Tag Archives: Botanic Garden

3 free stops on the way to Minnesota

Two of these stops were great!

And one was not so great but most of that was timing I think.

The bonus was all of them were free and great ways for kids to get some energy out!

The first stop was in Independence, KS at the Riverside Park and Ralph Mitchell Zoo.

They don’t have any big animals but we saw monkeys, birds, raccoons, donkeys, and more!

And the best part was it is free!

It was a great way for the kids to walk around.

And since there were animals to look at none of mine complained about the walk 😉

They also had a fun play area with statues and a castle! The boys liked the castle!

Second stop that was great and free was the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center in Sioux City, IA. The kids loved a little camera in a cave that was an animal on the exhibit!

We stumbled upon this fun play place!

The kids loved this playground!

I liked the short walking path that would give everyone a chance to stretch their legs.

We stopped overnight which is not something we typically do so we got to stop more on the way up.

The next day we stopped at McCrory Gardens in Brookings, SD.

It looks like a beautiful botanical gardens and arboretum but there was a wedding going on so we missed a lot of it.

Still a nice place to walk around though.

No clue what Little Bit is doing here…

But those two always make me laugh.

Do you have some cheap or free must stop places while traveling?

OSU Botanical Gardens ~Stillwater, OK

Last month we took the kids to the OSU Botanical Gardens.

I had been a couple of times with the boys in the like spring and summer but the girls had never been so we checked it out.

It was nice to walk around there even without the flowers blooming.

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I like all the information they have around the gardens.

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Little bit with her walking sticks.

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It was a little chilly if you can’t tell.

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Almost makes me want some chickens…

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If someone else took care of them.

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She was told to keep her fingers out…

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I think that an insect hotel is such a fun idea but I am worried about the kinds of insects it would attract.

Ha

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They have a fun kids playing area in the gardens.

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Rainmaker

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Playing in the little house.

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Playing in the senses garden.

No smells right now since most stuff is dormant but the kids liked playing with all the things that make sounds.

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It will be fun to go back in the spring!

OSU Botanic Garden ~Stillwater, OK

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We parked at the south entrance so we could take the walking path to the gardens.

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Sensory Garden

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I want an arbor of wisteria.

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wisteria

pond

cactus

birds

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beautiful

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chicken

This almost makes me want chickens.

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Just so I can take pictures of them in beautiful light.

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playhouse

They have a little play house set up.

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He could not believe how dirty it was and started sweeping.

Why does he not have that same compulsion at home?

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They had window boxes filled with rocks that they could “plant” the fake flowers in.

Great idea!

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watertable

They have a little water table area but it was not turned on.

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This is the second time we have gone to this garden!

I think I would like to go again this summer when different plants are blooming.

You can find information on this beautiful place at their site, here.

Do you have a favorite garden to go to?