Lawson Gardens, Pullman WA

I know I have mentioned Lawson Gardens before but I thought it deserved revisiting so that my readers can have a chance to see the gardens before they close for the season. The Pullman Parks Website says the park is open year round but I know they close off the road/parking lot when the weather turns icy and cold.
Lawson Gardens have become my favorite place to walk with my husband. It's the best of nature that the Palouse has to offer. Until recently, I hadn't taken the time to really explore the gardens because I love the gazebo and it's always been my destination to enjoy the park.
My husband and I have decided that we are going to walk on Wednesdays when our son is at scouts. Lawson Gardens was our first destination and quickly became our favorite. I can't say we get a lot of exercise since the paths are not all that long but they weave around beautiful vegetation and lovely views of newer houses in Pullman.
Getting there is not hard and it's never crowded. The park is located at 705 Derby Street across from Kruegal Park and next to the Scout House (just down the block from the Charlie Brown Water Tower on Spring Street).

Laird Park, Idaho

Laird Park is one of my family's favorite destinations. The federal part of the park is open year round while the small campground is open during the summer months (there is year round camping on the federal land). The park starts just after the entrance to the Boy Scout's Camp Grizzly. The land twists around a mountain offering a variety of fun activites. We go up to hunt for berries and mushrooms while others go up for hunting and riding ATV's. You get up high enough and the view is spectacular. The area is all lush native vegetation and home to several species of animals (and some cows). It's really worth checking out.
To get to Laird from Pullman, go to Moscow and head north to Potlatch. Follow the road east through several small towns and look for the signs on the right. Laird Park does connect with Emerald Creek (home of summer garnet digging).
For more information on the campground go here.

Harrison Tot Lot, Pullman WA

Harrison Tot Lot is a small park on Harrison street just off of State street. It's perfect for little kids but no so much for older ones. I know a few play groups meet at the park so it's a great place to meet other parents with small children. It does have picnic and BBQ facilities so it's great for family outings.
Sometimes it's just nice to have a safe place for the little ones to play. A nice feature is that the park has easy to determine boundaries and is designed to give parents a good view of the playarea.

Parks on Spring Street - Pullman WA

The northern section (north of main street) of Spring Street becomes Riverside Street as it curves around Spring St. Park and the City Playfields. Along this stretch are the two parks I mentioned and an RV Park. As parks go this area is often overlooked by those who don't have kids who are sports oriented. I, honestly, forget these parks are here. Revisiting them, I remember my teen years and how much I loved the area.
Spring St Skate Park is a newer park (sort of). The grass area has been a public space for as long as I can remember but in the last fifteen(ish) years a skate park has crept up. I can't tell you what year the skate park was built but it has given the youth of Pullman a safe place to skateboard and bicycle. It's not overly fancy but it's a nice facility surrounded by green spaces.


The river/creek flows through the area and under the Main St Bridge and then connects to the City Playfields.

The playfields have three (count them - 3) softball fields. The fields are surrounded by a walking/jogging track with exercise stations. The park site lists the following additional amenities - volleyball standards, batting cages, picnic tables, drinking fountains and restrooms. I keep thinking that this should be our new walking area so we can get to know the park better.


The last park on this stretch is the RV Park.


You may think that because you don't have an RV that this park isn't something you'd be interested in. It's overlooked most weekends (except football and graduation weekends). Not only can you park your RV here, you can pitch a tent. For $10 you have a perfect place to stay the night in Pullman. It's rather quiet and a nice little place. When we lived in the country, we camped here for the Lentil Festival. It's not a far walk from downtown here (only 2 blocks from Reaney Park and about 6 from the corner of Main and Grand). Despite being so close to downtown, it offered a quiet sleep that night. It has potties, running water and fire pits.
For special weekends, you do need to make reservations and the park is close from December through February (which makes sense cause no one wants to camp when it's that cold). For more information about the RV Park, check out their site.

SYG Nursery - Pullman WA

One of the things I love to do is wander through nurseries. They are like little parks and perfect yards. I no longer have a yard but I can't help but drool over the various plants and cute lawn ornaments. SYG has been one of those places I have planned on checking out for the past 3 years but never made it. It is out of the way but so worth the little trip.
There's not much to say about what they have to offer since the pictures really do tell the tale.




SYG Nursery is at 3253 Brayton Rd (take Park from State and follow it until you find SYG - at some point Park becomes Brayton). They are open Monday through Saturday 8-5:30 with some summer Sunday hours.

Aquatic Center and Military Hill Park - Pullman WA

The Pullman Aquatic and Fitness Center is located at the intersection of Larry and Hall streets, next to the high school in Pullman. It's a small center with two pools and a workout room. The facilities are the best I have seen and tough to compete with the Student Rec Center at WSU except the cost is far less. A year membership for a family is $480 and if you keep an eye out they have specials throughout the year which reduces that cost. We got ours during last September's anniversary sale for 50% off.
There are a lot of things I like about this center. Overall, it's a decent facility but it's crowded and the workout room is small (more than 10 people and you can barely get to any equipment). They have added to the workout room this past year but they haven't done anything about the over-crowding of the pools. The pools are filled with swim team practices and swim lessons while open to the public making it very crowded. The swim lessons are a fine money maker for the facility and many members take advantage of the reduced rates. This makes it less fun for those who have purchased their passes for fitness reasons. There are adult classes during the day but don't do anything for those who work "normal" hours.
The fitness center does have a fair amount of special events that are quite fun - like movie nights and Splash and Dash (a sort of swimming babysitting so parent's can have time to themselves).

Military Hill Park is a nice place to spend some time. There is a covered area with picnic tables and BBQ grills. The only problem is it's now located next to the machinery for the Aquatic center so you can't hear anything.

It doesn't take much space away from those machines to find peace of mind. There's a nice playground with newer equipment.

Up over a little hill, you'll find a basketball hoop and tennis courts. The tennis courts are nice and they seem to lack use so it's a great place to play and not worry about looking silly. We're going to go up there to practice our really bad backswing but who cares - no one is watching.

Up above the tennis courts is a soccer field. The park is huge with lots of little things tucked here and there and plenty of open spaces. From the water tower and back around the area is a walking trail. It's rundown because there are new trails in town but it's still a lovely view (if you don't mind the new construction where the wheat fields used to be). All in all this is still one of my favorite parks and one that I forget about (like most people). It still has so much potential for family fun and it's underused so it's getting neglected.

Reaney Park - Pullman WA

Even though Reaney Park is off the beaten path a little, it serves as a community event center. All summer long, free activities can be found at this little park. In August, the Saturday festivities of the Lentil festival will be held here. It's a good park to get to know.
Located at 690 NE Reaney Way, Reaney park has lots to offer. To get there, take Main Street and turn north at the west end of the bridge onto Spring Street. Lentil Lane will be to the left. Turn there and the park is right in front of you. There's a small parking lot to the left and a larger university lot to the right (access is from Spring St). The university lot is available to the public for free on the weekends and evenings (check the signs at the lot for exact times).

The park houses a gazebo where concerts and other events occur, two areas of playground play,

BBQ grills and picnic tables

Horseshoe pits

and most importantly, a swimming pool.

You can purchase a year pass for the Aquatic Center on Military Hill which will allow you access to the pool at Reaney or buy a Reaney pool only pass. Passes start at $35 (daily is $2-3 per person depending on age). The pool does close for weather but Reaney passes can be used at the indoor pool at the Aquatic center in those cases.
There are two outdoor pools at Reaney. One goes from shallower to deeper and has diving boards where the other pool is more consistent for lap swimming. I wish I had paid more attention to the depth since the information is not on their website.
The park's website doesn't have information about the park except the history which is rather interesting. The park was "started" in 1914 and the first pool was built in 1917.
It's a great park and one that holds a lot of memories for Pullmanites. I am going to try to go to the Concert in the Park tonight so I can share that with you on Friday. If you are interested in attending, the concert starts at 6 with The Mullan Road Band playing tonight (hopefully it won't rain).

Robinson Park - Moscow ID

I feel in love with this park the first time I went out there and each time I go I find something else to love about it. To get to the park is a little tricky since there have been some minor changes to the road over the years and it's windy and forks often. The park is on Robinson Park Road on the far eastern side of Moscow (head towards Troy and turn behind Eastside Marketplace). There is a little brown sign that says Robinson Park with an arrow going to the right. After turning on that road you end up in a round about a block later. Go around the round about and find the sign indicating Robinson Park road. This is where it gets really tricky and I can't remember exactly but I think you don't make any turns until you get to the park which should be on your right.
As you pull into the park area you have a choice to go right or left. To the right is a picnic area with a small playground between the river (it's a small river but this time of year it's pretty high) and the "mountains". I'm not sure the hilly areas are really mountains but they are lower parts of the mountain range. The hilly area is covered in trees and trails and makes for some beautiful views when the rain doesn't make the trails dangerous.
The left side of the park is broken up by the winding river and wasn't an area I really investigated until this last weekend (it may have been cold and wet but I needed an outdoor outing). There is a small playground we didn't quite make it to but the area is doted with fire rings and grills which made us excited for future camping out there. They do have 5 spots for RV's and areas for tents (we never did really figure out where the tents go but that's part of the fun).
I highly recommend this area. I have never been out there when there were tons of people so I am not sure how used this park is. It seems like a great place for an overnight trip and is surrounded by wooded areas that just beg to be explored.
For more information go to the Latah County Park and Rec

Pullman Parks pt 2

Kruegel Park and Lawson Gardens are two of my family's favorite parks. Located on opposite sides of Derby street, these are two popular parks.
Currently Lawson Gardens is closed for the season but it's a great place worth visiting when spring comes. The park is located at 705 Derby Street (kinda behind the Scout House). The land was donated in honor of Alice Walker by her husband in 1985 and houses a lovely blue pool. It was known as the blue water place by my brother when we were younger (careful the blue water is dyed and will stain your hands if you play in it too long).



It has trails for walking or gentle biking as well as a covered sitting area to observe the world going by. It's a peaceful and beautiful place to spend time in. Weddings have been held in the park. But it doesn't have much in the way of amenities.
Across the way is Kruegel Park which is huge and a great place for family activities. The park has a covered picnic area with a nice stone fireplace and BBQ pits. Just down the hill is an open grassy area great for Frisbee or a game of touch football. Next to that is a playground with a variety of structures for swinging and climbing. There are tennis courts and areas for other sports. There are open restrooms during the warm months and running water.


These pictures are from a visit last summer and aren't they still beautiful (late August).

Pullman Parks (pt 1)

I was going to continue downtown Moscow but the sun is shining and it is so beautiful that all I can think about is spending time in Pullman parks. Now it's still winter so not all the parks are open at this time but many of them are. My pictures are from this past fall and I hope to add new ones as the spring flowers start but pretty much the parks are what the parks are.
This area of Washington seems to have more parks per capita than any other area I have been in. Maybe that's because the Palouse is home to really small towns with lots of little parks so in the square footage department it may not be true. However, Pullman parks have a lot of variety and are just fun places to spend some time. I picked some of the more obscure parks to start with because as I was planning this blog, I wanted to see all the parks. I made my family spend a couple of days tracking down parks we had never been to.
According to the Pullman Parks and Rec website (http://www.pullman-wa.gov/DrawOnePage.aspx?PageID=728), Pullman has 14 parks, numerous green spaces (Well 7, Cougar Plaza, Pine Street Mall, etc.), three city cemeteries, R.V. park and the City trail. Now some of the green spaces actually have park names so this may get a little confusing (for example, there's the Scout Park behind the library not listed as one of the parks).
Officially the 14 parks are: Military Hill Park, Sunnyside Park, Terreview Park, Woodcraft Park, Harrison Tot Lot, Itani Park, Kruegal Park, Lawson Gardens, McGee Park, Reaney Park, Spring Street Park, Conservation Park, City Playfields and Petry Natural Area.
The two parks for today are Itani Park and Conservation Park. These two parks are nice for walking or just enjoying nature. Conservation Park is nothing but trees where Itani park does have a covered picnic area. I envision these as great places to visit in the spring when the grass is green and the flowers are blooming, in the fall they are not quite as interesting, being that they are filled with native grasses that do not stay green.
Conservation Park - 799 NW Darrow St. Finding this park is a little tricky even for Pullman natives like me. Darrow Street is a little residential street on the back part of Military Hill (not the new district but the older one). Darrow actually ends at the park so once you find the street - keep driving til the end.

The entrance into the park.

View of the street from the entrance.



Fall images of the park.

Itani park is hidden in one of the new developments on Sunnyside Hill at 905 SW Crestview Dr. It's a newer park and the pictures on the Parks website shows a beautiful green pasture with lots of flowers so I may have to take pictures in a few months and share.