My dreams of being a show dog have at last been realized! I have been given the opportunity to enter the most prestigious contest
ever,
Mango Minster!
I have entered the Adventure Animal category and I should win because -- as all my friends know -- I am the
ultimate Adventure Dog! Because my parents are amazing (if, at times, a bit nutty), I have lots of amazing adventures. We go hiking as often as we can, usually along the James River in Richmond, Virginia, because we live in Richmond and we have a number of incredible trails very close by. We also love to travel and hike and explore places that aren't as close by.
I'm
always ready for adventure!
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| Ready for adventure |
My adventures have taken me to Key West, Florida,
the Southernmost Point in the United States,
and the highest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina!
My most favorite adventures involve hiking, swimming, mud and sticks! I'm a Cadet Dog Scout and a member of Dog Scout Troop #194. Mom, Dad and I go on lots of Dog Scout hikes, Human Adventure hikes led by my buddy Josh, and family hikes.
Local Adventures
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| I love mud. |
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And sticks.
James River, Richmond, VA |
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And I don't mind cold water.
February 2011 Human Adventure hike, James River, Richmond, Virginia.
That's me in the lead, and my mom in the blue. (Mom says, yes, it was very
cold walking through the river in February. Like I said, she's nutty.) |
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| But we ended up at a great beach! |
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| And I found the ultimate stick! |
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| I can fly!!! |
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| I'm a River Dog! |
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| And I always find THE BEST mud! |
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| My own island!!! |
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I LOVE exploring the James River in the summer, when the water is low.
(Note Richmond skyline in the background.) |
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| I LOVE to swim! |
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| We're glad we don't have gators up here in Va! |
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| Sometimes I get the zoomies |
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| Walking across the dam to the Secret Island, James River, Richmond, VA |
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| Watching the big fish at Bass Pro |
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| Dog Scouts pool party adventure |
Adventures to Far Away Places
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| Laughing in the face of danger |
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| Unimpressed by a banyan tree, Key Largo, FL |
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| A REALLY big, old tree in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, NC |
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| Look! A giant iron! |
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| Looking for manatees at Lorelei in Islamorada, FL |
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| Dogs aren't allowed on the beach in Vero Beach? That's hilarious! |
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| Looking for stingrays from Seven Mile Bridge, Florida Keys |
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Still looking for stingrays
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| Finally, a real sea creature |
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| Blue Ridge Parkway, near Asheville, NC |
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| We got caught in a rainstorm on Seven Mile Bridge |
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| Of course, when adventuring, I prefer to stay in the finest accommodations |
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And participate in the local customs
Sunset at Mallory Square, Key West, Florida |
Meeting Celebrities
During my Florida Keys adventure last fall, I met Marilyn Monroe,
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| Me and Marilyn |
Elvis,
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| Me and Elvis in front of the Bull |
and Southernmost Moose!
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| Meeting my idol Southernmost Moose |
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| Me and Southernmost Moose at Yappy Hour at the Caribbean Club |
Other Adventures
I like to swing from vines.
And I like to skateboard.
Sometimes I just like to pillage and plunder.
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| Ready to pillage and plunder |
Often after my adventures, I need a nap!
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| I couldn't quite make it to the bed |
We had not had the pleasure of reading your blog before this entry, but we will definitely be back. You are an adventurous dog after our own hearts, Garth Riley! You're lucky your mom can and will take you just about every place, and we're impressed you have your own doggie Scout Troop! Best of luck in the competition.
ReplyDeleteJed & Abby
Thanks Jed and Abby! Dog Scouts is awesome! My friend Jennifer started our local troop, but you could probably start a troop in MerryLand. Check out my December blog post about Dog Scouts and what we do if you are curious.
ReplyDeleteYou are a shoe-in for adventure dog in my book! I would be careful about Jeb and Abby from Merryland... They were the ethics review committee for last year and are highly scrupulous. Of course you are too but if they knew you had been fraternizing with last years Bad Sports winner and the Best In Show winner (I.e. yours truly they might think something untoward was going on!!! Never mind that I suspect the pool party photo is a fake and that is actually a polar bear photo instead of you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love your flyin doggie pic though and still think you are the very definition of adventure doggie! Good luck! I may try to defend my bad sports title so then we would face off in the ring for BIS! Yikes!
thanks Moose! Didn't realize you were best in show winner last year -- Wow! You should have no problem defending your Bad Sport title - nobody raids the pantry as well as you! I can't imagine I'll be much competition against you for BIS. (that really is me and not a polar bear, but you know, I'm part polar bear)
ReplyDeleteMy Twitter pal Sophie LaBrador asked if you were on twitter (she is kinda a flirt!) so I searched garthriley and found some big CEO... I don't think that is you though!
ReplyDeleteWow! Look at all of the adventures you've had, Garth! Our mom visits gram and gramp in Vero Beach and we're never allowed to go. You're so lucky!
ReplyDeleteLove ya lots
Maggie and Mitch
Wow! You're a real traveler and you know so much important people!!
ReplyDeleteCan I join you for a swim someday? :D
Wow, you've been a lot of places. Our Mom laughed really hard at the mud picture. We think she was glad it was you and not us. Good luck at Mango Minster.
ReplyDeleteMorgan, Tsar and the Porties
Just popped over to check out the competition in the Adventure Animal category.
ReplyDeleteWow I am blown away by your amazing adventures. You even discovered your own island. And as for meeting Marilyn Monroe, well, what can I say?
Great post.
Toodle pip!
Bertie.
You are indeed a most adventurous doggeh! So glad to make your aquaintance! (even tho we are in the same category!) Love that vine swinging! And your froggeh sleeping position - my sis, Avalon sleeps that way too heheh! Great good luck to you!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Sammie and Avalon
You sure have gotten to go to lots of neat places and have lots of cool adventures. Fenris and Arty Mouse are very jealous, the rest of us are happy enough to stay at home sleeping on Mommy's bed. We are very pleased to make your acquaintance.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for checking out my post! I am indeed a lucky dog getting to go on so many adventures. It's partly because my mom and dad like adventures and partly because I'm an only dog and don't have human siblings either. But also mom thinks every dog should have adventures with their humans -- whether traveling or in the wilderness or in your own backyard or living room.
ReplyDeleteOh, Garth! I didn't realize you were in the Adventure Animals category, too! Are you still interested in being my date even though we're com-PET-itors?
ReplyDeleteI luved looking at all your adventures. You sure have been on a lotta them. I'm very impressed with your swimming skills. I tried it once and didn't like it. (It's a well-known fact that brindle furs melt when they get wet, you know!) But my favoritest picture is the one of you laughing in the face of danger! Heehee!
Good luck!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
Of course I still want to be your date! I think it's wonderful I have such awesome competition in the Adventure Animals category because it means that other doggies are having adventures too! I loved your entry, by the way, and am very impressed with how you have overcome your fears to become an Adventure Animal extraordinaire. ALL doggies should have adventure in their lives and NONE should be tied up the way you were in the beginning.
DeleteGarth,
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful entry! I love reading about all your adventures. You're wotten waven.
Keep on wagging!
Thanks Tootsie! I enjoyed reading your Adventure Animal entry too! I've really got some stiff competition!!!
ReplyDeleteGarth Riley, You have gone on many adventures and we think that makes you an adventure dog! We like the mud-leg pics here. bol. Good luck in MM2012.
ReplyDeleteSmooches from pooches,
BabyRD & Hootie
Thanks Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie!
DeleteGarth, you are a handsome boy! You got our vote for Mango Minster. Plus, we yellow labs gotta stick together!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I'll have to check out your blog - yellow labs ROCK!
DeleteWe like your adventures that involve swimming or water the best. :) Good luck to you.
ReplyDeletethe brown dawgs
Hi Garth! Congrats on placing at mango minster! I'm proud you are my pal! I came back to this post because I remembered this was one where I could not see on of your pictures. I went back to my computer to see if it was different and it is- I can't see the swinging from vines video when Im in the app on my iPad but when I go to the computer I see it fine. I just did not realize the things I was missing were videos- that is def different than the photo problem and I would not worry about it- prob just the app I use. It looks like you embedded the video using blogger though? A lot of people run into problems with these not playing sporadically and have switched to YouTube. It is super easy to embed them into blogger from YouTube and think more people can play it... Just a suggestion that has nothing to do with your latest photo issue...
ReplyDelete