The subject of parks makes me sit back and consider not only what they are, but what they represent. The history of parks is the history of mankind moving away from nature. For 99% of human history, we lived in harmony with nature; we were part of it. Then we surrounded ourselves with bricks and put concrete where grass used to grow and we called it progress. At that point, we realized that we actually missed the green stuff and introduced parks into the concrete jungles we had built, so in a way, parks are an admission that we got things wrong.
We get a lot of things wrong, but despite our bumbling incompetency, nature prevails. Nowhere was this more apparent to me than in Tikal National Park in Guatemala, as I sat on the top step of Temple 4 looking out across what used to be the New York of Central America. It was at the height of its power around 200 to 600 AD. Now look at it.
Give it another 2,000 years and that could be the the Empire State Building peeping out from the jungle. Actually, you don’t even have to wait that long to see how nature can reclaim its hold. My favourite park in New York is the High Line. The High Line was an elevated freight train line that was built in the 1930s. It fell into disuse in the 1980s and lay abandoned until, in 2006, work began to turn it into an extraordinary urban park. It runs along the west side of Manhattan from Gansevoort St. up to 30th St. with future plans to extend it up to 34th St. If you enter at 30th St. you will get a glimpse of how nature had firmly re-established a foothold before it was turned into the masterpiece it is today.
Here’s where the genius of garden designer and master plantsman Piet Oudolf enters the picture. Taking his inspiration from what nature herself had done, he carefully crafted an exquisite concoction of feathery grasses that sway as you pass by and beg you to run your fingers through them; interspersed with plants that look just as lovely gone to seed as they do in full bloom. His planting is about texture and silhouettes; he plays with plants the way Miles Davis played jazz and Van Gogh painted skies. The end result is something wild and free and very beautiful; something that Mother Nature herself would be proud of.
The High Line gets my vote as the best place to unwind in the city and reconnect with nature, but it is also a great place to take in a musical performance…
hold a photoshoot…
sneak a peek at a rehearsal…
watch the world go by…
make believe you can fly…
and see the city at night.
Finally, thanks to the visionary Piet Oudolf, we got something right.
If you have a park you’d like to share, create your own post between now and next Friday, title it “Travel theme: Parks” and put a link to this page in your blog post to make it easy for others to find your post. Don’t forget to check back in next Friday for a new travel theme. And if you want to see more of Piet Oudolf’s genius at work in New York, see my nature blog posts here and here.
Where is your favourite park?
xxx Ailsa
Where's my backpack? 
Awesome story and photos! What a unique place!
You should definitely visit if you’re in the area, Annie, it’s really lovely.
Hi Ailsa
Great post with cool diversity in the images……..hooray for the high line…..
a park in the central city is what I’m posting about this week……….
You’ve captured some terrific moments of this performance in the park, 4otomo!
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Love your pics and to know some nature is in NYC!
Here is a park in Shanghai… http://canadiantravelbugs.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/travel-theme-photo-challenge-parks/
I love the tents in the park idea, it would work well for my sun-fearing skin 🙂
They do not like the sun and avoid it at all costs (including whiting creams)! It was the first warm day and I was just happy to get out without a coat!
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Here is mine: http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/travel-theme-parks/
River walks and mini trains, how much fun. 🙂
What a terrific post Ailsa…i can’t possiblt pick one over another…they are all so good. Here is mine for the week. not quite so wham as yours…but parks that I have never forgotten.
http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/travel-theme-parks/
oops, looks like it’s still unpublished, Jo, check your dashboard. xxx
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Oops…does it come up now ???
Yes, hurray. Boy, the Netherlands really knows how to do tulips! And such sweet photos of your children 🙂
The Netherlands sure knows how to present flowers all right !! Thanks…I think they were cute, but it is always nice to here others say it.
😉
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Fabulous pics, Ailsa. How come I’ve missed the Highline on my visits to New York? Next time I’m there, I’ll definitely go and see it.
Do make sure to visit next time, adinparadise, it’s spectacular year-round! xxx
I shall reprimand my son for not pointing me to it, but with three small kids, I suppose he can be excused. 😉
Forgot to add the link to my post. Not quite the sort of park you had in mind for the theme. 😉
Actually I was hoping to get some National Park responses, so many incredible sights – I’m very happy Old Faithful came through for you!
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Another beautiful story told with your talented photography and words. You really captured the life and beauty of nature, music, and humanity. I enjoyed the post! : )
Thanks for your kind comments, Catherine, I’m blushing just a little now 🙂 I hope you get to see this wonderful park for yourself sometime! xxx
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Wonderful Ailsa! Here is mine for the week:
http://thirdeyemom.com/2012/06/25/travel-theme-parks/
Spectacular, Nicole. You and your dad have hiked in the most beautiful places. I can’t wait to see your photos from the French Alps this summer!
Hi Ailsa,
Great pictures you posted. Especially your last shot I like a lot.
I also enjoyed your comments.
Last year a new park officially opened in my village. With it, the heart of my town came a little more alive again, so I wrote a poem for that occasion which you can find here together with some pictures too : http://dagendauw.blogspot.be/2011/08/hieros-gamos-van-de-wuitensbruid.html
But my real contribution for this week’s theme, are these two :
http://dauwgalerij.blogspot.be/2012/06/parkfeesten.html
Lovely poem, Dauw, and I love the close-up of the ivy in the second post, beautiful!
fantastic shots…
Thanks travtrails 🙂 Wonderful post on the Dragon Boat Festival!
Nice to see NYC from a different point of view! This is my interpretation: http://ingriddendievel.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/travel-theme-parks/
Great shot of Royal Park, Ingrid, you’d never believe that was taken in the heart of Brussels! I love the juggler 🙂
Thanks! I am already looking forward to your next theme! It’s fun and you can connect with other bloggers!
It’s such a great park. Genius idea. ( And it is interesting to consider what the landscape/area will look like after hundreds of years pass)
I agree, phil, the creators of the High Line are extraordinarily innovative – which is just as well, with space at such a premium in Manhattan.
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Great selection of parks. I had a hard time choosing for this theme since I love parks. Here is my post for the week:
http://50yearproject.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/travel-theme-parks/
You went with one of my very favourite London parks, TBM – excellent choice. If you haven’t already done so – check out the Peter Pan statue (oh I could spend hours there) and the Elfin Oak (another Kensington Gardens gem with an extraordinary history). Really enjoyed your post, those photos of the Italian Garden are fabulous.
Great captures! All beautiful!
Thanks so much, Nelson, and happy anniversary! 🙂 xxx
Here’s my submission:
http://davidrwetzelphotography.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/travel-theme-parks/
Excellent stuff, David, a very different, and very cool park! Wonderful shots. 🙂
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Took a while but here is my entry
You’ve captured some really lovely moments at the Jardin du Luxembourg, Emma. I really enjoyed this post. 🙂
Thanks 🙂
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G’day Ailsa another good theme. The photos of High Line park are beautiful. Love the macro flower pics. I love that your themes bring back memories http://pommepal.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/travel-themes-parks
Incredible, pommepal. What magical experiences, and you described them so beautifully I felt like I was there with you! And the best name for a mountain range ever. The Bungle Bungles. I love it!
My contribution…Nan Lian gardens
http://travtrails.wordpress.com
Delicious, I enjoyed every last minute of this post, from the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection to Fragrance Hill. Simply delightful. xxx
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Love this weeks theme. You gave a very beautiful post with stunning, fun pictures. Here’s mine..hope it brings sunshine to your day…best wishes.
http://thismansjourney.net/2012/06/25/revisiting-gator-park/
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As usual, wonderful post and shots! I love the plants, and the one with the plants at the bottom and the Empire State building towering above!
It’s a nice theme. I’m a little late, but here’s my entry for the challenge:
I really like that photo too, it’s as if those vibrant yellow spikes refuse to be upstaged by the Empire State 🙂 I’ve heard so many stories about the Big Island, I have to go – your photos make me want to go all the more! Poor Lava Jack, I watched the video, it was like the end of an era!
It was!
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Royal Baths Park in Warsaw: http://mothergrogan.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/travel-theme-parks/
Those red squirrels make me very happy! 🙂 Beautiful park. xxx
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I really enjoyed the commentary with this post. And what a glorious use of an abandon rail bed.
Thanks so much, Lynne, I think Mr Oudolf brings out my inner poet 😉
Here’s my park, Ailsa – http://lynneayersbeyondthebrush.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/travel-theme-parks/
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Thanks for sharing a theme that brings joy to our day. Truly an inspiration. Beautiful images and thoughts. Best wishes to you and your family.
http://thismansjourney.net/2012/06/25/revisiting-gator-park/
I can’t get over the size of that teeny tiny gator!
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G’day Ailsa, Jack suggested another thought for parks, maybe not quite what you intended but this one was so different thought I would put it on my memories blog
Brilliant suggestion by Jack! I will never look at a Barbie the same way again. Too funny 🙂
Hi Ailsa,
Good theme. Since you already hit Tikal I went with this:
http://quotidianhudsonriver.com/2012/06/27/travel-theme-parks/
So cool, Robert. Were you able to trek through the ruins or were they off limits? I’d love to see them for myself. xxx
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Hi @Ailsa, nice to participate your theme travel, here’s mine, no flower, no garden and no parks. http://campanulladellaanna.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/travel-theme-parks/ Thank you very much 😛
Can you imagine how sad it would be to live in a world without parks? It doesn’t bear thinking about.
I have a park that I love. Will write …
I’ve read a lot about the High Line and would just love to see it in real life. Your photos from there are really something else! Gorgeous images!!!
I do so hope you get to visit the High Line, reb, it’s truly lovely. Looking forward to reading about your park 🙂
I had already written about my park, back in February
That is one HUGE rock! 🙂
🙂 yeah …
it’s a really nice park..
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I am all parked out! I finally found something that made me smile.
This is hysterical, Gemma, I was hooting with laughter reading it. Great find – just in time for the grand kids visit! xxx Ailsa
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Hi Ailsa, I wrote this back in February about a park north of Nizwa. I thought I would enter it instead of writing a whole new post about the same subject. http://catbirdinoman.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-falaj-daris-a-unesco-world-heritage-site/