Jack Smith Park a fun kids' option in Cary to cool off on those hot summer days

Early this month, Lee Ann and I (OK, mostly Lee Ann) babysat her 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter, Lizzy, when the girl's parents went out of town for the weekend.

While looking for affordable ideas to entertain Lizzy, we came across Jack Smith Park in Cary, N.C., a splash park not too far from our home. It is Cary's first splash park ... and is relatively new; it opened for a short period at the end of last summer, so this was its first full season.

We checked out the park's website and found that the water spray area would shut down for the season on Sept. 15, so on Sept. 3, we took Lizzy there to see if she would enjoy it.

Lizzy required a longer-than expected initiation to all the spraying water and to the mostly older children also enjoying the facilities. Eventually, though, Lizzy did acclimate to everything and eventually frolicked about enthusiastically.

The park also has separate playground facilities, one area for toddlers, and another for older kids. It also has a couple walking trails, a climbing boulder, a dog park and some institutional art. In the photo leading off the post, that's Lizzy walking toward the toddlers' playground while taking a break from the water attractions.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of an image, click on the image. This is particularly important if you access the blog while using a mobile device. For a gallery of images from my visit to Jack Smith Park, follow the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: All photos were taken with my Canon 6D equipped with a Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di PZD VC lens and a B+W polarizing filter. I've recently transitioned away from processing all my landscape photos through high-dynamic range (HDR) software in post-processing, mostly so I can reassess whether my preferences have changed in the years since I began doing that regularly. So in this post, all of the images are single-frame shots processed through Photoshop Elements 15.

Above and below: The most popular feature in the spray section of Jack Smith Park was this periodic water dump, which required a bit of time for water to fill in each of the red containers positioned high up. When the filled container reached a certain tipping point, it discharged its water, and if you anywhere in the vicinity below, you got a dousing. 

Above: An overview of the park from near the parking lot and entrance. 

Above and next three below: One of the works of institutional art at the park are these Suffolk sheep crafted by by William Moore of Pittsboro, N.C. Real Suffolk sheep could be found on the former farm on which the park was developed. One of the images below is Lizzy enjoying climbing on one of the sheep.

Above and below: A view of some of the children enjoying the facilities. 

Lizzy is sizing up the monster water dump (above), feeling the fringe cool-off from one of its dumps (first below) then taking the plunge and enjoying a full dump (second below). 

Above: A conference of smaller folk enjoying some of the less intimidating sprays at the water park. 

Above and below: These whirligigs, crafted by Vollis Simpson of Lucama, N.C., comprise the other piece of institutional art on the grounds.  

Above: Yet another attraction at the park is this 10-foot-tall climbing boulder, intended for climbing beginners to give them a feel and some confidence in tackling more challenging boulders.