7 Ways to Celebrate the Arrival of Spring in West Des Moines

It's officially spring in Waukee. And yet, we're still wearing sweaters, scarves and boots because temperatures are nearly 20 degrees where they should be.

Accuweather.com says the high temp today should be 51; it predicts the high in West Des Moines will be 30 degrees.

The weather service says West Des Moines won't break out of the cold spell until early April, when it expects the thermometer to finally pop back into the 50s.

Nevertheless, here are 7 fun ideas to try in West Des Moines as spring arrives:

1) Take to the trails. With trees still bare, the chances are good that you'll spy a bald eagle while walking or biking the 3-mile trail around Blue Heron Lake at Raccoon River Park.

The  West Des Moines School/Campus trail is another excellent choice. Connections to the east take you downtown, or connect on the west end and explore the amazing 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail, which runs through neighboring Waukee and connects three counties. Head west to Perry, Jefferson, Panora and other sites.

2) Zip to the Blank Park Zoo, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April. The winter hours come with reduced admission prices. Exhibits open currently include seals and sea lions, snow leopards, bald eagles, lions and penguins.

3) Serve West Des Moines together by sprucing up your favorite place to play outdoors. Check out the West Des Moines Parks and Recreation, Polk County Conservation Department and Dallas County Conservation Department web site for opportunities to volunteer with friends or family to maintain historic sites, assist with programs or take part in the department's Adopt-A-Trail program.

4) Dig out your wheels. Time to break out your bikes from the garage. You can get your bike a tune-up at Bike World West, 5950 Village View Drive.

5) Build a fort or a tree house. If your family includes kids, spring is an ideal time to build a fun place to play. A great source of inspiration is The Treehouse Book by Peter Nelson and David Larkin, available from Amazon.

6) Start a garden. Now is the time to get your garden beds ready for planting by putting down compost. New to gardening? The Earl May Nursery and Garden Center can help you build your garden beds and offer advice on which flowers and veggies will do well in your climate. And kids can help start the garden too by planting seeds indoors in empty egg cartons that can be transferred outside into your garden beds in just a few weeks. You can find great soil and seeds to get started at Earl May and Waukee Hardware.

7) Learn some new navigation skills by going letterboxing or geocaching. Letterboxing is an outdoor hunt for hidden treasures using navigational tools. You can find parks participating in letterboxing in your area here; find an Iowa network of geocachers here.

TELL US: How will you celebrate the arrival of spring here in town? Share your ideas for getting outside and enjoying the warmer weather in the comments section below.

— Contains reporting by Kathleen F. Miller