Washington (Wash) Park

I didn't realize how huge this park is, even though I've driven past it a hundred times. It was never a park I wanted to go to because it's always so packed full of people, and I like a quieter park. There's also a ton of construction going on there right now, which is annoying.

Other than all that though, it's a great park. Being so big, it has everything- a few playgrounds, running track, a few ponds, sports areas. It also has paddle boating, kayaking, and bikes/surreys you can rent. Which is what we did for father's day.

Drinkin' and Drivin'!! Look at those tattoos
too! Hoodlum. 

It's official. These kids are never driving. They're easily
distracted. Not even watching the road!

Three Pond Park

This park is right up Colorado Blvd so I would assume it was part of Denver, but it is not. It's actually part of the city called Cherry Hills Village. Who knew!!? 

Cainen and I only saw two ponds, and one we couldn't even go near because there was a fence surrounding it. There was a trail through it and it sort of haphazardly had logs and tree stumps scattered about. It was very pretty and maybe if we had more time to explore and Cainen wasn't getting grumpy because he was hot and thirsty, we might have enjoyed it more. 

Wallace Park

Madison had to do training and volunteering so she didn't get to go with us, but Cainen and I had a lot of fun at this park. It was really pretty, had fountains, trails, lots of grass, playground, and a stream. I'm not sure if the water is part of Cherry Creek or Goldsmith Gulch, or if Goldsmith Gulch is just the trail name.

City Park

It was National Get Outdoors Day and City Park held the Get Outdoors Colorado event. Me and the kids went there all day. City Park is one of my favorite parks even without events. It's huge, has trails, grass, a pond, playground, and good parking. For this event, everything was free. We did have to wait in line for things, but it was okay. We brought lunch with us. Cainen attempted to rock climb and did really well on the mountain bike. Both kids went kayaking and Madison finally got over her fear of the water. We did the 7 minute jump rope competition, but we didn't win the free iPad. :( And then the kids went fishing. Cainen caught one and the lady said it was the biggest she'd seen in the pond. She let him hold it and then they let it go. It was a lot of fun.

He got scared about right there. 

He caught sludge and is inspecting the creatures
crawling out of it. 

They finally got the hang of casting. 

Holding the fish he caught. 

Look who's no longer afraid to go on the water!
Ever since that paddle boating experience, whew!

 

Observatory Park

I had clients who lived nearby who were in a wheelchair and we'd take them to this park. It's not great for people in a wheelchair, because there's no path around the park. It's just the neighborhood sidewalk, which is really, really bumpy. It has a lot of fields, tennis courts, a cool playground, but as you can see from our pics, my kids weren't too impressed. They are getting older now, so they're moody/grumpy, and Mad is all hair these days.

13 year olds don't play at the park, they write in their diary. 

GRUMP!

Congress Park

This park was also part of the cemetery, similar to Cheesman Park. This is an okay park. It's big, has everything you'd want, but it's sort of in a weird part of neighborhood, at least to me, so I've only gone here twice, both walking. There is parking on the side. It's connected to a community center. I see a lot of sports activities here. It's good, but it's just not one that I'm too excited about.

haha, we look funny. 

Me against Cainen on a skateboard. He won.

Cheesman Park

This is Nic's favorite park, and the closest to his apartment. It's super busy during nice weather. It reminds me of a beach. It has a couple nice running paths, paved and dirt. It has fields everywhere, a great playground for the kids. It's a really great park. It's also haunted. It used to be a gravesite and supposedly there are still people buried there. The land began as a cemetery, which was supposed to be for the wealthy, but ended up being filled with mostly poor people, criminals, and those who died of disease. The land passed many hands. It was first land of the Arapaho Indians, but then became federal land through a treaty. Denver finally purchased the land and most people who had loved ones in the cemetery were asked to move their bodies, which they did. But for the poorer people, who had no families to move them, this is what happened 

"When the majority of bodies remained unclaimed, the City of Denver awarded a contract to undertaker E.P. McGovern to remove the remains in 1893. McGovern was to provide a "fresh” box for each body and transfer it to the Riverside Cemetery at a cost of $1.90 each. The gruesome work began on March 14, 1893, before an audience of curiosity-seekers and reporters. For the first few days, the transfer was orderly. However, the unscrupulous McGovern soon found a way to make an even larger profit on the contract. Rather than utilizing full-size coffins for adults, he used child-sized caskets that were just one foot by 3 ½ feet long. Hacking the bodies up, McGovern sometimes used as many as three caskets for just one body. In their haste, body parts and bones were literally strewn everywhere and in the disorganized mess, "souvenir” hunters began to loot the open graves and coffins."

That's Cainen down on the left corner throwin' a frisbee.