Lexington Parks - Armstrong Mill Parkway

(the view from Gainesway Drive as we were heading back to our van)

Armstrong Mill Parkway (1301 Armstrong Mill Road)

Location - you can access from the cul-de-sacs Ascot and Ak-Sar-Ben off River Park Drive, connects to Gainesway Park

Playground? no, but there is one at Gainesway and at the apartments at the end of the trail

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? no

    There's really not much to this "park." It's mostly a paved trail and some green (or white!) space that connects Armstrong Mill to Gainesway Park. The day we walked here, we went on to Gainesway Park (to the left) and we also went to the right to a playground in an apartment complex. There were some unique play structures, so the boys enjoyed their time there. I'm including them in this post even though they aren't technically part of Armstrong Mill Park because they were part of our experience that day.

The view from the cul-de-sac where we parked

They enjoyed climbing around on the hippo and dinosaurs

We enjoyed finding these different tracks and wondering about the birds and animals that made them

Trying to make tracks like the animals that had two paws together

(Note: Our goal is to visit all the parks in Lexington in a year's time since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Lexington Parks - Waverly

Waverly Park (4244 Southmoor Pk)

Location - in the Copper Run neighborhood, off Twain Ridge Drive

Playground? yes 

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? tennis courts, basketball courts

    We visited this park twice in the last year -- once in the warm, drizzly rain and once after a frigid ice storm! Learning to embrace all types of weather! This is a great park not too far from us (although I often get lost driving there for some reason). It has a nice paved walking loop and a playground that the boys enjoy.

Oh, the sock-footed days!

He's a climber!

And, in the winter. This tree branch was standing up straight on its own.

A slippery path

Dizzy...my head is spinning...

I love both of these pictures. :-)

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)

Lexington Parks - Charles Young

Charles Young Park (215 Midland Ave.)

Location - near Isaac Murphy Art Garden, Northeastern Park, Thoroughbred Park

Playground? yes, although it will be replaced soon

Trails? no

Other? basketball court

    This was a getting-warmer-but-there's-still-snow-on-the-ground kind of day. I had heard that they were tearing down the playground soon, so we wanted to get here before it was demolished. The other one, with kid input, should be up and running later this year. We stayed here away and then walked over to the Isaac Murphy Art Garden.

Calvin loved making the front end hit the ground

You can see the moon up in the top right corner

That sky!

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)

Lexington Parks - Gratz

Gratz Park (250 W. Third St.)

Location - downtown, near Transylvania University, next to Carnegie Center, near Tandy/Cheapside Park, near Coolavin Park

Playground? no

Trails? yes, paved

Other? fountain, history

    We're learning to embrace all seasons! We came here after a week and a half of 3 back-to-back winter storms. We have been to this park several times in the past -- when visiting Transy's PumpkinMania, when attending an event at the Carnegie Center, or celebrating the kick-off of the painted book bench initiative. It's a downtown park with no playground but a lot of charm.

This fountain was donated for "the children of Lexington," which now includes my kids. It would be weird if such a fountain were constructed for children today. It was a little risque having them play among the naked statues.

"Booty!"

We brought the shovel along to play/shovel with.

After we found several neat tracks in the snow, Calvin made his own unique tracks

It was still cold outside, but icicles were starting to melt and drip

This building is used for AA meetings and other public meetings, but the sign on the door (from last spring) said that the meetings were suspended. 

The boys enjoyed rear-end-sledding down this little hill on the way back to the van.

(Note: We visited all 88 LFUCG parks in the span of a Covid year -- mid-March 2020 to February 2021. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)