#maggievacation - East Rock Park

Hi! My name is Maggie.  I'm Katie's puppy and I live in New Haven.  My Mom is attending a conference this week, so Grandma and Grandpa are staying with me in my apartment.

I miss Mommy a lot yesterday, and moped around the house a bit, but by today I was ready for a big adventure.  I have lots of responsibilities this week.  I have to keep and eye on my grandparents and make sure they learn their way around the neighborhood.  I also need to take them on adventures so they don't get bored waiting for Mommy to come home.

Here is my street.  This is a cute little pocket park, just my size, at the end of my block:

I have lots of puppy friends and they all know my name.  So do their parents.  The first walks we took were confusing to the neighbors because they would start saying, "Hi, Maggie!" and then ask, "Where's your Mommy?"  I tell each of them the whole story and make sure they give me all the pets I deserve.  Here I am playing with my friend Zula:

Every walk involves lots of discoveries.  Here I found a stick prize to take home with me:

After breakfast today, I took Grandma and Grandpa to one of my favorite places:  East Rock Park!  Grandpa took my photo with Grandma at the park sign as we began our park hike.

...and here's where we're going - East Rock!

The hill itself and College Woods form the heart of East Rock Park, a landscaped city park including basketball courts and a playground.  It was designated as public parkland by the city of New Haven, and contains many hiking trails, woodlands, and a notable "Giant Steps" edifice which has been built to facilitate climbing the hill's steep cliffside.

Here, Grandma and I are starting the trail.  Look at how we're wagging and prancing!

Of course, no hike is complete without some side trips.  Here we are visiting Whitney Lake and thinking about diving in.  I would have, if Grandma hadn't kept a tight leash:

After walking a ways, we started uphill.  Here, Grandpa is taking over as my leash buddy at the trail sign:

After herding Grandma and Grandpa up a long climb, we finally made the summit!  Here, Grandpa and I are posing in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at the top of East Rock:

The monument is topped by the Angel of Peace, which overlooks the City of New Haven, hand raised with an olive branch and holding a wreath as an enduring symbol of hope, peace and harmony.  The monument honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Grandpa had to teach me all about the glacial history of East Rock.  Luckily, there was a sign explaining the whole thing, so Grandpa didn't have to make it up:

East Rock was formed about 200 million years ago as the continents were in the process of moving away from each other. Molten rock from deep in the earth surged through stress cracks formed in the sandstone bedrock of the New Haven area. The molten rock cooled to form dolerite, also know as basalt or traprock. Dolerite is much more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sandstone. As glacial action and the forces of weathering eroded away the softer sandstone, East Rock (and other traprock ridges such as West Rock) became more prominent. The summit of East Rock Park now rises more than 350 feet above the floor of the Mill River valley at its base.

East Rock is the highest point of the formation created by ancient glaciers 20,000 years ago.  At 366 feet, it offers spectacular views of the City of New Haven, Mill River, Quinnipiac River, Long Island Sound and Long Island.  I took over and pointed out to Grandpa and Grandma all the key sights to see in my hometown.  I even showed them my favorite beach on Long Island Sound:

Hiking is thirsty work.  Hikers like me need to stay hydrated.  As Dave Childs told Grandma and Grandpa, it's better to carry the water inside you than in the water bottles:

We rested for a bit at the top.  Grandma and Grandpa ate their turkey sandwiches.  I was advised to tell Mom that I "didn't get any" scraps of turkey.  Well, mostly.

It was all downhill from here!  Somehow, my pace picked up as I romped down the trail and knew we were heading home.  Here's an action shot Grandma took of me leaping log in one bound:

I'm an esthetic puppy, too, you know.  Here are some beautiful purple flowers I pointed out to Grandma and Grandpa as we passed over the pedestrian bridge:

How cool is this old tree?  It just bends right over the path.  I told Grandpa it was a good photo-op!

Once we returned to College Woods, we took a slightly different route home, down East Rock Road, a street lined with stately old homes.  I didn't much care for the neighborhood because I couldn't pick up the scent of any dogs on the lawns.  I guess the lawns are too clean for that (hee-hee-hee).

By the time we reached home, I was really tuckered out.  As soon as the leash came off, I made a bee-line to my bed and put my head down and started snoring.  I dreamed some wonderful dreams of trees and rocks and chipmunks - a wonderful adventure!