Mr. Field- TeacherDad

Where does our take us today? Check out the hints below.

🐂🐂🐂🚂🪖3️⃣4️⃣

Uff da, what a day we had visiting the quiant small town of Lindsborg, Kansas . (Did you read that with a Scandanavian accent? I betcha you did...) What started as a quick trip turned in to a full day or exploring this historic 1800's Swedish immigrant town. They fully embrace their heritage and offer a glipmse into small town life with a lot of modern updates. Despite its size, there's a lot to explore, cool things to see, and some dang good coffee to drink! Check below for the all the cool things we did thanks to the app!

Stop 1: Maxwell Wildlife Refuge (pics 1-26)
What did Kansas look like before settlers came across the prairie? About 60 million more bison roamed these lands before being nearly wiped out, due to overhunting for their precious fur and meat. It is easy to be in awe of their beauty and humbled by their size and power. The cool part is you ride a tram out in to the park and get up close and personal with these majestic beasts. We got lucky today and we're the only people on our reserved time, so we got a personal tour w Ken (who was absolutely phenomenal)! I could have spent so much more time here and was just inspired by the natural beauty that surrounded us. If it sounds boring, it might not be for you, but trust me, don't miss this... it's worth it and tram ride is about 45 mins tops. Make sure you make reservations beforehand and it is only open Tuesdays and Saturdays for the app.
Amanda: 3.75/5⭐️
Ryan: 5/5⭐️

Stop 2: Ol Stuga (pics 27)
This place was heavily recommended by locals, and I can imagine it being quite the happening place at night, but for a hungry clan it was not the most ideal spot. Food was good but it is clearly not a lunch spot for a family, thought and I'd love to check it out in all it's glory on a Friday night.
Gonna withhold a rating on this one...

Stop 3: Blacksmith Coffee (pics 28-33)
One rule, we get local coffee almost anywhere we go, and this place has been on my radar for a while. Honestly, it was one of the "must-dos" on this trip and it didn't disappoint. Very few places have the coffee, history, and atmosphere that can rival this place. Just walking through the doors transports you back 150 years! Great history of the building, lots of cool artifacts, and the coffee and triple berry cobbler were out of this world delicious! (Seriously, itnwas sooo good that after seeing Amanda take a bite of cobbler, Maddy said "is mommy happy now?") Honestly, would drive back to Lindsborg again just for this spot!
Amanda: 5/5⭐️
Ryan: 5/5⭐️

Stop 4: Lindsborg Old Mill (pics 34-47)
You have no idea how cool this place is until you step inside the 100+ year old mill and see first hand how flour was made back in the day. The museum has some pretty cool artifacts, including some grist mills stones, but the start of the show is how well the mill itself has been preserved. The literally let you wander the entire mill and offers some audio as well. This could be a short stop or spent a ton of time exploring the layout of such sophisticated machinery.
Amanda: 4/5⭐️
Ryan: 4/5⭐️

Stop 5: Coronado Heights (pics 48 -end)
The story goes that Francisco Coronado abandonded his search for the Seven Cities of Gold near here. The castle and recreational areas were built in 1936 by the WPA and gives off the vibe that the Spanish explorers really liked to picnic. What the heights offers is one of the most breathtaking views of our great state and reminds you just how beautiful it can be when you get outside the city. This free spot is worth the 5 minute drive out of town.
Amanda: 4/5⭐️
Ryan: 4.25/5⭐️

We must be crazy... 🤪
Woke up, had breakfast, and decided to do a last minute quick trip for another ! This one is about an hour out of Wichita and involves to following items 🦬👨‍🌾🍞🫅🏽🌄☕️

What town are we exploring today? Not gonna lie, I'm excited about this small town adventure!

Our first as a huge success thanks for Kansas Tourism and the app!

We ventured off to Salina, Kansas for a packed day of places we've never been.

Original Destinations
Stop 1: Rolling Hills Zoo (pics 1-13)
We love both of our local ICT zoos and we're surprised by the how empty the parking lot was at 10am. It took a few minutes to get acclimated, but there is so much to see at RHZ. It is a nice cross between TWP and SCZ. It has exhibits that are more friendly like TWP but on a larger campus with a lot more trappings like SCZ. The zoo has a ton of animals, really cool scooters (for the literal rolling hills), a tram, and and jaw-dropping walkthrough diorama section that is not to be missed! Honestly, what I liked most was the beautiful scenery of ponds, hills, and trees everywhere that made it fee less like a zoo and more like a park. Beware, if your packing a wagon or heavy stroller, it can be a workout.
Amanda: 4/5 ⭐️
Ryan: 4.25/5 ⭐️

Stop 2: Prickly Pear Grill & Cantina (pics 14-16)
Holy Happy Hour... this place was incredible. This neat little spot in downtown Salina. We ordered the Smothered Chimi and some Loaded Fries and both were outstanding! The only thing bigger than the flavor were the portions! If you need a bite in town, this is a MUST stop!
Amanda: 5/5 ⭐️
Ryan: 5/5 ⭐️

Stop 3: The Garage Automotive Museum (pics 17-29)
You don't need to be a grease monkey or motor head to see this place is a hidden gem devoted to preserving the history of the automobile. It's more than just a collection of cars (alone worth the stop), but also featured several hands-on and interactive stations such as a pinewood derby, racing simulators galore, Lego area, Mario Kart and a pit crew simulation to test your skills! We did a quick jaunt through, spending about an hour and a half, but really could have spent so much more than that here perusing the entire place. Our 4 and 1 year olds weren't super in to the cars but loved a lot of the hands-on stuff!
Amanda: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Ryan: 4.25/5 ⭐️

Other Stops: We fully intended to make it to Kenwood Cove Aquatic Park - City of Salina and Blue Skye Brewing, but after a hot and busy day we're we spent and the kids were starting to crash on us, so we decided to call it a day. Salina, you are cooler than people give you credit for... great food, lots of cool murals, and a downtown that is trending upward! We will def be back for more adventures!

Today is going to be our first

A little clue as to where our adventures are taking us today... any quesses?

🌊Wet Wednesday🌊
Linwood Park Splash Pad


We have waited for this one for a few weeks bc it was closed for technical issues. It is now OPEN and was totally worth the wait. There were around 20 kids here and there was plenty to do. The splash pad is fully fenced in, has large changing rooms/ restrooms, and a ton of water features. While there is no big dumping bucket ( a feature my kids hate), there are lots of fountains, a small chill 3 inch deep river, and lots of sprinkler type areas. While the covered seating area only has 3 tables, there's lot of room for camps chairs or you can sit out in the pad area and not get wet. you knocked it out of the park with this coop play area!
Amanda: 5/5⭐️
Ryan: 5/5⭐️

Alright, everybody get in the car, we are hitting the pool FOR FREE!!! Let's GOOO!0

Museum Monday
This week took us to one of my local faves, the here in Wichita. Ok, being real for a second, it doesn't look huge, but there is SO DANG MUCH to see here. Cool Dinos, ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, plus WW1 & WW2, the 30 Years War, and a tree of European royalty. My personal favorite is the panel from the Berlin Wall! If you zoom in, you can see a kite, which means this was a panel that East and West Berliners could secretly exchange messages.

The kids' play area is neat, but not super huge, but it does allow for a lot of creativity. If you book with them, they even do artifact exhibits and other neat things. If you haven't been in a while, or even if you have, make it a stop on part of your

Amanda: 4/5⭐️
Ryan: 4.25/5⭐️

Last week, we took our favorite airman to check out the as part of the app. Set in the former city airport, they tell the story of the aircraft industry in a pretty cool way. They have a ton of interesting planes from different ages to explore,lots of neat exhibits, and one of the coolest kids play areas with a play area and several flight simulators.its tucked in by McConnell AFB and can be a bit tough to find, but it is def worth a trip and what kid doesn't like airplanes?!
Amanda: 3.75/5 ⭐️
Ryan: 3.5/5 ⭐️a few items were down, or it'd be higher

I know, I know, it is supposed to be , but we will get to a splash pad later today. We have family in town today, so we all took a morning rendezvous to to check out the Nature Pop Exhibit. I LOVE all things, Lego, and I was excited to see some of the cool designs in this exhibit. This is not all of them, and we will go back again later this month. It is ideal for a hot summer day as there is a ton of shade, great places for kids to play and stretch their legs, and the Nature Pop is INCREDIBLE. Add this to your summer list on the app.

🌊 Wet Wednesday 🔫
Each Wednesday, we are going to share about a local splash pad to help relieve some of the summertime heat 🥵 Check in to see where our adventures take us each week.

We are going to start off Sunflower Summer with 2, that's right, 2 different splash pads.

Harrison Park Splash Pad (first 3 📸)
Super nice little splash pad but not a place you can spend an afternoon.. Has lots of spray features, mostly from the ground and 2 that come from a giant cool looking scorpion. Our fav part is that there are 2 slides that basically slide into the side of the splash pad. Lacking some seating and not super huge, but the park also boasts a dog park and tons of large open areas to play as well.
Amanda: 3/5 🌟
Ryan: 3/5 🌟

Maize Splash Pad (last 2 📸)
Way more shaded areas and seating. Also, more water features include flower showers, filling splash buckets, and even water cannons. Huge plus that sells snow cones nearby as well. Nice adjacent play area and good clean restrooms in the same park.
Amanda: 4/5 🌟
Ryan: 4/5 🌟