A Morning at Thousand Acre Park on the Sandy River Delta

Well, I finally gave in - no, I believe it was the rain!

This week has been wonderful!  The weather has been graciously nice and gently warm.

I decided last night to take the pups to Thousand Acre Park, where the Columbia Meets the Sandy (although you actually see a great deal more of the Mighty Columbia than the Sandy River).

We arose this morning at 630, took care of our chores, and ate breakfast.  Then I showered, and dressed, and out the door we went!  It's good to get there earlier in the day to ensure you find parking!

As we drove, we found ourselves behind a car with some very frolicky pups in the back.  We had to pass them.  What if they got the only spot left in the lot?!

We arrived and there were a few open spaces for cars, and we gave the car we had passed the better of the two - they did have to be passed by us.

And then we went!

As we headed on to the path, we were greeted by no fewer than 15 dogs, rushing about.  Sammy, Simon, Rusty and Skally all rushed in and watched.  Luckily they did their do's early, so I had a trashcan nearby to huck it in.

We walked briskly.  Rusty was in heaven, running all about.  Simon was in awe.  We found a stick and he went running to play fetch for a bit - but we were also continuing our walk.

Skally was quite curious about all the smells, and what was hiding in all the bushes!

We met many other dogs - all friendly, and most off lead.

We made our way to the river where we found  a fisherman in the one spot most dogs like to drink from.  He wasn't happy about all the dogs finding him throughout the day, but he chose that one spot!

After playing in the water, we made our way past the blind, and headed east over the winding paths.  Eventually we found the "pond".  This is filled with rainwater and grows during the winter months, and slowly shrinks in the warmer weather.  Today it was full.

I was quite surprised to find Simon walking into the water of the pond, as well as the river.  He seems so uninterested in the pool and pond at home  Hmmmm.  Rusty even got his feet wet!

Skally, of course, had a marvelous time soaking her luscious gams in the cool  drink.  She was so content!

After walking about 4.5 miles, I realized Skally was wearing out, as were the others.  So, we headed back to the car, where they all jumped in and grabbed a good spot for resting (except Skally, who stood on her haunches and kept her head out the window all the way home!).

They are now sleeping contentedly.

A good day!