COMMUNITY PARK KEEPS NATURAL FEEL.Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer Meandering trails, a picture-perfect waterfall and a gazebo gazebo Lookout in the form of a turret, cupola (small, lanternlike dome), or garden house set on a height to give an extensive view. Few late-18th- and 19th-century rustic gazebos survive, but 17th-century turrets built up in an angle of the garden wall are not uncommon. for an evening barbecue or special party are part of the new park that officially opened in Oak Park on Saturday. ``We wanted to keep active recreation in smaller neighborhood parks Neighborhood parks, which generally range in size up to 30 acres, serve as a social and recreational focal points for neighborhoods and are the basic units of a park system. Many include a playground. ,'' said Steve Iceland, director of the Rancho Simi Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi is one of the land grants in California by the Spanish government. The name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. Recreation and Park District. ``We wanted to keep this as a natural, peaceful area where people could come and sit and relax. Looking around here, I can see we made the right decision.'' The area is the second phase of Oak Canyon Community Park, off Kanan Road at Hollytree Drive. The first phase included an open lawn area and parking. In the next phase, a 5,000-square-foot community center, a nature kiosk, a botanical garden botanical garden, public place in which plants are grown both for display and for scientific study. An arboretum is a botanical garden devoted chiefly to the growing of woody plants. and more nature trails will be added, Iceland said. About a hundred people came to see the opening of the park and walk through a holiday arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. fair that went along with the celebration. ``I think it's beautiful. I've been coming out here for a couple of months, and there are families barbecuing, children out running around and people with their dogs,'' said Beverly Pellegrino, a Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. resident who comes to Oak Park to visit her daughter. ``It's a very nice place.'' Visitors were already using their imagination for the gazebo area, which can be reserved for special parties. One family had already asked about having their Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is a large meal, starring a large roasted turkey. All of the dishes in the traditional American version of Thanksgiving Dinner are made from foods native to North America, according to tradition the Pilgrims received these there, and others mentioned it as a nice place for a wedding. The recirculating ponds were put in as reflecting pools, but Iceland encouraged families to bring their children and some fishing poles since fish can be caught there. That's not the only wildlife in the area. Dissected by Medea Creek, the area is visited by woodpeckers, jack rabbits, cottontail rabbits, owls, mice, hawks, quail, coyotes, mule deer mule deer Large-eared deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of western North America that lives alone or in small groups at high altitudes in summer and lower altitudes in winter. Mule deer stand 3–3. , raccoons and opossums. The $1.2 million project includes several footbridges along the nature trails and walkways. Picnic benches and barbecues were also installed. As visitors walked down a trail to the arts and crafts fair, they couldn't help but admire the scenery. ``The area we just walked through - it's just lovely,'' said Karen Clark, who came up from Agoura. ``I'd like to bring my dog out here. This is a great area to let him run around,'' said Carla Trent, who also lives in Agoura. Local resident Carol Puorto walked the property before the park area was developed. Though she enjoyed it before, she said the park district did a good job of keeping natural aspects while adding man-made features. ``It's beautiful. The waterfall is really nice,'' Puorto said. ``I liked it before, but I think they did a very nice job.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color in CONEJO only) Ruth Slepak looks through a cross cut out of alabaster alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the evaporation of bedded deposits that are precipitated mainly from during a craft fair Saturday. (2--ran in CONEJO only--color) Artist Jean Francois shows an air-brush landscape at Oak Canyon Community Park. Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News |
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