Morning after we finished our crazy single day adventure at Washington D.C. we headed out, sore feet and all, down to Chincoteague Island. It was a three hour ride, which was not bad. Remember, this was mid May, so the weather was rainy, foggy and chilly. Not beach weather at all. I am very happy that we had this magical fog with us on the island. It was cool, and beautiful.
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This spring we found ourselves in Hammonton NJ. From us this is quite a distance. We were there for an appointment to buy some blueberry bushes, but wound up getting there 2 hours early. What can I say, we needed something to do in the meantime. As we drove, I spotted the Batsto Village sign, I remember someone leaving an awesome comment on our Free NJ Destinations page about how awesome Batsto Village is, so we made a turn. I am so glad we did.
We have been to the Environmental Education Center, and we frequent the Raptor Trust, so it was quite surprising that it took us so long to get to the Great Swamp.
As you can see from the photos, we were there on a bright and sunny day in early spring, or whatever you can call spring in NJ, around late March-early April.
We went for a second time! It was just as much fun as the first. We enjoyed the wolves, and being among them in such a magical way. The hosts were as knowledgeable as ever and the kids enjoyed themselves. We went with a group, and it was considerably more people then when we just went with a tour of strangers. Still, the place was large enough to accommodate everyone.
Here are a few photos of our most recent visit:
I have been meaning to visit this place for years. Over the years, friends said many wonderful things about it, and have longed to visit it. However, it is far from where I live, and even though I visit that area relatively often, it is usually on Mondays, just the one day a week that Lakota Wolf Preserve is closed to visitors.
When the chance came up to stop by there in the morning I jumped right on it. I was determined to make it there and am so happy that we did. We got to see how wonderfully magical it is.
The tours are from Tuesday to Sunday, one is at 10:30 am and the second one is at 4 pm. You have to come 30 minutes prior to register, and the weekday tours require a prior reservation (which was easy to do). The tour cost is affordable (as of 2017 it was $15.00 for adults, and $7.00 for kids under 11).
When you go to the Lakota Wolf Preserve Website, you see that it is recommended you see the wolves from fall to spring, and that in the summertime they shed a lot of fur. We visited in mid-May. The weather was just perfect, not too hot, as a matter of fact the spring this year was rather cool. The wolves looked fantastic, and it was cool enough to enjoy the outdoors.
When we first got there, there is a little office, gift shop and bathroom building, with a lovely front lawn. After I had signed up, the kids explored the shop, and then just hung out in the front waiting for a shuttle. There was plenty around to entertain them for a bit.
I am not a zoo person, and this most definitely is not a zoo. The wolves have plenty of natural ground to live and play in, and are much loved. They look healthy and very happy!
Once the shuttle came, and drove us about a mile up hill, we were at the preserve.
At first we got to listen and learn about the wolves. There is so much to know, and it is amazing! I can’t imagine getting this sort of experience anywhere else. We also got to learn about the two bobcats and foxes that reside on the premises. The foxes were so much fun to watch. They are just like you would imagine a fox to be from stories or cartoons. Running around with their egg and hiding it in different spots.
After the tour was over, we chose to hike back down a beautiful hiking trail, and head out.
The kids and I were so impressed with the deep knowledge and understanding that the owners of the preserve have, and that they are willing to share and educate us about these amazing animals. We walked away knowing more than we had ever imagined there was to know about wolves, foxes and bobcats.
The preserve also offers photography tours, and even though they are expensive, one day I would like to do one. First, you will not be able to see wolves like this in their natural habitat anywhere else, and second, I want to support these folks and what they do.
I highly recommend a visit there, with kids or without. We enjoyed our visit to Lakota Wolf Preserve tremendously. The kids were very impressed, and it turned out to be their favorite part of our little weekend getaway.
West Orange, NJ
October 2016
This October we have visited lots of awesome places. The only thing I was short on is time to write about them all. This is our visit to the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. It was a very interesting experience.
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Several summers ago, we made a trip down to Camden to visit the Adventure Aquarium. It was quite a long drive to get there for us. However, in July and August, the aquarium was showing some teacher love, and gave free tickets for a weekday in those two months to educators and a guest to show their appreciation. I went with a friend, and a bunch of kids. The kids all ranged in age from 15 to 9. We really have not gone back since. Aquariums are not generally our jam, so it is a rare occasion for me to make a long drive there.
This is not our first visit to Raptor Trust. When the kids were little, we would go there to visit the birds. When we would find a wounded little bird on our front lawn, we would put it in the shoe box and drive it to Raptor Trust. There, the wonderful people working there would rehabilitate it back to health. Since our first visit there, we have gone back multiple times, and have brought many birds there for rehabilitation.
Since I first wrote about our visit to Liberty Science Center a few years ago, I have now gone back with my second, now older kid in 2019, and the experience has not changed. It was still great.
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Mountainside, NJ
At least every month for the last 15 years!
Trailside Nature Center and Watchung Reservation is a wonderful place to visit with your family! However it has seen some changes in the past few years. The old dam has been rebuild into a brand new dam. Lake Surprise does go up and down in water levels through the season. Sometimes it resembles a muddy pond, sometimes a beautiful full lake. The trails are still wonderful, and the forest is still magical. The playground is always fun, and the museum is still fantastic.
We love the Nature Center in the Watchung Reservation. When a friend invited us to go for a hike by the Environmental Education Center in Lord Stirling NJ, I jumped right on.