Summer in Colorado is a wonderful time . . . fly fishing the Rockies, baseball in LoDo, sporting clays, BBQ on the deck, no bugs, no humidity. It is a great time to own a convertible! Summer is also the time to get the dogs in shape for the coming bird season. If you are partners with a bird dog, then you know that a walk around the block won’t cut it. These dogs need to run and run and run. I wish I had a section of land out my back door, as I am sure some of you do, but I don’t. Living on 1/4 acre allows me to keep my farming and ranching costs in check but I need a place to let the dog have at it.
Living in Denver we are fortunate to have a 69 acre off-lease dog park at the Chatfield State Park. There is a massive amount of public land in Colorado. If you live in town, little of it is convenient to visit with the frequency needed to keep your dog happy and in shape. This park provides a wonderful in-town alternative to let the dogs run to their heart’s content and is minutes from the house. Here are some pictures from our visits starting with a Meadowlark that sat still just long enough . . .
The park gets a lot of traffic but at times, especially during the week, the crowd is pretty sparse.
I walk the park with Rio and snap pictures. One of my pals thinks Rio has been photographed more than Madonna. Maybe so.
There are no game birds here, but we do get some nice sight points . . .
Mostly it is non-stop running and frolicking . . .
The north side of the park is bordered by the Platt river and there are a couple of ponds for the dogs to cool off in.
Happy bird hunter and happy dog!
Birdhunter 
I’d much rather shack up with Rio than Madonna.
You might get bit but I think that is the right choice. At least you wont be filling a prescription for Valtrex! 🙂