We were all set to go on our usual Tuesday adventure when the thunder, lightning and buckets of rain falling from the sky convinced us that Bernheim might not be the best idea that day. So being the flexible group that we are, we decided to push it back to Friday when we had the best chance of a clear day.

The day was clear alright, but boy was it ever hot. I think it must've been at least a million degrees. But a few intrepid mamas and toddlers showed up for some fun in spite of the heat. (No way were we going to let it beat us. It's JUNE for pity's sake! It's supposed to be loverly this time of the year.) 

We met up at the Green Visitor's Center and decided to walk through the little trail around the back of the center where they had some fairy houses set up. They were a little worse for wear because of the rain, but the littles didn't seem to mind too much. My daughter was mostly concerned with where the fairies had gone off to. She wanted to see REAL fairies.

We quickly made our way through the fairies and then took part of the I Spy trail to the Nature Center because we'd heard they have an apiary. I'll have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the I Spy trail. The object of the game is to try to spot the little things that have been hidden along the trail. I just assumed they'd be nature objects, but they were things like eyeglasses or plastic mugs. It was fun for the kids and if I'd known in advance it probably wouldn't have been so disconcerting. You can pick up a pamplet in the Visitor's Center that lists all the objects to seek to make it even more fun.

Right outside the Nature Center was a pond just teeming with tadpoles. My daughter was so enthralled by them that she demanded I take a picture.

The air conditioned Nature Center provided a welcome respite from the heat. As luck would have it, they were doing a special program on the bees. Some volunteers were suited up and working with the hive so the kids got to see the bees more up close and personal than they would have. They were protected by a glass wall, of course.

After a little indoor play at the Nature Center on some kind of foam doohickey, we walked down to see the birds of prey and the deer. Our objective was to take a short loop trail that started just beyond the deer enclosure. On a more temperate day it would have been a lovely short hike. However, our troops were revolting. Since I didn't want to lug a 35 pound child who was complaining about how very HOT it was around a mile-ish long loop trail, we decided to walk back to the Visitor's Center for lunch.

They do have a little cafe just inside the Visitor's Center where you can buy frozen treats (hello, ice cream) and drinks. I think they have some sandwiches as well, but we generally come fairly well prepared for these outings so we parked our cooler on a table in the shade and enjoyed a nice lunch with our friends.

Afterwards we went inside to check out the Visitor's Center. They had displays of more intact fairy houses that included little fairy people made out of bits of nature. I think the heads were made out of some kind of seed and several of them had wings that had come from butterflies. (I wish I'd taken a picture, but I was derelect in my duties that day.) There are actually quite a few things to do inside. They had some wooden blocks for the kdis to play with and a little craft area set up.

After that we all pretty much dispersed. Bernheim is probably my favorite local park/hiking place. In addition to hikes of varied lengths, it has so many things to interest different age groups. Even on a hot day when we all really wanted to be inside, we found plenty of things to do.

If you go: Admission is free during the week and a nominal fee ($5 per car, more for larger vehicles) is charged on weekends and holidays. They have an excellent website with lots more information. You should check out their ECO Kids (Every Child Outside) initiative in particular.