Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018.  To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Now that the state is starting to open back up following the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.

We continue things this week with one of the entries from the Nature category: Morton Arboretum, from Lisle, IL.

Thank Morton Salt Co. founder Joy Morton for this “tree museum” spread across 1,700 acres.  Trees from 40-plus countries populate the nearly century-old arboretum, whose offerings include walks with a certified forest therapy guide.  Cap off the arboreal experience with a cup of tea made from edible plants foraged along the trail.

The Morton Arboretum was a favorite field trip location during my grammar school years.  I have vague recollections of trips there, mostly about seeing trees and butterflies.  I haven’t been there in well over 30 years, so you can’t expect much more from me, can you?