Morning Walk

What now?

We've missed our morning adventure the past two days, so today Argus & I went off to Hidden Falls Park on the Mississippi.  It's only a couple of miles away, and really a very nice, under-used park.  We saw a few fishermen, some walkers, one guy sitting in a lawn chair drinking coffee and watching the river, and a group of people having a Breakfast Picnic - what a great idea!  Argus had fun splashing in the river off the boat launch, but the river is still very high and most of the beach areas are still under water.  Because the park is so large and there were so few people, Argus got to run off leash for part of the time.  His recalls are getting much better, but if he saw small furry dog he'd probably blow me off and go say Hi to the dog before coming when I called him.  We practiced some long Recalls too, with very good results.  I do plan to show him in either Rally or Novice this fall.

Watching a coal barge

It was interesting to watch a series of coal barges being pushed up river by the tugboat Becky Sue.  I suppose the coal was to feed one of the power plants up river, to generate all the electricity we're using for our air conditioners this summer! The Becky Sue kicked up a nice wake, causing waves at the shoreline, something Argus had never experienced before.  He had a great time chasing up and down the shore chasing the waves, just like Murphy did so many years ago.

We watched and heard a storm roll in and got back to the car before the first raindrops hit, but the people having the Breakfast Picnic along the shore probably got wet and windblown.  Then off to White Castle for a breakfast sandwich to share.

The tug Becky Sue

Lots of projects on my To Do List, including taking my mother to church.  So where will we walk tomorrow?  If it really does cool off, I've been wanting to try the Rice Creek Trail.  The mornings got too hot for asphalt paths during my "vacation" but we might get a chance to try that tomorrow.  So many adventures just waiting for us!

One of the nice things about having a medium or large sized dog is the increased comfort level when walking in new areas.  I admit to being a little nervy when walking alone, but with Argus I feel safe in most places.  There's one particular park I don't go to anymore though, even with a dog.  Too many car break ins, groups of obnoxious teens, militant bicyclists, and uncontrolled dogs.  A shame, because it's a lovely river park with good trails.   Good thing there are so many other areas just waiting to be explored!