My dad used to bring my sister and I to the Botanical Garden in Des Moines, Iowa when we were little. I have fond memories of exploring it. It felt like a giant, magical world back then from my vantage point. On our drive from the airport during our trip to Iowa, I pointed out the domed building to Bracken and told him stories of going there when I was a child. He was insistent that we must go. He wanted to go the last time we were in Iowa too, but there wasn’t time for it, and I wasn’t sure if there would be time this trip either, so I said maybe. Well, maybe turned into yes when we had the opportunity to go with my dad and stepmom on our last day there. It was on the way to the airport anyway, and it felt meant to be.

My dad and stepmom had planned on driving to our place in Oregon to celebrate my birthday this year, but since we were in Iowa we celebrated it early there. We ate at a favorite Mongolian restaurant I worked at when I was a teenager (Beth, if you’re reading this, I thought of you!) and then we headed over to the Botanical Garden. The weather was beautiful. I got a bit picture happy, as I tend to do, so I decided to share my pictures from the outside gardens first and save my indoor pictures for a second post. We loved the water, the vegetable gardens, and seeing flowers covered in butterflies, but one of my very favorite things to see were the bonsai trees. I thought they were amazing and then I saw how old some of them were and I was blown away. I didn’t realize that bonsai trees could live that long. You learn something new every day.