Wendy and I have always been big fans of trees, so on Memorial Day we decided to visit the Morton Arboretum, which is in Lisle, IL, about an hour away from us. It was founded by Joy Morton (of Morton Salt fame), and it turned out to be a fantastic place to visit. There are over 1,700 acres of trees, 9 miles of roads winding through the various forests, and 14 miles of hiking trails. We spent most of the day there seeing all the sights. We walked through a hedge maze, rode a tram touring the site, hiked one and a half miles through an Oak forest to see a giant boulder that was deposited by a glacier, ate lunch, and then walked around a bunch more. And there was another section that we didn't even get a chance to explore. We did get a slight sunburn, and a few mosquito bites, but overall we loved it and would totally go back again.
While we were there, I decided to purchase a book at the gift shop called "1001 Questions Answered About Trees". Here are a few things I've learned so far:
- Trees as we know them today first appeared during the Coal Age 240 million years ago.
- Animal inhabitants during the Coal Age included "dragon flies with a 29-inch wing spread, enormous scorpions, spiders, and cockroaches 4 inches long."
- Hawthorne is the tree genus with the greatest number of species (165).
- There are trees in the Florida Keys with bark very poisonous to the touch.
- The title of the book is misleading; it's actually 1,044 questions answered about trees.
1 comment:
That's really cool. I like learning interesting and sometimes useful information about various things. You guys rock. And can I just say, a 29-inch wingspan!?! Holy cow.
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