continued....
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Follow the extra links provided to see even more pictures of her adventures
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 June 1st
 Yesterday we spent the day hanging out at the DZ (drop zone place for skydiving). This was our first visit for the season where the campers were all set up and several other dogs were milling about. The older she gets, the more amazed our friends are about Lily.
 Some of the people that wandered back to visit us hadn't seen her since last fall. Once they got over the amazement in the changes they noticed in her looks (she got a wee bit bigger and she was very fluffy from a recent bath); they marveled at her personality and demeanor. One guy asked me if she even barks. LOL You see, one of Lily's DZ rules is that she has to be very, very, quiet. They all just love her.
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 June 19th
This week we headed to Cannon Beach for some R&R. We rented a house just a quick walk to the beach. Lily was born about 10 miles down the coast from here in a town called Nahelem. I think this is why when we head out to the coast, she always starts squeaking and being restless even if we are 20 miles inland.
Our second day there found the weather your typical northwest misty, cloudy, cool and windy. But that didn't deter Miss Lily from exploring the beach.
  
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 July 4th
Happy 4th of July
Today we just had a calm, quiet day as Tyree was scheduled to head into work by 2pm. It is a beautiful summer day with a nice breeze, great temps and lots and lots of blue sky. We decided it would be a perfect day to head to our neighborhood trail. The flowers were all in bloom. Too beautiful.
 
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July 29th
Yesterday was a hot one. Temps soaring into the high 90's for the Portland is way too hot. Lucky for us the coast is just a nice drive down the road and relief could soon be in sight. So, off we went, in search of cooler temps and a relaxing afternoon on the beach.
The beach, as you know, is Lily's favorite place to be. At about 40 miles out she sits up in the back seat and begins her "are we there yet, are we there yet" squeaks. She continued that refrain off and on (about every 5-6 miles) until we got there. And, boy, you know she turned it up full blast when we made the turn off into Cannon Beach.
 
Get in the water? ...are you kidding? The water here is like melted ice cubes. I still can't believe the number of kids that were in the water without wet suits. Lily is not a swimmer; she really doesn't like it when her tail floats...LOL
You just can't go wrong with the beach. We headed out just before lunch and got to the coast just before 2p....spent several hours just strolling long the shoreline, taking time to splash in the shallows. Everyone we passed wanted to stop and chat about Lily. It got to the point when someone would ask "can I pet your dog" that she would have her head in their hand before they could finish the word "dog"...so much for anyone being intimidated by her size.
 
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August 25th
 This year's vacation took us up onto Vancouver Island British Columbia. Now, Vancouver Island is not to be confused with the Vancouver WA (where we live) nor with Vancouver BC (which is on the mainland across the bay from the Island).
It was a beautiful trip. The skies were sunny and the temps a nice moderate range between 70-80. Lily was excited from the time the first suitcase left the closet. Vacations are definitely her thing.
Butchart Gardens (just outside of Victoria) is one of the most dog friendly tourist attractions I have ever been to. Butchart Gardens is located just north of Victoria. It is a 100 year old botanical gardens that is a "must see" for anyone visiting the island.
As we were paying for our tickets at the gate, the gal looked into the truck and saw Lily and stated that "you can bring your dog inside to enjoy the gardens with you". Our day is starting out right. Lily believed, of course, that she was going in the whole time...LOL (I called ahead and knew already that she was welcome).
The very interesting part of the day was what a "tourist attraction" Lily turned out to be. Yes, we expected the normal looks and questions (you can't go anywhere with a shiloh these days and not get that...LOL). What we didn't expect was the constant requests to take her picture. So, now Lily is in about a dozen scrap books around the world.......LOLOLOLOL
After all the posing for her "public" I could only get her to sit once for me....
  
The Gardens were set up especially nice for dogs. Every so often they would have these great waterbowls discretely placed within the gardens...they even had special pumps in them so the water was always fresh and flowing. Lily became very good a spotting a watering station and took great advantage, even if she wasn't thirsty.
Then towards the end of our visit there was a station that had both the special doggy bowls and a regular water fountain for humans.....
Lily wasn't much interested in the plain ol' dog version....
she wanted the big one....LOL
Now this is a dog friendly place.....
and there was no extra charge for the furry ones.
The Wild Pacific Trail:
   
Whistler, BC: Lily really showed some of her tracking abilities here in Whistler. On Friday night we had checked into our hotel and then proceeded to meander around town taking in the sites and getting some dinner. After several hours we decided it was time to go up to our room and get Lily some dinner before settling in for the night. We usually play this "find it game" with her. We got into the lobby of the hotel (usually after she has already lead us there) and asked her where our room is <she turned down the right hallway>; once we got through the door to the hallway we again asked her which one was our room <she went down the hall a piece, turned to a door and tapped it with her nose> Wouldn't you know it, it was the RIGHT room!!! WTG, Lily. She had only been up to the room one time.
The next day we did a similar exercise with her. That morning after we checked out of the hotel, Tyree moved the truck to a public parking lot while me and Lily waited in the main square. When we decided to leave, we walked to the parking lot (Lily had never even been in that part of the town) and asked Lily to "find her truck". She's definitely an "air scenter"....she holds her head up; looking side to side, up front and back again. You can tell when she's figured it out as she really begins pulling on her lead. The closer we get to the target the more she pulls. Boy does she ever get excited when she gets there....LOL (this whole time we let her lead us).
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October 29th
Tyree had Monday off, so we thought we'd head up the mountain a ways and explore a new trail.....Ramona Falls was our destination and it is definitely a keeper. It was easy to get to the trail (only about an hour from home) and the setting was simply breathtaking.
The trail was about a 7 mile loop with the falls turning up just over 1/2 way. There was a great lushness surrounding us. The forest was filled with fir and hemlock and hardly any deciduous trees. The most interesting thing was all the moss along the forest floor....you could almost see it spreading, it seemed so alive.
  
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October 31st
 
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November 12th
Lily has taken up a new hobby, she's decided that she wants to try it out behind the camera for a while.
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