I have a few blog posts that I have in my mind that I want to write, but I want to write about our time we had at the corn maze on Saturday.
I am trying to find some fun places (for kids, couples, families) that we can do this fall/winter. I had contacted a local Farm that has a corn maze to see about tickets, times, etc. Since. I also wanted to bring H, we decided (finally) to go on Saturday. His mom and dad decided to come, too. It was a perfect day, and it wasn't even busy, which made it even better.
Tranquille Farm Fresh is a local farm that first started as a sanitarium (that coincidentally both my great aunt and uncle went to for awhile when the contracted TB), then became a Mental Institution (their words, not mine), and since has become a farm/town of sorts. There are about 100 buildings, either not being lived in (most of them aren't liveable), including three old hospitals, and of course, lots of farm land, perfect for corn mazes!!! Kamloops has been trying to make into an attraction of sorts, and the corn maze is one of them, being only in their 3rd year.
We wanted to get there earlier, but we ended doing running to the next town over (more on that in another post) to grab a fish, and by the time we got to their house, it was lunch time, and we didn't get there until 1. Having never been there before, I didn't really know what to expect, but the whole area was SO pretty. I actually have driven by there, but have never actually gone in.
The farm is a few km's past our local airport, so it was a nice little drive. The leaves are just starting to turn, too, so it made the drive even prettier.
We arrived and we first went and looked around the market. It was in an old stable, which was really cool. They even have a kids play area!!
We thought about getting some corn, but it was a bit too expensive for us. Plus we have free corn from my parents'. It did look good, though.
No GMO'd food here!!! We didn't buy any produce, but it was fun to look at.
The outside of the market. I love that it is inside, in case of cool weather.
Then it was off to the corn maze. H loved to run around, and he kept asking "what colour was the farm". It was really sweet.
We're here!
I loved the pretty chairs. This is actually the exit.
How they made the corn maze.
The entrance. They were cattle (or we thought pig) gates.
How they made the maze. They go to a lot of work each year.
It's a jungle in there!
The corn looked good enough to eat, but it wasn't. LOL
It was really fun!!
Through the corn maze.
One of the old buildings.
Through the corn stalks.
Purple tassels.
Not-so-yummy corn, but it made for a great picture!
Anker broke a few rules. LOL
Ornamental cherry tree.
There were signs telling the story of some of the founding people of Kamloops. It was such an awesome idea.
We made it!
A couple of extra pictures of/in the corn maze.
The people there are very knowledgeable, and answered any questions we had. They are open during the weekends only, from 9-5, and they also have
Tunnel Tours for $25 where you can go below the buildings and property, and they even have a theatre production, which sounds really fun. They also run
Heritage Tours for $20/person. We would both love to go back sometime this fall. The
y also have an October Corn Maze Extravangaza, which runs just before Halloween, and I would love to go back then, too, but we shall see if time and money will allow it. It sounds like an absolute blast, though.
Everyone loved it, and H had SO MUCH fun running around, and he didn't even get tired. I think any longer, though, and he would have gotten a bit tired. Or not. That kid totally surprises us all. I brought sandals, which I shouldn't have done. Definitely shoes are in order. Anker was very impressed by it, and it it's length (he thought it was going to be short, like the one we went to at our local zoo a few years back), which was good to hear. I think A, K, and H had a good time, too. I loved on how there was lots of history to read along the way. The maze itself was really cool. There was lots of extra little "off paths", which made it kind of fun, but it is hard to get lost. They also have paths that are ribboned off, so people do get lost, and walk IN the corn stalks (I think). It's very hard to lose your children. I would also suggest that you don't bring strollers, buggies, walkers and wheelchairs. I think it would be very hard to push them, due to the roughness of the path, and the corn stalks strewn around. But that is just me; a person certainly could if they wanted to. But the whole property is very wheelchair, buggy, walker, and stroller accessible. If I remember correctly, they do have specialized parking.
All in all, I am VERY glad I was able to go. Hubs and I had a great time, and loved that my brother and his family could join us.
Here are some extra pictures from the farm.
An old fire truck.
Not sure exactly what this building was, but I think the tunnels are under here?
Everyone says this place is haunted.
Another old building.
I think this is one of the hospitals?
A picture perfect farm. Love it.
These pictures are from an old stable that they have now made into a presentation (sorry, I can't think of the correct word at the moment) of the farm in the past, and their Urban Planning of/for the future. They had some things that we could look at and touch, which was neat.
From the stable looking out onto some of the farm.
The beautiful fall colours.
I love round bales.
It was a wonderful afternoon, filled with lots of memories, and another place in town that we been to and were able to visit. I would definitely go back again!!
****Disclaimer*** We were given a family pass (though we had to pay for A and K), and these opinions are all my own.
