Desert plants star at Yuma Conservation Garden

Duck pond at Yuma Conservation Garden

Vegetation from the Lower Sonora Desert fills 28 acres along one of Yuma, Arizona’s, major streets. The Yuma Conservation Garden also has a nice collection of antique farm machinery and a large pond filled with swimming ducks and geese.

The garden got its start in the 1950s, and was taken over by the Yuma, Laguna and Wellton-Mohawk Valley Natural Resource Conservation Districts in 1987. The garden’s mission is to encourage environmental education that involves protection of the area’s natural resources.

Dirt and gravel trails take visitors around the garden, which includes a variety of cactus from the U.S. and Mexican sides of the Sonora Desert. The list of cacti includes the saguaro, cholla, prickly pear and pine cone.

Though the garden is in an urban setting, visitors may see long-tailed lizards, rabbits, coyotes, roadrunners and night hawks. The garden also has a resident desert tortoise, the 75-pound Baloo.

Yuma Conservation Garden

The centerpiece of the garden, however, is the pond where visitors can sit on benches and watch a variety of geese and ducks swim by; waterfowl are a mixture of wild and domestic. Tall palm trees surround the pond, creating a relaxing view.

The garden has been designated an urban wildlife area by both the state Land, and Fish and Game departments.

As an educational center, the garden hosts upwards of 5,000 students every year. It is certified by the Arizona Department of Education for students in kindergarten through the 12^th grade.

The garden is located next to the Pima County Fairgrounds at 2520 E. 32^nd Street. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays November through April. Admission is free.

More photos of Yuma Conservation Garden can be seen on my Youtube channel, http://youtu.be/Pa8QqQDuXb4

Bard museum boasts impressive antique car collection

Old cars on display

If your interests lie in antiques – anything from vehicles to kitchen equipment, the Cloud Museum is the place to go. It’s a private museum just off Interstate 8 near Yuma, Arizona. The museum is located in Bard, California, a hamlet to small you’ll miss it if you blink. The drive from the freeway, which takes you over roads that could be smoother, is filled with views of lettuce and cabbage fields, and date palms.

Owner Johnny Cloud has filled two acres with a wide assortment of antiques, beginning with 130 cars that he said drove in under their own power and could be driven out if they contained batteries and gasoline. The vehicles include cars from the early 1900s, most of which are rusted down to the metal. These sit out in the open. A few cars have been restored and are kept in a building toward the rear.

Besides old cars, the Cloud collection includes vintage farm implements, a few old fire trucks and an early motor home.

Display of old kitchen utensils

Cloud says he began his collection 24 years ago when he sold his farm and found himself with nothing to do. He is still collecting today, and says he really has no idea of how extensive his collection is.

But it includes more than just vehicles. There’s an old post office complete with wanted posters for John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde. He has plenty of old kitchen utensils, include corn bread pans, and an extensive collection of cast iron skillets hang on one wall.

Cloud roams the grounds in a golf cart, stopping frequently to talk with visitors and answer questions.