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Prairie Park Nature Center in Lawrence, KS
Clinton State Park, KS, October 2024 The Prairie Park Nature Center is listed as one of the “Things To Do” in Lawrence, KS. We were not expecting much, so we were pleasantly surprised when it turned out better than expected. The nature center has more animals and animal artifacts than any other nature center we…
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Clinton State Park: White and Blue Trail
Lawrence, KS A nice aspect of Clinton State Park is that there are about 25 miles of hiking and biking trails between the state park and the neighboring Corps of Engineers Overlook Park. I walked on about 2.5 miles of the white and blue trails on the north shore of the lake. For the most…
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Dolliver Memorial State Park in Lehigh, Iowa
Dolliver Memorial State Park, IA, October 2024 Dolliver overlooks the Des Moines River Valley south of Fort Dodge and north of Lehigh in Iowa. It is unique in Iowa for its natural canyon bluffs, natural geologic formations, flatlands, and Native American mounds. The park has a campground, but there are only 30 short electric sites.…
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Kennekuk County Park with 1000 gallon tank!
Vermillion County Illinois used to be known for coal mines and manufacturing. When the coal mining ended and manufacturing decreased, parks were created. Kennekuk Park boasted a 1000-gallon aquarium. This sounds huge but turns out to not be as big as you think. Can you find the fish? The park also boasts Lake Mingo, multiple…
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Heron County Park with tower, boardwalk, etc. But where’s the Herons?
Heron County Park is in Vermillion County and started opened 2004. The park came about when Aqua Illinois, Inc. donated the land to the county. In 1992, the water was increased by 4 1/2 feet and a 950 foot boardwalk was built at a cost of $145,000. After that a 30+ foot observation tower was…
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Kickapoo Rail Trail Aventure
Illinois like many other states are changing no longer used railroad tracks back to life as Rail Trails. Nothing like the first Rail Trail located in Sparta Wisconsin 🙂 but still nice. Once fully completed, the trail will be @ 22 miles long. We traveled the solid orange line in the purple box. The dotted…
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Cardinal Greenways Rail Trail Indiana
We had an enjoyable but hot day (mid to upper 80s) on Indiana’s longest rail trail (62 miles). The trail started out as part of C&O railroad and was discontinued in 1985. In 1993, a nonprofit company Cardinal Greenway Inc. was created and purchased 60 miles of the trail. In 2011, the 60+ mile trail…
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Adventures with a Naturalist in Findley State Park
I absolutely loved Ohio State parks because they have Naturalists who host free events and maintain the Nature Center. For Findley State Park, the Naturalist is Wiz. He’s been with the park since 2016 and knows everything about the park, an avid bird watcher / photographer and talented engaging Naturalist. We participated in Wiz’s Standup…
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Red Fox Trail in Stonelick SP Ohio
Stonelick State Park, OH, June 2024 Red Fox trail is a 2 mile trail (excluding the connecting spur) that is fairly flat and wide. The trail was well shaded, and I didn’t have to worry about sun stroke in the hot weather. Still drank a lot of water… Each of the hiking trails have a…