Yesterday I said that we were off and running. I said that we needed a membership card to get in. I gave a weak hint with the whole bee thing. Now I'm just gonna say true, true, false. True, off we ran picking up grandma on the way just as I said. True, I renewed my membership just like I've done every year since my 24 year old was 10. But, somehow my weak hint became no hint at all once we arrived and realized that the whole reason we were going was.........gone!
Ever since my olders were youngers and my youngers were babies my husband and I have budgeted a family membership to the High Desert Museum into our homeschooling budget.
We hadn't been since fall and it was time to renew our membership. There is an ever-changing exhibit hall that was featuring a live butterfly garden. We had intended to go for months and according to the calendar we had only 3 days left. It was leaving March 30th.
On Mondays the girls have art class, Tuesdays they babysit, Wednesdays Erin has sewing, and Thursday? Well, Thursday the exhibit was leaving. So we decided to cancel babies and head to the museum.
We charged the camera battery, packed a snack (we'd be grabbing lunch in Bend), stopped for gas, picked up grandma and headed the 50 miles to the museum. After filling out the appropriate form and writing the check we moseyed over to the exhibit hall. Before getting there we had to stop and say "hey" to the bobcat who was looking a bit sleepy, but was awake.
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| bobcat |
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| lynx |
Next we had to visit with the lynx who was wide awake and putting on a nice show.
We finally made it to our destination and what do you think we saw? Nothing! I quickly hoofed it back to the front desk to inquire about their obvious mistake. I tried to reason with the nice woman at the counter. "My calendar said March 30th". Don't ask me what I thought she was going to do about it...
We were all quite disappointed but it didn't take us long to get over it. It doesn't matter how many times we've been there, we always love it. And we quickly got into our groove. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
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| everyday there is a live birds of prey talk |
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| 14 year old screech owl |
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| falcon~all of the animals housed at the museum are rescues that would not be able to survive in the wild |
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| throughout the day you stumble on interactive presentations~ this one was about the large cats |
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| barbed wire sculpture~the museum is rich with local art |
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| early 1900s lumber mill that was reassembled on the museum grounds |
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| on scheduled days volunteers come and work it~ it's wonderful to watch and there are several hands-on activities |
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| in the summertime there is a wild horse control round up and several of the horses are brought to the museum to live, then auctioned off in the fall. |
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| ermine? weasel? pine martin? badger? wolverine? mink? |
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| "I'm the local school teacher and I've been waiting ever so long for the stage. I just happen to have all of my things with me. What is you name"? |
So, if you're ever in Central Oregon just give me a heads up. We'll be happy to meet you at the museum and we can give you the grand tour. Just don't ask me to be in charge of the schedule...
* Oh and by the way ~ the bee hint? Well, it was as close as I could come 'on the fly' to a butterfly. ;)
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| bye, bye! |
Blessings, Debbie
What a fantastic museum. That is something every one needs to budget in to see. We have quite a few sea museum's here, but nothing like what you have.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat museum...I would want membership there as well. Well I put my five year old in the car to take him to the butterfly exhibit that all his older siblings have enjoyed. Got my camera out of the car and went in....it wasn't there. They only have it every other year due to the cost of getting the butterflies in from all over the world. I had told him how they fly all around you, settle on you...well instead he took my camera and took all the pictures of the flowers and forgot about the butterflies we had come to visit...now next year I need to make sure I don't miss their arrival.
ReplyDeleteI loved your pictures...I miss all the many field trips from my first four, but now going back again with my last two. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, that owl is such a sweet little thing!
ReplyDeleteHaha... I thought the bee hint meant you were a "busy bee with a busy day". Well you were busy doing such fun stuff with your family. The museum looks like a really neat place. Great photos, thanks for sharing your journey. Blessings, Kerrie
ReplyDeleteI live in Oregon but have never been to the museum! It looks like a great place. I may just have to plan a trip over the mountains for a fun field trip!
ReplyDeleteEven without the butterfly exhibit, the museum looks chock full of interesting things to see and wonder about. I'm glad that you all enjoyed the day, despite the disappointment of missing butterflies. The photos are fabulous--I feel like I got to enjoy your visit right along with you :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great museum. I loved doing home-schooling field trips. One of our most interesting was when we all trouped over to the local grammar school and got a tour, courtesy of the principal. But that museum is great. I love Oregon. We used to go to the Sister's quilt show every year (yeah - for three years). You can smell pine everywhere, and the museum woods make me remember that so vividly.
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