Walker Mill Regional Park-Woodland Wonderland Playground, District Heights MD

Blessed to live in an area with so many wonderful parks, it took a while to get to this one. Boy was it worth the wait. When we arrived at this park, we found a parking lot with tons of open spaces (could have been because it was lightly misting). Jumping out of the car to get started, my kids ran up towards the park and set off a motion-activated sensor that talked to them. Then an electronic gnome that told corny jokes was a bit further up the path. They ended up pushing the joke button for several minutes. I couldn’t believe that something so simple could stop my kids from running onto a playground, but great job on them for that!

When they reached the top, they saw an incredibly cool nature themed park! There were several good slides, including one long and fast one, and several smaller slides. The rubber matting is always a plus, and they had multiple different areas to climb on the playground. Even though it was already misting a little when we got to the park, they really liked that there were buttons to press that activated misters on the playground, which is great for cooling off on hot summer days.

Although they were not tired of the playground, they noticed that there were also beautiful and well-maintained basketball courts with nice hoops and glass backboards. After shooting hoops for a while, they then carried on to the beautiful looking skate park. Some kids were on bikes, others on roller blades, and others on skateboards. The different elements provided a variety of challenges, and they also had shaded and brightly colored seats for parents to sit and watch while the kids played. After several hours, we didn’t even have time to walk on the nature path that was located near the second parking area. Perhaps next time we will take a look at the trail as well, but this definitely provided hours of entertainment and is now one of our favorite parks!

Website: http://pgparks.com/Facilities/Facility/Details/Walker-Mill-Regional-Park-Woodland-Wonde-201

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US National Arboretum, Washington DC

With uniquely beautiful gardens, and 446 acres of land to traverse, the US National Arboretum is a local gem. You should start at the information center where you can pick up a map of the gardens and several smaller maps about the different collections. Once you exit the back of the building, they have coy fish ponds and a large patio area with a few tables and shaded areas to eat and relax. When you are ready to start touring the gardens, they offer the following collections:

Asian, Azalea, Dogwood, Fern Valley, Friendship Garden, Gotelli Conifer, Grove of State Trees, Holly and Magnolia, National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, National Boxwood, National Capital Columns, National Herb Garden, Perennial, and Washington Youth Garden.

During our time at the Arboretum, we saw many of these collections, but the highlights for us were the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, the National Capital Columns, and the National Herb Garden. We didn’t know about the Grove of State trees (which would have also been cool to see), but with so much to see, that will certainly be in our plans for the next time we come.

The main attraction for us was the Bonsai & Menjing Museum. Growing up, the only knowledge that I had of Bonsai trees was from the Karate Kid J. However, seeing them in person was a phenomenal experience as I learned just how old some of these trees were (oldest in the world is over 1000 years old), and how much of an art form it is to mold the tree shapes and to maintain them. The gardens are  tidy, and the atmosphere was peaceful and Zen-like. The largest part of this collection was a gift from Japan to commemorate the US Bicentennial.

Once we finished the Bonsai exhibit, we moved on to the National Capital Columns. Originally built in 1828, these columns were designed for, and used at the Capital building. Due to the dome of the capital being bigger than originally planned, the building was awkward, and eventually in the 1980’s they decided to move these beautiful columns to the Arboretum, and put in different supports in the Capital. Seeing them up close was truly amazing and makes for a great photo op! However, during our time there, the water that reflects the columns was drained (until Spring of 2019) for repairs.

 

Lastly, we ended in the Herb Garden. The aroma was wonderful, and we enjoyed sitting around a small fountain, watching a frog lounge in the water. The trellises were gorgeous, providing shade and beauty, and there were beautiful fruit trees interwoven amongst the different herbs.

Website: https://www.usna.usda.gov/

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