Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Adler Park
I mentioned in my last post that I had passed by a park on that hike. And so for this adventure, I went and explored Adler Park. Part of this place overlapped with my last post so I did my best to focus on the areas I didn’t explore last time. There was of course a lot to see and do at this park. And I had a variable to contend with that I hadn’t planned for.
While I had planned to come here while kids were in school, the people maintaining the property had the same idea. The grass was being mowed while I visited. And I spent a bit of time making sure I stayed out of their way. Given that I was not playing Frisbee Golf, they probably thought it odd that I was there at all. But you readers know better. Anyway, let’s take a look at what I saw.
The First Half
The main draw of Adler Park is the Frisbee Golf Course. I have visited other places with courses before, but this one stuck out to me for two reasons. The first was that the course seemed more difficult than others. And second, it was clear that the course had been implemented into the terrain rather than the other way around.
Adler Park has forested sections, open fields, and even uneven ground. All of them together created a rather unique location to play. And just as much so, allowed me to feel like I was on a hike even though this isn’t one of those types of adventures. And speaking of not that type of adventure, this one wasn’t uniquely about Frisbee Golf either.
Adler Park features a large playground. Since the kids were in school, it sat empty. I’m sure that this place gets crowded when school isn’t in session. And not just because there is an actual school right next door. I remember what the park next to my high-school, which also has Frisbee Golf would get like after classes ended. And this park happens to be right by downtown Libertyville, Illinois which increases the amount of foot traffic.
The Back Half
The back half of the Frisbee Golf Course dominated most of the pictures I took. This section would have been split in two if I had taken a few more pictures while traveling around Adler Park. But at this point, I was dodging around the people mowing the lawn. They in turn were likely wondering why a mid thirties man dressed all in black was wandering the park taking pictures. Surreal all around.
There were two other features I want to draw attention to. One of them would have warranted its own blog post if it was just a little bigger. But I didn’t go into it at all. And that is the water park located in the middle of Adler Park itself. The second feature was a bike path that I made use of to avoid the lawn mowers as much as I could. Ultimately that path looped around the park and would have taken me back to where I started.
Instead, I continued to the last of the Frisbee Golf Holes, which in turn took me back to the Des Plaines River Trail. A few of those photos might look familiar if you read my post from before this one. Also familiar to this part of the park were the swarms of insects, who were quite happy that I had not brought bug spray again. Them aside, I took some time to breath as I had run around the grassy fields to avoid the lawnmowers. And the bugs got their chances to feast. I’ll forgive them this time.
Pokemon Go
Well I have talked plenty about Adler Park in real life. Now let’s change gears and see what Pokémon Go had to offer. Take a look at the above image, and guess what I’m going to say next. Yep this is another incredible spot to play. Better than the trail with several gyms and plenty of Pokestops for items. And best of all, the spawns are everywhere and constantly appearing. I ran low on Ultraballs after running completely out of Pokeballs. Though it wasn’t helped by the pool area being the spot with the highest con concentration of stops.
All in all, this park is worth your time. I have not been to nearby downtown Libertyville in game yet, but I imagine that while you are nearby, this park is a prime spot to play the game. Of course Independence Grove is even better, but that’s an exception. Places like that are extremely rare and Adler Park is much more than enough on its own.
Despite the lone image on the blog, I actually hatched two eggs. The picture of the Tinkatink that also hatched just disappeared for whatever reason. Neither hatch was worth much on its own but candy for it and Bulbasaur are always welcome. Next time I should hatch plenty more eggs as I had just started a few eggs before this walk.
Wrap Up
Hey look at that, a genuine smile. Probably has something to do with the sun not being in my face. I need to go outside more, especially when the weather is this nice. Since I’m in Chicago now, I only have a few more months before winter starts. In Orlando it was the summers that kept me inside, but I think the snow will be the deciding factor now.
Anyway, there is much more trail to explore and I want to see as much of it as I can before either winter or work takes me away from it.