Wapato Park

The kids and I got some school work done this morning so we could head out to the park to enjoy the weather. We spent two hours at Wapato Park and it turned out to be a good time.

After letting them play in the playground for a while, I talked the kids into walking around the lake. Along the way, we talked about why they couldn't swim in the lake, not even put their feet in. It's hard to fathom not being able to wade out into your ankles but such is the results of cutting off the water flow, making it a stagnant petri dish. Then to further the damage, Tacoma tried chemical treatments on the lake and caused even bigger problems. There was a time when the lake was a prime spot for fishing and swimming, but those days are now gone.

Not everything about the lake was negative though. When we got to the north side of the lake, we saw 7 turtles sunning themselves on a log. They were quite cute sitting there with their necks stretched out. We joined up with another family and walked along with them; Josh and a three year old girl were mimicking each other and held hands for a short time. It was very cute. When we got to the west side of the lake, we came across another log covered in turtles. There were 14 of them this time, all stacked partially on top of each other. Then we looked up and noticed a bald eagle soaring in circles above the water. Soon another bald eagle joined the first. We watched as the lazily floated with the air currents for a while. We finished our walk 30 minutes later and headed back to the playground.

After reaching the playground, the kids played for another hour. They found another girl, age 7, to play with. Her family took her out of school early for a family picnic at the park. They followed each other around, running around trees and around playground equipment. They swung. They talked. They exchanged phone numbers.

Finally, it was time to go home. Josh, who was way past his nap, wanted to "wing" more and wasn't happy about going home.