Parks of Grand Forks: Smiley Playground

Today we visited a lovely neighborhood park located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This park is called Smiley Park. It is located nearby the iconic Saint Michael Catholic Church. 

Parking

While there is no parking available in the park itself, one could park in the church lot just beside the park and easily take the sidewalk to the park, as pictured here. Unfortunately there are signs throughout that lot indicating that parking is only for the church and school.

Little Playground

This park has two playgrounds. One has an accessible rubberized mat as substrate. The path leads smoothly from the neighborhood sidewalk to the playground. This would be easy to navigate with a stroller or other wheels. There is a double slide, a climbing wall, and stairs. 

At the top of the platform to the side there is a steering wheel. This playground seems to be designed for children approximately age 18 months to 4 years old.

Big Playground 

There is a second playground that has a curb surrounding it. The substrate for the second playground is pea gravel. This playground appears to be designed with older children in mind. It has 3 slides, a chain ladder, a swirly ladder, a tube to climb through, steps, and more.

There are swings also located within the pea gravel. One baby swing and one belt swing. Here is a photo. The pea gravel is deep and cannot be easily navigated using a stroller.

Walkways

This park features many narrow walkways. Those surrounding the large pkayground are littered with pea gravel and have many gaping cracks where tree roots have pushed up the path. These walkways are not suitable for most wheelchairs or strollers, but they are fun for walking. Some parts pool with water which makes.me think that in the winter these may be icy and hazardous.

Basketball Court

This park contains a concrete basketball court. The basketball hoop has a net. While the court generally seems well maintained, there is a lot of pea gravel and puddles of water on it that might make it an extra challenge. It would be perfect for small games of pickup. But it isn't going to work for wheelchair basketball. The 2-4 inch tall uneven steps with a narrow walkway leading to the court pose an impediment. Here is a photo of the basketball court with the step-like sidewalk.

Here is in image showing water pooling on the court.

Big Trees Make Great Shade!

This neighborhood park has many mature trees throughout which provide ample shade. Hackberry and Ash trees, a small Oak, and an evergreen tree are all present here.

Covered Picnic Table

The park has a small covered picnic table. The cover is built in to the ends of the table, which will unfortunately block a wheelchair user from pulling up to the table and participating in activities and meals there. I found this such a peculiar design. The cover is narrow and does not keep the benches from getting wet in even mild rain.

Autumn Leaves

While I visited this park I enjoyed looking at the fallen autumn leaves. It is a great little spot to pause and enjoy the autumn air. 

Do you want to learn about why leaves fall off trees? Check out my other blog post here.

http://steamma.blogspot.com/2023/09/illustrating-autumn.html

Critters!

If you look carefully at the fallen leaves, you might even find some fun insects! This Hackberry lead has an infestation of leaf gall midges. Check it out!

Galls form on plants when insects lay their eggs inside them. 

This Oak has wasp galls on the stems - and leaves, too!

We even caught a glimpse of a squirrel.

We had a fun time cataloging all of the interesting plants, insects, and mammals that we encountered at this park. We used the #iNaturalist app.

Here is a screenshot of some of our fun finds!