At the heart of this bustling city, you'll find a gorgeous 176-acre park, established back at the turn of the century.

Prior to this recent trip, I'd never been to Kansas City before in my life. It's so weird because it really wasn't very far for us to drive...it was closer than our recent road trip to the Black Hills, and far closer than going to Colorado from Minnesota. The city really impressed us with its charm, its amazing food, beautiful nature areas, and, of course, the wonderful people.

We had fun discovering downtown Kansas City, but after all the hustle and bustle, we were excited to take a breather at Penn Valley Park. It's always incredible to find a giant, beautiful park, right in the heart of a big city. I haven't experienced this in too many places, and I've never seen Central Park, so I'm not quite sure what to compare it to. It was really cool. It was like a refuge inside of this busy city, where you can look out at all the movement and the activity, but be still yourself. It was wonderful.

I also had the feeling this park can be what you make it...it's a bit of a blank slate in many ways, which is good. There are, of course, huge grassy, open spaces, and incredible, sweeping views of downtown Kansas City. Not only can you see a gorgeous view of downtown from this park, but you also have a great view of the famed WW1 Memorial next door to the park.

There is a picnic shelter here available for rental, with four tables, and a 4 person seating capacity, so that's a great option for family get-togethers. There is a playground at Penn Valley, as well. We headed to some other sites that day, so we didn't stay at Penn Valley all day, but I could see spending a whole afternoon there in the warmer months.

There are a number of famous statues within the park, and the one that caught our eye was the Pioneer Mother. This memorial is a tribute to the hard-working pioneer mothers. It makes sense that this particular memorial sits here, as it's within a few hundred feet of the Santa Fe Trail. This beautiful memorial depicts a wary pioneer family, worn down by the hard work of travel in those days. It symbolizes perseverance, and I love that. They're exhausted, starving, and badly in need of shelter, but they're together. The inscription reads, "Wither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God." The other really famous sculpture in Penn Valley Park is titled The Scout, and it depicts a Native American of the Sioux tribe surveying the land.

Penn Valley is a beautiful park, and a must-see while in KC, in my opinion. After enjoying the epic views of the city, head over to the famous Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que and have a taste of what Kansas City is all about...great food!