There are 115 city parks in Wichita, and they’re visiting them all

Buffalo Park has a playground fit to be a child’s American Ninja Warrior training course. Otis Park has a chicken living in its bushes. Mead Island park sits in the middle of the Little Arkansas River, undeveloped and accessible only by water.

Katie Gough has learned these fun facts — and much more — on her journey to visit all 115 city parks this summer.

Gough and her two sons, Weston, 6, and Sully, 5, set out on their “Best Quest” in the beginning of June — to try out every Wichita park and create a blog with a review of each.

Gough said she had no idea there were more than 100 city parks, but she decided to go for it.

She and her sons have made it to 37 parks so far. They plan to hit the other 78 before school starts the week of Aug. 23.

To reach their goal, Gough, who works for Wichita Public Schools, said they sometimes have to go “parkin’” in the evenings after work. Weekends, however, are prime park time. Gough said they’ll hit eight to 10 parks a weekend.

Katie’s husband, Andrew Gough, and family friend Michelle Dial-Dewey can be spotted accompanying the trio on many of their park adventures.

Dial-Dewey said she and Katie were brainstorming something to blog about when the idea popped up.

“It just kind of grew from there,” she said.

Now, Katie Gough has a Facebook page for the quest with more than 120 followers and a blog site where she posts her park reviews, typically within a day of visiting.

Each review includes photos of the park, detailed descriptions of the atmosphere, lists of park features, “Mom Tips” and “Kid Tips.”

Katie Gough’s tips usually clue parents in on whether there are water fountains available (there usually aren’t), how much shaded seating there is, whether the park is fenced in and what activities would be best at the park.

The boys’ tips, however, have a different tone.

Weston’s advice for Prospect Park was: “The spinny thing is awesome! Don’t do it too much or you might barf!” They also said Sleepy Hollow Park was good for catching lightning bugs — and that it’s best to avoid the bathrooms at Fairmount Park, as they’re “super yucky.”

Parks that rank high on Sully’s list typically have slides and swings, Katie Gough said.

Weston likes monkey bars and anything he can climb.

After flying through monkey bars and a set of spinning wheels at Sycamore Park, Weston raced over to his dad to show off his playground battle wounds.

“I got a blister and picked it off,” he said, holding up tiny, calloused hands built up from countless hours spent swinging bar to bar.

To Weston, their park adventures are more than a chance to play.

“I want to be in the Army,” he said. “So, that’s why I really wanted to do the park thing. So I could get tougher.”

Though Weston may be prepping for boot camp, his parents are getting something else out of the experience.

“For us, it’s about having a good time with the kids and teaching them something,” Andrew Gough said.

“Get out and enjoy your city. If you don’t think there’s anything to do in Wichita … try harder. I mean, we stumbled upon (115) parks. There’s a lot to do,” he said. “I want people to know, the secret is there’s so much to do beyond spending money.”

Though they still have more than half the list to conquer, the Goughs said the question everyone asks is which park is their favorite.

For Katie, it’s Elm Neighborhood Park, at the corner of Grove and Central. It’s the only park she’s seen with artificial turf; it’s fenced in and has a backyard feel. For Andrew, it’s Herman Hill Park, 101 E. Pawnee, which has a water education center, disc golf, nature trails and a playground. For the boys, it’s typically whatever park they most recently visited, Andrew Gough said.

When they’ve checked the last park off their list, Katie Gough said she’d like to have a cookout at one of the parks and invite anyone who followed their journey to come. Andrew Gough said he thinks they should crown their overall winners, too.

As for any future summer quests, they’re thinking about visiting area pools, state parks, or the eight wonders of Kansas.

This story was originally published July 1, 2017 at 7:07 PM with the headline "There are 115 city parks in Wichita, and they’re visiting them all."