Grant Park with Rob

We went for a walk at Grant Park today with Unkie Rob. Teagan was crazy insane because there were squirrels out and about. Here Rob is trying to calm her down.
A different park is always a real treat for the dogs.
We have our regular parks which are Lake, Jacobus, Washington, and Curry, which the dogs like well enough. But anytime we go some place different, they consider it a special treat!
We went on the Seven Bridges Trail for a while.
And then we walked on the beach for a long while.
It was a beautiful day and there was a nice breeze coming off of Lake Michigan.
Teagan cares very little for scenery. All she wants to do is go! go! go!
But Keeley loves walking on the beach and staring out at the lake.
Keeley tried to entice Teagan to play with him on the beach, but she wasn't into that.
Rob was having a hard time with Teagan because all she wanted to do was drink gross lake water and hunt for squirrels.
Keeley likes to play tag with the waves and get his little doggy paws a bit wet. He had a big smile on his face while we were walking on the beach. And walking in sand is supposed to be good exercise for his bad leg.
Near the end of our walk, Unkie Rob posed for a nice picture with the pups.
What a great walk! We're all tired now!

MKE CO PARKS: Grant Park

Yesterday we took our morning walk at Grant Park on the southside of Milwaukee.This is the entrance to the Seven Bridges Trail. It says "Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature." And on the other side as you're leaving it says, "May the God given peace of this leafy solitude rest upon and abide within thee."
This is one of our favorite trails because it is so pretty.
Keeley's grandma came with us because I get lost on the southside and also so that I would be more free to take pictures. She's so sweet to us!
If you walk in the direction that the water in the stream is flowing, it leads to Lake Michigan.
The lake was very calm this morning.
Keeley looks like he's lost in thought, staring out at the lake.
Keeley climbed up on this groin to get a better view.
These things were built in the 1930's to help prevent shoreline erosion.
Keeley sure is a handsome pup!
He doesn't usually like to go in the water, but his grandma threw a stick in so Keeley had to go retrieve it.
He was looking pretty happy running with his stick.
After walking on the beach for a while, we decided to continue on the trail.
This is a good time of year to walk on this trail if you're interested in native woodland plants and wildflowers because a lot of the underbrush hasn't grown in to hide them yet.
I'm not sure why this is called the Seven Bridges Trail, since there are really ten bridges.
I included this picture to show Keeley's cute butt.
There is a lot more to Grant Park than just the trail. It's 374.6 acres in size which is pretty darn big. It has 3 playgrounds, a soccer field, a couple of softball diamonds, tennis courts, and more.
There are also picnic areas, pavilions (like this one), concession stands, clubhouses, and an 18 hole golf course. The Oak Leaf Recreational Trail also runs though Grant Park.
And there's even more still! There is also the Wil-O-Way Recreation Center, where persons with disabilities can participate in all sorts of activities and also the Wulff Lodge, where scout troops can camp overnight in the park.
We found some pine cones while we were walking around.
Keeley likes to stop and sniff everything.
This was a good walk!

If you want to see more about Grant Park, you can check out our previous posts:
July 13, 2008
June 1, 2008

Grant Park Walk

We went to Grant Park this morning for our morning walk. We were surprised by so much damage that had been caused by all the rain we've been getting. Several bridges on the 7 Bridges Trail were washed out or damaged and lots of trees were down too.


Keeley often likes to find the most ridiculous big stick that he could possibly carry. He wrestled with this one for a while but it proved to be too much for him. The main problem was that it was still attached to the tree!


Here's Keeley checking his pee-mail. He also did a lot of marking of his own.
Keeley is usually scared of the water but he must have been feeling brave this morning. He played tag with the waves for a while. He also retrieved a few sticks that his grandma threw into the water for him.
On our way back to the car, Keeley spotted a squirrel and went charging for it. He was on his extending leash and he chased it into some bushes. We called for Keeley to come back out to us but he didn't seem like he was able to. He got so tangled in the bushes and vines that he was stuck. I had to reach in there and rip the vines from his little Keeley boy body. He seemed thankful to me for saving him. After he was freed, he grabbed some of the vines in his mouth and gave them a good shake. I guess he had to teach them who was boss.

Morning Walk At Grant Park

"Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature"Keeley's grandma had to MAKE him look at me for this picture. He just wanted to GO! GO! GO!
We haven't been to Grant Park since last year so this was like a new adventure for Keeley. Since we decided that we're done with the local dog parks, we've been trying to take Keeley on different walks to exercise his brain at the same time as exercising his body.
They call this "The Seven Bridges Trail" but I don't know why because there are more than seven bridges.
Keeley had to do a few drops of marking every 20-30 feet or so. Maybe he was worried that we'd get lost so he was leaving like a trail of breadcrumbs for his nose. He's crazy like that.
There are a bunch of different paths to choose from. A few of them lead to Lake Michigan. Keeley is usually scared of waves but it was a pretty calm morning.
I'm not sure what Keeley was looking for but I usually like to look for a pretty rock or two to take with me. I didn't have enough pockets today though.
Keeley likes to be the leader. If I sneak ahead of him, he charges at me to get ahead again.
There were these little purple wildflowers growing everywhere.
This is my favorite part of spring/summer. I just love the way the trees all look right now. I love that light green color and I like how since the leaves are still small, a lot of sunlight filters through. Plus the mosquitoes aren't out yet!
I think Keeley enjoyed this walk. He looks happy to me!