TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

You'll start with the 1700 Ioway Farm, where you'll learn how Native Americans grew crops. Walk to the 1850 farm and discover how the matching of oxen to ploughs helped open up the prairie. Horse-powered machines revolutionize farming at the 1900 Farm.

And once you've seen how farmers lived during those time periods, stroll over to the 1875 town of Walnut Hill, with 14 shops and businesses including a general store, blacksmith shop, and two Victorian homes.

Check out their website at http://www.LivingHistoryFarms.org to find out when the Walnut Hill Bluestockings baseball team will be playing their games, using rules circa 1870. And dine on authentic cuisine of the time at the various farms, too!

The three Living History Farms located in Urbandale are open from May 1 to September 7 from Monday through Sunday. From September 9 to October 15, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Admission to the farms are free. The Historic Dinners program costs $50 per person, but it's worth it for the ambiance and the food!