rev:text
| - As other reviewers have doubtlessly noted, the Holden Arboretum is a seemingly endless natural wonderland, replete with looping pathways, innumerable tranquil groves, and at least one exhibit destined to scare the pants off of anyone remotely afraid of heights. Upon entering and paying the fee (some $15 for the average civilian naturalist (including the canopy walk and tower), though slightly less for AAA, military, et al.), one is turned loose immediately in the humongous expanse. Free to explore, to photograph, to lose yourself in the majesty of this sacred place. Your intrepid reviewer found at least one cozy tree with ample branches forming a pagoda of sorts in which one can escape the heat by reclining against the elephant hide esque trunk inside. Elsewhere: Lady's Mantle, Stonecrop, Spiny Bear's Breeches. The frightening but ultimately rewarding Emergent Tower is worth the 20-30 minute wait. Be apprised though, this 12 story wonder sways. Stand at the top and take in the spine tingling, breathtaking panorama, but do try not to look down. A tour guide may be at the top, happily explaining that you can come up here in light rain and/or watch storms roll in across the sky--gut churning propositions both. This is, let us reiterate, not a place for the faint of heart. Yet those who summit it's elegantly designed peak will be provided the best view of the treetops since the helicopter swooped in over the island on Jurassic Park. Worth the price of admission alone.
|