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Veteran’s Park; Hamilton Township, NJ

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On March 12, 2023 Lager did a very special hike in honor of K9 Veterans Day with his best gal pal, Ellie.

Veteran’s Park is a 333 acre park built in 1977 in honor of Hamilton, NJ’s veterans. The park offers many walking paths, picnic grounds, and athletic fields. We completed a 4.1 mile hike on mostly paved paths as we explored the various memorials throughout the park.

The Hike

M-60-A3 U.S. Army Combat Tank

U.S. Army Ah-1F Cobra Attack Helicopter

Military Working Dog Memorial

U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom II Jet

9/11 Memorial

Memorial for the Men and Women From Hamilton Township, NJ Who Served in the Armed Forces

Anchor and Two Missiles from World War II Battleships

Statues Throughout the Park

Barclay Farmstead Trail; Cherry Hill, NJ

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The Barclay Farmstead is comprised of 32 acres and was built in 1816 by a Quaker farmer named Joseph Thorn. It is now owned and operated by Cherry Hill Township.

Porter completed this 0.66 mile hike with our friend Heather and her pup, Kayla.

The Farmhouse

The Outbuildings

The Hike

Croft Farm; Cherry Hill, NJ

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Another couple of miles in the books with Team Salty Paws ! Yesterday afternoon Whiskey and I met Heather and Ellie🐾 at Croft Farm for a hike followed by a picnic lunch.

Croft Farm is on both the NJ and National registers of historical places and the farm house that is still standing dates back to the 1700’s.…Another beautiful trail system nearby that I never knew existed!

Crows Woods Nature Preserve: Haddonfield, NJ

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A spontaneous last minute decision to today with Team Salty Paws resulted in such a great day!

We chose Crows Woods Nature Preserve which is approximately fifty acres of fairly undeveloped forest with some ball fields and mowed lawn areas bordering the preserve.

 

We had such a nice time with our friend and team handler Heather and her pups Kayla and Ellie! Lillet Blanc came along for this hike. She’s doing so well on her pain medication and supplements for hips and is able to take longer walks now!

She also did a great job walking on lead at a safe distance (and closely monitored) alongside Kayla and Ellie of Team Salty Paws. (Lilly can be extremely selective).

The park has a pavilion where we stopped after the hike to enjoy lunch.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (Pakim Pond Area): NJ Pine Barrens

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2023 began with a sunny 60°F day… so we decided to do a New Years Day hike in the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest which is made up of 38,000 acres, and is located in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Whiskey and Porter did very well on this hike!

My Running Buddy Rocks 5K

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On November 7, 2020, Margarita and I hiked in Bass River State Forest with our friends Jen and her English Pointer, Pearl as we completed the MY Running Buddy Rocks 5K hosted by Run Pups.

A percentage from this virtual 5K’s race fee 10% of your registration went to abandoned dogs being cared for by Charming Pet Rescue. 

My. running buddy truly does ROCK

Way to go, Reet!

Historic Smithville Park, Mount Holly, NJ

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The Smithville Village is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. Smithville began as a small mill operation on the Rancocas Creek and grew to a major industrial plant which employing hundreds of workers from the 1860s to the 1920s. Smithville was well known for its high-quality woodworking machinery, the Smithville-Mt. Holly Bicycle Railroad, and the Star high wheeled bicycle.

2023 with Jägermeister and Our Friend Heather with Her Dog Ellie

2020 with Margarita and Porter

For Margarita’s 10th birthday, she hiked at Historic Smithville Park with brother Porter and Cousin Clyde!

2013 with Limoncello 

3.8 mile hike in Historic Smithville Park

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Blueberry Hill Conservation Area; Gibbsboro, NJ

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Margarita and Porter went on this hike with their fur-cousin, Clyde.

Blueberry Hill Conservation Area consists of 134 acres of wooded area in Gibbsboro, NJ. It features both paved and unpaved trails that are suitable for hiking or biking.

At 192 feet, Blueberry Hill is one of the highest elevations in Southern New Jersey.

From the top of the hill on a clear day you can see the Philadelphia skyline off in the distance.

The Philadelphia Skyline is just beyond the treetops

There is also a great view of a quarry at the top of another hill.

Margarita checkin out the views from the top of the hill as we approached the quarry:

A section of the quarry:

Porter and Clyde stop for a play-break:

Cousin Clyde is so handsome:

We enjoyed this adventure at yet another hidden gem we never knew existed in our area!

Parvin State Park: Pittsgrove Township, NJ

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This 1,952 acre state park is located on the edge of the NJ Pine Barrens.

This park has some pretty cool history. This park served as home for the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 to 1941, a summer camp for the children of displaced Japanese Americans in 1943, a POW camp for German prisoners in 1944 and temporary housing for the Kalmycks who fled their homelands in Eastern Europe in 1952.

The park was purchased in 1930 for use as a state park. The remains of Native American encampments have been found in five different locations within the park.

We hiked the Parvin Lake Trail, which is 3 miles long.

Cheers to another great hike!

Amico Island Park: Riverside, NJ

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Amico Island Park is a 55-acre peninsula in Riverside, NJ. This park features upland forests, freshwater ponds , wetlands, river shoreline and meadows at the confluence of the Rancocas Creek and Delaware River.

There were several entrances to the beach and Delaware River:

Confluence of the Delaware River and Rancocas Creek:

Great view of the Philadelphia Skyline too:

Beautiful views of the Riverside Marina:

Tall Pines Nature Preserve: Sewell, NJ

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“Happiness is a long walk with a friend.”🐶🐕🐶

Whiskey and Porter got to meet their adorable new cousin, Clyde! These 3 canine cousins enjoyed a great hike at Tall Pines State Preserve !

Rancocas State Park: Hainesport, NJ

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Whiskey and Porter took their first hike together at Rancocas State Park in Hainesport, NJ.

We walked the Creekside Trail (blue trail) which was 3 miles

A lot of the hike was alongside the Rancocas Creek

Abandoned log cabins by the Rancocas Creek

Porter was not fond of the muddy spots so Brian had to carry him!

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” ~John Muir

Black Run Preserve: Marlton, NJ

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Porter went on his first hike in Black Run Preserve.

The Black Run Preserve is 1,300 acres of permanently preserved land in Evesham Township. A teacher that I used to work with retired in 2012 and helped found the Friends of the Black Run Preserve volunteer organization.  Their mission is to preserve and protect the unique natural beauty and Pine Barrens ecology.

Franklin Parker Preserve: Chatsworth, NJ

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January 1, 2019 was unseasonably warm here, so Margarita kicked off 2019 with a 6.5 mile hike at Franklin Parker Preserve , a 16 square mile former cranberry farm located in the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

We had never hiked here before, and were surprised throughout our hike with so many exciting things!

First, we came across a suspension bridge to cross.

The forest trails were gorgeous.

We came across random huge Adirondack chairs to take a rest along our path!  Next time we will have to plan to stop and eat lunch here!

 

There was even an abandoned railroad.

The old cranberry bogs were mesmerizing, especially as the sun began to set.

There was a flooded area and Margarita refused to go through the running water, so I had to carry her.

 

This is a hike we will definitely be doing again with some of our other pups!

 

 

 

Whiskey’s First Hike: Estell Manor Park; Mays Landing, NJ

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For Whiskey’s first birthday, we kicked-off the weekend by taking her on a solo adventure. Whiskey is not able to do difficult hikes or long walks due to her shoulder issue, so we took her on a mini-hike at Estell Manor Park in South Jersey.

This area was owned by the Estell family and was the site of a glassworks company in the 1800’s.

This land then became the home of a munitions plant during World War I. Click HERE to read more.

Whiskey explored the ruins of Bethlehem Loading Company from 1918 – a WWl Munitions complex.

The park had a nice boardwalk throughout the forrest.

This park really had some beautiful pathways!

Whiskey inspected the river rocks in South River.

What a gorgeous park with wonderful views of South River!

Nolde Forest State Park, Reading, PA

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While camping at Eagles Peak Campground, we decided to do a local hike.

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We ended up at Nolde Forest State Park  – a gorgeous sate park with more than 665 acres of beautiful woodlands.

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What a beautiful place to hike! This area was acquired by Jacob Nolde  in the early 1900s.  As the story goes, a single white pine grew in a meadow. Inspired by this tree, Jacob Nolde hired an Austrian forester to create a coniferous forest. As the trees grew, they formed a this magnificent forest!

There was a pretty stream running through most of our hike.

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Cello and Hooch were excited to be on this adventure!

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Throughout the hike, there were many unique stone bridges and lined walkways.DSC06203

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This was  Hooch’s first Pennsylvania hike – and first hike in the warmer weather.  He was getting tired quickly, and began to stop in the shady areas for a breather!

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At one point, in usual Hooch fashion, he decided he was “DONE!” unnamed

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At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with the beauty of an early 1920’s mansion.  In 1926, Hans Nolde, a son of Jacob, began work on the Tudor-style mansion that sits on the property.  Today, visitors can tour the grounds as well as the inside of this mansion.