After two three-day work weeks, I was back at work for the full week last week. Working an 8-5 job this time of year really makes it hard to get out for much fun with the dogs during the week, and to top it off we had cold and really windy weather for a couple of days. Luckily, Monday's weather was decent so we were able to get out for a walk over my lunch.
I decided to make the most of our mid-day walk by heading out to Scotts Woods versus just taking a walk around the neighborhood, and I was glad we did. It's always better to take a walk through the woods.
At the end of the work day we took another walk around the neighborhood and then the girls enjoyed a special treat to celebrate this little stinker turning 7 months old. She now weighs over 45 pounds and is as sassy and stubborn as she should be for her age and breed. There are some days that she drives me bonkers, but I can't imagine life without her.
Tuesday was cold and work was busy, so our walks were all close to home. Wednesday we had a wind advisory which made the wind chill bad enough that I didn't want the girls to spend too much time outside so I kept them busy with brain games inside until we could take a trip to walk around Soldan's on my lunch. Thankfully the winds calmed down in the early evening, so I was able to get them out for a walk around the neighborhood after I got home from my Wednesday night shelter dog walk. I know that they were both happy to get out of the house.
Thursday was sunny, and while it wasn't warm, it was warmer than it had been, and the girls spent lots of time out in the yard. My work day was packed full so we didn't have time for much of a mid-day walk, but I decided to take a ride and of course the girls joined me. Mina has decided that her favorite place to sit is right beside me and leaning against me while I drive...so she doesn't miss a thing.
It was a long stressful day of work and these two definitely know when I'm stressed. I think it actually causes them both to be more anxious and leads to Mina causing trouble...which only makes my stress level worse. But after a car ride and a couple of walks followed by dinner and some snuggles, I think we were all feeling better
Friday was another long and busy day of work, but I didn't mind because I was also preparing to have the next week off from work. The day was decent and once again the girls spent a lot of time outside playing. At the end of the day, we headed out for a quick geocaching meet up before heading to the Frandor Shopping Mall. The girls got to go into Petco and walk up and down every aisle, sniffing away. I then took them for a walk around the shopping center where they got to smell all kinds of new smells. After our walk, I did a little shopping and then we headed home for a quiet evening.
Saturday morning we slept in a bit before heading out to the shelter to volunteer. They had had a great week of adoptions and there were only three dogs available to adopt and I decided to get them all out for a walk. Old Timer was first. He's 13 years old and can't go far so he just sniffed around the grassy areas near the parking lot, but he was happy to be outside. He wasn't out for long when someone showed up to meet him, so he went back inside for the meeting while I walked Coquito, pictured above, and Kuumba, who is a 1 year old Mastiff who is clearly still all puppy and wouldn't hold still for me to get her picture. By the time I was done, I had walked over three miles, and I hadn't even gotten my girls out for an adventure yet, but don't worry, I had big plans for them.
They had patiently waited in the car while I volunteered, but they thought it was totally worth it when they got to see Vanessa and Lauren and take a visit in the shelter. They were both pretty excited about that. We then headed to downtown Mason to do a little geocaching and to take a walk around the town square. Of course I had to get their picture with the giant Santa.
It was windy and cold again, so I had decided we were going to take several short walks for the day, so after our time in Mason, we were back in car with Mina ready to be my co-pilot again. Our next stop was Old Town for a Holiday shopping event they were holding around town. We walked on the River trail and around the shops, stopped at a few stores, and I never got a picture, but I know that they loved it.
Our next stop was REO Town for the Holly Jolly Market. The REO Town Marketplace is dog friendly, so the girls got to join me as I looked around and did a little shopping. They got treats and made plenty of friends and had the absolute best time there. We took a short walk around town before getting in the car to make a quick stop at home.
We had been out and about all day and none of us had eaten anything so we headed home so I could feed the girls before our next fun stop for the day. After a quick meal, drink of water, and potty break we were back in the car to head downtown to Reutter Park. This year the city ice rink has been set up in the park and they have several little cabins set up for vendors to sell their wares on the weekend.
This weekend Santa and Mrs. Claus were there for pictures and while I had no intention of getting this picture taken, there was no line when we arrived and the photographer nearly begged us to get our picture taken. Since it was free, I decided we'd humor them. As soon as we got in front of Santa, Peaches decided she needed to poop, but they all patiently waited for her to finish and for me to clean up. The girls were too excited about meeting Santa and the Mrs. that they wouldn't sit still, so I decided to sit down and join them to see if that would help. As you can tell from the picture, Peaches just wanted to be friends with Mrs. Claus, but overall, I'm happy with my free picture of the three of us together...it certainly shows the reality of my life! I grabbed a free hot chocolate in the next booth and then we took a short stroll around the park before heading back to the car.
Next we were off to Potter Park Zoo for the Wonderland of Lights. It was the annual Toys for Tots night where you get into the Zoo for the evening with a Toy donation. I love dropping off a toy and thanking the Marines for their service. Getting into the zoo is just a bonus.
Vanessa met us at our house and then we headed to Lowell to complete a road walk that would connect a couple of sections we had done previously. The first half mile or so was a lovely wooded trail along the river. The sun was shining and there were geocaches to find here, and it was the perfect start to our walk. We did have a small water crossing and Peaches ended up in the stinky mucky water briefly, but thankfully by the end of our hike the smell had worn off. Mina spent her day walking Vanessa and was not happy when Vanessa let them get behind us. She prefers to be in the front!
We reached the road walk section and there were a combination of dirt, paved, and gravel roads. While I don't mind the road walk portions of the trail when the roads are unpaved and scenic, those tend to be the locations we are also most likely to run into homes with free roaming dogs, which can be a challenge. While we did encounter a few dogs along the way, we have a pretty good routine now as we send Vanessa ahead to keep the dogs in their yards so we can walk safely by. We've been lucky that all of our dog encounters have ended well. The two labs who nearly charged into traffic on a busy road to get to us definitely scared me, but thankfully they stopped and I didn't have to witness a tragic accident.
McPherson Rd, pictured above, was a straight three mile stretch and as we neared the last 1/2 mile, we were all pretty happy to see Tom's truck waiting for us to take us back to my car. His help shuttling us around in the Lowell area this year has been invaluable.
We drove back to our stating point to pick up my car and then drove to Seidman Park, where I parked my car on the South side of the park and then Tom dropped us off on the North side of the park so we could finish this one small section that we needed so that we no longer have any unhiked sections between Ada and the Barry County line. When we return to continue our hiking in Kent county next year, we will start 5 miles North of Seidman Park in the Cannonsburg area and complete the county.
Just a little over half-way through our hike in Seidman Park, Peaches and I completed our 100 miles on the trail for 2022. We finished the day with 9.4 miles hiked. That is a good distance.
During our hiking this year, we have completed all but 10 miles of the trail in Hillsdale county, and we've hiked 39 of the nearly 74 miles in Kent County. Vanessa isn't quite done with her 100 miles, so we'll be out again later this month helping her finish and hopefully completing another 5 miles of road walk in Hillsdale County. I can't tell you just how much I want to get that road walk done!
We're so close to connecting our hikes all the way from the Lowell area to the Ohio border. It's pretty exciting. It will definitely happen next year. Then we can continue our trek North, with the ultimate goal of hiking all of the miles from the Ohio border to the Mackinaw Bridge.
After finishing our hike, we stopped in Lowell for some tasty BBQ, and then got in the car to head toward Dearborn to enjoy Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village. We had time to kill so we stopped for a little geocaching along the way. We arrived at Greenfield Village, got the girls out for a potty break, dinner, and a drink in the parking lot, and then tucked them in for a nap while we headed in for the event. I didn't get many pictures, but I thoroughly enjoyed our time there and I definitely need to go back another time to explore more. What a cool place.
We made a stop for our traditional holiday hot chocolate on the way home, and of course the girls got pup cups. It had been a great day of adventure.
I'm on vacation this week and I have plans to work on some projects around the house and to get out for some fun too. I think the girls are going to love this week; I know I'm looking forward to it.
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