Once again, we're in suburban Dallas -- Richardson, actually -- visiting a school playground which, if it was any closer to my mother-in-law's house, she'd have to pay property taxes on.
Location
RISD's Arapaho Elementary has been re-named Arapaho Classical Magnet, but... seriously, come on.
The school is less than a mile from Cottonwood Park, backing up to W. Arapaho Rd, just West of N. Coit, but actually sitting on the corner of Cypress Dr. and Mimosa Dr.
Parking and Access
We always walk, but when school or after-hours activities aren't in session, the lot is always empty. So, if it's Saturday, go ahead and bring the stretch Escalade.
Setting
The playground is just East of Arapaho Elementary.
There are no restrooms, and no outside water fountains.
Arapaho is a busy street, so don't let little ones our of your sight -- of course. There are two gates on the Cypress side, closer to the playground, so the perimeter is not secure.
Playground Amenities
There are a couple of standard issue play areas -- plastic slides and coated metal platforms, stairs, ladders and bars.
A few of the surfaces, and climbing apparatuses (apparati?) are a little higher than we're real comfortable letting our two-year-old play on without a spotter.
Unless you're there at recess, there should be plenty of swings to choose from.
Also, there's a climbing wall -- great for kids a few years bigger than mine, at 2 and 3. The wall is probably shorter than five feet tall, but long enough for good monkeying around.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
During our most recent visit, the park was littered with 2 or 3 jackets, one backpack, a pair of jeans and a sock. I don't think any funny business is going on in the schoolyard after hours, but honestly, how do you forget your pants?
There's currently a metal park bench that has fallen down, but the playground equipment is all in good shape.
Scene
I guess that during recess, it's the place to be, but I've actually started to wonder if we're allowed to be there during the weekends.
In Houston, the Spark Park program encourages school and civic communities to share ownership of the school parks, and the Sparks are rarely empty, but up in NoTex, we're often the only people in Arapaho Elementary's playground.
This is a great park for the anti-social.
Bonus features
Thankfully, the big playground is shaded with a cloth awning-type structure...sail...thing. It won't do much good when it's raining, but it'll help keep the sun from making your head spontaneously combust.
Basketball hoops? Check.
The school also has a half-fenced baseball field with warped bleachers, and a sand lot that seems to either be either rock hard and dry, or ridiculously muddy and wet. So, if you're looking for that, you got it.
-J
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cottonwood Park; Richardson, TX
Our rambling tour of the playgrounds of Texas starts in North Texas, technically in the town of Richardson -- but essentially two blocks outside of Dallas -- at Cottonwood Park.
Although we live in Houston, inspiration struck while paying a visit to family (Hi Nina!) in the North Dallas/ Richardson Metroplex, so here we start.
Location
In Richardson, on Beltline Road at Cottonwood Dr. Just East of Coit.
Parking and Access
The park is very accessible on foot from the surrounding neighborhoods, and although there is plenty of parking, I'll discourage you from bringing your Cadillac Escalade stretch limo into the lot.
You might be able to turn it around, as was the driver of the stretch who was there while we were, but it might not be worth the hassle. If you're thinking about taking the stretch, consider taking two cars, instead.
Setting
Inside the City of Richardson's Cottonwood Park.
Restrooms, water fountains and other city park amenities are all handy.
Playground Amenities
Three standard issue play areas, in varying stages of wear, and age-appropriateness.
Short, tall and curly slides, over plenty of wood mulch ground cover.
There are plenty of swing sets although they're a little bit older. There's also a smaller swing set, with wrap around seats, for toddlers.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
Some of the play areas are slightly older than the others, and it shows. There is some light rust on exposed metal stairs, but it doesn't appear to be anything dangerous, in my highly un-expert opinion. My boys can usually find a way to scrape their knees playing with a 4-square ball in the grass, though, and they came away unscathed.
Litter is present, but it's not a major issue. It looks like the park is cleaned up regularly, but was due for a pick-up on this Saturday afternoon.
Scene
Cottonwood Park is no hidden treasure. On the Saturday afternoon of our visit, there was a sizable crowd from the birthday party going on nearby, a few elementary aged kids playing as their folks watched on, middle-schoolers wasting the day away -- as they are wont to do-- and a couple of middle aged white women chasing after (adopted?) Asian toddler twins. I know one of the twins was named Joy. I'm afraid the other might been Luck.
Bonus features
Cottonwood Park is a community park, with a city pool, basketball and tennis courts and a nice sized creek running right through the middle. The playground is a safe distance from the creek, but extra caution is always advisable around water.
There is a pedestrian bridge and a walk-over dam, which makes for a nice setting for a stroll, if you want to get away from the crowds on the slides and swings.
For our visit in in April, bonus points, on our 0-0 point scale, are awarded for the two mother ducks with ducklings swimming in the creek, but the park does not come with a duckling guarantee.
-J
Although we live in Houston, inspiration struck while paying a visit to family (Hi Nina!) in the North Dallas/ Richardson Metroplex, so here we start.
Location
In Richardson, on Beltline Road at Cottonwood Dr. Just East of Coit.
Parking and Access
The park is very accessible on foot from the surrounding neighborhoods, and although there is plenty of parking, I'll discourage you from bringing your Cadillac Escalade stretch limo into the lot.
You might be able to turn it around, as was the driver of the stretch who was there while we were, but it might not be worth the hassle. If you're thinking about taking the stretch, consider taking two cars, instead.
Setting
Inside the City of Richardson's Cottonwood Park.
Restrooms, water fountains and other city park amenities are all handy.
Playground Amenities
Three standard issue play areas, in varying stages of wear, and age-appropriateness.
Short, tall and curly slides, over plenty of wood mulch ground cover.
There are plenty of swing sets although they're a little bit older. There's also a smaller swing set, with wrap around seats, for toddlers.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
Some of the play areas are slightly older than the others, and it shows. There is some light rust on exposed metal stairs, but it doesn't appear to be anything dangerous, in my highly un-expert opinion. My boys can usually find a way to scrape their knees playing with a 4-square ball in the grass, though, and they came away unscathed.
Litter is present, but it's not a major issue. It looks like the park is cleaned up regularly, but was due for a pick-up on this Saturday afternoon.
Scene
Cottonwood Park is no hidden treasure. On the Saturday afternoon of our visit, there was a sizable crowd from the birthday party going on nearby, a few elementary aged kids playing as their folks watched on, middle-schoolers wasting the day away -- as they are wont to do-- and a couple of middle aged white women chasing after (adopted?) Asian toddler twins. I know one of the twins was named Joy. I'm afraid the other might been Luck.
Bonus features
Cottonwood Park is a community park, with a city pool, basketball and tennis courts and a nice sized creek running right through the middle. The playground is a safe distance from the creek, but extra caution is always advisable around water.
There is a pedestrian bridge and a walk-over dam, which makes for a nice setting for a stroll, if you want to get away from the crowds on the slides and swings.
For our visit in in April, bonus points, on our 0-0 point scale, are awarded for the two mother ducks with ducklings swimming in the creek, but the park does not come with a duckling guarantee.
-J
Saturday, April 19, 2008
About Texas Playground Review
While suffering through a four-hour sentence of routine auto maintenance at the Uber Wal-Mart in Plano, I came across the current issue of Texas Monthly, featuring 68 (sixty-eight?) Awesome Things To Do With Your Kids.
As the father of a two boys, aged 2 and 3, and the husband of a teacher, we are always looking for something awesome to do during the summer, so they hooked me. Not that I bought the magazine, of course, but I did commit two minutes to thumbing through the issue, and therefore, subject myself to 14 dozen ads for luxury resorts, plastic surgeons, and Texas-style distressed furniture shops.
One of the 68 elements of awesomeness that immediately caught my attention was the Creative Playscape in Georgetown. My wife, Amy and I met in Georgetown, at Southwestern University, specifically, at an Alpha Phi Omega (The National Co-Ed Service Fraternity) rush event. According to chapter lore, the Alpha Gamma Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega played a key role in building the Playscape, a few years before Amy and I arrived at SU.
The feature actually called the Georgetown Playscape the best playground in the state. While I was proud that the efforts of my APO brothers was recognized, it made me think of some of the other playgrounds in the state that we have enjoyed over the last few years -- like the Kids Kingdom in San Angelo, and the Heights Playground, near our old DINK house, in Houston.
The Playscape is great, and I can't say that it's not the best playground in Texas, but I don't think it's the slam dunk that TM makes it out to be. There are a lot of great playgrounds in Texas. For that matter, there are a lot of average playgrounds, and a lot of unique playgrounds, there are a lot of terrible playgrounds and there are more than a couple of playgrounds that time forgot -- where real, wooden teeter-totters and steel merry-go-rounds still squeak and unsuspecting kids tempt fate on every sunny afternoon.
So, inspiration stuck in the Uber Wal-Mart in Plano, 200+ miles from our home in Houston, and the Texas Playground Review was born.
So many times, we've been on the road, needing a place to stop and run the boys, and through trial and error, we've learned a lot over the last 3 years. So, we're going to try to document some of what we've learned so that others can avoid the error part.
We're going to review some of our favorite playgrounds, some of the worst and some very average set-ups. Sometimes you just need a place to keep your rugrats busy for a while, and we'll document those here too.
We're also inviting you to do the same. We welcome your comments, and we welcome your posts. Email us your thoughts on great playgrounds -- or terrible ones -- and you too can enjoy all of the glory that comes along with playground blogging.
So welcome to Texas Playground Review. Let's have fun, and play safe. First round of juice boxes on me.
-J
As the father of a two boys, aged 2 and 3, and the husband of a teacher, we are always looking for something awesome to do during the summer, so they hooked me. Not that I bought the magazine, of course, but I did commit two minutes to thumbing through the issue, and therefore, subject myself to 14 dozen ads for luxury resorts, plastic surgeons, and Texas-style distressed furniture shops.
One of the 68 elements of awesomeness that immediately caught my attention was the Creative Playscape in Georgetown. My wife, Amy and I met in Georgetown, at Southwestern University, specifically, at an Alpha Phi Omega (The National Co-Ed Service Fraternity) rush event. According to chapter lore, the Alpha Gamma Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega played a key role in building the Playscape, a few years before Amy and I arrived at SU.
The feature actually called the Georgetown Playscape the best playground in the state. While I was proud that the efforts of my APO brothers was recognized, it made me think of some of the other playgrounds in the state that we have enjoyed over the last few years -- like the Kids Kingdom in San Angelo, and the Heights Playground, near our old DINK house, in Houston.
The Playscape is great, and I can't say that it's not the best playground in Texas, but I don't think it's the slam dunk that TM makes it out to be. There are a lot of great playgrounds in Texas. For that matter, there are a lot of average playgrounds, and a lot of unique playgrounds, there are a lot of terrible playgrounds and there are more than a couple of playgrounds that time forgot -- where real, wooden teeter-totters and steel merry-go-rounds still squeak and unsuspecting kids tempt fate on every sunny afternoon.
So, inspiration stuck in the Uber Wal-Mart in Plano, 200+ miles from our home in Houston, and the Texas Playground Review was born.
So many times, we've been on the road, needing a place to stop and run the boys, and through trial and error, we've learned a lot over the last 3 years. So, we're going to try to document some of what we've learned so that others can avoid the error part.
We're going to review some of our favorite playgrounds, some of the worst and some very average set-ups. Sometimes you just need a place to keep your rugrats busy for a while, and we'll document those here too.
We're also inviting you to do the same. We welcome your comments, and we welcome your posts. Email us your thoughts on great playgrounds -- or terrible ones -- and you too can enjoy all of the glory that comes along with playground blogging.
So welcome to Texas Playground Review. Let's have fun, and play safe. First round of juice boxes on me.
-J
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