Sycamore Park is a 7-acre park off Cloverdale Road, just north of the I-84 overpass. It's actually hard to miss as it's directly in front of Spalding Elementary.

The park is on the smallish side, but very nice, complete with bathrooms, a drinking fountain, and a small covered shelter in case the sun is too much for your sensitive skin.

Oh, and one of the play sets is a mini-gym designed by an over-caffeinated and extremely jumpy Spiderman.

Okay, not really, but the play set is still awesome and is guaranteed to make your kids wet themselves in anticipation. Lucky for you, as I said before, this park has a bathroom.

The "Evos Playsystem" is designed by a company called Landscape Structures, Inc. and looking at their Web site makes me want to be a kid again. Designed for kids from five to twelve, the "gyroscopic" system combines kid's natural inquisitiveness with a futuristic structure that looks like a miniature Marine combat training center. If my rented five year old's reaction was any indication, kids love the thing. It's also the first Evos in Idaho.

Of course, that high-tech jungle gym and the rest of the park were provided by the folks that live in the area to the tune of $237,000. According to the City, the funds were "provided by impact fees levied on new home construction in the area." Round the kiddies up right now and take them to the park; that's your tax money the kids aren't making use of right now.

The other play set, intended for kids from two to five years old, is unique in its own right. Looking at it for the first time, I couldn't make my mind up if the large, oddly-shaped blue steppy thing on the side of it was simply modern art or if it was practical in any way, you know, other than being steps. As it turns out, that blue thingy is supposed to be a giant thundercloud, which makes no sense at all unless your five year old is smitten with pretending to be Zeus, in which case I'm sure you're tired of getting smited with thrown sticks lightning bolts.

A storm cloud, really? I spent at least five minutes crawling in the bark, looking at the thing from all angles. I don't see it. And it probably cost five grand where normal steps would be $149.99, installed. However, can we really put a price on a child's creativity? Bet your ever-expanding poly-saturated behind we can.

If you ask me, the thing looks like a petrified booger flicked by a giant Handy Smurf.

Sycamore Park also has a piece of public art, three pieces actually. The trio of painted panels is entitled "Structure and Play" and was created by local artist Marcus Pierce in 2008.

To me, the panels show a bunch of different kids doing a bunch of things that kids do and then there's all the odd artsy stuff that Marcus added that only makes sense to him. The official explanation of this work according to Boise Parks & Rec is, "The painting series 'Structure and Play' was inspired by the imaginative play of children near the park, as well as the limitations and structures surrounding them. The paintings are an exploration of seemingly contrasting themes, that when balanced in the proper proportions suggest infinite growth and possibility. Children in flowing motion represent play. Structure is represented primarily by elements related to the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence, which are used in nearly every aspect of the paintings' proportion, subject matter, and overall design. The golden ratio was chosen for its historic significance in mathematics, as well as fields such as painting, architecture, music, and biology. The painting pays homage to the great artists of the Renaissance who had a more multi-disciplinary focus, with major contributions to both math and art. Structure and limitations can seem restrictive compared to imagination and play, yet we can see throughout nature and history that life and great creations often spring forth from a dynamic balance between the two.

Are we all still awake now?

The final thing I love about this park is the location. As realtors around the world will tell you, it's all about location, location, location. Sycamore Park shows you just how creative you can be with a mostly unusable piece of land near an interstate overpass. Sure, it's not like the overpass is within a stone's throw, but make no mistake, every time a semi goes by you realize just how close they really are.

Ah, the ambiance...