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Friday, October 5, 2012

A Walk in the Park

The population of the town we now live in is 134,000. That is six times larger than the last town we lived in. We are five minutes away from Chicago's largest shopping center - Woodfield Mall, which supposedly is the  #1 tourist attraction in Illinois. There are tons of restaurants around here, and best of all, our library is the second largest public library in the state. Yet we have a small town feel. We are just a few blocks from the town square. We are close enough to the hub-bub of the shopping center and other shops on the busy strip, yet far enough away not to have to drive on that road if it isn't necessary. (Especially during the Christmas season. Yikes!)

One thing this town has is plenty of parks. It is my goal to visit as many of them as possible. So far we've been to four. This park is located very near our home.

This is the walkway in front of our place that leads to the park and beyond to the library an the town square.


We entered the park and came upon this wooden bridge.


The bridge crosses over a little canal


that leads from the large pond. Here is a view of the pond.


(These photos were taken a month ago, when the trees were all still green!)

Those are swans paddling around in the water. We got a closer look a little later.


There are several trees that have fallen over, whether it is due to a bad storm, I'm not sure. But the trees continue to grow. Here is an example.


Imagine my surprise after taking the pictures of the swans and this tree, then turned around and saw this!


What the???

And no, it's not "Bigfoot"!

I walked around it and saw this.


I didn't see the name of the sculpture or the size. "XXL" I'd say!

Here is a view of the sculpture from across the pond.


We turned around and headed out of the park. This swan was just about under the bridge when we started across it, and he changed his mind and high-tailed it out of there!



We noticed this sculpture right outside of the park and walked over to get a closer look. At first we thought it was a sundial, but then, upon inspection,decided it was just a piece of art.




I hope to bring you more pictures as we visit the different parks. Stay tuned.

13 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

What a cool park!

Brian Miller said...

omg what a cool park....i love the tree on its side still living...and the big foot...oh my...what cool art...thanks for the walk

Unknown said...

That is a lovely park, but the "big foot" sculpture is a little creepy!

Valerie said...

Looks a nice place to wander in, Pat. The sculpture is most unusual. BTW I love your header picture.

kisatrtle said...

I've missed visiting your blog.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures. I do have to say I like the park, the "3D"sculptures, not my cup of "tea"!. Nice place to be, perfect weather too.

Lynda said...

What a peaceful park and such a blessing to have it so close to your home! The fallen-over-still-growing tree brings a smile as does the buried person sculpture. You should post that one on RoadsideAmerica.com - - if it is not there yet. It is one of those things people would enjoy seeing if they are in the area.

wenn said...

that sculpture is interesting!

Dianne said...

that sculpture is amazing!

lovely park
even the walkway getting there is beautiful

wonderful shots

Betty Manousos said...

that is a beautiful park but i have to agree with eva gallant...the big foot sculpture is a little creepy, man!

exceptional shots! i love all of them-and your header is beyond beautiful too!!

xoxo

Monkey said...

what a beautiful park and a delightful walk...thanks for letting me tag along :)

Bossy Betty said...

Ohhhhh. How I love a good walk around a park! Thanks for this one!

SabrinaT said...

What wonderful photos.. The park looks great. We are moving our kids to North Chicago after 7 year in Japan. I will have to check your blog more often for fun things in the area!

P.S. My teenager will be excited to hear about the mall :)