I am not usually a fan of botanical gardens. They seem too precious, too "perfect" to be of much interest. And, let's face it, flowers and plants are beautiful things, but when you pay to look at them in neat rows, something is lost.

That said, Desert Botanical Gardens is an exception to this garden cynic. Many of these cacti look like they are from another planet, like something you would see in a sci-fi film and say, "wow, it's too bad those crazy plants don't exist." They sprawl out on the ground, weaving and turning every which way, or compose huge bizarre formations high off the ground. I never knew such bizarre life forms existed, or that some cacti look like trees.

The gardens are full of windy paths where one is also likely to find a family of quail, lizards, or a jackrabbit or two. Various species of bird can be seen here as well, especially at dusk. I especially love watching the birds fly in and out of nests they've made in the upper arms of cacti.

This place never grows old. It's a great introduction to the desert for people from out of town, and because the cacti have been collected from around the world, a cool botany lesson for us all here.