Have Paws Will Travel    
 Guide Dog Puppy Raising Club
 Arapahoe County, Colorado

Light Rail to Downtown Denver

August 16, 2005
2004 Downtown Denver Outing
2007 Downtown Denver Outing
2008 Downtwon Denver Outing
millenium bridge
Millennium Bridge, Lower Downtown Denver
 Each year we take our puppies on the light rail train for a public transit and city experience. This year we enlisted the help of downtown denizen Lisa Okazaki. Lisa planned a wonderful evening, including the Pavilions shopping center, which offered balconies, stairs, and the Niketown shop, the Millennium Bridge over the railroad tracks, a suspension bridge over the Platte River, a park, city walk, and to cap of the evening, dinner at Proto's Pizza. We had nine dogs in attendance, and Lisa's planning was so thorough that we were welcomed with open arms and smiles everywhere we went!
lisa & fresco
Lisa & Fresco were our guides to Downtown
 Pavillions sign
The Pavilions is a group
of shops on the mall.



 Light Rail to Downtown
littleton light rail station--group waits for train
The group wait for the train to arrive.
Others join us at the Englewood station and the Broadway park 'n' ride
 .quazer is ready to board the arriving train
Quazar is curious about the arriving train.
Looks like he's ready to ride!

 
icon & sherwood on the train
Icon and Sherwood tuck in at our feet for the light rail ride downtown.
dogs & raisers ride the mall bus
The Mall Bus took us from Union Station
to the 16th Street Mall.
The Pavilions
two yellow labs climb the stairs
The winding, polished marble stairs at NikeTown
are a challenge for our dogs.
Icon and Dalton need careful handling to make
this stairway a positive experience
 Susan & Kodak exit NikeTown upstairs
We exited NikeTown upstairs.
Kodak is doing a great job with the slick floor.


Lisa explains the plan for the pavillions
Lisa explained the the various experiences the Pavilions offer our pups:
a 2nd floor balcony, lights, restaurant smells, stairs, and pedestrian traffic.

dogs walk along a balcony
The group walk along the upstairs balcony.


dogs and raisers on a 2nd story bridgeway
We stopped every so often to let the dogs rest and relax, while Lisa gave us "pop quizzes" about such topics as how to tell when a puppy is stressed,
and how to help them through it.










group looks over the balcony to the street below

group looking over the balcony
A bridge over the street gives a real sense of a drop-off. The traffic below provided sounds and exhaust smells for our dogs to experience. They all did a beautiful job of accepting the experience.
tonya shows Dalton the traffic below the balcony
Tonya points out the traffic to Dalton. He takes it all in stride.


.mall bus
The mall bus was quite a bit more crowded on the way back to Union Station than it was going to the Mall.
Kelsey & Quazar and Casey & Harbor were lucky to find seats.
 riding the mall bus
Lisa and Susan found standing room only on the bus.
Kodak and Fresco make themselves comfortable at their feet.

Millennium Bridge
millenium bridge
As dusk fell, we crossed the Millennium bridge over the train tracks, went through a park past a game of rugby,
continued over a suspensions bridge over the Platte River. We ended at Proto's Pizza, where Lisa treated the group to dinner.


Group photo in front of Proto's Pizza
After dinner, we posed for a group photo with the manager of Proto's Pizza.
What a super outing for everyone!
Thanks, Lisa!