Bugs, Butterflies and Cactus

But before I get into all of that, let me tell you about breakfast yesterday. John and I don't go out to eat very often and when we do, it is usually for lunch. But Thursday we decided we would act like most RVers and go out to breakfast. Where to go? We checked out the list of local restaurants that had been visited on the Food Network program Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We chose Joe's Farm Grill.



My green eggs and ham is on the left; John's Big Breakfast is on the right. The pancakes weren't ready on that one yet.



We were less than impressed. The food wasn't very hot or very tasty. When we picked up the pancakes, the woman at the counter forgot to give us syrup. My flatbread had been burned on the grill. And we had to pay $1.99 for each coffee! We won't return there, but we won't give up on Guy Fieri.

The restaurant had both indoor and outdoor seating. Look at this impressive tree on the grounds.



But this sign was enough to discourage me from either climbing on the tree or sitting under it.



From breakfast, we drove to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. We have been there before, but we really enjoy it. This fall they have a display of Big Bugs, done by sculptor David Rogers out of wood. The 11 sculptures range in size from 300 to 1200 pounds and from seven feet to 25 feet long. The first one we saw was this Praying Mantis.



Spider and web.



Daddy longlegs.



Damsel fly.



Grasshopper.



Dragon fly.



Assassin bug.



The Butterfly Pavilion had a display on Monarch butterflies.



Compare the color of the back side of the butterfly's wings to the front, shown above. Part of each wing is white.



It looked like the butterflies wanted out. Most of them were resting on the screen walls of the enclosure. Who can blame them. The pavilion doesn't have any milkweed plants, the kind the butterflies like to eat and where they lay their eggs.



This little boy may be a budding scientist. He was looking at this butterfly through his magnifying glass.



Of course, the Desert gardens have to have cactus plants. Here are a few I enjoyed.







Doesn't this area look cool and inviting?



This is a traditional O'Odham desert kitchen display, built to show how humans have adapted to the desert for hundreds of years. It is open on top to allow the cooking heat to escape.



This sculpture of a cactus is part of the entrance garden. It was made by Dale Chihuly, who still designs gardens and other things out of glass. I really like it.



The Desert Botanical Garden is a great place to learn more about the Sonoran Desert and desert plants from around the world.