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| Jozee as a wee one, just shy of 6 months |
Have you ever visited an area multiple times and not bother to explore the surrounding areas?
That’s just the case with us when it
came to Mayfield Lake, located near Mossyrock in Lewis County. We would always
end up at Mayfield Lake Park, more likely because it was easy access off of Hwy
12 for a day on the lake, especially if we were boating.
We’d explore the shores somewhat when boating while heading
out on whatever excursion or activity was planned that day, but that was about
it.
Until we introduced Jozee to the family and I got it in my
head that we were going to do things differently with her than with our other
dogs. We were going to get out with her more often and we were going to
EXPLORE!
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| Ike Kinswa SP & Mayfield Lake |
Now, in our defense, we always had multiple dogs, usually 3
or 4 at a time and they were big dogs so getting out with them to see the
sights just wasn’t an easy task. On top of that, one of them in particular was very
large, very protective and she didn’t play well with others. For anyone reading
this who is just now contemplating what type of dog they might like to get,
please take into account your lifestyle and the time and ability you’ll have to
properly train and spend time with your new pet. If I knew then what I know
now, I would have looked into early training not only for her, but also for
myself.
Fast forward to today and we still have one of our large
dogs but she’s up there in age (almost 11 years young) and doesn’t like to get
out unless it’s on our property. Yes, there are dogs who don’t enjoy car rides!
But Jozee is quite the opposite. She loves car rides. She loves just the idea that we’re going someplace. And she
loves exploring, whether it’s in a familiar area or a brand-new spot.
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| Trail at Ike Kinswa SP |
I guess we’re lucky Jozee likes car rides and meeting
people, because what would have happened if I’d gotten it in my head to explore
more only to discover she got car sick and was scared of new people?
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
So, back to the lake. Jozee was still pretty young, about
six months old, the first time we decided to head out to Mayfield one beautiful
day in May of last year. We thought we’d venture out and try a new park and we
scored big time with our choice when we took a detour on State Route 122 in
order to visit Ike Kinswa State Park.
The park had plenty of shaded parking, easy access to the
shore, well-maintained trails and beautiful views on both sides of the
shoreline. The fact that you had two shorelines to choose from was great; you
could choose between more sun or more shade, calmer water or lapping waves
formed by nearby boats. The beach areas had a lot of bigger rocks, so we had to
stay vigilant, but it didn’t take away from Jozee’s fun. The real test was my
overprotective mommy instincts when I realized how quickly the water dropped
from a foot to…I didn’t even want to venture a guess. I just wasn’t brave
enough to allow her to explore the deep beyond and she thankfully didn’t seem
to want to go anywhere her feet couldn’t touch.
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I had Jozee on a tight leash, just in case
she did decide to brave the deep part |
Given Jozee’s young age, the easy trail walk was great and
we explored the whole area, except for the swimming beach which doesn’t allow
dogs. Other than that, this park was very dog friendly. Exploring the
campground was enjoyable too because the campsites were all very nice and the
cabins nearby the swimming area were a great addition. We made a game of
choosing our favorite campsite if we were to stay there and it was very
difficult; like looking for the perfect Christmas tree, only to find yet
another perfect tree in the next batch.
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| Enjoying some shade |
We enjoyed this park so much we returned a few months later
in the summer and it has become our new favorite go-to whenever we visit
Mayfield Lake.
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| In Jozee's book, it was a good day |
