Living History Farm- Museum of the Rockies

The Museum of the Rockies is just two hours away, but like so many close attractions we don't get there often enough, usually once a year or so.  As summer is wrapping up we had a bit of deadline.  See, they have the exhibit there called the Living History Farm.  This exhibit is only open Memorial Day through Labor Day though so we had to get on it if we were going to get the chance to see it again this year.  We really enjoy the farm because it appeals to our lifestyle and interests.  There is an expansive garden (both vegetable and flower) where the only seeds cultivated date back to the start of the 1900's or earlier.  The food from the garden apparely is used to make lunch for the people who help out on the Living History Farm.  The house was built in 1889 and has been restored as closely as possible to its original condition.  There is also a Native American style garden where they've inter-planted corn, squash, and beans in a traditional style.   I found this superbly interesting.  They all grow so well together--like they were made for it!  The beans climb up the corn and the squash fill in the ground between the rows.  Its like magic.  The house is usually bustling with women in period dress spinning wool which will be dyed with plants from the garden, or baking up cookies on the wood-stove.  I find is completely enthralling.  There are always new things to see and do there to.  This trip I noticed some embroidery frames hanging in the spinning/sewing room that must be for tablecloths or bed spreads.  I've never seen hoops so big!  There was even one with a piece started on it.  It was pretty impressive in size and artistry.    Last year we got to watch sheep herding dogs in action and I'm not sure I've ever been so impressed with the silent symbiotic relationship between dog and shepherd as I was then.  There is always something incredible to see on the farm.

The Tinsley House.

The vegetable garden.

We admired these simple stick teepee style supports in the garden.  Having recently done some tree trimming we have some that seem like they'd be just perfect for this purpose.  I enjoy its quaint charm as well as the let's-do-with-what-we-have mentality.  It seemed to work effectively as well.

Pretty sunflowers.

Matt "snapping" the snap dragons.

That's one heck of a cabbage!

A little snapdragon mouth.

I have no idea what these are, but they were very cool looking....

...and opened into a flower that looks like this.  I almost think they were cooler looking before they flowered.

A cider press that was just about identical to the one we get to use.  We'd never noticed it before.

Matt, super pumped about the Tinsley house root cellar.  A man coming out as we went in said "Free air conditioning down there!"  It did feel quite good on such a hot day.  Root cellars are amazing.  So simple and yet ingenious.

Beans growing up the corn in the Native American garden.

Inside a teepee.

We bought a year-long pass to the museum this year.  If we go twice we've more than made our money back.  In addition to the Living History Farm there is also more traditional museum exhibits, namely local history and dinosaur fossils, as well as the planetarium.  They also get traveling exhibits.  We saw artifacts from the life of Napoleon and we both learned a considerable deal about him and French history.   Museums are cool.   Museums with heritage gardens are even cooler.