Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Botanical Garden

One of the things we like to do from time to time is visit college campuses in different parts of the country (or world). They're usually great places for walking around, and it's interesting to see how styles can vary based on region or when the school was built. 

UK was surprisingly modern! Coming from California, I expect universities to look older by comparison. UK is huge, almost exclusively modern buildings, is extremely car-friendly, and looks more like what I'd expect in Texas or California than further east. 

We drove around campus a little and stumbled across the Childrens Botanical Garden. Garden is a misnomer--it's more like a massive park that includes wetlands, forests, green fields, and a few formal gardens throughout. Our pit stop turned into a 90 minute walk.

Tree stumps were used as distance markers, and made for fun photo ops.

There were several art installations throughout the Garden, including a sculpture of 49 birds remembering a plane crash that killed 49 people flying out of Blue Grass Airport. Popular with the kids was this huge tree stump arrangement that I nicknamed "Log Henge." Also, water towers seem to be popular places to highlight local town names, sports teams, or university logos. 

I highly recommend a stop at the University of Kentucky Childrens Garden if you're ever in Lexington. The University is right downtown and a beautiful place to spend an hour or two. 

Just had to include this--it's almost Halloween!