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Home , Biosphere 2, Boyce Thompson Arboretum

, 2020

FEB 16-21 6 DAYS • 10 MEALS

Arizona Adventure Join Olbrich Botanical Garden Horticulturist Erin Presley on this Exclusive Garden Exploration of the Southwest Escape the cold weather next February! Join Olbrich Botanical Garden Horticulturist Erin Presley in for a fascinating warm weather botanical visit to Arizona. We’ll visit icon- ic southwestern horticultural sites such as the Desert Botanical Garden, Japanese Friendship

Larry Parkhurst Garden, Tohono Chul Gardens, The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, , plus private nurseries and gardens. Along the way, we’ll also experience Taliesin West, See native flora and fauna at the Tohono Chul Park take a narrated Tram ride amongst the rich flora and fauna of Sabino Canyon, walk through the 2, and experience delicious southwestern cooking. DAY 1—PHOENIX Blessed with 360 sunny days a year, Arizona offers flora and fauna at its best. Arrive today, and this evening get to know your fellow travelers at our welcome reception. Taliesin West

DAY 2—TALIESIN/DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN/RUSTLER’S ROOSTE Boyce Thompson This morning we tour Taliesin West, a UNESCO World Heritage site nestled in the Phoenix Arboretum McDowell Mountain desert foothills. Frank Lloyd Wright’s beloved winter home is deeply connected to the desert, and is considered one of the most personal of the architect’s creation. The Arizona desert is home to thousands of species of cactus, trees and flowers, and one of the best places to experience this awesome variety is at the Desert Botanical Garden. ARIZONA Over 50,000 are displayed here, including hundreds of endangered species. Tonight, we enjoy dinner at Rustler’s Rooste, situated atop a butte of South Mountain. Once a hideout for cattle rustlers, we’ll enter through a mine shaft and saunter over an indoor waterfall. B, L, D Tohono Chul DAY 3—/BIOSPHERE 2 First off today is a visit to the Queen Creek Olive Mill, home of Arizona’s only working olive Tanque farm and mill. Here we learn first hand how olives are pressed into fresh extra virgin olive Tucson Verde Ranch oil. Next we head into the desert to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Set against towering , the Arboretum brings together plants from our planet’s many varied and dry lands, displaying them alongside native vegetation. Later, one of the world’s most unique facilities dedicated to the research and understanding of global scientific issues hosts us. The Biosphere 2 facility serves as living laboratory where the desert, , and other ecosystems are monitored and studied. We settle in for the next three evenings at the newly opened Embassy Suites in Tucson—where each room is a deluxe two room suite. B, L

DAY 4—TOHONO CHUL/PRIVATE GARDEN/ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM This morning, embrace the authentic beauty of the Sonoran Desert at Tohono Chul, set against the spectacular . Named “One of the World’s Ten Best Botanical Gardens” by Travel & Leisure, Tohono Chul offers winding paths past soaring Saguaros, themed gardens and encounters with busy hummingbirds. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, ranked as one of the Top 10 Museums in the Country by Trip Advisor,

48 AUTHENTIC TRAVEL EXPERIENCES | www.CountryTravelDiscoveries.com/AZG ______Discoveries Experience is different than most—85% of the 6 Days • 10 Meals experience is outdoors. Besides plant , 242 animal species are on display, as is Feb 16-21, 2020 one of the world’s most comprehensive Price Per Person: mineral collections…you’ll have ample time to explore. The giant saguaro, our Double: $1,577; Single: $1,895 country’s largest cacti, is only found Pre/Post Hotel: $218/night in a small area of the United States. Depart/Return: Phoenix, AZ These majestic plants, are a famous symbol of the Southwest and protected by Saguaro National Park. Tonight we view these enormous cacti silhouetted ______Highlights & Inclusions by the beauty of a magnificent desert Marvel at the ’s sunset. B, L scientific discovery center, Biosphere 2 • Unpack just twice, two nights in Phoenix and three nights in Tucson DAY 5—SABINO CANYON/TUSCON GARDENS/DUDE RANCH With soaring mountains and deep canyons, the unique plants and animals of the Sonoran • Iconic Arizona botanical sites, including Desert welcome us this morning on a tram ride through Sabino Canyon. We experience desert Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tohono foothills, rocky gorges, spectacular canyons, and more. Next, we travel to Tucson’s Mission Chul, and Desert Botanical Gardens Garden, a re-creation of the Spanish Colonial walled garden that was a part of the San Agustin Mission. The garden features heirloom Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit orchards and vegetable • Take in the beauty of Saguaro gardens interpreting 4,000 years of in Tucson. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy some free National Park at sunset time at Mercado San Agustin, an open-air courtyard lined with shops and restaurants. This • Private nursery and garden visits afternoon, some may wish to head back to our hotel for relaxation and pool time—while others may join us at the University of Arizona’s Demonstration Gardens. The cornerstone is an official • Off-the-beaten-path experiences, All-American Selections Display Garden, while other gardens include Basin Edible, Color, Grass, such as Boyce Thompson Arboretum , , Edible, Rose, and Small Space. Tonight’s we travel “out west”...well, at least and Arizona Biosphere 2 figuratively…to the Tanque Verde Dude Ranch for a down-home ranch BBQ experience. All the fixn’s will be available, along • Tram ride through Sabino Canyon with live music, a roaring fire, and • Visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West an incredible backdrop against the • Scrumptious western dinners Rincon Mountains. B, L Meet Erin Presley, Olbrich Botanical Gardens at Rustler’s Rooste and Tanque Day 6—JAPANESE FRIENDSHIP Verde Dude Ranch GARDEN Horticulturist • Welcome reception, 24-hour emergency On our way home we will stop at Erin Presley has been a Horticulturist in the Herb the Japanese Friendship Garden call service, free bottled water on coach and Wildflower Gardens at Olbrich Botanical of Phoenix, an authentic Japanese Gardens in Madison, Stroll Garden with tea garden and Wisconsin, since 2014. tea house. This tranquil setting Growing up in rural features more than 1,500 tons of Quality Accommodations central Wisconsin, she ______hand-picked rock, flowing streams, had her hands dirty from Koi ponds, and several varieties of Nights 1-2: Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport an early age helping in plants. After, we head to the Phoenix her parents’ gardens, Nights 3-5: Embassy Suites Tucson East airport and our starting hotel with exploring the woods, and plenty of memories of gorgeous growing fruits, vegetables and its colorful and flowers to exhibit at plants, flowers, landscapes and the 4-H Fair. Her varied CountryTravelDiscoveries.com/AZG wildlife. B x gardening interests have grown to include native Please note that as we went to press and woodland plantings, sedges, salvias, American with this tour, we were finalizing ginseng, and all things related to herbs, vegetables, arrangements at the private gardens. and cooking. In addition to putting together Once those arrangements have been articles, workshops and lectures at Olbrich and made, itinerary may be slightly for other gardening groups, you may have seen altered. her work in Fine Gardening or The Wisconsin Gardener, or heard her on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Garden Talk.

US – WEST | ARIZONA DESERT ADVENTURE 855-744-TRIP (8747) | 49