The Botanical Center in Des Moises Iowa

The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers

at The Botanical Center in Des Moines, Iowa May 26, 2012

The Des Moines Botanical Center is an indoor conservatory of over 15,000 exotic plants, one of the largest collections of tropical, subtropical, and desert-growing plants in the Midwest. The Center blooms with thousands of flowers year-round. Beautiful and extensive exterior gardens are also located here.
The Entrance to the Des Moines Botanical Center

Below: Two different views of the sculpture entitled Spectral Liberation outside of The entrance to the Des Moines Botanical Center.

Below: The two RV Gypsies liked these flowers, but there was not any sign saying what they were.

Below: Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant - Origin: Mexico	Below: Chenille Plant - Origin: Oceania

Below: Flamingo Flower - Origin: Brazil

The two RV Gypsies at the Des Moines Botanical Center

Below: Some of the many cacti at the Des Moines Botanical Center. A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, within the order Caryophyllales. The word cactus is derived through Latin from the Ancient Greek Kaktoc (kaktos), a name originally used for a spiny plant whose identity is not certain. The plural of cactus varies; the Latin cacti, the English cactuses and the uninflected plural cactus are all used. With the exception of one species, cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north.

Below: Within a short walk from the Des Moines Botanical Center, the two RV Gypsies came to the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens and Pavilion, named in honor of the former governor whose influence helped relocate thousands of Vietnamese refugees to Iowa homes in the 1970s and 1980s. Developed by the city's Asian community, the Gardens include a three-story Chinese pavilion, bonsai landscaping, and granite sculptures to highlight the importance of diversity and recognize Asian American contributions in Iowa. The Center Street Bridge can be seen in the background. There is a link to the bridge in the sub-menu below.


Below are more sections of the adventures of the two RV Gypsies in Iowa. You may view them in any order you wish. Be sure to scroll all the way down this page for more navigational choices.
Des Moines Botanical Center (this page)	Center Street Bridge Walk
John and Mary PappaJohn Sculpture Park	Adventureland Amusement Park
Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa	The Buddy Holly Plane Crash Memorial
Central Gardens of North Iowa	Clear Lake, Iowa
Fort Custer MAZE in Clear Lake, Iowa

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