Michigan Adventure

Hello Furiends,

Over the Labor Day Holiday we went hiking in Michigan.  We discovered that Motel 6 is not the only pet friendly chain.  Red Roof Inn allows dogs to spend the night too.  We tried out the one in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  It was very nice and clean.  We would definitely stay with them again. 

We were going to go to the beach, but quickly learned the beach is not the place to go on the "last" summer holiday.  We gladly found much less crowded pet friendly options.  Which were places we had on our to do list anyway.  We are so very happy with the parks we explored and did not miss going to the beach.

First stop was the Park County Dog Park.  It was fun and we had the whole place to ourselves.  Really, who wouldn't love to go enjoy a local dog park on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon?  We enjoyed it and had an off leash opportunity to take care of business after our car ride.

Next stop Stu Visser Trails.  There was really green thick water here, but the trails were really nice and covered so we didn't get any bugs which makes Mom and Dad happy.

 

Time to head toward our hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  On the way we found a Big Boy restaurant where Mom and Dad pigged out on burgers and milkshakes.  Of course, we got burgers too.

Time to get a good nights sleep so we can hike, sniff, pee, sniff, pee and pee all day tomorrow.

 Our walkies were delayed while Mom and Dad piged out again, but this time it was breakfast at Denny's.  We got eggs and bacon, yumm!

Today promises lots of new explorations like Millennium Park in Grand Rapids.  It even has a beach area for humans.  I'm still unsure why anyone would get enjoyment out of willingly jumping into water, but then again humans do some silly things.  This park has paved trails around pounds and the lake.  

 It has a bridge that goes over a road and you can watch the cars drive by underneath your feet.  On that bridge is where I met a new little teeny tiny furiend.

 He was very friendly and allowed me to gently say hello to him.  I call him Wooly Worm.  Mom says as a child she was told by her parents and grandparents you can tell what the winter is going to be like by the color of the wooly worm.  She thinks this color means a mild winter. 

Next park is Hemlock Crossing.  This park has natural trails and was very peaceful and has a lot of trails to choose from.  We really liked this park.  Dirt and leaves beneath your toes is much more comfortable than cement or gravel.

 Lets go this way

 Time for a little rest to take in the beautiful scenery and quiet peacefulness of the woods.

 After all the hype we had heard about Holland, Michigan's Dutch Village we had to stop and sniff around.

 No worries we did NOT go sniff around the chocolate shop.  All kinds and any kinds of chocolate is a NO, NO for all doggies.

There were some really pretty flowers that offered a great photo shoot opportunity.

Who's the most beautiful Queen in the land?...........................ME! Who else?  :)

The Dutch Village wasn't very appealing to us so we decided to wonder on before we lost too much more day light and take in another park.

Our feetsies loved this park too.  Riley Trails is another park with natural wooded dirt path trails.

And lots of peemail.

 That must have been a very tall doggie.  They left an interesting message.  Mom made me leave before I got to the end of the story.  That was just rude.  I would never interrupt her ;)  OK so maybe I do, but only when I want to eat, go potty, play, cuddle. You know all the important things.

Whenever there is a surface of just about any kind I can do my "table" command I show Mom I still know what it means.  I learned "table" during our agility classes.  Mom thinks it's fun to get pictures of me atop different objects.

After an exhausting day of hiking and posing for photos we stopped at this cute little apple orchard and restaurant, Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant and Bakery.  We did not have a meal there, but Mom and Dad tried a slice of pie, a sundae, apple butter gelato, and apple cider donuts.  Here's a link to their menu if anyone would like to view it.





We got to try something very special that we had never ever tasted before.....Gelato.  It's amazing and so very yummy.  It got all paws up from both of us.

I think this was a pawsome adventure and would gladly go again if Mom and Dad ever wants to take us back there. 

Licks & Wags,
Bella