It was getting late in the year. Although the days were still warm, we were starting to feel a slight chill in the air in the morning. It was a sure sign that autumn was just around the corner.

One of the things we try to do every year is take a trip to see the autumn leaves; unfortunately, life often takes over, and before we know it, the leaves are gone and winter is here. This year, though, we made it a point to do it.

And the best place to see autumn leaves? At an arboretum, of course! Specifically, the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, outside of Superior. One of Arizona's many state parks, Boyce Thompson has one of the best collections of trees and plants in the state, as well as hiking trails to enjoy. It is an ideal way to spend an afternoon when there is nothing better to do.

Our last visit to the arboretum was in November 2002, after we had camped in the desert nearby. During that visit, we hiked the Main Loop Trail through the park. It was an easy hike, except for a little climb through the Sonoran Desert Area, near Picketpost House. The whole loop was about two miles total. This time, we hoped to cover more distance.

With our hiking gear packed, we left the house at 8:00 a.m. and drove to the arboretum. To get there, we took US 60 east towards Superior; the park is located on the right, just shy of the Superior town limits. It took us about an hour to get there. When we arrived, we parked the car then walked up to the gate to pay our entry fee.

"Ah, you have a little hiker with you!" exclaimed the ranger at the gate, as she collected our money. To Mary, she said, "Would you like to be a junior ranger today?"

"Yes!" Mary replied; she never missed an opportunity to become a junior ranger at any park. So the ranger gave Mary an Arizona State Parks Junior Ranger button, for Boyce Thompson Arboretum. She told Mary that she could collect those buttons at each of the state parks. Mary thanked her, and we put the button on her Camelbak, next to her Grand Canyon junior ranger badge.

Before embarking on our hike, we stopped inside the Visitor's Center, where we consulted a giant map of the park. We discovered that, in addition to the Main Loop Trail, there is also a Highline Trail that circles the outer perimeter of the park. It is a little bit of a climb to get there, but it isn't by any means a groaner. After climbing up to the Highline Trail, we would stay up there for some time, then eventually we would cross over Queen Creek by way of a suspension bridge and rejoin the Main Loop Trail.

As we left the Visitor's Center, we started hiking on the paved Main Loop Trail until we reached the junction with the Highline Trail, which was near the Australian Walk-about. From there, we cut across the desert and began to climb up to the ridgeline.  The ascent was not difficult, and in no time, we were walking along the ridge, overlooking the park.  Now, you would think that, being so high above the park, we would have a great view of the autumn leaves in the park...

...If only there had been autumn leaves to view. Unfortunately, we were just too low in elevation for the leaves to have changed.  Even though we were a couple thousand feet above Phoenix and the mornings were chilly, it was just too warm yet to see any color changes there.

Despite not being able to see the autumn leaves, we still had a marvelous time hiking the Highline Trail.  After a half of a mile on the ridgeline, we soon came to the suspension bridge, which spanned Queen Creek. The bridge was brand new and had just recently opened for use, after the old bridge had been washed away in a flood only a few years ago. Mary ran across the bridge, giggling as the bridge swayed; John purposely jumped up and down on it to add to the effect.

We rejoined the Main Loop Trail at the point where we began the climb up into the Sonoran Desert Area, near Picketpost House. At the top of the hill, we stopped to take a rest in a gazebo, where we learned the history of the Picketpost House by reading a placard.  It was built in the 1920's by William Boyce Thompson, who was one of the copper magnates of the region. The stately mansion has twenty-nine rooms and is now part of the Arizona State Park system; it is open to the public for tours. Although we were hot and sweaty and tired, we decided to skip the tour and just continue on our hike.

After a while, we came to the succulents garden and then to Ayers Lake, a small, man-made lake just a stone's throw from US 60.  We spent some time there watching the ducks float lazily by; we could also see the giant fish swimming just under the water's surface. Mary was fascinated by them.

At the end of our hike, we paid a visit to the sheep barn, which had once been the property of a Scottish woman who settled in the area at the turn of the century. We showed Mary all of the various pieces  of equipment used to shear sheep and how it was done. We also showed her the living  quarters, which were nearby, around the corner; there was  a single bed, a table, and a stove, all in  one room.  We asked Mary to imagine how life must have been in that age, but I'm not sure that she could quite grasp that concept...at least not yet.

We completed our hike at gift shop, next to the Visitor's Center. Mary looked at all of the fun souvenirs; John and I, on the other hand, checked out the plant sale that was going on outside of the gates. We didn't purchase anything, but it was certainly fun to imagine what we could do.

Having finished our hike, we decided that it was time for us to head home. True, we didn't get to see the autumn leaves, as we had hoped to do, but we still had a great time anyway...

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