Orchard Park has never been on any of my routes, isn't even on the radar. It lies between Fifth and Sixth Streets, northeast of the Wagner Mall. It has a seasonal Porta Potty, and crews go to mow it or work on the playground. I don't even remember ever driving by it, but I must have, as I went by the apartments when I was trying to find one.
This, from the parks brochure: A grove of giant sequoia, an oak forest and an autumn orchard should help lure the neighbors back outdoors. The proximity of nearby apartments, a private school and daycare center make this park a popular spot.
I saw on a park map that there was a perimeter trail at the park, so I decided to go and check it out. There were a few people there--a family with two children, a middle schooler shooting baskets. The place has a large playground featuring a large green plastic T-rex or an alligator with a short square jaw that I think housed a small slide; a small basket ball court with only one pole and basket; a sports field that can be used for soccer, as the soccer nets were lying in a shabby part of the park's outer edge; a couple of picnic tables and a small pavilion; and the trail. The Porta Potty was gone for the season, leaving a stain on the slab of concrete that was the floor of its shelter.
Did I mention that it's a relatively small park? Bend's blocks are a variety of sizes--on the map, it looks like it's a large block for the neighborhood. It was tiny by my standards. The apartment complex was on the north side, some older homes, maybe from the 1950's on the south. At one point on the trail, I could see what was left of a cement driveway. After a couple of loops around the park, I crossed Fifth Street, went down Thurston Avenue and checked out another apartment complex there, went down Fourth, back up Seward, and walked across the lawn to get to the trail again.
I never saw the grove of giant sequoia, though there were a couple of evergreens with unfamiliar bark and needles. I'd had Christmas trees that were taller. (I did see redwoods in northern California; one day when I was in a funk in Eugene, and I drove down the Oregon coast, down to Humbolt County in California, then up I-5 one after noon, back in 1982. That Ford Fiesta was a great car, and the day was beautiful, but the trip didn't ease my mood very much.) I didn't see any oak forest, I'm not even sure I saw an oak tree. The leaves were gone, but there just weren't a lot of trees anywhere. What there was of the autumn orchard were maybe four or five saplings that might have been apple at the southern part of the trail. There were some rather bare bushes that had twigs covered with what looked like blueberries, but I wasn't sure. I thought of the Hunger Games' Nightlocks, so didn't pop any in my mouth.
I was bored with my walk, even though I tried to vary it by going off-trail by the play areas. Due to the looping, it was hard to get a good pace. I missed setting my timer, but after going by the T-rex the fourth time, I decided I'd been there long enough and fled the place.
Photo from https://bendfamilyparktour.wordpress.com/page/2/
This, from the parks brochure: A grove of giant sequoia, an oak forest and an autumn orchard should help lure the neighbors back outdoors. The proximity of nearby apartments, a private school and daycare center make this park a popular spot.
I saw on a park map that there was a perimeter trail at the park, so I decided to go and check it out. There were a few people there--a family with two children, a middle schooler shooting baskets. The place has a large playground featuring a large green plastic T-rex or an alligator with a short square jaw that I think housed a small slide; a small basket ball court with only one pole and basket; a sports field that can be used for soccer, as the soccer nets were lying in a shabby part of the park's outer edge; a couple of picnic tables and a small pavilion; and the trail. The Porta Potty was gone for the season, leaving a stain on the slab of concrete that was the floor of its shelter.
Did I mention that it's a relatively small park? Bend's blocks are a variety of sizes--on the map, it looks like it's a large block for the neighborhood. It was tiny by my standards. The apartment complex was on the north side, some older homes, maybe from the 1950's on the south. At one point on the trail, I could see what was left of a cement driveway. After a couple of loops around the park, I crossed Fifth Street, went down Thurston Avenue and checked out another apartment complex there, went down Fourth, back up Seward, and walked across the lawn to get to the trail again.
I never saw the grove of giant sequoia, though there were a couple of evergreens with unfamiliar bark and needles. I'd had Christmas trees that were taller. (I did see redwoods in northern California; one day when I was in a funk in Eugene, and I drove down the Oregon coast, down to Humbolt County in California, then up I-5 one after noon, back in 1982. That Ford Fiesta was a great car, and the day was beautiful, but the trip didn't ease my mood very much.) I didn't see any oak forest, I'm not even sure I saw an oak tree. The leaves were gone, but there just weren't a lot of trees anywhere. What there was of the autumn orchard were maybe four or five saplings that might have been apple at the southern part of the trail. There were some rather bare bushes that had twigs covered with what looked like blueberries, but I wasn't sure. I thought of the Hunger Games' Nightlocks, so didn't pop any in my mouth.
I was bored with my walk, even though I tried to vary it by going off-trail by the play areas. Due to the looping, it was hard to get a good pace. I missed setting my timer, but after going by the T-rex the fourth time, I decided I'd been there long enough and fled the place.
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