16+ acres of lush forest and flowering plants from around the Northwest, and you will get a very different experience depending on what time of year you visit.

Even though it was in the heat of summertime, we still saw many animals in this botanical garden, including a few very happy and loud frogs.

Let’s explore around Tacoma, Mount Rainier, Sumner, Puyallup, and University Place in Washington’s Pierce County…

With a blast of autumnal colors…

A tree-lover’s heaven! Good thing I am a tree lover…

One of — if not the very —best waterfalls in Mount Rainier National Park…

A great urban park with ball fields and picnic areas, plus a gorgeous little lake to sit beside and let the pressures of the workaday world evaporate…

Even on a windy day you are guaranteed a lovely spectacle…

It’s incredible what a tree-lined path can do for the mind, to make you feel a million miles away from the city around you…

An oasis at the base of the mountain…