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All About Max

Max in a bucket

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Bonnie Schrenk ParkToday we went for a nice walk through Bonnie Schrenk Park, a small park in the north of Surrey. We saw a wee rabbit and Max went for a nice chase after him, but the rabbit quickly got away into the trees… It was funny to hear Max whining, upset that the rabbit had managed to get away!

Max in a bucket!We decided Max needed a bath, so we got out one of the plastic tubs we store Christmas decorations in, and filled it with warm water. We weren’t sure how he’d react to being in the warm bath, but I think from the pictures you can see he didn’t mind one bit! haha

Max in a bucket!Kinda funny – when I put him in, we used a big jug to pour the warm water over him, and he sat down in the water and let us pretty much do as we pleased. He was really docile and actually seemed to enjoy it!

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Tynehead Regional Park, North Surrey

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Serpentine River, Tynehead ParkTynehead Regional Park is a 260 hectare park in North Surrey. It includes a protected salmon hatchery, an off leash dog park, wide open spaces with picnic tables, public restrooms, and lots of trails though some of the coolest forest that Max and I have cruised through in a long while. The Serpentine River winds through the park, and it cascades all over the place. It chirps and laughs and tinkles all through the park. You hear it flowing over the rocks, under the bridges, and over the flat lands. In the fall it is packed with salmon returning to spawn.

Max in TynedheadThere is a trail called Trillium Trail, which in the early spring is covered in trillium flowers, a flower of the lily family. Canadians of course, know that it is the official provincial flower of Ontario but it is also the official wildflower of Ohio. It’s a delicate flower, that can be seriously harmed by picking the bloom. It is protected in many places. Another interesting thing about the trillium is that it is germinated by ants! The ants take a sort of pod back to their nests, and the seed is contained within the pod. They eat the pod and discard the seed!
Viewing platform, TyneheadMax and I climbed Trillium Trail which meanders up a steep embankment, over which you can see the Serpentine River snaking through the forest hundreds of feet below. There is a log fence to prevent you from falling over the cliff. As we neared the top of the ascent, there seemed to be a viewing platform that poked out over the cliff. It actually surrounded a large tree, about 30 feet off the forest floor and it was basically a tree house! It’s a very cool structure!

Trees in Tynehead ParkWe didn’t get to the off leash side of the park – in fact I didn’t even realize there was an off leash park, but we’ll get there soon! This park is definitely worth another visit. There were lots of trails we didn’t explore, but we will! There were stumps of huge trees that had been logged many years ago, and you could still see the notches cut by the loggers in order to climb the mammoth beasts! Awesome trees – awesome sizes… Sad to see them gone.

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Crescent Park, redux

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Crescent Park, SurreyI took Pam down to Crescent Park, so she could check it out. Max and I have been there before and it’s a great park, lots of trails, lots of open spaces, some great water, terrific views… just a great space.

Max in Crescent ParkWe entered through the main entrance this time, and it opens on to the very large sports fields. There are baseball diamonds, soccer fields and other play areas. We struck out across the fields to the trails, and met a couple ladies with two cute Duck Tollers. Max had a nice romp with them. They were just sweet dogs!

We headed over to the duck pond and sat watching Max have his fill of chasing the ducks. The ducks are hilarious, coming close to the shore and teasing him! He won’t go in the water and they seem to sense that, so they come near and that sets him chasing.

Ducks in Crescent ParkLoved the color of this duck – so many ducks have a green head, but this guy was a pretty blue color.

There were lots of turtles out sunning themselves, as usual but this time we heard some load “honking” noises. I couldn’t figure out what they were, but Pam was convinced they were frogs! Well after searching the rushes, we finally spotted one and he was HUGE! The pictures I took didn’t really show them clearly, but wow, I didn’t realize frogs grew that big out here!

Nice park, nice day!

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Royal Heights Park, North Delta

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Royal Heights ParkRoyal Heights Park is a nice park, on a very secluded street. It was a little tricky to find it, as it doesn’t really have a proper entrance. Most entrances to the park are at the end of cul de sacs, so that there is very little parking.

Royal Heights ParkIt is listed as an off leash park, but it is not completely fenced, so if you can’t control your dog, it’s not a good park to come to. We found the “main entrance” and as we entered, we discovered we were alone there with only one other dog – a chow!

She was a young pup and really frisky and got Max running around in circles! It was cute to see him trying to keep up, kind of whining at her, as if to say, “Slow Down!”

Royal Heights ParkThe park consists of a very large open field, with public restrooms, and a nice kiddie play park. There are great views out over the river as well. At one end of the park we found a nice set of walking trails, through seem very majestic trees. The trails were too short really, but you can get some nice exercise since they went up and down the steep hills.

Royal Heights ParkAll in all, it’s a nice enough park, but not worth the drive for us. If you live in the neighbourhood, it’s a terrific spot, and I’m sure we’d use it a lot if we did live within walking distance to it. I rather like the idea that is a hidden gem, not marred by some huge parking lot.

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Clayton Off Leash Park, Surrey

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Max in ClaytonToday Max and I headed on over to Clayton Off Leash Park. We’ve been there before, and it’s quite nice. It’s very new, in an area that is being developed quite extensively. There are a lot of new homes in the area, there is a big new mall that has gone in, and the roads are all finally finished.

The park itself has a couple of different areas, one for small dogs, and one for normal dogs. There is a lovely treed area to the end of the enclosures, but unfortunately it’s been closed for some reason. The area we could actually walk around was quite small, but Max met a couple nice dogs and got a good romp in with them.

It’s a nice park, but not worth the drive without the rear wooded section open. We’ll get back there later on in the spring when it re-opens.

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Tannery Road Off Leash Park, North Surrey

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Fraser RiverToday was a lovely spring day, bright and sunny but a tad brisk. So we loaded up old Maxie and hit the trail. Tannery Road terminates at the waterfront, directly across the river from New Westminster Quay.

The DunesThe location is in a rather industrial area, and we had to dodge lots of big double pup dump trucks. The park itself has a couple of open fields, and some trails leading to the water.

The trails lead off to the river’s edge to one side, with large sand dunes on the other side. The dunes are extremely high, and there are several paths leading up to the peaks. Max and I took a charge up and were quite surprised to see there is a HUGE hole on the other side. Trucks were moving in and out, so clearly the sand is being mined for local construction projects.

Tannery ParkComing down, Max just beat it down the hill! Pretty funny! The water’s edge is affected by the tides, so it’s quite muddy, so Max wasn’t too interested in going in, thankfully!

There were not many dogs there, I think because it was too early in the day. It’s a nice enough park, but I think it’s really only for locals. It’s not worth the drive really. I mean I liked it, it’s just that there wasn’t enough to interest me. The view was nice over the river though, so it was worthwhile to come have a look.

River View

All About Max, Surrey Parks

Crescent Park, South Surrey

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Crescent Park, SurreyToday Max and I went for a run through Crescent Park. It’s a lovely big park, with lots of play areas, cricket fields, baseball parks, and large open areas with lots of park benches for resting and relaxing. It is in the middle of an old growth forest, with huge redwoods and other firs.

Crescent Park, PlateauIt has a lot of elevation changes, so the running can be challenging if you want it to be. We started at the second parking lot, at the lowest level. There are some nice covered picnic areas, which were busy with loads of Little Leaguers bbqing their lunch. We chose the right path and quickly got into a steep uphill climb.

TurtlesWe came to a pond by the upper plateau and there were lots of ducks there. When we stopped to take a picture, I noticed there were lots of turtles hanging out there too! Very cool! People were having wedding pictures done, kids were fascinated by the turtles, and several dogs were enjoying the scenery.

It is very cool to jog through those big old redwoods. Some are so huge, it takes ten minutes to get around them! haha For the most part, Vancouver parks don’t have these wonderful trails to run through. Most are simply “green spaces” where you can count how many trees are there! Not so with Crescent Park.

Crescent Park PondWe took a long trail back through the forest, and just enjoyed the experience, communing with the trees. So very peaceful. The trails are well maintained, with lots of smaller paths leading off deeper into the forest. You could come here several days in row and not have the same trail experience.

I really enjoyed this park. There were a lot of people in it, but for long stretches, I felt quite alone. Max and I were quite beat by the time we got back to the car. Lots of fun!