I grew up north of Ballard, south of Blue Ridge, west of Crown Hill, and just a few blocks from North Beach. Puget Sound and the Olympics filled my bedroom window, along with the forests and the hundreds of houses below us.
As kids we played in “the gulley”, a ravine as-yet undeveloped with houses, filled with trails we created through nettles and maple trees. There we played army, climbed the trees, built forts and rope swings, and used mud from the creek to soothe the stinging of any nettles that brushed us.
From the time I was three, my brother and I would walk down the hill and cross the railroad tracks to North Beach and spend hours playing on the shores of the Sound. Through the years, we would make sand forts there with my neighborhood friends, and still later, I would have my first kiss there.
In the late Sixties a new park and junior high school were built close to us, which became our go-to place to play as kids: swinging on swings pretending we were flying an X-15, towing around a wading pool a plywood foot-long hydroplane we had made, playing baseball and football in the athletic fields, even hitting golf balls with baseball bats because we didn’t have golf clubs. That’s not easy to do. I struck an errant shot once (many times actually) and almost hit a worker mowing the fields; a “No Golf” sign appeared the next week.
I played many Little League games on those fields, hitting a homerun to win one game, walking a batter with the bases loaded to lose another. We sledded down the park’s hills, raced bikes along its pathways, and flew kites in its windswept fields. I remember old people walking their dogs, couples walking hand in hand, and hundreds of other kids enjoying the park just like us.
If I wasn’t at home, I was either in the gulley, at the beach, or in the park with its fields and playgrounds. My parents had no idea where we were, nor did they care back in those days.
These memories flood back when we visit Volunteer Park in Anacortes. The ballfields still echo with the sound of bat on ball, although the bats are now made of metal. Kites have become remote-controlled helicopters, plywood pull toys have become motorized cars, scooters and bikes are now mostly electric. But the concept is the same: get out of the house and spend time outdoors, doing something with our bodies.
The trail through the wetland and maple forest just beyond the playfields smells just like the gulley from long ago, yet it is a world apart, with the sounds of sports muted and the sunlight softened by the towering cottonwoods and maples. I looked up at one maple for a moment, wondering if I could or should climb its inviting branches. As a child, there would have been no hesitation. Maybe next time. We sampled blackberries, listened to nuthatches and chickadees, and soaked up the late summer sunshine of August.
We used to be able to make a loop route hiking along the west fences of the football stadium. That has become overgrown, requiring us to go through the high school stadium area. Uniformed youngsters practiced cheerleading with volunteer adults, while others practiced lacrosse. Back at the lower playfields, more kids and adults played baseball, practiced in the batting cages, kicked soccer balls, touched nettles, rode bikes, walked and jogged the trails, and just hung out together in the waning days before summer fades and school begins.
This community treasure of a park builds memories that will last a lifetime.
As we headed back to the car, Murphy lay down on the grass and refused to leave.
We get it.
'Restore balance. It’s time to add a pinch of adventure, a sprinkle of sunshine and a big handful of outdoor play.' Penny Whitehouse
Directions
Directions: From the main intersection in Anacortes, 12th and Commercial (the Safeway corner) go west on 12th to G Avenue; turn left and go one block to the parking areas for Volunteer Park. Take any trail south to find the wetlands fields and trails.
By Bus: Accessible by Skagit Transit bus 410
By Bike: 12th is a busy narrow road. I prefer taking 14th, 10th, or 8th west from Safeway
Mobility: The play areas have paved, nearly level trails throughout. The wetland area trail is hard-packed gravel and mostly level until you get to the maple forest. You can just turn around if the elevation change is too much.