61. Hickory Hut BBQ in Salina

    

The rest of our time spent in Salina was not spent exactly doing Kansas adventures.  Anytime we are in a city with a Target and Hobby Lobby, Angel has to go there.  Also, anytime we stay at a hotel, spending time in the swimming pool is a must for the kiddos.  However, we were given a tip about a great local BBQ restaurand that is definitely a Kansas adventure.  It may not be a chain restaurant that most of us are used to looking for, but it has amazing "serious BBQ."  Plus, it was a great dinner because there was a soccer game on TV which the kiddos were intently watching and had tons of questions.  It must have been so interesting because they both just finished soccer seasons.  Thank you to our friends for the great tip of where to eat in Salina.

60b. Rolling Hills Wildlife Museum

 

Part of the Rolling Hills Zoo is the Wildlife Museum.  Our daughter said this was her favorite part of the zoo.  It actually made us consider a membership.  We definitely want to revisit this adventure.  The museum is a venture through seven different regions.  Each region has a great set-up of wildlife/plants native to that region.  There are also animitronic humans that represent natives of each region and tell a story.  We stopped to listen along the way.  This is one museum you definitely want to take your time to experience the details,

 

 

 

 

One of the best parts of the museum was Hideaway Hollow.  What a great place for the kids to get to explore and play.  Our daughter loved the reading area (built like a tree house) and we could have spent hours there if we had hours to spend.  There were fun and educational project areas as well as a puppet theater and puppets of just about every animal imaginable.  We will have to spend more time there when we come back.

 

 

We also got to check out the Earl Bane Gallery.  They are currently working on the newest exhibit, Green Revolution.  The pictures are not yet hung on the wall, but they were sitting around and we could see them.  We did get to play a very fun game about "being green."  It is set up like chutes and ladders and our daughter won.  Maybe they should have frogs in their exhibit about "Green Revolution."  :)









Is this the lamp post from

Chronicles of Narnia?

Is Angel's power chair considered a vehicle?

60a. Rolling Hills Zoo

Our adventure this weekend began with the Rolling Hills Zoo and Wildlife Museum in Salina.  We had heard mixed reviews about the zoo and did not know what to expect.  Well, we were thrilled.  The zoo is not among the world's greatest, but it is amazing.  One of the greatest things was the way it personalized the animals.  Many animals had information about them, including their names and ages, posted at their habitat.  It was an amazing experience to call the animals by name and feel like you were really interating with them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angel was excited to see the zoo had her favorite animal, chimpanzees.  When we entered the ape house, we got to talk to a zookeeper about the apes and the plan for the near future.  It made a special bond between our son and an orangutan to find out they were both several weeks premature.

 

The kids were most excited to find the petting zoo.  So, there was much excitement when they discovered Kid's Country.  They loved looking at the petting zoo animals and feeing the sheep and goats.  Our daughter was upset one goat kept stealing the food from the smaller goats.

 



The feed theif



Notice the egg in the coop





The weather was cool and cloudy, but I think that added to the wonderful zoo experience.  Besides us not baking in the sun, the animals were out enjoying the weather and we could see all of them.  Some of the animals are still in their winter habitat, however.  So, although we could still see them, it would have been fun to watch them romp and play on their "islands."

Being Easter weekend, we decided this looked like Jesus' tomb.