Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Are you looking for a fun new place to hike and you’re interested in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park? Maybe you’re looking for a waterfall to check out, or maybe you want to have a challenging hike for a good workout. Read on to find all about it!

Last year, we had a lot of fun doing a 5 Week Workout Challenge. For 5 weeks we visited a bunch of parks for hiking and also did a couple indoor workouts. It was a lot of fun!

Although I’d love to try another challenge this year, I’m not sure what yet. I have a few fun ideas already! This year though, we have already started visiting new parks! Our first new park was Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

We’ve seen some amazing images of the waterfall at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. We also noticed on the website that they had a campground. Since we love camping, we decided to check it out.

The drive out to Nerstrand was about 45 minutes. We weren’t disappointed by the scenery, There were lovely rolling hills of farmland broken up sporadically by patches of woods and walls of rock cut through the hills.

I found it amusing that a place called Big Woods could be found in the middle of so much farmland. So many times, I could see nothing but fields as far as the eye could see, and I couldn’t imagine how a huge forest could be hiding somewhere.

As the fields turned to denser and denser trees, we all became excited at the newest adventure before us. Driving up to the park, we noticed a huge solar panel, awesome! Thankfully our state parking permit was up to date. If you don’t have a state permit, you can find current prices here.

We drove through the campground to check out the sites to see if it seemed like a place we could stay at. The campgrounds are a thinly wooded area and are moderately spaced apart. Some of the spots did not look like they could fit our large tent. Many did have adequate room, given it is an RV friendly park. So if you’re tenting, make sure to check the tent ffot print.

We parked at the entrance to the walking trails and checked out the map. The park was huge. Hidden in the dense trees, I could almost forget we were surrounded by farmland and miles upon miles of fields. On the map, the park looks like a little green dot in the middle of nowhere. In the park, you find yourself in a precious oasis of trees and trails.

We chose a shorter hike since it was our first of the season. We decided to head to the waterfalls one way and back another. Both were listed as extremely difficult.

I found out that the difficulty was most likely related to the incline. Down was easy, up, was not. Unrelated to the map, we also had to navigate the mud and puddles left behind by the winter melt. I think this was probably the hardest for our family. Trying to keep the kids from playing in the mud! Ha!

The day we came was incredibly busy. Everyone else must have been equally excited to get out of the house. Everywhere we turned on the way down were people and dogs. People in front and behind us. Given that most Minnesotans are cheerful folk, we had a lot of small chit chat and friendly greetings.

The falls were beautiful. There was still snow and ice all around. I can only imagine how they must look frozen over. The falls themselves aren’t very large. I wasn’t worried about the kids drowning in the creek, should they fall in, just that they would get wet and make a mess. I did have to constantly reign them in due to the pent-up excitement of being outside.

Our way back was pretty not so crowded. Although we could hear the gleeful sounds of children echoing throughout the park intermittently. I had to have Nate drag me up one steep hill, but other than that, the rest was a relaxing stroll.

We really enjoyed our visit. We might have to come back another time to check out some of the other trails and to see what the park looks like when it turns green! Or maybe even come back in the fall! It looks like they get a lot of beautiful color!

Have you been to Newstrand Big Woods State Park? What is your favorite hiking trail in Minnesota? Let us know, we’d love to check it out!

Check out our video!

January 3, 2018

Making Your Own Dried Basil

Making dried basil is so incredibly easy, I think my children could do it! Plus, homemade is always so much cheaper than the store, after the initial purchase, it’s free!

I grew my own basil this year and it did really well! I’ve tried to grow basil one other time when my neighbor gave me a gift of basil in a pot. It died within a few months, sadly. If you know anything from reading my blog, it’s that I don’t give up easily.

When Nate saw a potted basil plant at Walmart earlier this year, he suggested we give it another try. I immediately jumped on the idea. We brought our new plant home and it did exceptionally well! In fact, it became enormously bushy. I have had to prune it back a few times.

I love having potted basil year round. Pinching off a few leaves for snacking on with tomatoes and cheese is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh basil. I also love to cook with it after it’s been dried. It’s one of my main herbs that I use.

Here are the steps I use to make my own dehydrated basil.

When your basil gets especially bushy, trim back the stems until it has a nice compact shape.
Put the stems in a strainer and gently rinse them off.
Shake the excess water off of the basil.
Remove the leaves from the stems and place them in the dehydrator. Use a fine mesh or fruit leather attachment for smaller leaves.
Dehydrate until leaves are dry and crumbly.
Put basil on a plate and crumble into small pieces.
Put dried basil crumbles into a spice jar.
Lable jar.

You can check out how I have dried basil in my videos!

December 9, 2017May 30, 2018

8 Tips to Survive Camping With Severe Allergies

Camping with allergies can be difficult, but it’s not impossible! Like most things with severe allergies, camping takes a lot of planning and preparing. Knowing what to do and how to plan is one the hardest parts. Hopefully, I can help you with that!

1. Make a Schedule

I try to make a rough outline of not only each day of my camping trip but also the weeks before it. This helps me to leave enough time on the schedule to make sure I didn’t forget anything. With a normal camping trip, if you forget something, you can run to the nearest store. With severe allergies, that’s not always possible, as most stores do not carry the necessary specialty items.

My schedule is usually outlined in a notebook like this:

4-12 Months Before Camping: Pick and Reserve Date for Camping
10-8 Weeks Before Camping: Research Area-Food and Water Sources, Activities, Medical Care
4-6 Weeks Before Camping: Plan Schedule and Menu, Mail Order Necessary Food, Check Medical Supplies To Order New Or Low Items, Vehicle Maintenance, Set Up Pet Sitter, Mail Grabber and Plant Waterer
Week Before Camping: Food Prep, Home Absence Prep, Verify Pet Sitter, Plant Sitter, and Mail Grabber, Pack Non-Food Items, Wash & Pack Clothes, Clean Out Fridge
2nd Day Before Camping: Charge Camera Batteries, Pack Remaining Items, Remaining Food Prep, Check Medical Supplies, Pack Non-Perishable Food
Day Before Camping: Fully Charge Phones, Bathe Children, Pack Remaining Non-Perishable Items, Load Vehicle, Water Plants, Leave Money and Thank You Note for House Sitter/Plant Waterer/Pet Sitter
Camping, Day 1: Shower, Quick Breakfast, Add Perishables to Cooler, Pack Remaining Items, Load Remaining Items, Double Check House, Double Check Medical Supplies, Drive To Camping Spot, Eat Easy Snacks or Packed Lunch on the Way, Set Up Tent, Scope Area, Dinner, Campfire, Bed
Camping, Day 2: Breakfast, Activity, Lunch, Activity, Dinner, Campfire, Bed
Camping, Day 3: Breakfast, Activity, Lunch, Activity, Dinner, Campfire, Bed
Camping, Day 4: Breakfast, Activity, Smorgasborg Lunch, Activity, Smorgasborg Dinner, Use Up Remaining Wood in Campfire, Bed
Camping, Day 5: Breakfast, Shower, Pack, Load, Lunch On The Road, Drive Home, Dinner

2. Make A Menu

Menu planning is probably the most important activity. Finding safe food locations around home usually takes a few months to years with a lot of food trials. Camping is not a great time to trial food, as you don’t want to be sick while camping. It is the most time-consuming task of your camping prep, but it’s worth the work. At least, that’s what I tell my self when I’m up to my elbows in massive food prep operations.

It’s usually the food concerns that give me the most camping related anxiety and stress. It’s expensive, it’s time-consuming, it’s stressful. I usually freak out during my week countdown to camping. Since most of my food is prepared from scratch, it must be made directly before camping to prevent spoilage. Once we are on the road, I finally relax and breathe a sigh of relief. Everything is prepped, now it’s time to relax!

I try to make food prep fun by involving the kids so that they can learn some useful skills, and also lend poor old Mom a hand. Some of their foods are not safe for me to eat, but they are safe enough for me to be around. I usually make two batches of whatever food is safe for me vs safe for them, because my safe food can be more expensive.

I usually go a little overboard in making sure I have enough safe food for the entire trip. Most of my safe food is what would be considered snacks. That is kind of my normal routine though. I generally don’t eat breakfast or lunch unless it’s a special occasion. I’m not a big meal person. I provide food for my entire family for these meals since they seem to enjoy them.

Dinner is the one meal I always put a lot of work and effort into. We all sit down together and enjoy a meal. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. Camping is a reflection of what we do at home. We eat snack-like things throughout the entire day, but I still schedule breakfast and lunch so I can make sure my kids are fed. Dinner is our time to relax and hang out around the campfire after an adventurous day.

3.Inventory Stock

It’s always a good idea to have an inventory of your food supplies. Planning ahead and being prepared is one of the best ways to avoid exposing yourself to dangerous foods. If you run out of safe food, you’re more likely eat whatever is nearest to you, regardless of its safety. Or, if you have self-control, you might have only limited foods to eat and end up going hungry till your next shipment comes in.

If you don’t regularly keep inventory, then at least make a menu for the week prior to camping and the period of time you’ll be gone. Make a complete list of every item you’ll need and start ordering at least a couple of weeks before you have to go.

Waiting until the last minute is not a good idea. Items can take longer to ship, get held up for any reason, or get lost. If you give yourself a reasonable amount of time for error, then you’ll be well prepared ahead of time. Unlike non-allergy people, those with severe allergies cannot get food on the go or at the location. If your order doesn’t show up, this means your trip might be delayed or even canceled.

Also, don’t forget to plan for the meals you’ll be eating when you get home! If you use up all of your safe supplies for camping, you might be out of food when you arrive back home. This is where keeping a regular inventory and planning ahead come in handy.

4.Double Check Medical Supplies

Double or even triple check your medical supplies. Make sure you have what you regularly use and a backup. Make sure you have emergency paperwork printed out. I keep mine in my purse all the time, but sometimes it’s good to have a backup in your camping supplies, should your purse or bag get stolen.

It’s always a good idea to have any prescriptions regularly up to date. You can keep a printed prescription refill in your supplies in case of an emergency. I had an emergency incident where I was having an asthma attack and I went to refill my inhaler prescription at a pharmacy. My prescription had just expired and the pharmacy couldn’t get hold of my doctor and refused to give me an inhaler without it. I had a full asthma attack and started turning blue. Thankfully, my Dad arrived and had someone call an ambulance. It’s always good to have backups and backups for your backups! If my parents hadn’t been able to rush to me with an emergency inhaler, I might have died in front of an audience, sitting right next to the pharmacy.

I always keep my inhaler, epi-pen, and medical emergency paperwork in my purse now. I never go anywhere without my purse. This has saved my life on more occasions than I can count.
See what’s in my bag.

If you compose a medical folder, you can include these things:

Local Map with Medical Locations Highlighted
ER Paperwork
Medical History
Back up Prescriptions

5.Find Local Emergency Health Services

No matter how much planning is done, there is always the risk of having a medical emergency. It’s best to have a general idea of where the nearest emergency room, pharmacy, or local medical services are.

Either print out the information of the location or save the info under the contacts on your phone. You could do both if you’re assembling a medical folder to bring with.

You can download google maps, of the area you’ll be in, ahead of time if you’ll be in an area where there is little to no service.

6. Find Local Safe Food as Backup

Every place I’ve camped, I’ve researched local health food stores or farmers markets available ahead of time. Should I run out of food, lose food to wildlife or have an unforeseen accident, I want to be sure I have a backup so I don’t have to go home early.

This year, there was a farmers market in Ely that we visited. We were able to get some organic, spray free carrots for Princess and me to snack on and some fermented veggies and kombucha for the family. I also found a guy who was selling pure, maple syrup with no defoamer added.

Last year, there was a health food store in Grand Marais that carried a few of the foods I can safely eat. I was able to pick up a couple things to supplement my normal food.

7.Learn About Local Foods to Forage

This is kind of a lifetime thing to learn. Foraging for foods should now be on your new “normal” list of things to do. If you’re new to this, it might sound strange.
“You mean, you can find food outside? On the ground? In the woods?”

The answer is yes! People have been doing this since the beginning of time! Foraging has only recently become less common due to the convenience of packaged foods. We have become disconnected from our food source, the Earth! Food doesn’t originate in the store, as though it popped up overnight in perfectly arranged and identical boxes and bags. It grew outside, from the ground. It’s time to skip the middleman.

Now, you do need to be educated about foraging. Get a few books, watch a couple youtube videos, take a class, grow some of your own in your garden, get real hands-on experience. You can’t just go out into the woods and expect the food to beckon to you.

Once you start learning about foraging, you’ll start finding food everywhere you go! Although, since you’re also battling severe allergies, you need to be in tune with your body to know what is safe and what isn’t for you. So if asparagus is growing in a ditch next to a cornfield, and you’re allergic to corn, you might want to skip it. If you’re in the middle of the woods, hours away from civilization and you find some fresh raspberries, then you’re good to go! As a general rule, even if I 100% believe the food to be safe, it’s always good to be educated about plants that look similar to safe foods but are toxic. For example, mushrooms and berries have a lot of variation, some safe mushrooms look similar to toxic mushrooms. If you are not an expert, it’s best to avoid them altogether. Berries are a little on the safer side, but there are still toxic berries out there. Many lettuces and leafy plants are safe, but you still want to steer far from poison ivy or poison oak while you’re searching.

8. Look for Local Springs

I love spring water. Spring water from up north is the cleanest, most delicious water I’ve ever had. I want to move near it just so I can have fresh, clean, and safe water all the time.

For someone with severe corn or chemical allergies, finding a safe source of water can be difficult. Bottled water usually has corny additives and is purified and treated with chemicals. The bottles can be made from plastic made from corn or chemicals that are toxic. Tap water is full of chemicals used to sterilize germs and bacteria, chemicals to remove discoloration and it even has toxic chemicals like fluoride added to it. In addition, a lot of things are not filtered out at water treatment plants, things like pesticides, birth control, antidepressants, and other prescription drugs. Some water tests have even found levels of illegal drugs. Almost everything I’ve just listed was produced with corn or was directly derived from corn, which is why it is extra toxic to someone with corn allergies.

Spring water is not always completely pure from contaminants, but it’s usually a significantly lesser amount than water found anywhere else. In addition, there is usually beneficial minerals from the underground natural filtration systems of rocks and sand. It also has a significantly low PH level which is beneficial for a healthy body.

You can look online to see if there is a spring near you at the website Find A Spring There was an artesian well at one of the State Parks that we stayed at that is not located on the list, so it’s always a good idea to call the office and ask about locals springs or wells in the area.

I hope that by sharing what I do to prepare for vacation helps inspire you to be able to go camping yourself! Going camping with severe allergies can be difficult, but we need a break from the stress of daily allergy-free lifestyle every once and awhile. Enjoying the great outdoors with fresh air and sunshine is something I look forward to every year.

Do you have a medical condition that you work around so that you can enjoy camping? I’d love to hear about it! Please tell me what you do in the comments.

November 30, 2017

I Photographed the Four Seasons From One Spot

One of the things I love about living in Minnesota is the joy of seeing the seasons change. Winter, spring, summer and autumn, they each have their own special beauty and wonder.

Watching them change, I’ve always wanted to pick a spot to capture that beauty and show how unique they are. I’ve found that the same location in a different season can seem like an entirely new world.

Winter is cold, cloudy, quiet, muted, bright, invigorating, calm and peaceful. Seeing this image makes me think of warm winter boots, being bundled up with a coat, hat, mittens, and scarf. I can remember the muffled woods and the whisper of snow falling. I can remember the crunch of snow underfoot and the delighted peals of laughter from my daughter as she bounced around the snow drifts.

Spring is cool, cloudy, anticipatory, damp, soft, new, refreshing and hopeful. Looking back on this image reminds me of my children, all dressed in their Sunday best, excited to be out and about again on a beautiful spring day. Although they were mostly hiding in the van for this photo shoot. It was still cool, but warm enough to go without hats, mittens, and scarves. The buds on the trees were all starting to swell before they would burst forth tiny new leaves. The ground was turning from a subtle latte color to a growing green as tender new shoots popped up everywhere.

Summer is hot, bright, sunny, colorful, green, energetic, lively, active and cheerful. This image reminds me of wearing flip-flops, short skirts, t-shirts, ponytails, and sunglasses. I can remember my children running around, exploring everything, happy to be outside.

Autumn is colorful, warm, cool, crisp, exciting, busy, cozy and fun. Autumn is the time of year for dress boots, cozy sweaters, and cute scarves. Autumn is a time for bonfires, garden harvesting, food preparation, school planning and winter prep. It’s the busiest time of the year! This image reminds me of the kids waiting in the van for me to jump out and get the shot. We had to hurry because we had so much to do that day! I love watching the seasons change and enjoying every unique and wonderful thing about them. I don’t think I’ll tire of the excitement of watching one season shift to the next bringing all of the changes of life that come with it. Thank you for joining me on my adventures this year! I look forward to the next!

What do you love about each season?

September 22, 2017July 3, 2018

52 Project, Week 20: Favorite Color

My favorite color is purple. It has been for as long as I can remember. I’ve had rotating secondary favorite colors as well. Pink, black, blue, green, deep turquoise blue, aqua blue. I love jewel-toned colors, bright colors, earthy colors. I love cream and brown in combination with any of my favorite colors.

Funnily enough, I also have a color that I extremely dislike, yellow. I’m not a fan. Yellow is one of those colors that make me grimace. Strange right? You’d think a color that seems sunshiney would be likable.

Now, I’m not going to go crazy and banish all yellow from my life. I just won’t go out of my way to purchase or create something yellow. Plus, yellow isn’t always awful, some flowers look lovely with a touch of yellow in their centers. Sunflowers are incredibly beautiful and they are very yellow. Yellow leaves in combination with reds, greens, and oranges in the fall are also pleasing to the eye.

When I was very young, I loved rainbows. My whole room was done in the Rainbow Bright theme. Color, and lots of it, was wonderful. So although I love purple as my favorite color, truly, I love a wide range of the whole rainbow. My house is filled with color. My wardrobe is organized by rainbow in my closet. Yes, I wear almost every color, except yellow!

Despite my love of a variety of colors, I always seem to pick purple flowers for my garden. When the garden center is having a sale, I can’t be as picky with what I end up with. By the time the sales roll around, most of the flowers have fallen off. This ends up being exciting for me, seeing what colors will bloom when my plants are nursed back to health.

This year I got a fantastic find with a lovely purple datura. I managed to get a large amount of purple alyssum, some more pastel, some a rich, darker purple. I also got pinkish purple petunias and dark purple salvia. Everything else was a surprise color.

It always amazes me how many different shades there are of one color. I love seeing all of the beautiful variations in flowers. I have only seen a small fraction of the flowers in the entire world! I would love to see them all! I can only imagine the joy that God had in making them. I feel so thankful that he created this beauty for us to enjoy.

What is your favorite color? Join us in the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/cisforcomfort/posts/1466141406804414
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Previous Week: 52 Project, Week 19: Jewelry
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 21: Simplicity
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September 5, 2017July 3, 2018

52 Project, Week 18: Spring Trees

The spring trees challenge was a lot of fun to photograph. After choosing to photograph the same spot of trees for the winter, spring, summer and autumn challenge, I already knew where one of my locations was. As my main image for the challenge, I’m choosing some beautiful crab apple blossoms.

I’m always amazed at how fast the trees turn green. In what feels like a few days, the trees go from bare branches to tops full of leaves. Catching that moment when the trees are softly budding with baby leaves is a race against time. As soon as the surrounding hills took on a soft subtle green, I knew it was time to head out and start shooting.

All of the kids came with for this challenge. It was a lovely, warm Sunday, with a scattered sprinkling of rain showers throughout the day. After our meeting at the Kingdom Hall, we stopped by home to pick up our cameras. We took the scenic route to the park and enjoyed the lovely views of our changing world.

Mr. Awesome and Cupcake chose to wait in the car, but Princess hopped out with Cat and me. Princess is my little shadow, she follows me everywhere.

Cat’s Spring Trees

The following Sunday was a clear, warm, sunny day. We met some friends at the park for a walk. In just one week you could really see the difference in the trees. In the picture of the children below, the kids are walking toward the back of the trees from the previous week.

On our walk, we saw a kayaker in the river. We went down to our favorite spot where the children were able to wade and splash in the water. It was a beautiful, spring day.

What is your favorite thing about spring?

Previous Week: 52 Project, Week 17: Light
Next Week: 52 Project, Week 19: Jewelry
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Join us for the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
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Or tag us on Instagram with #cisforcomfort52

June 7, 2017

This Little Girl Went From Hating Water To Loving It

When Princess was born, a nurse offered to fill the tub for me at the hospital. They had the longest, deepest tub I had ever seen. I could stretch my legs all the way out without bending my knees. I could get in and the water and it could cover me up to my neck. I took a bath a few hours after birth, but I had to get out fast since Princess woke and started crying.

Several times, my nurse offered to fill the tub for me so I could relax with my wee baby and give her, her first bath. At the time, I was very dizzy and tired from high blood pressure. Plus, I had visitors coming and going, so rest was not an easy option. By the time the sun went down, the nurse shift changed. I had a tiny bit more energy and I thought it would be the perfect time for a bath. I asked my new nurse to pour the water for me.

As I climbed in, my legs burned. I could handle it, but it was uncomfortable. I was debating on getting out when the nurse entered with my naked baby girl. I mentioned that the water was too hot. She handed Princess to me and added a few seconds of cold water to the tub. Not feeling it was much cooler I didn’t lie back in the water. The nurse took princess from me and set her on my lap in the water, where Princess immediately began to wail.
“It’s too hot!” I exclaimed anxiously.
I don’t remember what or if she said anything in response, but I do remember being frozen in horror as she roughly and vigorously scrubbed my poor baby girl down with a large amount of soap. Princess screamed and shrieked and I was rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to determine what to do. Before I could make a decision, she dumped water all over princess to wash off the soap.
“It’s too hot!” I said again, unable to think of anything else to say. Later I would obsess over all of the things I could have said and done to protect my baby. Before I could do anything else, the nurse wrapped her in a towel and brought Princess wailing into the room to diaper and dress her. I stood up and got a towel, unable to bear the heat any longer.

Since that traumatic incident, Princess hated water. She refused baths completely, and would wail for sponge baths. The only way to wash her was to hold her to my chest in the shower and lightly let the water over her back for a few seconds at a time.

Princess was always tiny, especially compared to my other three. I could easily carry her in a sling for her entire first year. She was my little shadow and joined me in every activity. I can remember a day where I stood at the sink, washing dishes, when a little hand reached out towards what I was holding. I was so startled I nearly dropped the dish! Princess was normally silent when she was with me, watching everything with her big blue eyes and taking it all in. Sometimes I would forget that she was there, such as this instance.

I did a little experiment and let Princess play with the sink water. She LOVED it. After that, I encouraged her to play in the sink with me, as I washed dishes. One day, when she was fifteen months old, I discovered her playing with the water in the bathroom sink. After that, she let me put her in the bottom of the shower to play with toys.

Today, my little Princess LOVES water. I have to fight to keep her away from it some days! She hops in every puddle she can find. So when I saw a pair of pink galoshes on sale at Walmart, I knew I had to get them.

The next rainy day, she was thrilled to be able to put her new rain boots to good use. She jumped and splashed till she was a muddy mess. When she was done, she had a nice warm shower and a cuddle with Mom before having a nap.

Moments like these are why I’m so thankful I’m a Mother. My children make everything new again. Every puddle is a fun, new adventure.

Splashing in the mud is fun! Do you let your kids play in the mud?

May 31, 2017

Rainy Day At The Como Zoo Conservatory

Rainy Day At The Como Zoo Conservatory
Over the weekend we took a trip to the Como Zoo Conservatory. I had been wanting to go for awhile, and the fact that it was raining didn’t stop me. I really wanted to visit the conservatory, and a short trip through the Japanese Gardens could easily be done with some umbrellas.

Princess tried to climb into the fountain. She LOVES playing in water. Thankfully we caught her before she jumped in!

There were a lot of prom kids getting portraits taken all over the place. There was also a bride and a groom in the sunken gardens, so we decided to come back so we wouldn’t be in their way.
The sunken gardens are very beautiful. They’re also full of lilies, which I’m allergic to. I had my face mask so I could walk through without getting a migraine, but the smell seemed to bother Cat too. Sadly, I think she might have inherited an allergy from me after all. Thankfully, lilies are one of the easier allergens to avoid. The worst thing is that she’ll have a rough time at funerals. Thankfully, many people have red eyes and runny noses there, so she won’t be out of place.

The North Garden is my favorite. It’s full of edible plants! Depending on the time of year, you might even be able to spot something familiar growing. I love peeking carefully through the leaves to see what treasures they hold. The vanilla seemed to be overtaking the wall by the door. Nate and I were amazed at how big it was! We bought two cuttings of it from the gift shop in hopes of growing our own.
Cupcake was not a fan of this room. She said it smelled like cat pee. To be honest, it does smell a little when you first walk in, but then you get used to it.

We had a lot of fun at the Como Zoo Conservatory. It was a lot more fun than being cooped up inside, at home, in the rain. I kind of wish I had a beautiful indoor garden like the ones at Como, but I bet it takes a very large team and a lot of money to keep it looking as beautiful as it does. I think I’m happy settling for a visit once a year and a few clippings of vanilla to take home with us.

Have you been to the Como Zoo Conservatory? What is your favorite part?