Today we braved the heat to check out a new to us park in Bowie. When we arrived, Pebble and Rainbow looked around and asked where the playground was. We had parked in a lot next to the softball fields at 2200 Mitchellville Road in Bowie. There was no playground in sight! I pulled the girls bikes down out of the car, slathered them in sunscreen, put their helmets on, and pointed toward a trail at the edge of the lot…
The signpost says Mt. Oak Road, 1/4 mile. The girls were surprised we had to bike to the playground, but the path was well shaded and cooler. It only took us ten minutes to follow the twisting path through the woods to the playground on Mt. Oak Road. There is no parking here, so that is why we parked where we did within the main area of the park.
The playground was a basic no frills park. There were swings, slides, and monkey bars, and, unfortunately, no shade. The girls quickly heated up. They tried using the slides, but were so sweaty they just stuck to the surfaces. The swings were their favorite because I was doing the pushing, and they got a nice breeze. After only a short time, the girls asked to pack it in, and bike back to the car.
This is when we got to the best part of our park trip. The city of Bowie had installed a story walk here. The story started at the playground, and we could read the story as we walked / biked back to the car. The story was Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner.
The girls loved the story walk! Rainbow asked me to check out the book, and others by the author, from the library. They really enjoyed looking for each section of the story. It was a great distraction from the heat, and, in Pebble’s case, a distraction from the cicadas. She does not like cicadas, and will often walk around with her hands on her head in order to prevent them from landing on her!
When we were almost at the car, the girls were thrilled to spot a doe in the woods. She bounded across the trail in front of us before disappearing among the trees.
All in all, we were here maybe 45 minutes…. It was just too hot, and the playground was very simple compared to ones we have been visiting lately. Rainbow asked why the story walk couldn’t be at a better, or at least updated, playground. I was just happy to find a story walk close to home, and I like the fact that the stories in the story walk are also being changed up. It was fun, albeit short outing, and I’m glad we checked it out. FYI, I didn’t see any facilities, so def bring a travel potty! Happy trails!