2013 Fit Dog Challenge

 Our friends at All Things Collie issued a Fit Dog Challenge to be completed between May 13th and June 15th.  To participate you have to complete 10 of the 15 things that were listed.

Here are the challenges that were listed (what's in blue is what we chose to do):

• Hike by a Waterfall
• Get your paws wet (cooling off in a body of water)
• Up High (rock climbing)
• Intrepid Explorer (explore a cave or meadow)
• Call of the Wild (show a wolf pose in the woods)
• Do your ears hang low? (crawling under something)
• You shall not pass! (cross some sort of bridge)
• A well-traveled dog (visit 3 different parks)
• Keep hydrated (show taking a break and drinking water)
• The Social Canine (visit 3 other bloggers that joined this blog hop)
• Who let the dogs out? (visit a dog park)
• Stop and smell the roses (take a break and enjoy some flowers)
• Hit the Road (visit a park more than 30 minutes from home)
• Entertain your inner puppy (play on a playground)
• I see a Unicorn (take a break and enjoy the scenery)

We had a blast doing this Challenge!  Its gave us a good excuse to hit some trails and visit new areas.  We don't usually need an excuse to visit new places and hit trails, but its fun to use this BlogHop has a different way to document all that we have done in the last month.

So here we go with what we chose to do!

1. Up High!

Given the terrain in WV showing Rock Climbing was almost to easy.  Here are a few different shots of us doing just that.

2. Intrepid Explorer!

Next up was going through a cave.  This was at Grandview National Park, part of the New River Gorge National River.

3. Call of the Wild!

And I think that pictures could just about pass for The Call of the Wild pose.  He kind of has his wolf face on with the eyes from the camera flash. But if that doesn't pass as a wolf pose this one may.

4. You shall not pass! 

Living in West Virginia we have all sorts of trails that have bridges.  

5. Get your paws wet! & 6. Keep Hydrated!

This is about the only thing Teach will get wet, willingly.  He loves to get his paws/legs wet and stick his whole snout into the water (up to his eyes) to get a drink of water.  Guess it really feels good.  He is so quick about it its hard to get a picture of it.  The first picture was from hiking around Thurmond.  The creek is Dunloup Creek.  The other two are at Cascade Falls in Pembroke, VA.

7. Hike by a Waterfall!

This one was fairly easy for us to complete with all the creeks/rivers around the area.  There is even one at our most frequented park.  

Cascade Falls Pembroke, VA

Falls along the creek of Dunloup

Waterfall at the dam at Little Beaver State Park (this is our "home" park)

8. Entertain your inner puppy! (play on a playground)

Not sure how much "fun" Teach had at some of this, but he was a trooper for it.  I even have a video I want to share for this part.

9. I see a Unicorn (take a break and enjoy the scenery)

We are always on the go so its nice to stop and watch the world go by on occasion.  Below are some pictures from several hikes where we just stopped and took the area around us.  

Crisp, clear day!

The New River below Thurmond

Smile for the camera!

Dunloup Creek

Overlook at Grandview National Park

New River from the Overlook at Grandview

Overlook, again, from Grandview

10. Hit the road (visit a park more than 30 minutes from your house).

At the beginning of May we visited Cascade Falls in Pembroke, VA.  This was about an hour from the house.  Its part of the Jefferson National Forest.  We had never hiked through a national forest before so was thrilled to get to try one.  This was a beautiful hike and a place we want to visit again.

11. Stop and smell the roses.

At our favorite park the rhododendrons have been in bloom for a few weeks.  This one was beside the docks and a very pail pink.  The evening sun was hitting it just right to make a very pretty picture.

12. A well-traveled dog (visit 3 parks)

In the pictures above we visited New River Gorge National Park Area (Grandview and Thurmond are part of this system), Little Beaver State Park and Cascade Falls (part of Jefferson National Forest).  

And with that we have completed the Fit Dog Challenge.  Thank you All Things Collies for hosting.  It was fun completing all these activities and taking pictures.  Its something we do on normal hikes, but fun to take the time and get pictures while doing it.  Can't wait to see if there are any more challenges ... we are always up for them.