James River Loop Hike

Mom really needed a good long hike, and I'm ALWAYS up for a hike.  So today we hiked what we call the James River Loop, starting at Barker Field, then hiking downriver along the edge of Maymont Park on the North Bank Trail to Kansas Avenue to Texas Beach, then along the edge of Hollywood Cemetery, then over to Belle Isle, around Belle Isle, then across the access bridge to the south bank of the river, then upriver along the south bank to Reedy Creek, then along the Buttermilk Trail, to the Boulevard Bridge and across the bridge to our starting point.  We're so lucky to have such wonderful trails right here in the city.

It was a GREAT hike!  And it was indeed long.  Toward the end, even I was getting a little tired.  It was raining when we started, but the rain didn't last long, and the the sun even came out briefly.  The temperature was perfect -- nice and cool, hovering around 50 degrees.  It was perfect lab weather.  The river was very high and the trails were muddy (and some were underwater) -- perfect trail conditions, as far as I'm concerned!  I love hiking and I REALLY love mud!

What are we waiting for?  Let's hit the trail!

The trail to Texas Beach was a bit soggy

Where did Texas Beach go?

Yep, this is the trail

Zoomies!

Zoomies!

North Bank Trail, headed downriver

The river is the highest I've ever seen it

North Bank Trail, with the city skyline ahead

Not in the mood for photos

View of Hollywood Rapids and Belle Isle, from the North Bank Trail

????

This sign always makes us laugh

Looking upriver at Hollywood Rapids, taken from the  footbridge to Belle Isle

Looking upriver

On the Belle Isle footbridge

Does this apply to me?

Hollywood Rapids

Grazing by the quarry on Belle Isle

First Break Rapids

Looking upriver, from the bridge on the south side of Belle Isle.
The rocks where we like to play are all under water!

On the bridge on the south side of Belle Isle

Walking along the southern shore

This is the actual trail.  It's definitely my kind of trail!

Trail conditions were muddy!

A cool bridge on the Buttermilk Trail

On the Boulevard Bridge

Sunset from the Boulevard Bridge

A very tired, muddy pup

Close-up of the mud line

Lately I've been having too many adventures

Lately I've been having so many adventures, I haven't had time to blog about them!  I had a very nice visit to the Hanover Branch of the Pamunkey Regional Library for a special Valentine's Day program.  The nice library lady read a couple stories, I did some tricks for the children, then the children made Valentine bags and visited with me and petted me.  We had a great turn-out with lots of kids.  And the nice library ladies gave me a hedgehog toy and a smiley-face mat to use when I do my "wipe your paws" trick!

Just let me play with the hedgehog!

Carefully examining my new hedgehog

I LIKE this hedgehog

I spent Valentine's Day with my friends at All Dog Adventures, doing my usual Tuesday routine, which is playtime and Smart Swim, which would have been great enough in itself.  But then I got selected to be Dog of the Day by Best Bully Sticks!  On our way home, Willow's mom texted us that Willow got the Valentine I sent her, and she sent us some photos of Willow and the Valentine.  I think Willow really liked it.  I was worried that it would arrive late, so I was very happy she got it on Valentine's Day.

Willow and the Valentine I sent her
Photo by Willow's mommy

That's my paw print on the left (remember my "Failed Valentines" post?)
Photo by Willow's mommy

Later that evening, Mango Minster 2012 Adventure Animals winners were announced, and I tied for THIRD PLACE!  This was super-exciting for me, since I'm very new to blogging and I was up against a number of seasoned bloggers and very impressive Adventure Animals.  I already wrote a post about that, but I have to show off my Winner's Circle badge.  Isn't it lovely?!?!

That Saturday, our All Dog Adventures Trick Dog Team performed at the Henrico Humane Society Pet Expo, and it was a smashing success.  I plan do a whole separate blog post about that because a friend of mine took lots of great photos and a couple people took videos.

And last weekend was a TWO HIKE WEEKEND!  Mom had planned to spend Saturday cleaning, because we were planning to be away hiking all day Sunday, but Jennifer texted us on Friday night and asked if we wanted to go to the river Saturday morning with her and the goldens, and of course we couldn't say no.  (This is why our house is rarely clean.)

It was a cold, blustery but beautiful morning and we had an awesome hike.  I hadn't hiked with the goldens before, but they turned out to be very pleasant hiking companions.  They really seemed to enjoy the hike!  (Mom didn't get much cleaning done, by the way, but she did manage to finally take down our Christmas decorations that afternoon.)

Preacher and Scully, with the wind in their ears

Preacher and Scully

Me, Preacher, and Scully, pausing for the mandatory photo session on the rocks south of Belle Isle

Scully appears to have had enough of the photo session!

Then on Sunday, we had another EPIC Dog Scout hike, to White Oak Canyon!  We hiked all the way up a very steep mountain!  This was no problem for the doggies, but some of the humans (like my mom) were really struggling.  I was afraid mom was gonna' need supplemental oxygen!  Mom says it's because we're flatlanders and have little opportunity to hike mountains or even big hills.  So she says we need to hike more mountains to get in better shape!  Here's a preview of an upcoming post about that hike:

Hiking back down the mountain

So much has been going on, plus we have a busy week coming up with the Woof, Wag, Walk and Pet Parade next Saturday, March 10 from 12 to 4 at Taylor Park in Hanover County.  


Dog Scout Troop #194 will be doing a tricks demonstration (starring ME!) and we will also have a booth selling home-made dog and people treats to raise money for SEVA GRREAT, Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education, and Training!

More posts to come!

I'm feelin' HOT HOT HOT!!!

Last week, while the rest of the world was busy watching a dog who looks like a mop win Westminster, I was busy competing in the far more interesting Mango Minster, the most prestigious show EVER in the world of blogging, hosted by the One and Only Mango, the Relentlessly Huge.

I entered the Adventure Animal category because, while I'm extremely cute, I work hard as a volunteer therapy dog and entertainer, and I frequently make huge messes by eating and shredding paper products all over the living room, I am, above all, an Adventure Dog.

You can check out my entry here (my Mango Minster 2012 entry) and the post announcing the winners of the Adventure Animal category here (Adventure Animals Winners!).  And here is the final post, announcing the Best in Show winners and all of the winners at the bottom of the post: Best in Show Winners.  If you'd like to read the other entries, go to the Mango Minster blog site and look at the column on the right side of the page.  There were many excellent and very entertaining entries.

Adventures with sea creatures

The results came in last Tuesday, and -- I won I won I won!!! I won THIRD Place in the Adventure Animal category in Mango Minster 2012!  Actually I tied for Third Place with Honey the Great Dane.  Honey's entry was fabulous, and I can think of no greater honor than tying with Honey, a Great Dane who does freestyle(!) and goes on secret missions at the direction of the family cat.

I won a surprise goodie bag that I'm sure will be awesome, but I told my mom that I believe I should get a trophy cup that I can sit in -- just like the mop has.  Mom said that trophies are not traditionally awarded in Mango Minster -- actually the prizes are much nicer things like treats and goodie bags -- but she would see what she could do.

Well, little did I know, my mom has a hidden talent -- trophy making!

Very proud of my Third Place trophy

It's so shiny, it reflects my very good-looking yellow lab head

Okay, enough posing

My trophy sitting on the mantle

And now for my long awaited (it's been five whole days since my win was announced) and highly anticipated acceptance speech:

I would first like to thank Mango and his momma for all the work they put into Mango Minster. It must be an enormous undertaking -- almost as enormous as Mango himself. It was so much fun to participate and to witness all of the behind-the-scenes action and intrigue. We REALLY appreciate it, and we hope it wasn't too taxing on your mentals. And it was awfully nice of Dexter to take over blogging duties while Mango was occupied with Mango Minster.

I would also like to thank the Adventure Animal judges Zim and Dave. They were faced with the very difficult task of selecting three (okay, so they picked four) winners out of 20 winning entries.

I'd like to thank my fellow competitors and their families and IT staff. Your adventures and your entries were very impressive. I had no idea I would be up against bicontinental adventurers and secret agents! I am honored to have competed against Adventure Animals of your caliber. I'm also thrilled to see that so many other dogs -- and cats and horses and frogs and hermit crabs -- are having adventures, in their backyards or in the Swiss Alps.

I'd like to thank all my new blogging friends for enthusiastically welcoming me into the Dogs With Blogs community. And my less new blogging friend Southernmost Moose for introducing me to Mango Minster and DWB to begin with.

Many thanks to all my friends, new and old, who voted for me and supported me in this endeavor.

Of course I have to thank my parents for making all my adventures possible, and my IT staff (AKA mom) and photographer (AKA dad) for assisting me in documenting my adventures.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the people who have brought adventure to the dogs of Richmond, Virginia: our Dog Scout Troop Leader Jennifer (who founded our local troop, Troop #194), our hiking guide and the founder of Canine Adventure, Josh, and our hiking guide, Brian. Jennifer, Josh, and Brian are rock stars. They have organized and led us on amazing hikes, shown us all the great trails in Richmond, and inspired us to do more and more hiking on our own. They have fearlessly led us through freezing cold rivers and smelly mud, rock-hopping and over dams and bridges and all kinds of scary obstacles. They have helped us build confidence, and they have shown us a great time, over and over again.

I also want to thank my hiking buddies, my Dog Scout friends, my trick dog friends, and my therapy dog friends for sharing my adventures. Since I'm an only child, I truly value my time with other doggies, and adventures are more fun when other pups are along.

And finally, I thank my girlfriend and best friend Willow, for always standing by me, for being extremely loving and supportive of all my pursuits, and for accompanying me on many of my adventures.

Thank you all from the bottom of my big puppy heart!

Last night I was napping on the couch next to mom and I was dreaming, so my paws were moving and I was making little dreamy noises. And all of a sudden mom heard this thump thump thump. I was wagging my tail in my dream! I don't usually remember my dreams, but I know I must have been dreaming about Mango Minster and how I am, at long last, a champion show dog.

Test Post - Zoomies

I'm having problems with photos not showing up in my blog posts.  For example, my post last week on the Pumphouse Loop hike is supposed to include these photos, but doesn't.  So I'm trying once again to post last week's zoomies photos, and trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong in posting photos.

So if you can see these photos, enjoy!

If you can't see the photos, please post a comment letting me know -- it will help me in trouble shooting my photo issues.  Thanks!