Family excursion to Scott City

A few months ago, I blogged the fact that people in Scott City had come together to raise money and then to build a very unusual playground system in the park just to the north of Pizza Hut. The work was completed about a month ago. Because of cold weather, our daughters were not able to experience the new equipment until today.



The sunny weather produced temperatures in the upper 50s so we made a trip to Scott City just for the girls to play in the park. Once there, it was apparent that we were not the only people who had had the same idea. There were probably 2 dozen kids plus several parents who were enjoying the new park.



To fully appreciate the new equipment, you must go into the inside of the fence that surrounds everything. Once inside, you immediately notice that you are no longer on "firm" ground. Instead, you are walking on large rubber tiles that are connected throughout the exhibit. The sponginess really feels different. Inside the fences, you will discover houses and stores, etc built from a brand new product that is composed of wheat straw and other natural material from this area of the world. Once processed, it is practically undestructable. Benches constructed of the same material are set up inside the mini-houses for kids to sit upon. There are really awesome swingsets and slipper slides that are set up in vast open areas within the fences. Some swings are like any other but there is also an awesome swing built for more than one person to ride at a time. A couple of older boys were spinning around on it.

Underneath all of the swings, etc. were many more tiles of rubber. Given the fact that rubber tiles are laid EVERYWHERE, no matter how someone might try to get hurt, I think that it is almost impossible to get it done! LOL!

Pathways weave in and out of the houses, the post office, etc. They ultimately lead you to the "castle" which is higher off of the ground than everything else. Along the way, there are monkey bars that are located in various spaces. For the adventurous kind, there are rope ladders for people to walk across to get from one location to the next. A rock wall is also available for those who want to climb cliffs.

People like me who appreciate artwork will find plenty to admire. You'll find everything from small ceramic tiles which young children have painted to a beautiful mural that was done to spotlight the herds of buffalo that still roam in Scott County.

For us old fogies, there are plenty of benches scattered throughout the complex for us to sit our behinds upon. LOL!!!

A handsome price was paid in order for area children to have this complex to enjoy for generations to come. Our thanks go out to those of you who made donations of either money or work to make all of this possible. People donated cash through outright donations or purchased sausage and pancakes at a large dinner last year and others gathered at the park during the summer to enjoy a luah.

This popular park had already sported really nice playground equipment as other parks throughout the country also have. Before construction of the new complex started, volunteers throughout the county met at the park to dismantle that equipment and install it at the east side of town in the swimming pool park. Scott City kids are very fortunate! In addition to these two parks, there is another new park on the very west edge of town. Playground equipment is also set up there along with a skateboard playground. In MY opinion, I would love to see more play equipment sat up in Leoti's old city park. Throughout the past several years, a wonderful new walking path has been installed there as well as new barbeque grills just outside of the old Boy Scout open air cabin.

None of this construction would have been completed if it had not been for the many residents who came together to spend many hours to put this all together. Small communities are just full of great people!

VLE-B