What Dogs Love
About
Acker Park
🐾A Message from Shasta the Trail Dog🐾 (AKA the Fastest Nose in Acker Park)
#1
Hi hoomans! My name’s Shasta, and I’ve got a tail to tell you about my favorite place in the whole wide world: J.S. Acker Park here in Prescott! It’s got 80 glorious acres of trails, trees, critters, and sniffs—so many sniffs—I can barely keep my nose off the ground. There’s over 3 miles of trails, and I would RUN the whole thing in record time if it weren’t for one thing…
My hooman.
He’s 82.
He’s slow.
He seems to love benches.
Every 5 minutes:
“Let’s take a break, Shasta.”
Ugh. The benches are nice, sure. Scenic. Peaceful. The benches feature QR codes that help him learn about the plants in the park, I really am only interested in the plants I can leave my "PeeR code on! Great views of the city and all that. But I’ve got squirrels to chase and those wonderful smells that only dogs can detect, poor hoomans!
Oh yeah—you can hunt for treasure here too! Kiddos love it. Grown-ups pretend they’er not excited but then totally get into it. The adults also have treasure hunts as well; they call it Geocaching! There’s also a Labyrinth (I’m still figuring out what that is—no squirrels, sadly), and sunsets that make hoomans go all quiet and mushy.
We sometimes pack a picnic, those benches convert into tables for two! I always hope for a snack (no guarantees). But mostly, I love the freedom, the smells, the trees, the breeze—and even my hooman, slow as he may be. ❤️
So if you’ve got a leash, a sense of adventure, and a hooman who needs some exercise, sunshine and movement, come explore Acker Park with me!
Sniff you later, 🐾 Shasta
🐾 P.S. Here’s how to find it: 👉
friendsofackerpark.com/how-to-get-to-acker-park🐾
🐾 Shasta The Dog's Trail Log🐾
#2
Woo-hoo, nose to the breeze! It’s Shasta again, your four-pawed field reporter patrolling J. S. Acker Park. My geezer (he’s 82, but I round down to “ancient” in dog years) finally clinked his carabiner to my leash at 7:00 a.m. The sun was still stretching, which is more than I can say for him—he creaked like the park’s old wooden footbridge.
First Sniff, First Surprise
Just past the kiosk I caught a whiff of fresh rabbit. Zoom! I tried to launch, but the end of the extendo leash and geezer’s creaky hip said nope. Instead we compromised on a brisk "trot" up to the top. Morning light made the pinyon needles sparkle like they’d been dipped in dew diamonds. Honestly, humans should see that—no filter required.
Bench No. 1: The Viewpoint
Halfway up, we pulled into the bench with the little brass plaque—he calls it “The Board Room,” because that’s where he does his deep thinking. I call it “The Bored Room.” While he re-tightened his shoelaces (for the third time) I tallied today’s critter score: two hummingbirds, one bold skink lizzard doing push-ups, and exactly zero rabbits within pouncing range. Must improve.
Trail Gossip
Down in the arroyo we met Luna, a silver husky who trots like she’s floating. She sniff-checked my résumé (all good), I hers... (all good), and she told me the hoomans are planning all kinds of volunteer projects in the park, among them is forming a group called, get this... The Acker Hackers, the hoomans are trying to make the park more "firewize! Excellent strategy, hoomans.
Bench No. 2: The Story Chair
Geezer parked again at the red bench overlooking Granite Mountain’s silhouette. He wheezed, “Take it in, girl,” as if I hadn’t already virtually catalogued every critter molecule so far on the trail. Still, the breeze did smell like far-off rain—monsoon season is flirting with Prescott. You can almost taste the thunder in the air.
Back at the Trailhead
We clocked only 1.4 miles (I voted for double-digits), but the geezer’s smile said victory. He dropped my leash, gave me an ear scritch, and announced: “Same time tomorrow, reporter pup?” You bet your tennis ball, old man.
Shasta’s Call to Paws:
Take your hooman to Acker Park in the morning or during sunset before the July heat cranks up. Bring water, pack snacks, and feel free to rest on handy benches—just don’t hog them. A dog’s gotta nap somewhere while her geezer sits & watches the clouds.
friendsofackerpark.com
🐾 Until tomorrow—tail high, nose low, sniff ya later! 🐾
🐾Shasta’s Trail Log — “My Nose Knows!” 🐾
#3
Acker Park’s QR Code Plant Trail
Hey sniffers and hikers! It’s Shasta the Trail Dog, back again with four paws on the trail and a nose that’s basically a biological miracle.
Today’s story? QR code plant signs—aka, sniff-guides for the scent-challenged.
⸻
🌸 The Nose Knows… Everything
Let’s be clear:
Your nose? Decorative.
My nose? Legendary.
While you’re squinting at a QR code going, “Hmm, what plant is this?” I already know it’s Apache Plume.
I also know:
• A cottontail brushed by yesterday.
• A coyote marked the base at dawn.
• And there’s a lingering scent of dew, lichen, and some anxious field mouse trying to stay invisible.
🐶 Dog Science Drop!
I’ve got 300 million scent receptors. You’ve got, like… 5 million.
Also, my brain devotes 40x more real estate to processing smells than yours. And recent studies show my smell pathways are wired to vision and memory, meaning I literally see smells in 3D Technicolor.
So yeah—while you’re admiring the pink plumes, I’m reconstructing yesterday’s rabbit drama.
⸻
📱 QR Tags: Scent-Assisted Learning
For those not blessed with a snout like mine, the Friends of Acker Park installed QR code tags near native plants like Apache Plume, desert marigold, and sagebrush.
You scan it, and—ta-da!—your phone tells you what you’re looking at.
Me? I knew 3 steps ago and peed nearby to claim it.
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😤 Tag Sabotage = Total Rudeness
But here’s the kicker:
Some selfish hiker has been ripping off the tags.
Are you serious??
Those signs aren’t lawn decorations—they’re part of a living classroom.
School kids use them. Field trip groups rely on them. So do plant nerds, curious walkers, and yes… even trail dogs like me who appreciate a solid interpretive moment between sniffs.
Taking them down is like tearing pages from a shared book. And this park? It’s not just yours. It’s ours.
⸻
🐕 Shasta’s Sniff Tips:
• Take a minute to scan a tag—and then take a longer moment to breathe in the story it tells.
• Respect the park’s learning tools. Leave QR tags where you found them.
• Report vandalism to friendsofackerpark.com
• And if you’re not sure what that plant is? Just ask me. I probably licked it.
🐾 Keep your nose to the ground;
if you are a dog, you will find facinating stories and treasures there🐾
