While driving in Milwaukee, I quickly learned that any time one took a wrong turn, one ends up on I-94, which runs through the heart of the city. Whenever I made the mistake and found myself headed west on I-94 (more than once!), I would see these strange egg-shaped gray domes glistening on the horizon. Finally, I looked them up and learned about the Mitchell Park Domes.

Mitchell Park is the oldest park in Milwaukee, dating to 1889. It originally housed a traditional glass greenhouse. In 1959, the old greenhouse was replaced with three "conoidal" domes that house the botanical collections. They were restored in 2008, and now house plant collections in the Tropical Dome, the Desert (Arid) Dome, and the Show Dome.

We first walked through the Tropical Dome, with banyans, bananas, carobs, mahogany, and many other trees and flowers.

Then we hit the Desert (Arid) Dome, with an impressive display of succulents and cacti. I think I liked this Dome the best--there were loads of unusual plants, including lithops.

Finally, we walked through the Show Dome, which has changing displays. While we were visiting, we saw an exhibit on wind, with a variety of very colorful annuals.