Sunset Park

Sunset is a park in Kimberly with a boat dock and also a swimming beach. I used to do a lot of swimming there as a kid. The beach was closed and water drained when I was there this past weekend, so no pics of that. 

I walked with Baby Muddy and Grandpa Muddy. We ran into an old friend as well! 

Trails, very stroller friendly. It's a nice scenic area, maybe 2 or 3 miles of trail altogether, but not certain on that.  

There are a few smaller trails that go into the wooded area more that are not stroller friendly but still appear to be generally baby carrier friendly. There are a couple hills that can be a little hard to push a stroller up, but Grandpa gave a helping hand there. 

There are two play areas, the one in the photo is the smaller one. The other is at the top of the other hill and near a pavilion and bathrooms. This smaller one is a bit away from bathrooms, but near enough to see the pavilion from this spot. 

The day was a little hotter than anticipated but it was absolutely beautiful out. This is also a good park for professional family photos. Lots of bridges and a nice build up stone area. 

Overall, very stroller friendly for walking, also dog friendly on the pathways, and great for the bigger kids too so they can get a break to play as well. 

Thousand Islands in Kaukauna

This is a nice little environmental reserve with some paths to follow. I was with Grandpa Muddy so we did a short path. Next time I'll head into the "upper woods" path and see what the trails are like. However, starting at the nature reserve, the paths really are not good for strollers. Or really for baby carriers either. The wooden path (shown above) has lots of overgrowth and no railings. It's difficult to cross paths with another stroller going the opposite direction since the wooden paths are off the ground and are not very wide. 

I could have worn the carrier (and should have but my back hurt) but if you go off this path and onto the next path it is wood chips and very uneven. It does go along the water and is pretty, however strollers can't be rolled easily though the wood chips and tree roots that make this path difficult to traverse. Wearing baby in a carrier would definitely have increased the risk of me falling and hurting one or both of us since it would have limited the visibility of the path (I front wear still). Tripping over a root would not have been ideal. There are also some steps along the path (not marked on the map) along the water to the observation deck. These steps are not something I would have wanted to do with the carrier and were difficult with the stroller (but Grandpa helped carry the stroller up/down them :) ). 

The water level is low this year and looking through the nature is really beautiful. We saw a deer though I didn't get a picture. There were some deer tracks along and across the low water areas. 

I'll be heading back to the "upper woods" area in a couple weeks and we'll see if that area is better for strollers or carriers. The "upper outer" loop runs along the Valley Trail (trail that runs through multiple cities) so I'm sure the Valley Trail will be paved even if the upper outer loop is not. 

So, my recommendation if you start from the nature reserve itself is to take kids that can walk steadily on their own and are not so young that they will run off on the paths. 

Nature in the City

With my teen in drivers ed, it leaves me with a couple hours every morning to find something to do. I started walking near there and after a couple days found this trail through the busy city blocks. It's only about 1.2 miles long and about 2/3 of a mile away from my daughters class but long enough to go down and back a time or two during my daughters two hour class. It took nearly 40 min down and 40 back when I had my little guy in the carrier strapped to my chest, about 3.6 miles that day. I go much slower when he's strapped to me rather than on wheels :).

There are dandelions along the path as well as clover. Lil guy has torn apart multiple dandelions yellow and fluffy ones. Probably eaten a bit of them too. Right now absolutely everything seems to go into his mouth. After a bit of research, clovers are entirely edible too. Tomorrow, we're giving him tons of clovers to tear to shreds and I don't have to worry about him being poisoned since they are safe. Apparently only the flowers taste good and not the leaves.

Somehow though, I managed to sprain my instep. Tomorrow I'm going to try to jog again and hope it doesn't kill me. I had another great walk with a girl from my mom's group this past weekend but my foot hurt after pretty badly so I skipped the run the next day. To her if she see's this post, it was great meeting you! And I hope we get out there again soon once we're both healed :).

Running with the Dog, and The Stroller...

MudMom and MudPuppy (aka: The Terror)

My wonderful MudPuppy (aka Carter), was doing so well walking with the stroller on the trails. So today I decided to skip going to the trails and just leave from my driveway.

IT WAS HELL.

The whole run, Carter pulled and PULLED on his leash. I had to stop multiple times to attempt to calm him down. By the end of the run I was so angry and frustrated because he would just not stay at my side. I don't understand how he can do so well on the trails and be a complete terror when we just walk out the door.

I wanted to turn back at a quarter mile already (with a quarter mile walking warm up) but knew if I turned back I wouldn't actually go for my run. I want to enjoy my run and not have to trip over a stroller as I get bullied by my dog! I tie him around my waist so at least I have my hands free and that limits how much force he can get since it's only a 5 ft lead and my waist isn't tiny.

So, enough with the venting about MudPuppy. He's evil at times, but I love him. And hopefully, since all weekday runs will be out the door and not at trails, he will maybe learn to behave himself.