Wing'in It: Spring photos at Widefield Park

For those of you who know me well, it won't surprise you to find out that I drug the kids out for a 'photo shoot' this past April. I usually try to do so right around Easter. There are a couple of reasons for this. I get Easter pictures, and Maya's birthday is in early May. In years past I've always gotten several good shots of her. I pick my favorite and call it her birthday portrait.

I'm lucky because neither Maya nor Scott actually mind going to get their pictures taken. I give them a heads up, make sure they're showered and they choose what it is they want to wear. Then we talk about where we might go to get said photographs and once we're at our location, they help me find good spots to take them.

It's a fun thing that we do. Steven's done the picture taking a few times as well. The kids are very cooperative and, as you can see, we usually come up with lots of good photos.

We live right down the street from Widefield Park, which is were we decided to take our pictures this spring. You might not realize it, but you've most likely heard about this park. A horrible accident occurred there on March 3, 1991.

Twenty passengers and a flight crew of five all lost their lives when a Boeing 737 crashed on its approach to the Colorado Springs Airport.

The flight started in Peoria, Illinois before landing in Moline and then Denver. From there it headed to the Springs. There was an investigation into the accident, but no one knows exactly why the plane suddenly rolled to the right and pitched nose down, plummeting and crashing into a corner of the park.

There is a gazebo in Widefield Park marking the area in which the plane fell. The kids are standing inside of it in the next photo. Here there is a memorial to the twenty-five lives lost on flight 585. I didn't know the whole story behind the memorial when we took pictures here.

Widefield Park is a beautiful place. It's got a little stream, a bridge, a nice playground and tennis and basketball courts. There are a ton of trees and the park is well known for its disc golf course. We haven't actually tried that out yet, but we're going to.

Joey loves going for walks here. He's escaped from the yard a few times, but he never goes very far. He always heads straight for the park. Goofy dog. What happened here was a tragedy, but I'm glad we took our photos here. It's a beautiful space.