I’d been wanting to check out High Chaparral Open Space, not far from my house, as a possible place to walk Bishop, who has become increasingly difficult for me to control around dogs, children, and any conceivable other distractions. But I didn’t particularly want to take him to a place I hadn’t scouted out, and I’d never gotten around to investigating the open space by myself. The solution came in the form of Chief, who really may be the world’s best dog.

He lives with my brother and sister-in-law and shows saintly amounts of patience with their children. I’ve told them if they ever get sick of him, I’d be happy to take him, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen!

At any rate, with Chief in tow (and Bishop unhappily left behind), I headed for High Chaparral.

Apparently lottery tickets sometimes buy good things, after all:

The open space turned out to be a fairly wide swath of hillside covered with scrub oak and yucca, and another section reached by a narrow path that we didn’t even explore.

Did I mention all the yucca?

And of course prickly pear

and scrub oak (which seems to have housed a fort at some point)

and amazing views.

This overlook provides a panoramic view of the city in pretty much every direction.

From signs and/or personal sightings, I know that deer, coyote, and fox live in close proximity to, and likely within, the High Chaparral Open Space. I haven’t seen antelope this far into the city, although I do spot them fairly regularly on my drive to campus, and the occasional bear has also been spotted nearby, to the bear’s detriment, unfortunately. However, while I kept my eyes peeled–and hoped for a rattlesnake sighting, albeit one that took place without either Chief or me actually risking a bite–the only wildlife I saw were a few birds and a jackrabbit.

Also, I’ve seen Chief when he catches the scent of wildlife, and apart from the rabbit–which he wanted to chase–he was characteristically mellow.

Verdict? Pretty cool place. Although the sign at the entrance said dogs had to be on leashes, each of the three people we met had dogs off-leash. All were fairly well-behaved critters, unlike Bishop, but the area is vast enough and visibility is good enough (no blind corners on the trails, which is where he’s gotten into trouble before) that he could conceivably run around a bit.

P.S. Chief rides inside!