Cactus; a nursery just outside of Jerome, Arizona

The perfect vacation involves doing enough research so you know what you want to see and do when you arrive at your destination. Equally important however is to leave enough unscheduled time so you can spontaneously slam on the brakes when you’re driving along at highway speeds and see a sign like this:

Otherwise you might miss something as wonderful as this:

Yucca thompsoniana, I believe.

This is the kind of unexpected nursery stop that gives as much in plants and pictures as it does in character and local flavor. We spent probably close to an hour there, chatting with the fellow running the show (not the owner) and looking at the plants and garden. Oddly enough even though the sign on the building said "Cactus" their name is actually Arizona Botanical Gardens. Which I couldn't help but think was a mighty important name for a little nursery in the middle of nowhere, it just added to the mystique.

The remains of a burnt out Agave...

Fabulous spikes!

Six foot-two inch husband, for scale...

I wonder now I managed to pass these up. Love them!

I did buy a Santa Rita Opuntia (the purple one) here, not because they weren't available at many more stops along the way, but because I wanted something to help me remember this strange little place by the roadside. After we left we climbed up steep winding roads and drove through the town of Jerome, AZ, quite the picturesque little place. Finally we found a turn out where we could admire just how far we'd climbed.

And I could spot a blooming agave in the distance...