Denver Parks #36

Another quick storm moved in last night. Jake was ready to go outside for a walk and probably would’ve settled for the usual destination. But I thought the roads were decent enough to drive to a new park rather than the one a block away. Time to add another one to our Denver Parks series. (Plus, we were out of beer at the house! Jake’s no stranger to liquor stores.) This park is a half a mile from our new house and it was beautiful today. The snow was still coming down steadily and no one had been here yet so it felt like we were alone on a field someplace. Jake was exploring more than usual, walking far off in the distance to check out the smells, occasionally looking back to make sure I was following.

Sometimes in Winter

Finally a little snow in Denver! Jake and I went to Jefferson Park. He was fixated on all the kids sledding down the hill, laughing and screaming, so almost all of the photos today were profile shots. You can tell that he loves to eat snow because he’s wearing a frosty goatee in almost pic. Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Happy Birthday

Well, what do you know...Jake has now helped me celebrate two birthdays in a row. Last year was pretty special but today is even better. By the way, this one is #50 for me. Hard to believe that it’s possible Jake could turn 10 this year, if his health remains somewhat stable. Here’s a shot of him and my dad at our new favorite park.

Life of Surprises

Jake and I went out for an early morning walk over to Jefferson Park. It doesn’t seem like winter will ever come to Denver this year. The last couple months have been so mild, with barely any snow (not that we’re complaining or anything). My dad was flying out today to celebrate my 50th birthday tomorrow. Dan and I were standing on our deck when he pulled up in the rental car. The passenger doors opened and my siblings, Kelly and Rhett, got out of the car. Surprise! My family is full of trickers. Papa Bob may be the best but I am a close second. Here’s the group on the rooftop deck of the new place.

Denver Parks #35

After hundreds of visits to the place that started this all, Mayfair Park, Jake now has a new favorite park. This one is less than a block away from his new house. We’ll be here a lot, but there are so many parks nearby.

Denver Park #34

Southbound on Colorado Boulevard for a change of scenery.

Denver Parks #33

Jake and I thought we were done but on the drive home, we passed this off-leash dog park on 29th & Franklin.

Denver Parks #32

Second stop of the day, near 36th & Vine.

Denver Parks #31

Jake and I decided to visit a few more parks today. No particular agenda today. Just picked a direction and stopped here first. This one is on 37th & Clayton.

Denver Parks #30

This one is brand new and it just opened today. Downtown Denver now has its first off-leash dog park, thanks to a group called Railyard Dogs who raised funds to build it. About a month ago, we got an email from the organizers. They had seen Jake’s blog and wanted him to be the first dog to run in the park after the ribbon cutting. We love all of the Denver Parks and were honored to be included!

Walking Wounded

Dan drove us all down to Stapleton’s Central Park for the K-9’s for Cancer walk today…me, Jake, Mary Ann and Maggie. The weather was so much better than last year when the high was 17 degrees. This event, like Project Ruffway back in April, supports the CSU Animal Cancer Center. We love to attend these events, help raise money for a great cause and reconnect with the amazing staff from CSUACC. After the walk started, we went over to Jaime Rowe’s tent to do “paw-tographs” for people buying her new book, “Survivors – Your Best Friends’ Journey with Cancer”. Jake is one of the featured dogs in the book. He was very patient while we gently pressed his paw on a green ink pad, and then stamped each book.

Denver Parks #29

Next up: another great Denver park. Like so many of our posts over the last year or so, I’ve driven by this one hundreds of times but today was the first time we actually got out of the car and walked around.

Denver Parks #28

Dan and I took Jake on a big road trip around town today. First stop: the next in our Denver Park series. This is an incredible spot…don’t be fooled by the raggedy sign. Jake even met another “Jake” today…a 13-year-old black Lab.

Clear Skies

Nothing earthshaking today. Just a quick walk over to our favorite spot, Mayfair Park.

Everything Will Be Alright Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Jake’s cancer diagnosis. My dad just happened to be visiting from Florida that day and was one of the first to hear the sad news. Oddly enough, he’s back in Colorado this weekend. Much better situation today. We took a quick afternoon walk over to Mayfair Park for a few pics. I think Jake may be getting bored of these photo shoots now. Do you blame him? More dad-related stories here and here, if you’re interested.

Red Frame/White Light

Multiple photos and posts, all from one day. Broke my own rules but sometimes you gotta color outside the lines. And why not? I almost used a different photo of Jake here…one of him “smiling”. But then I saw this one. Eyes closed like a Robert Mapplethorpe portrait. Like he is taking in a deep breath or saying a prayer? Lord, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away?

The Red and the Black

In 1968, a group of contemporary artists named “Art for the Cities, Inc.” had a concept for 9 abstract sculptures in D.C. Burns Park. These were meant to be temporary but four sculptures still remain today. So, why some and not others? Here’s Jake in front of two of them. They’re both called “Untitled”. The closest one is by Wilbert Verhelst made of plywood. The furthest one is by Roger Kotoske, made of plywood and fiberglass.

Denver Parks #27

Jake travels by car along Colorado Boulevard frequently. Here’s another park that we’ve driven by thousands of times. It’s a triangle between Colorado, Alameda and Leetsdale. It’s almost halfway between his two houses. Today was the first time we’ve ever stopped here.

An Ordinary Day

Nothing earth-shaking happened today. Just a leisurely afternoon walk at our favorite park (which was the first photo in our series of Denver Parks, btw). And sometimes that’s all you need, huh? I like this simple photo. Warm afternoon light. Sleepy eyes. Horizontal pose. Grass like hay. His brace and boots look so athletic. Like he finished a marathon or a couple rounds in the ring.

Denver Parks #26

When we came out of REI, we spotted another park sign right across the Platte River. Jake might as well start off the new year right with another one to add to the series. We visited 25 (which is about 10% of the Denver Parks system) in 2009. I think we may actually be able to do at least another 25 in 2010. For some reason, Jake eats snow all the time now.