Bucketlist Archives - Midwest Mom and Wife

Travis, Monte and I did not make it to the Clowns at the Carousel Sunday evening, but we did get another item crossed off our Summer 2013 Bucket List! We went to the Blank Park Zoo! I had never been to the Blank Park Zoo before and Monte had never been to a zoo before. We also had some close friends in town and their little girl had never been before either. So, it was a great outing for everyone!

The Blank Park Zoo is not super big, which makes it easy to get through it with an 18 month old. By the time we went around and saw all the animals and main attractions he was definitely ready to head home.

The first stop was to feed the giraffes …

It’s hard to see Monte’s face in the picture, but he wasn’t too sure about that long necked, long tongued creature!

A giraffe’s tongue can be up to 18 inches long! And it’s black … I would be a little freaked out feeding a giraffe too!

There were plenty of strange animals for Monte to see which included and NOT limited to: Some creature with horns (cannot remember what they were called), sea lions, lions, tigers, monkeys, and penguins. The penguin exhibit was under construction while we were there. Hopefully, they will have it finished soon!

I would definitely recommend the Blank Park Zoo for anyone who has little kiddos and want to do something fun. They offer great season passes and great combination passes that you can combine with the Des Moines Science Center and Living History Farms.

Check out there website for more information and their hours here!

Have you ever been to the Blank Park Zoo? What is your favorite thing to see there?

One fun attraction in the Des Moines area is The Heritage Carousel at Union Park. This is one item on Monte and I’s 2013 Summer Bucketlist. It looks like this Sunday may be a good day to get it crossed off!

Clowns At The Carousel

This Sunday, August 4th 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

There will be balloons, carousel rides, inflatable rides, face paintings, entertainment, food and so much more! This is all free to the public!

History of the Carousel
The Heritage Carousel is an organization which is operated under the Des Moines Carousel Foundation, a non-profit organization. Volunteers, part-time director and other assistance are the people who keep the carousel up to date and funtioning from Memorial Day weekend until the end of September.

If you look closely at the carousel, the wood work and painting represent certain history and places in Des Moines.

J.C. ‘Buz’ Brenton was the master mind behind this great idea. He also helped gather private funds to purchase the carousel and assisted in choosing a spot for the carousel to be placed.

Union Park was the chosen place! This would be a place where families could gather and children could have fun at an affordable price.

To this day you can rent the carousel for various occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and other various get togethers.

Today, you can ride the carousel 50 cents a ride.

Union Park

If you are going to check out the carousel, Union Park also offers a bunch of attractions. They have the infamous rocket slide!

A wading pool, shelters, and other playgrounds are available also.

You can make a day out of visiting Union Park and The Heritage Carousel!

All this information can be found at Clowns At The Carousel and The Heritage Carousel of Des Moines

Have you ever been to The Heritage Carousel or Union Park before?