The directions for this challenge say to take your baby in a carrier but I broke the rules and we took our bob stroller. and we didn’t exactly hike through a mountain”¦but we still went into nature so I’d say this counts.
We live in SW Portland, Oregon. very much in the city limits but we also live about 1.5 miles from an outstanding park that makes you forget you’re just 15 minutes from downtown Portland. Gabriel Park is a 90-acre park that includes 2 dog parks, tennis courts, a skateboard park, softball fields, basketball court, picnic areas and more. Chris and I have loved this park since we moved to the area. We’ve spent hours on walks and runs through the trails including many hours during my pregnancy and maternity leave. However, on Saturday I walked on a new path that I’d never been on and it was absolutely beautiful.
We’d just made it through a crazy ice storm and the sunny morning was such a treat even though it was freezing. Chris and I agreed to go on a family walk so we got ourselves bundled up and then I suited up Garrity. She was already in long pants and a long sleeve shirt but I put her in her new fleece suit. I got this a couple of weeks ago and I love it. She looks so cute in it. I also broke out the matching hat. It was a little big but I knew I wanted something to keep her warm. I also wanted to install the weather protection shield for the Bob but I’ve read the directions quite a few times and it just seemed so complicated. I was planning on having Chris do it but by the time everyone was ready we just wanted to get on the way so I tucked a blanket around her and called it good.
We ended up walking about 5 miles, 3.5 miles to the park and back, plus about 1.5 miles in the park. once we wound through some of the trails, we ended up at the winter dog park and decided to let our dog play for a while. I went into the park while Chris held Garrity and talked about the dogs. After about 15 minutes there we headed home.
Overall it was a terrific Saturday to check out nature. Garrity was perfect; she barely even made a peep. I kept hoping she’d fall asleep but this little girl loves to watch the world around her and she just took it all in. We lucked out this time and didn’t need the weather shield but I know the weather is going to start getting bad here in the Pacific Northwest and I want to make sure we can keep having walks like this so this week I’m making it a point to figure out how to get it on the stroller. let me know if you have any tips on how to do it.