the tree adventure

The Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure was one of my most anticipated vacation spots on our road trip and it did not disappoint at all. Beyond getting to experience the amazing, wonderful, inspiring outdoor exhibits, it was so great to have a place where the kids could laugh, run, touch, push, scream, etc. after being in the car so long. If you're ever anywhere near Nebraska, stop in. You won't regret it. This is somewhere that we will go back to for sure.


The farm is divided into a few sections - the tree adventure, the pie garden (pies made from the goodies grown on the farm!), the apple house, u-pick orchards, golf courses, resort, conference center, and more. It's huge and amazing. When you turn onto the road leading up to the farm, it's like you've entered another world.


We spent our time at the Tree Adventure. For a very small entrance fee, we went on nature trails throughout acres of outdoor classes, adventure courses, and nature walks. The photos will explain it better. So here you go:

a crazy cool tunnel



There were fossil prints on the sidewalks throughout the trails. Nearby was a post with the print on it and when you lifted the front panel, it had a painting of the animal or plant that the print belonged to. Sunshine got EVERY SINGLE ONE right. We didnt even know that she knew some of the plants and she was getting them. At first I thought Don was messing with me and telling her the answer, but then he was genuinely shocked too. So we called her Sacagawea for a few days. She loved that.




One of the outdoor classrooms was all about insects. The kids were freaking out because they thought there were bees in there. I kept saying, "They're just drawing and dead animals. Chill out!" Then I noticed that they were all huddled on one side of the room staring in terror at this:


My bad.


Around the trail were also animal homes and clever manmade birdhouses.


Don and Pocket


Me and the girlies


an outdoor wheel that explained about the layers of a forest


telescope-thinga-mabobs along the trail to see nests,


the "waiting room" for the train that took you around the whole farm even had fun learning activities


There are more, but I'll save those for another post. This one is full enough =)