Cat Walking Location
Golden Gate Park
Fulton Street near 20th Ave.
San Francisco, CA
Today Gloria and I ended up in Golden Gate Park. That wasn't the plan -- we went to the city for First Caturday in Dolores Park, but San Francisco parking being what it is, rather than park a number of blocks away, we changed plans and went to Golden Gate Park.
The park is huge so this is really not a review of the park, but the first in a proposed series. You see, there are so many areas in Golden Gate park and each has it's own pros and cons.
Today I went to my old stomping grounds -- the area across the street from my apartment when I lived in SF. We entered the park on Fulton street and 20th Ave. There's a path into the park right by a Muni bus stop, so you can't miss it. Once inside the park, there are a couple of trails that are parallel to Fulton street and offer a bit of seclusion from the traffic on Fulton street. In addition, you can go deeper into the park, crossing Crossover Drive and entering the frisbee court. There are a lot of old trees and lots of brush as they always seem to be cutting old growth and piling it for pickup. The path is solid and wide, but during the winter months is prone to puddles and muddy expanses.
This was a pretty big deal for Gloria. First, it was a fairly long drive -- approximately an hour and a half because of the aborted trip to Dolores Park -- and she didn't use the restroom before we left, though I asked. She was nervous, as with all new places, but once she found a little ground cover, she began to enjoy the walk. Her nervous walk, which is different from her secure walk, involves walking low to the ground and keeping her tail at half mast. She limits her exploring (though, to be fair, she did stop a number of times to sniff her surroundings) and walks pretty fast when nervous. But don't be concerned; nervous walks are more fact finding expeditions. Here senses are taking it all in and she's considering her safety.
Okay, this is a pretty good option -- better on weekdays when there are fewer bicyclists, joggers, dogs on and off leash, and people to contend with. That said, it's not as well-trod as other areas of the park, so even on weekends, it's workable.
On a scale of 1-10, I give this one an 8.