I went through a little lull after the TGI Friday's Prank. That was a really big, successful project, requiring a lot of coordination and help nationwide, so naturally, I'd like to out-do that one and try something even larger.

The Caution: Ant prank was simple. The plan was to stake-off a dangerous area on the grass at McKinley Park in Sacramento.

This green park tape photo is from a real hazard in Bryant Park in New York City.

I just needed stakes, yellow tape and a hazard of some kind.

What spoils a trip to the park? Ants!

That was the plan until Stacy pointed out that even a single Ant poses a threat to cautious park-goers. I loved it!

This first warning sign design was OK, but had room for improvement.

The second design had several improvements which made it more realistic, including a Spanish language warning and areas for date Posted and Hazard declaration. 

I guess this prank had its origins from the first time I ever saw yellow "CAUTION" tape for sale at Home Depot. I thought it was strange that now regular citizens had the power and equipment to classify restricted areas.

On June 7th, 2005, we set out to McKinley to stake our ground. 

Stacy filled in the date and ANT on our four signs.

This was June's first prank, so we made her hold the bail money.

We made some exploratory trips around the park with June's stroller before picking a spot near the new tables. 

I started pounding stakes into the ground.

If anyone had confronted us at this stage, I would have shown my Shallow Grave Vampire-Hunting card and urged them home before sundown.

Things were coming along nicely.

please continue reading Park Caution part 2