Since we stuck close to Katie’s home when visiting Jose
Rizal Park, we decided to stick close to Mike’s home next and visit Northacres
Park. While the entire park is about 20 acres, the off-leash area is only .7
acres (so, really, the off-leash section should just be called
“Northalmostacre,” but we’re not ones to get caught up in semantics) . It seems
plenty big, in part because this park is basically a giant maze of fenced-off
pathways. If you’ve ever wanted to go to a dog park, let your dog off their
leash, then spend the entire time desperately trying to find them again, then
this is the park for you!
There are no dogs in this picture because we could not find them.
We’re only half-kidding about our dogs being missing the
entire time. Every once in a while, you will see a tree branch move out of the
corner of your eye and you’ll look over just in time to see the tip of your
dog’s tail as it darts onto a path that you didn’t even know existed and
disappears back out of site. You won’t be alone, though. After being at
Northacres for about fifteen minutes, you’ll know the name of every dog in the
park because their owners are also wandering around yelling for them to come
back. You’ll never hear a dog bark at Northacres, but you will hear the sad,
distant screams of patrons screaming their dogs’ names in vain. For this
reason, you’d better watch your step. Because other dog owners are so busy
trying to find their dogs, no one bothers to pick up poop. No one.
Katie miraculously discovers Molly and Chew-tankhamun before they dart back into the fenced-off wilderness.
Northacres does have a few good things going for it. It’s
located a stone’s throw from I-5, so if your idea of “peace” is the
juxtoposition of beautiful scenery and loud traffic, then you’ll be completely
at ease here. The other dog owners are all very nice also. A typical
conversation will go something like this:
You: Hi there! Did you
happen to see a medium-sized black dog with a black collar on? Answers to Molly?
Other person: I don’t
think so, sorry. Did you happen to see a medium-sized black dog with a dark grey
collar on? Answers to Skip?
A third person: I
think I saw that dog on the other side of the park. Have either of you seen a
medium-sized black dog with a navy blue collar on? Answers to Duke?
You: Nope, sorry guys.
Good luck finding them before it gets dar... what the hell did I just step in?!
You might think the moral of the story is that there are too
many black dogs around (and you’d be right that 95% of dogs are medium-sized
and black), but in fact the moral of the story is that dogs do not respond to
their names at Northacres Park. The traffic on I-5 probably made them deaf.
Beautiful Northacres Park: the only thing louder than the traffic is the other dog owners' despondent cries.
Something else to keep in mind while visiting Northacres
Park is to be very, very careful where you throw a tennis ball, frisbee, or any
other dog toy. You and your dog may have fun playing fetch for about nineteen
seconds, but inevitably the toy will end up deep in the middle of a fenced-off
area full of overgrown thistle and bushes where you will never see it again.
Chew Diamond Phillips gazes longingly at a ball that's gone over the fence.
All in all, Northacres is a well-kept, interesting park with
a lot going for it. You’ll get your exercise running in circles trying to find
your dog, your dog will get their exercise running in circles trying to avoid
you, you'll have a good excuse to buy new shoes after yours are covered in poo, and if you have
some disgusting dog toys to get rid of, it’s the perfect place to
“accidentally” dispose of them over the fence. We give it our second highest
rating ever: Meh. The Wolf Pack gives it two tails up, one tail down.
We're happy to have found our dogs this time, but next time we might not be so lucky.
