Things to Do in Gardner

Amid 20 acres of pastures and trails, the three barns and century-old home of Linden Hill Stables perch in the shade of mature trees, granting an idyllic setting for horse-riding lessons, birthday parties, and children's day camps. Property owner Lisa Hillmer tends to the horses each day, calling upon a lifetime of experience in training and showing American saddlebred horses. Through individually tailored riding lessons, Lisa helps students achieve personal goals, such as riding comfortably for enjoyment or participating in competitions. Her helpful staff also assists in boarding horses and monitoring kids at day camp. Students are required to wear long pants and closed-toe shoes while atop one of Linden Hills' well-trained steeds, their own horse, or a 1,000-pound housecat.

During birthday parties at Pump It Up of Shawnee Mission, a white T-shirt is more than a fashion staple—it’s a beacon of light. The indoor play center, outfitted with bounce houses and inflatable slides, switches on LED lighting and black lights during its Glo in the Dark parties, turning outfits luminous without the hassle of a chandelier necklace. Customizable birthday parties can also adhere to pirate or superhero themes. Alternatively, sock-clad youngsters can bounce on the inflatables during open-play sessions, supervised by trained staffers and safeguarded by rigorous safety and cleanliness regulations.

Named Best Place for a Kid’s Birthday Party by the Pitch, and recently moved into a new and larger location in Tiffany Springs, Bounce House Moonwalks turns kids loose upon giant inflatables, interactive video games, a toddler area with a tiny roller coaster, and concessions. Parents can spend time using the free WiFi or hop around with their kids in the 24-foot-diameter spaceship that boasts air-filled aliens and a cockpit where kids can pretend they’re in space outrunning other inflatables. After zipping around the imagined universe, sock-clad tots clamber over, under, and through the plush tubes and barriers of the 72-foot obstacle course before cascading down its slide. Over at the Xbox 360 Kinect system, kids play interactive video games in which they use their bodies as controllers. Bounce House Moonwalks also allows families to leave the facility at any point and return within the same day for no additional charge.

Nestled upon a patch of land that's passed through the hands of five generations, The Lessman Farm owes much to its current paterfamilias, Ronald Lessman, who began drawing in sightseers and visitors with his catfish pond, self-built house, and otherworldly sculpture gardens. Guests walk the shores or ply the waves of the 30-acre catfish lake, casting for regularly stocked populations of bass, perch, and crappie as they take in the majestic scenery of the rustic prairie. But what draws the most attention from visitors is Truckhenge, an arrangement of half-buried torpedo trucks, mysteriously lifting their engines skywards in what appears to be an industrial-age interpretation of Stonehenge. The Lessmans' outdoor installation is folk art on a monumental scale, proudly flaunting its offbeat flavor and inspiring visitors to express themselves without hesitation or apology or to bury themselves waist-deep in the ground at a 45-degree angle. A healthy respect for individualism and the avant-garde prevails throughout the property, with other attractions drawing attention from tourists, such as the enormous quonset hut farmhouse handmade from recycled materials or the huge beer-bottle glass wall mosaic.