Another Bridge Across

It was perfect walking weather on Monday, not too hot not too cold. Perhaps that’s why the Brackenridge Belles broke their record by more than half a mile. Mary Lil’s pedometer noted that there were 6,481 steps taken, totaling 2.38 miles. Of course the steps were human ones. Who knows how many Chica and I took, considering both the length and number of legs we have?

Where did we go to cover so much territory? Starting at the Zoo we crossed the San Antonio River and headed to the Frog Bridge on Mulberry. New member Sally Buchanan informed us there’s another bridge crossing the Catalpa-Pershing ditch, decorated by the same artist, Diana Kersey. It's near the Brackenridge Park Golf Course headquarters, which we learned has a mini-museum featuring luminaries who have played on the course. I say "we" because they were gracious enough to let us pups in.

While the frog bridge has ceramic plaques in shades of green celebrating their life cycle, the golf course bridge’s plaques celebrate the game. A profile of a golfer, a portrait of the course’s designer, and an image of a little dog named Queenie are depicted in shades of orange. (Chica and I liked the look of Queenie and wondered if she had been a golfer’s mascot.) There’s also a portrait of philanthropist George Brackenridge. The whimsical bridge joins the list of San Antonio’s hidden jewels.

The five of us made our way back to the zoo along the periphery of the golf course and an unimproved stretch of the river. My mistress begged Sally, who was just reelected to the San Antonio River Authority, to make sure no one “improves” that section of the river, as its primeval aspect harks back to before there was a Brackenridge Park. Or Brackenridge Belles and Bitches for that matter.