Flora and Fauna at the Dallas Arboretum

My first bit of advice if you are visiting the Dallas Arboretum in the summer months:  go early in the day.  Or you will melt.  Melt into a puddle on the ground.

Let’s just say it was a touch warm.  We got there by 10 AM, but that did not help us much. Better yet, perhaps this place is best visited in the spring or fall. Nonetheless, despite the heat it is a beautiful place to visit and we enjoyed ourselves.  If we were really with the program we would have waited for a tram tour and not walked the distance.  Perhaps we wouldn’t have had to wring out our clothes then.

The Arboretum has 66 acres to call its own, and includes gardens, paths, and water features.  We were given a map of the gardens, but we found them a little difficult to follow as the features are numbered on the map but are not indicated in the gardens.  And the different garden areas are not so distinct that you can easily tell you are moving from one to the next.  It was more seamless, with a lot of foliage being consistent from one place to the next.  Also, during the summer months they feature Alice in Wonderland topiaries, which we found a bit underwhelming.  They were pretty much structures covered with potted plants, not true topiaries.  So perhaps the gardens are not as structured or elaborate as somewhere like the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, but they still have some absolutely exquisite spots that make the visit definitely worthwhile.

Let’s start with my favorite spot.  This little gem wasn’t even on our map.  I have always wanted to make something like this in my own yard ever since I read Secret Garden as a little girl.  This is the walled Poet’s Garden, and I thought it was just about perfect.

Poet’s Garden

There were squirrels everywhere.  They seemed quite used to human visitors.  Good thing I left my dog at home.  He knows how evil squirrels really are.

I happen to love statuary in a garden.  It’s sooooo Italian.  But I also think it only works if you have a lot of expansive property to work with, otherwise it looks kitschy.  Luckily, 66 acres is plenty of space to pull it off.

I thought this spot was breathtaking and the perfect photo op.  Luckily I have a husband who likes to take photos for me.  This looks like it belong in a calendar!

Little garden path

Natural Tunnel

Waterfall

It was so hot!  The kids (my youngest and her cousins) were glad to play in the Froggie Fountains.  It didn’t take them long to dry afterwards.

I think it I lived in Dallas I would get a year pass to the Arboretum.  That way I could experience the different seasons through the flowers and fauna.  I have heard the colors in Autumn are lovely.  This is a beautiful respite from city living.  For more information, here is their website.

A bit of Norway in Rapid City

Chapel-in-the-Hills is a lovely little place in Rapid City, South Dakota.  As an art history student I did a report on the Borgund Stave Church, but I have yet to travel to Norway to see it in person.  So when I heard that there was a near exact replica in South Dakota, I was insistent that it be one of our stops during our Road Trip Extravaganza.

It was a perfect stop.  We were the only ones there besides the volunteers, and it was quiet and peaceful.  I love how this ancient all wood “Stave” church combines elements of the sacred and the pagan.  The original church is made entirely of wood; even the nails are made of wood.  I did see a few metallic nails used on this replica, but the vast majority of it it is made of wood like the original.  But this is not the kind of place you just talk about–you have to see it!

A front view of the Stave church

Back/Side view of this tiny chapel. From this angle you can see the unique dragon heads.

The Vikings couldn’t quite give up their pagan religion completely; dragon heads adorn the top to ward off evil.

Interior view of the altar

The ambulatory is outside the church, but covered, to provide a place for people to wait in inclement weather and also to serve as a place to leave weapons. For real.

Intricate wood carving typical of the Medieval Nordic tradition.

Door carving

Behind the church is a sacred prayer walk.  Just as we were walking along the wind picked up and it looked like it might storm, but beyond a few sporadic sprinkles, we did not get caught in anything too wet.

Bell Tower behind the church from the prayer walk.

There are a series of devotional statues along the walk to help with prayer and meditation.

 

 

 

On the grounds is a tiny museum of pioneering Nordic life, as well as a charming gift shop.  A few choice items might have found their way into my shopping bag for Christmas.  For such a tiny shop it had a commendable selection of books.

To get to the church you have to drive off the freeway for about 15 minutes, but I was sure glad we did.  After a long day of driving beauty and peace provided a rejuvenating respite.