Tag Archives: parks

Dunton Locks and Tagging Monarchs!

I started figuring out right away that my plan to sleep in my in-laws camper with the girls while Nick was gone would mean less sleep for me.

Ha

But having extra help around was priceless! We went to a place called Dunton Locks for our first full day without Nick. I tried to not run around all day but at least have something fun everyday. The kids also enjoyed getting to spend a lot of time with cousins! The next day we went to a prairie wetlands learning center and ended up being there while they were tagging Monarchs! They educate the kids on what to do and why and let them catch them for them to tag! 9 kids all with giant nets was a bit chaotic but we survived and most caught one. The tag is a little sticker on their wing.

This helps them find out if any of the butterflies from Minnesota made it to Mexico!

After they are done tagging they let the kid decide if they want to release it from their hand or face. Most left pretty fast so it was hard to get a picture but some stayed a long time!

This was such a fun, unexpected treat!

I felt like this should totally have counted as a field trip…

HA

Maramec Spring Park ~St. James, MO

This is a beautiful park in Missouri!

Maramec Spring Park is not too far outside of St. Louis and a short distance away from Interstate 40.

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They have these pools filled with trout!

There were so many, it seemed unreal.

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They have beautiful paths for you to walk along the river.

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They have several feeding stations set up also.

Someone was super nice and gave us some quarters they did not need, so we could feed the fish.

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My kids were just searching the ground for fish food people had dropped since we did not bring any quarters.

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They had a nice museum to go to.

There was another also but I found we all did better outdoors after being in a vehicle for hours…

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The kids really liked this watershed display.

It really rained.

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This is a great spot to stop for us on trips to Indiana.

Can’t wait to go there again!

Springtime at Ray Harral Nature Park~ Broken Arrow, OK

walking

Ray Harral Nature Park is a great place to go for easy trails in a beautiful setting.

The Nature Center is a great learning environment and it is located right in the city!

together

It is located east of Elm Place on 121st(Tucson).

You turn into the school to get to the main parking lot.

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This is such a great time to go!

The weather is not too hot and the bugs are not too bad.

snake

We saw a harmless Northern Rough Green Snake while on our walk.

hanging

There are a couple pavilions to eat at on the trail as well.

pathways

trees

wisteria

Everything is so pretty right now!

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dogwood

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daffy

azaleas

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Do you live in the BA/Tulsa area?

Have you ever been to Ray Harral?