On this tour we head for the beautiful Boyce Thompson Arboretum, with its dramatic cliffs, stream, lake, and varied habitats. In addition to the flower shows, the Arboretum, the oldest and largest arboretum (over 300 acres) in Arizona, is listed as an Important Bird Area due to the riparian area and lush gardens. There is a high species richness and sometimes large numbers of migrants stopping over.
The diversity of habitats at the Arboretum provides many microhabitats where a variety of different flowers can be found. We’ll wander several trails and explore along the creek to see what gifts Nature has in store for us. We’ll have our picnic lunch in stunning and scenic surroundings and then explore more of the Desert Garden, Cactus and Succulent Garden, and other trails depending on where the best flower shows are at the time. The first Tuesday of the month Boyce Thompson generously offers free admission, so the arboretum will be full fellow nature lovers! We finish up watching for wildflowers along the road on our drive home. Expert guides are on hand to help ID the flowers, plants, and birds we see. Please pack a sack lunch. Tohono Chul will provide snacks and water for the return journey.