MKE CO PARKS: Lake Park

Since we take our morning walk at Lake Park several times a week, we decided that it would be the first park that we wrote about.Lake Park is 137.76 acres. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted & Co.
This, the Lake Park Pavillion was built in 1903. It is currently the home of Bartolotta's Lake Park Bistro, which is an expensive french restaurant. But when I was a kid, there was just a little snack bar inside. After our walks we would beg my mom (Keeley's grandma) to let us stop and get something sweet like a popsicle, a soda, or a licorice rope.
Keeley and I ran into George and Gracie in front of the Pavilion this morning. I'm not sure whether this dog here is George or if it's Gracie, but I sorta think it must be George. They look just alike so it's hard to tell. We know the names of almost all the dogs that have their morning walks at Lake Park. Sadly, we only know the names of a couple of their owners though.
Right across from the Pavilion are 2 lawn bowling rinks and a clubhouse. Keeley's grandma always says that when she gets old, she's going to take up lawn bowling. You can find out more about this sport by going to the Milwaukee Lake Park Lawn Bowls Club website.
This bridge was built in 1905. It goes over Ravine Drive which is my favorite road.
The road exits onto Lincoln Memorial Drive (my second favorite road) which runs along the lakefront. That's Lake Michigan in the distance there.
There are several ravine trails throughout Lake Park.
These trails were Keeley's Unkie Rob's most favorite thing to do at the park when he was a little kid. But we're not going to take the trail today because it's probably a little muddy since it's been raining for the past 2 or 3 days here. By the way, that's the bridge that we just came across in the background there.
Here's Keeley going across another bridge. I think this one was built in 1892, but I could be mistaken.
And another bridge. Both of these bridges go over the Locust Street Ravine Trail. After we get across this one, then I let Keeley off leash for a little while.
He takes off running because there are almost always dogs to play with up ahead. I think it's supposed to be a soccer field but the dogs have taken it over as theirs.
Keeley sometimes goes onto the tennis courts to play too. That is, if there aren't any tennis players there, of course. There are also 2 kid playgrounds and a park building with restrooms nearby.
After a quick romp with the dogs, we continue on with our walk. Here Keeley is checking out what remains of an exercise station. See when I was a kid, there was a fitness trail. Every so many feet there was an exercise station and instructions on how to do a specific exercise and how many reps to do and whatnot. Not much remains of this fitness trail today though.
The Oak Leaf Trail is a 108 mile long multi-use paved recreation trail that goes through all the major parks and parkways in the Milwaukee County Park System. It makes a loop around Lake Park.
In the distance here you can see what some of the huge houses that border the park look like. We often wonder if anyone lives in these houses because we almost never ever see anyone outside them other than a random gardener or landscape worker.
Lake Park also has a nice little golf course.
Keeley likes to lead the way. He says "Hurry up, Erin! I know where to go!"
Continuing on this way, we past the North Point Lighthouse. You can go inside, but they charge admission.
Keeley convinced me to go on one of the ravine trails even though it is a bit muddy today. This trail goes under a bridge which is one of 2 that were built in 1897. The trail exits at Bradford Beach.
These bridges are framed by 8 stone lions. Sometimes in the winter, the lions wear red ribbons around their necks.
The other bridge is currently under construction. It's not expected to be completed until September. I hope it ends up looking pretty like the old one did.
All along the side of the hill there are daffodils beginning to bloom at this time of year. It's really pretty.
This is called the "Grand Stair". Keeley's cousin dog Tully's parents were married here at the middle landing. A pretty setting for a wedding, don't you think?
Keeley and I often end our walks at Lake Park by going up this staircase. It makes us both a little tired. That's the Pavilion at the top so we're back to where we started once we get up there.

There is also a softball diamond, picnic areas, birdwatching, and a statue of Dr. Erastus B. Wolcott that we didn't get around to on this walk. If you want to find out more about this park, you can go to the Lake Park Friends website.

Or check out our previous posts about Lake Park:
February 14, 2009
August 30, 2008
April 6, 2008
January 26, 2008
December 29, 2007

Keeley loves to visit our parks!

Keeley and I decided that we'd start exploring our Milwaukee County Parks since we haven't had much to blog about lately and I'm still unemployed. It's finally starting to feel like spring around here and it would give us something good to do everyday.

First we'll start off by telling you a little about our park system and then in later posts we'll talk about specific parks.



The Milwaukee County Park System was founded over 100 years ago. It is an interconnected system made up of over 15,000 acres of parks, trails, and beaches. The parks are sometimes referred to as "Milwaukee's Emerald Necklace" and they have a rich history.

Many of the parks started out as neighborhood squares and private gardens. Some were purchased, donated, and expanded over the years. Frederick Law Olmsted & Co. designed some of the city's best parks including Lake, Riverside, and Washington Parks. You might recognize the name because he's most famous for designing Central Park in New York City.


At one point the the city parks and county parks were governed by separate commissions but economic problems during the Great Depression caused them to be combined. The Depression also brought about the largest period of growth and development for the park system. Roosevelt's New Deal provided huge amounts of relief labor.

First there was the CWA (Civil Works Administration) in the early 1930's. There weren't much funds available for materials so much of the labor done at this time focused on things that didn't require many materials and most of the work was all done by hand. Miles of trails and walks were created. Sprinkler systems were installed. Phone wires were taken off of poles and put into the ground to improve asthetics. Electric systems were installed. Lagoons were created. Lots of grading was done. Underbrush was cleared and trees trimmed. Thousands of feet of sewers were installed. Trees were moved and more were planted. Benches, picnic tables, row boats, and signs were built.

Next came the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1935-1941. Labor completed during this period included the construction of 6 concrete pools, filtration plants, and bathhouses. At Brown Deer Park, the lagoon was enlarged and a pavilion and arch bridge were constructed. An administration building, service building, and new golf club house were built at Whitnall Park. Service buildings were also constructed in Jacobus and Jackson Parks.


Also operating around this time was the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in 1933-1938. The CCC was created "to battle erosion and the destruction of natural resources". They constructed the Honey Creek Parkway and straightened a portion of the Milwaukee River. They also built piers, jetties, beaches, lagoons, roads, bridges, walls, park shelters, dams, and more at many of the county parks.

Much of the work done during this 11 year period is still around and still being used and appreciated by park patrons today.


Over the next 70 years work continued on the Milwaukee County Parks, although at a much slower pace. Significant postwar developments include the relocation of the zoo to it's present spot, the construction of the old County Stadium, the replacement of the conservatory at Mitchell Park with The Domes, the expansion of the bike trail system, and the continued development of the lakefront including the art museum and the marina.

Photos from top to bottom are: 1 & 2 Menomonee River Parkway, 3 Jacobus Park, 4 Grant Park, 5 Runway Dog Park.

Party Time!

Keeley's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day but since that is a Tuesday this year, we had his birthday party today. Here's Keeley waiting patiently for his guests to arrive.Keeley's best bud, Romare, came down from Madison to be here for the party.
He brought his pal, Arnie, too.
Keeley was so thrilled to have his neighbor dogs over in his yard. This is River.
And this is Abby. Keeley loves them! We've got really great neighbors.
Keeley's pal, Oliver, was here too.
And Keeley finally got to meet his first DWB live in the fur! Kirby came up from Chicago just for the party. They got along great together!
The one and only, Tara Tru, was in attendance also.
Here's a photo of some of our decorations. Notice the Irish Terriers on the plates and napkins.
When the humans had cake, the dogs each got a doggie cookie. And each doggie guest also got a couple of cookies to take home for later. One cookie was a cheesy bone and the other was a slice of doggie pizza.
There were also human guests at the party, though less than in years past. This year the human party goers were: Christopher, Mark, Bao, Chou, Susan, Kristin, Rebecca, Kara, Rob, Keeley's grandma, and myself.
Here's Keeley and Romare getting into some bitey-face action.
Keeley usually sleeps all day long. Here he's looking like he's about to fall asleep right in the middle of his party! What a goof!
Kirby and Arnie played a little bitey-face too.
Bitey-face was the name of the game. Here's Kirby and Oliver getting into it. Oliver usually doesn't like this game but he was really lively today.
Including Keeley, there were 8 dogs total. That's the most dogs that Keeley's ever had over all at one time!
After all the guest left, here's Keeley posing with all his loot.
He got a cute elephant stuffie and green tennis ball from Romare. Tara gave Keeley a Hol-ee Roller, and some liver treats. (She also gave me an Irish Terrier decal for the car, and an Irish Terrier purse... and it wasn't even my birthday!) And from Kirby, Keeley got this really cool weird purple puppet thingy, a bag of Grandma Lucy honey treats, and a bunch of delicious looking irish themed doggie cookies. Keeley's grandma also got him some shamrock doggie cookies and a cool "Bark Knight" card.
Keeley is such a lucky birthday boy. He had a great party. As soon as the last guest left, Keeley went right to sleep. He's still sleeping it off now as I blog.

Keeley's box from sitstay.com

What does $100 worth of dog chews look like?I told Keeley that he should consider this his birthday present from me. He'd better make it last because until I find a new job, he won't be seeing another box like it for some time.

cute pup!

Got any liver?

Just a few random things about Keeley

I always kiss Keeley on the top of his head. He's got a really sweet smelling noggin. It smells like artificial strawberries, you know like how strawberry flavored candy smells. I couldn't figure out why his head always smells like this, but his grandma figured it out. It really made me laugh. It's because Keeley likes to ride in the front seat of the car while standing up and his head bumps into the strawberry air freshener every time we make a turn. Mystery solved!
On Tuesday, Keeley managed to break a nail. We were playing chase inside the house and I started noticing little bloody paw prints on the floor. I freaked out and rushed him to the vet. It was the first time this had happened and since Keeley is my first dog ever, I sort of overreacted. It was no big deal though. They cut off the rest of the broken nail and stopped the bleeding and Keeley was fine after that.
Today was our second day in a row of temperatures in the 50's. All the critters that were hibernating are awake again. Keeley has been feasting on rabbit droppings every morning. It's so gross, but I can't get him to stop it. And the squirrels are also out in force too. They like to taunt Keeley. He chases them out of his yard but then they sit up in a tree where he can see them. They shake their tales at him and make their little squirrel noises. Keeley gets so worked up and frustrated because he can't get to them. Squirrels sure are jerk-wads!
I sure hope that winter is finally over! Keeley is getting awfully used to having me home with him everyday. I wonder how he's going to cope when I finally find a new job.

Fun With Honorifics

If I watch too many Japanese movies in a row, I start referring to Keeley as "Keeley-san" and myself as "Erin-chan".
Keeley does not like foreign films especially Japanese and French. I think it's because in American movies there is like a constant level of noise, just about every moment is filled with sound. But in foreign films there are a lot more moments of silence and then when there is a loud noise, it startles Keeley because it stands out more. That's my theory anyway. Keeley is okay with some foreign movies though. For example, he seems to be okay with Bollywood movies.