Barely off W. Edna Road, between N. Five Mile Road and N. Maple Grove Road in southwest Boise, there's a pretty little park on Jullion Way, right next to Summerwind Elementary School. The 11-acre park is aptly named Jullion Park and was "acquired" by the city in October 1979. At Uncle Boise, we're not sure what the city means by "acquired", and we're too lazy to find out, but we like to imagine it involved a long ride into the desert around Kuna in a classic black Cadillac and lots of guys looking surly and mumbling incoherently with one guy in a wife beater and boxers cowering and wetting himself. Why? It's a better story than imagining lawyers bickering and signing lots of papers. Work with us a little, eh.

Not too long ago, lots of hirsute men converged on the park and after a few weeks of grunting, sweating, and the occasional impromptu dance-off, the park gained a new picnic shelter. This is important because if you have kids and let them out of the house — and actually go with them to a park — you know that sitting on a hard park bench in 98 degree heat sucks. The mighty picnic shelter at least offers a shady spot from which to ignore your child's cries and pleas. Of course, the shelter is available at a first-come, first-serve basis, much like your prom date. Oh, and there's a bathroom which is helpful if your five year old has bladder issues only during the summer months.

The playground equipment is older, yet still in really good shape, and offers the usually tot and older kid play sets, a swing set, a jeep replica for re-enacting the Normandy invasion, and one of the funkiest climbing wall thing-a-mabobs you've probably ever seen.

Life-size G.I. Joes and .50 caliber not included.

Yes, it took about ten minutes before I found myself climbing on the climbing...thing. The odd twisting shape challenged my manhood, okay. It mocked me. And it won. As I found out, a full-grown adult hanging onto the underside of a child's climbing toy is nearly farcical and nearly impossible when a) you're taller than 4 feet, and b) gravity works.

Gravity and growing up suck.

One predominant feature of Jullion Park that I would be remiss not to mention is the large sculpture/artwork that lies between the parking lot and the play sets. It's called "Windows in Time" and was created by local artist J. Amber Conger. There's a little sign next to the three big panels that explains more about it, or you can read more about it here. The three panels represent the area's past, present, and future, and they're kind of interesting to look at. As far as public art goes, they're not bad. It's a shame though that while we're waiting for the steel and copper panels to develop the rich "patinas" that the artist describes they look like Hollywood's idea of rusting futuristic signposts.