Minnesota Valley Recreation Area: June 14th, 2015

Hi, Everybody!

This is Thunderdog, writing a Guest Post for my humans Michele and Joe.  I've been wanting to write a blog post for years and they are finally letting me do it.  We went on a big walk to Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area.

That's my human Michele!

It was a hot day out but I didn't mind.  Anything for a big walk.  Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area isn't technically a State Park, but they do have a 4 mile long Hiking Club Trail.  It started at the trail center, where I saw this sign:

Did you know that I can read?  I am a very smart dog.

That is fine with me, I'd rather be on a leash than risk the chance of my human running off.  What if she got lost, or got hit by a car or something?  I would never forgive myself.  Plus, she has the bottle of water in her backpack.  Better keep her attached to the leash.

Off we go

The path was wide and grassy through the beautiful June forest.  There were lots of interesting sounds and smells.  The ground was a little bit wet but I don't mind mud.  I just let it cake on my paws and then I wipe it all off on the carpeting in the house.  So nice of my humans to put the carpet there for my muddy paws.

These flowers smelled nice but did not taste very good.

At one point, my humans stopped and looked out at the prairie for a while.  They were talking about how pretty it was, but I can't say that I agree.  All I could see was grass.

Dogs-eye view of the pretty prairie

It was getting kind of hot out so I was glad when Michele brought out the Sigg full of water.  As usual I tried to drink it as she was pouring it, but I was thirsty!  I waited until it was in the bowl and then drank it all.

Once I'd had a drink we kept going.   At one point I saw a really exciting patch of mud but Michele and Joe very meanly kept me from rolling in it.  Can you believe that??

Mud bath denied

And then I wanted some more water, so they poured the rest in my bowl for me.  I drank it all up.  It was so good on a hot day.  I grow a thick undercoat of fur in the winter and shed it all spring and summer long.  You wouldn't believe how hot a thick undercoat of fur gets.

We walked along and again I could hear Joe and Michele talking about how pretty it was, and how nice it was to have this park so close to the Twin Cities.  I still could not see what the big deal was.  The ground was grassy and the walls of the path were grassy and sometimes there were flowers, but there wasn't anything too spec - - is that a SQUIRREL???

I must see if there is a squirrel up there

I tried my best to get the squirrel but it went up a tree.  My human Joe was holding me back: he doesn't understand how important it was for me to get the squirrel.  Humans!  They just don't understand.

I'll get you next time, squirrel.  Next time.

The hike was 4 miles long and I had a great time.  Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area is divided up into a whole bunch of sections, so it's important to know that the Hiking Club trail starts at the Lawrence Area trailhead.  Go to the left of the Trail Center and you'll find the sign.  It was the only one we saw, other than the password sign.  After we were done we got back into the magic moving shiny red box and zoomed away!   It was so awesome.  Thanks for reading, fans of the blog!

Bye guys!

Total miles hiked today: 4
Total miles hiked in 2015: 13.3
Total ticks today: Joe - 0; Elly - 0; Thunderdog - 0
Total ticks in 2015: 8

Countdown to All Miles: 30.4 to go