Thursday, November 12, 2009

parks! very serious business indeed

I've caught up on my NaNoWriMo writing so guess what that means?

I GET TO BLOG!!! yeah! woo hooo!!!!

I'm doing a little bloggie dance.

I thought I'd show you some pics of where Ace and I have been walking in the mornings.


this is one of the park districts in my area.


as I've said before, Chicago takes it's park seriously.....very seriously.


they have these mowed trails to walk. During the summer there are wild flowers everywhere.

I have no idea how many miles these paths cover but I've been walking them for a week and haven't made a dent in them.


This is one of the lakes the paths go around.




Ace likes to go out on the dock and look at the geese.



An old silo that has been converted into a lookout tower. The first time I went in here I was amazed.

A spiral staircase with three levels and a mural painted over the whole thing.




Area around silo. Fire pit and seating. Picnic tables.


an old barn made in to a picnic area.

I was most impressed by this building....

I thought it just had some bathrooms in it.



this is what I found inside the old barn. It's finished off like a little conference room.

there is Plexiglas on the ceiling so you can see way up into the old rafters of the barn.



this is the view out the front window.
I turned around to leave and saw this....


I felt like Alice In Wonderland with the bottle that says "drink me".

so I pressed the button....

and then this happened. And I said "oh my!"

And THIS came down out of the ceiling....

so Ace and I took a seat.

We watched a movie about the park and what it was in the past (I'll give you a hint...It was a farm!)

Ace thought the movie was very interesting.
He gave it 2 paws up!




on the way back to the car we past a butterfly house.

and some formal "English looking" gardens....


we didn't have time to check out one other building (I'm not sure they allow dogs in there)






I spotted this right before we left. Oh No! Puppy isn't supposed to be walking out on the trails!



That's ok! I didn't mention that there are miles and miles and miles of paved trails all around here too.



this was how Ace spent the next 2 hours after we got home.

17 comments:

Liz Mays said...

When I lived in the burbs a long time ago, I remember walking a path through the park district with the kids. I so loved it. I was in Schaumburg. I miss it out there so much!

Mrs Montoya said...

I'm not a big fan of cold weather so Illinois generally doesn't excite me. But I WILL say that those paths look AMAZING and I am blown away by the parks. Thank you for sharing something that I wouldn't have otherwise seen. And BTW, I.love.that.dog!

Cluttered Brain said...

YEAh! So glad you caught up on your writing. I'm at over 20,000 words now! 30,000 words left...YEAH!!!What genre are you writing in?

Ducky said...

For sure I would have to pick me a nice little spot on the green path, preferrably at the top of a hill, to become my writing spot. How very inspiring! Thanks for sharing the photos and KUDOS to the nano writing!

Barb said...

What a beautiful place to walk with the dog! And I love the plexiglass in the old barn. That was a great idea.

Tea said...

Those trails look nice! I'm glad you're caught up on your writing! It's exciting that we're getting to the half way point! :)

shortmama said...

Gorgeous pics!!

Tracie Nall said...

I am so impressed by that park that it makes me want to take a trip up there....and push the button!

Congrats on your NaNo writing!

Deborah said...

Hi, I was going to send you and an email to say hi, but I thought I would check your blog first..hehe
How's the book coming along! Is it hard to do? I've been thinking of all you writers out there! That is great!
Your walk looks nice. Try not to get lost! Your puppy is getting big!
Have a good weekend!
Deborah

Mike said...

Very nice! I can't wait until all of you people are done with this nano nano stuff!! LOL

mommyto3kiddos said...

Oh my goodness...that is so nice! Chicago should give Kalamazoo some tips. :)

nope said...

Welcome back - I've missed you! Hope the writing is coming along smoothly.

What an amazing park - looks like a lot of fun to explore. And Ace is getting so big so fast!

Pam said...

I've been to Chicago once and fell in love with it. I had no idea Chicago was so serious about its parks. Now I love it even more. The last picture of Ace is adorable. I just want to tickle his puppy tummy.

Pam said...

I've been to Chicago once and fell in love with it. I had no idea Chicago was so serious about its parks. Now I love it even more. The last picture of Ace is adorable. I just want to tickle his puppy tummy.

Mrs Montoya said...

I have an award for you! Please stop by next time you get a break from NaNoWriMo!

Brian Miller said...

lol. the lasst pic. what a cool adventure...thanks for taking us along...really beautiful...yeah, i have a hard time resisting the push me buttons...good thing i never fell down a rabbit hole...

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