This week I’m nerding out about plants, specifically the upcoming plant sale at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
Butterfly at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks
In 2020 our family purchased our first membership to the Botanical Garden which is located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Typically, the garden is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm.
The Children’s Garden at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is a magical place
The gardens are currently closed, but the plant sale will still go on. This year it is online. Members can start shopping the morning of April 27 to April 29. Starting April 30 through May 8, the sale is open to the general public.
The names and prices for all the plants are listed here. I’m a plant enthusiast newbie. To be honest, I have no idea what most of these plants look like or what care they need. So, I created a (really cool) word document listing out all the plants and if they like sun, if they are lethal for my dog to eat, etc. Based on all my research, I came up with my wish-list.
Shopping Wish List: Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Plant Sale
>Hardy Geranium ($7) – I like that this flowering plant will (hopefully) come back each year. >Smooth Hydrangea ($10) – There is a spot under my bedroom window that is pretty shaded, I’m hoping hydrangeas will grow well there. >Lavender ($6) – I love the smell of lavender and I’m hoping I can grow it in a well-drained pot, or in my front yard which gets a lot of sun. >Basil Genovese ($6) – There are several types of basil for sale, but I think this will be great for making homemade pesto. >Common Rosemary ($6) – I like to add rosemary to chicken and pork dishes. We’ve tried to grow rosemary in pots from seeds and they haven’t done well, so I’m hoping a nice starter plant will get us on our way to growing this fresh herb at home.
The annual plant sale has sponsors, so we want to support them too! The sponsor on the top of my list is way awesome for my current preschool home school. My girls will love a Venus flytrap from Fayetteville Flytraps. Let’s be honest, I will love a flytrap too.
safety first – how to pick up your plants
Reading through the plant sale logistics, it looks like a lot of thought has gone into how to order and pick-up the plants in ways that will keep everyone safe and healthy, so I will link all of that information here.
It’s a bummer we haven’t been able to enjoy the Botanical Garden during the spring months, but I’m looking forward to this online shopping event.
Alum Cove trail is a one mile loop that features a 130 foot natural bridge, a cave, shelter bluffs, stream, and a seasonal waterfall.
We took a picture of the trailhead map and signage to help us find our way.
how to get to alum cove
This recreation area is managed by the National Forest Service. From Jasper, Arkansas take highway 7 south for 15 miles, then turn right (west) on Arkansas 16 and go 1 mile. Turn right (northwest) on Forest Service Road 1206 and go 3 miles. (online brochure).
Tip: The scenic road is curvy, so plan ahead for any family members who are prone to car sickness.
open durnig covid-19
There are a lot of trails and recreation areas that are closed in Arkansas to cut down on the spread of COVID-19. As I’m writing today (April 22, 2020), Alum Cove remains open for hiking. Some amenities are probably not open such as restroom facilities. A good place to get updated information is the US Forest Service’s facebook page.
Alum Cove Recreation Area has shaded picnic areas.The woods in Arkansas are beautiful this spring. Walking over the natural bridge. There is a fence, but since there is a big drop off it’s a good place to hold on to little one’s hands.Views over the side of the bridge. A trail leads underneath the bridge.Water trickling down the rock walls.Rocky overhang of Alum Cove Natural Bridge.We passed over a small stream (after we splashed in it a little).Tip: Pack fun snacks to encourage kids to walk on their own (especially uphill). Our 5-year-old can hike on her own, while our 3-year-old is still wanting to be carried a lot. There was a bench right after this uphill portion of the trail. Soon, we found a cave.Caves = childhood wonder + imagination explosionPast the cave, there is a seasonal waterfall.We had fun exploring the caves and shelter bluffs. We had so much fun exploring, that we got turned around and walked down a side trail. Oops! Once we made our way back to the main trail, we noticed that we should have started down this steep rock staircase.and back up to the natural bridge.Blue skies above us.
We hiked this on our 8th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon as a family.
Kid-approved? Yes. Our girls have been lucky to go on a lot of trails in Colorado and Arkansas, and they said this one was one of their all time favorite hikes.
This hike is a little hard to find. When the paved road ends you might think you made a wrong turn, so I wanted to share the directions provided on the Arkansas National Heritage Commission’s website to help you find Kings River Falls. This natural area is worth the dirt road drive.
From the community of Boston on State Highway 16 (between Fallsville and St. Paul), go north on County Road 3175 (dirt) for 2.1 miles; bear right as the road forks onto County Road 3415. Stay on this road for 2.3 miles until you come to a “T” intersection with County Road 3500. Turn left, and go across the creek and park at natural area sign.
flattening the curve
We hiked this trail on April 10, 2020. The trail was open, however signage was put up to remind hikers to practice social distancing. We saw a handful of hikers, but everyone was respectful and we felt safe. Some of Arkansas’ most popular hiking trails that were open to the public a couple of weeks ago are closed now because they were getting too crowded. I’d recommend researching potential closures before heading out.
The trail starts out by following along Mitchell Creek. We enjoyed spotting a variety of wildflowers and butterflies.
Soon we crossed over a small metal bridge. The trail begins to follow along side the Kings River.
We stopped several times to admire butterflies and skip rocks on the river.
A cascade flows into the river right before the falls. The distance to Kings River Falls is only a mile. Once we arrived, we found a great spot to enjoy a snack and take in the views. We returned the same way we came, making this a 2 mile round trip adventure.
Our pre-coronavirus plans were to go to Florida over the Easter holiday. A sunny beach vacation would have been nice. However, this family hike was everything my heart needed. We are truly blessed by the natural beauty right here in our home state.
We just reserved our cabin for Memorial Day 2020 in Estes Park. Of course in the back of my mind, I’m thinking we might have to cancel it because we don’t know when Rocky Mountain National Park will reopen and the stay-at-home orders to protect us from getting and spreading Covid-19 will be lifted. Here are the official details.
Since the future is looking foggy, I’m going to take a look back at some of our favorite Memorial Day moments of the past 5 years. I’ve included tons of links to hikes we’ve done over Memorial Day weekend plus a list of the top hikes we recommend this time of year in Rocky Mountain National Park.
2015 – Rocky Mountain National Park with a baby
We took our now 5-year-old daughter to Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time. We hiked up Deer Mountain which is a great early season hike. You can read more here. When we weren’t hiking, we were looking at vacation properties and we ended up buying our first Colorado property which was a two bedroom condo at the historic Mary’s Lake Lodge. Since then, we’ve made countless family memories in our home away from home.
Deer Mountain trailheadYou will see new antlers growing on the elk in May
2016 – Rocky Mountain National Park with a Toddler
The next Memorial Day, our baby was a toddler and she could walk short distances on her own. One of our favorite early season short hikes is Sprague Lake. This loop is less than a mile. We wrote, Toddler Self-Guided Tour of Sprague Lake.
For longer hikes, we decided to graduate from our ergo baby carrier to a new kid carrier. We tried it out for the first time up to Gem Lake. We love the views on this hike. We wrote about it in, Riding High in New Kid Carrier.
But what would we do with the old baby carrier? On this trip we found out we were expecting baby #2.
2017 – Family Adventures in Rocky Mountain national park
We also visited the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a less crowded area of the park which has beautiful waterfalls and wildflowers. We posted, Family Friendly Waterfall Hike in Wild Basin. Our baby gave it a thumbs up!
Waterfalls in the Wild Basin
memorial day in estes park
In the town of Estes Park, we enjoyed a ride up the Aerial Tramway. May is also a great time of year to enjoy the restaurants and shops in downtown Estes Park. We have a list of our favorite restaurants here.
Estes Park Aerial Tramway
2018 – buying a cabin in estes park, colorado
We love our new cabin – it’s a great fit for our family
The following Memorial Day we picked up the keys to our new cabin. We enjoy having a free-standing property so we don’t have to worry quite so much about our noisy little family disturbing other guests. We can’t get enough of the mountain views, sitting by the fireplace, and home cooked meals on the back deck. It’s in the rental pool at Solitude Cabins, you can learn more about renting it here.
On this Memorial Day weekend the weather was warmer, so we were able to go on some wonderful hikes to Fern Falls and Dream Lake.
Fern Falls Hike to Dream Lake in late May with a few patches of slippery snow near the lake
2019 – Epic road trip to new mexico and colorado
Last year we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park on Memorial Day weekend, but first we went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I wrote about traveling with kids to Santa Fe here, and here. Our road trip continued with an afternoon at the Great Sand Dunes National Park which is located in southern Colorado. We spent the night in Buena Vista, Colorado (which was gorgeous) before heading up to lunch at a brewery in Boulder, Colorado and finally Estes Park. During our time in Estes, we hiked in the Upper Beaver Meadows and on a snowy stroll around Bear Lake. My husband enjoyed a solo hike on Hermit Park’s Kruger Rock trail.
Upper Beaver MeadowsSnowy hike around Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National ParkViews from Kruger Rock trail
best Memorial Day HikES in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, colorado
> Deer Mountain – 6.2 miles roundtrip with great views. > Sprague Lake – half mile loop with benches, views and wildlife. > Bear Lake – half mile loop, higher (9,475 feet) elevation could mean snow > Nymph Lake & Dream Lake – .5 miles to Nymph Lake, 1.1 miles to Dream. > Gem Lake – 1.6 miles each way. The views on the way up are the highlight. > The Pool & Fern Falls – 1.7 miles to the Pool and 2.6 miles to Fern Falls. > Kruger Rock – 2 miles each way. Hermit Park has separate fee from RMNP. > Copeland Falls & Calypso Cascades – short waterfall hikes in the Wild Basin. > Upper Beaver Meadows – 1 mile hike in lower (8,437 feet) elevation.
tips for memorial day weekend in rocky mountain national park
> Scenic drives such as Trail Ridge Road are open seasonally based on weather conditions. Trail Ridge Road typically opens the last week of May. You can get up-to-date information by calling (970) 586-1222. > Pack layers for changing weather. Higher elevations typically get chillier. > Expect snow, ice, mud…really anything is possible. Waterproof gear and footwear are helpful. We’ve also used trekking poles to help navigate snow covered trails. > Estes Park hosts an annual art festival on Memorial Day weekend, for more information about events check out visitestespark.com
rocky mountain tot 
