145. Lower Lougheed Park, Coquitlam

I first discovered this tiny neighbourhood park long before Charlotte was born; I was looking for a place to hide a geocache and found this tiny little green triangle on a map.  The cache didn't run all that long before it was muggled and there is no cache in the park at the moment.  Perhaps I should re-hide something smaller and trickier - the old one was a large cache hidden under a bridge.  We were in the area today and so we stopped off so that Charlotte could see the park too.  She played for a bit and took Owlie for a ride on the back of her airplane.  There were no other kids there and it's a noisy place as it's right next to the highway, so we didn't stay for very long.  The playground is located at N 49.14.355 W 122.53.215 and is point no. 145 on the map at the bottom of home page.

144. Queenston Park, Coquitlam

How can it be that I didn't take any photographs here at this amazing new playground?  We have been trying to meet up here since the summer with our friends Andy and Khanh and their kids Avery and Kayden, but something has always come.  Finally, today was the day!  It was a nice mild day and the playground was full of kids.  There was so much for the kids to do - little things for little Kayden and bigger things for Charlotte and Avery - and enough that they will continue to be challenged as they grow.  It's a lot like the playground at Garden City with its "foam" steps set into a "foam" hill.  The slide is huge and was a little much for Avery for now, though Charlotte loved it.  They also played on the net that stretched from the top of the hill to the bottom - they really had a blast!  We'll have to go back here again soon, for sure.  The playground is located at N 49.17.869 W 122.45.233 and is point no. 144 on the map at the bottom of home page.

143. Whatcom Falls Park, Bellingham, Washington

We found ourselves in Bellingham on International EarthCache Day - and therefore, in need of an earth cache.  We took a detour up to Whatcom Falls Park to find "Go Chasing Waterfalls".  The falls were pretty skimpy as we still haven't had much rain, but we enjoyed exploring and Theo had a swim in the pool at the base of another waterfall further up-river.  There was a small playground near the parking lot, so we stopped there for a while so that Charlotte could have a play.  She made a new friend and they spent a long time chasing each other around and around until Charlotte took offense to him saying that he could faster than she could - and that was that.  Silly Charlotte!  Challenge him to a race next time!  The playground is located at N48.45.097 W 122.25.712 and is point no. 143 on the map at the bottom of home page.

142. Edmonds Community Centre, Burnaby

On an unseasonably warm afternoon, Charlotte and I set out to find "Edmonds Evergreens".  We found the cache and we also found a very awesome playground a few steps away.  It was a big one and a challenging one - there was a climbing mountain that Charlotte wasn't completely confident on at first - and it's been a long time since she asked for help with a climbing mountain. The playground was packed with kids, which is usually a great thing, but in this case, there was a pretty unfriendly vibe.  Charlotte came running back to me in tears to tell me that one of the other girls had told her that she couldn't play there and though I tried to talk her through how to handle it, she wasn't into it.  We went to another part of the playground where Charlotte crossed the rope bridge with some trepidation, only to be unable to get off when a boy at the other end of it blocked her way and refused to let her go past.  I'm not a fan of parents intervening in playground squabbles, but I had to step in in this case.  The helicopters were going beserk in their condemnation of the parents who were completely ignoring their kids' bad behaviour.  Strangely enough, we were talking to our friends who had been there too and they had a similarly bad experience.  It's so disappointing as the playground itself is amazing and not too far from our place.  We will give it another try and hopefully get a better mix of people next time.  The playground is located at N 49.12.916 W 122.55.976 and is point no. 142 on the map at the bottom of home page.

141. Central Park, Merritt

On our way home from visiting Uncle Andrew and Auntie Lannie in Edson, we stopped in Merritt for some lunch and a chance for Charlotte to run around and stretch her legs.  Although the park had a traditional playground, Charlotte was much more taken with the giant tires, which were big enough that she could hide in them.  They were so huge that when she crawled back inside them, she was completely hidden from view.  Owlie was also able to hide very effectively, but we found him eventually!  Even though we were there in late September, it was still hot like summer in Merritt.  It was a great place for a play before we began the last leg of our journey home.  The playground is located at N 50.07.146 W 120.46.966 and is point no. 141 on the map at the bottom of home page.

140. Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta

In Alberta, not all playgrounds are outside - it gets pretty cold in the winter!  We took a drive out to Edmonton to check out the way-OTT West Edmonton Mall.  If we lived here, I imagine we would spend many a winter afternoon in Galaxyland, though I bet it's crazy busy on the weekends.  It was pretty busy even on a Tuesday afternoon during the school year.  The playground here is several storeys high (!) and I just don't know how any small child could ever get bored here!  The mall is located at N 53.31.279 W 113.37.214 and is point no. 140 on the map at the bottom of home page.

139. Kinsmen Park, Edson, Alberta

Lucky Uncle Andrew lives just around the corner from an awesome playground!  We walked over shortly after arriving in Edson to check it out.  Not only is there a playground, there's also a spray park and a fitness circuit for adults that differs from the usual outdoor fitness equipment in that it's actually in good shape (no pun intended) and quite fun to use!  So while Charlotte was playing, we were also having fun playing too.  Charlotte loved after Uncle Andrew push her on the swings; I guess it was a change from mum and dad!  The playground is located at N 53.35.279 W 116.25.700 and is point no. 139 on the map at the bottom of home page.