Sunday, June 27, 2010

Midwest Travel Report: Powell Gardens

A week or so ago, we set out for Kingsville, Missouri. Powell Gardens is a favorite in this area......30 miles east of Kansas City......not a bad drive. Some call it a "road trip for the soul".

915 acres of lush growth and fountains. A barn, silo, farm, vineyard, pear promenade, peach plaza, greenhouse and organic garden make up the venue. Gorgeous.

The biggest draw here is the Butterfly Festival. We intentionally avoided this large event due to the crowds. Went on a slow day and it was lovely.

Arrived just before lunch and ate at the little cafe on site. Then, off to the conservatory.

The Big Bugs were visiting the garden......an ongoing exhibit.......which we actually saw at the Denver Arboretum when we lived there!

Lots of hands on learning for the children.

An organic vegetable garden.

From the top of the 45 foot tall silo, you can see for miles.

The Kansas/Missouri native plants quilt garden.

The barn and silo we toured.

On top! I don't care how tall that guard rail is. Makes a mama nervous.

The barn allows tasting from the organic garden. Carter and Lainey dug right in. Jack? "No fank you!"



We took a train trolley through the grounds to cut down on tired little legs.

The kids loved it. And, it's free with admission!

Off to the island gardens.



I want a live wreath like this. Beautiful.



Everything is picture perfect.

A walk in the woods? Don't mind if we do!

The famous Thorncrown Chapel, designed by E. Fay Jones, who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright.

The inspiration for this chapel was Paris's light filled gothic chapel, Sainte Chappelle.

Some details I learned from an architecture-loving friend: In order to preserve Thorncrown’s natural setting, Fay decided that no structural element could be larger than what two men could carry through the woods. The building materials are primarily pressure treated pine 2x4s, 2x6s, and 2x12s. The larger elements of the building such as the trusses were assembled on the floor and raised into place.

The chapel never looks quite the same due to the reflecting light during different parts of the day and further, different seasons of the year. At night, reflections of the crosses in the lights appear to surround the building.

Summed up - it's beautiful.

History lesson over. To change directions.....here is silly Laine looking like she's strangling Meow Meow. If you're a fan of his (hers?) on Facebook, you've seen this picture before.

Punks.

Caterpillar crawl.

Too easy.

And, we're done! I'm sure you're shocked Jack didn't want to get his picture taken in the cut outs. And, I bet you can guess what his response was when I asked!


Happy Sunday, peeps! Caroline has postponed her trip until tomorrow. We're anxiously awaiting her arrival!

17 comments:

The Lenzers said...

you always find the coolest places, but that grasshopper...kind of creepy!

starnes family said...

It's a praying mantis! Even creepier.

Allyson and Dave said...

It seems like every day is field trip day at your house!! How fun!

SASS said...

Okay, they're not all the same, now that I looked through yours slower. I didn't know about the train/trolley! And that church...after St. Chapelle...awesome. Sorry for telling you to fuck yourself. I take it back.

The Rand's said...

That place is beautiful! Love that you venture out to new places all the time!
I can just hear Jack saying, "No fank you!"
Precious kiddos!

starnes family said...

Subtle, Sass.

Brittny said...

hahaha!!! christopher and jack would SOOOOOOOOOOOOO get along! let me guess, was his response a very quick, "NO!!! I don't want to!!!!" we need to move somewhere cool like this. it's on my list of things that i'd like to have when we move next summer.

Jodee said...

What a fabulous place! It looks like the punks had a great time!

Hope you have a great week!

Pam Bowers said...

The place looks neat and fun. Cute pics of the kids as usual. Hope you have fun when your friend gets there.

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

That looks like a gorgeous place to visit! Love the kiddo shots!

p.s. Thank you so much for following BonBon Rose Girls. We just got our own .com, so I'll hope you'll follow us there too at: http://www.bonbonrosegirls.com
We are having giveaways galore this month in celebration of our move. Right now we've got a gorgeous necklace up for grabs here: http://www.bonbonrosegirls.com/2010/06/a-giveaway-goes-tropical.html Hugs, K

Dee Stephens said...

that place looks lovely and Jack looks too excited to be on the trolley.
Love that your kids(or 2 of them)will try organic samples!

donatelli98 said...

Cool stuff! Have fun with Caroline and the punks!

Merry Mack said...

Wow! That place looks amazing. Just beautiful. I love that wreath too. That church is amazing. I loved the architecture lesson. I teach an architecture unit and I just may add these pictures to the unit. If it wasn't a thousand degrees, something like this looks like a great way to spend the day.

Monica said...

Love the pic of Lainey on her tippy toes! So cute.

Sara said...

At least he says: "Fank You" after his "No" each time.

Love that wreath with the succulents on it. That word sounds dirty to me, anyone else agree??

Great pictures. And such a great place. Loved the history lesson too! Trey would be all over that. He's a sucker for architecture. Especially Frank Lloyd Wright.

Have fun with Caroline!!!

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