Escapees March-April 2023

skp stops

GUIDELINES FOR SKP STOPS SUBMISSIONS Material for each issue will be selected based on location and the migration of seasonal travel. Submissions of 300 to 500 words are ideal. Due to limited space, submissions will be edited. High-resolution photos are included on a space-available basis. Include the name of the photographer and anyone in the photo. HELPFUL HINTS Share unique and o ff -the-beaten-path RV travel destinations. Keep submissions brief and include only pertinent information. Include the best season to visit the destination. Include information on RV parking and accessibility. Send submissions to Escapees Magazine, 100 Rainbow Drive, Livingston, TX 77351, or to editor@escapees.com. So, if you are looking for the amenities of a city with plenty of great outdoor opportunities and a glorious array of gardens, you may want to consider this Midwest gem. Article and photos by Marilyn Jones, Guest Contributor beautiful landscaping. I visit the Rose Garden and Peace Garden. Beautiful beaches, boating, canoeing, a dog park, playground and picnic facilities are other amenities. The entire area is 1,555 acres. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Though not in Minneapolis, another location you may want to add to your itinerary is the Minnesota Land scape Arboretum. The 1,200-acre arboretum, founded in 1958, is professionally maintained and features rare plant collec tions and accessible trails. It is part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. I am immediately impressed as I walk in the specialty gardens. There are 48 plant collections and more than 5,000 plant species and varieties. Every plant species is labeled, making it easy for visitors to replicate this beauty in their own gardens. From the Peony Walk with its pink, rose-colored, white and yellow specimens, to MacMillan Hosta Glade with more than 300 varieties of hosta displayed, the gardens are a joy to the senses. Every year 25,000 to 30,000 annuals are also planted. Along Three-Mile Drive, varying trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses are featured along with a sculpture garden and other separate gardens. There are plenty of parking areas allowing visitors access to any collection that interests them. In addition to the gardens are art exhibits in the Oswald Visitor Center and the library, where visitors are free to look at any of the hundreds of periodicals and books available. As they say, I only saw the “tip of the iceberg.” From an early age, I fell in love with Minneapolis and its natural beauty. Its twin St. Paul also offers beautiful parks and outdoor activities.

wrote his celebrated poem, “The Song of Hiawatha.” The epic relates the fi ctional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman. A life-size bronze sculpture of Hiawatha and Minne haha by Jakob Fjelde depicts the characters from the poem. The inscription says: “Over wide and rushing rivers, in his arms he bore the maiden.” The sculpture was on exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and purchased with pennies donated by Minnesota school children. The statue, on a small island in the creek, and can be seen from the water’s edge. This park is one of the oldest and most popular parks in the city, with more than 800,000 residents and tourists visiting each year. Other fun things to do at the park are eating at Sea Salt Eatery, enjoying a live show at the Minnehaha Bandstand and strolling through Longfellow Gardens. Eloise Butler Wild fl ower Garden and Bird Sanctuary This park is new to me. I read that it is the oldest public wild fl ower garden in the nation. Located on 15 acres within Theodore Wirth Regional Park, its legacy dates back to 1907. A Minneapolis botanist, Eloise Butler, and botany teachers, successfully petitioned the MPRB to create a natural botanic garden to preserve native fl ora as the city grew. I am impressed with what it promises me. It’s unseasonably hot, so I am grateful for the tree-shaded trails that greet me. Winding along a well-maintained route through the woods, I don’t immediately see many fl owers, only chipmunks and squirrels scurrying through the thick brush at the base of the trees. Then I arrive at the boardwalk over a marshy pond and spy Lady Slippers, the Minnesota State Flower. They are larger than I expect and, as it turns out, only the fi rst of thousands of fl owers I will see on the rest of the mile-long trail. Forget-Me-Nots, Large-Leaved Lupine, Queen Anne’s Lace and so many more line the walkway in a rainbow of color. I am at the park for slightly over an hour and relish every moment of the peace and beauty it offers. Chain of Lakes Sailboats skim the waters of Bde Maka Ska, one of the fi ve lakes making up the Chain of Lakes. The others are Brownie Lake, Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles and Lake Harriet. An excellent series of walkways, including the trails connecting the lakes and Lyndale Park, stretch along the shorelines providing a 14-mile pedestrian walkway and a 15-mile bike trail. Fortunately, you can also enjoy the lakes by driving around them. Within the area are small gardens perfect for admir ing meticulously kept spaces fi lled with fl owers and

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ESCAPEES Magazine March/April 2023

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