Parks Challenge: Location scouting for gorgeous scenery begins anew

We failed.

Last year, we joined the Spokane Parks Challenge and set a goal to visit all 102 parks on the list.

We didn’t.

It was still a success, however, because I found so many new locations for epic adventure sessions with your dog.

One of my favorites now is Lincoln Park on Spokane’s South Hill.

On our visit, Bella and I found a lovely spot to stop and create some cool urban forest images.

A couple of months later, I booked a session there for a Norwegian elkhound named Scout. By then, the grass had dried up under the hot summer sun.

Doing the Parks Challenge with a plan

OK, so visiting all 102 parks was a nutty idea.

This year, Bella and I are going to attack it strategically. We’re targeting the conservation areas.

They are definitely more in line with Big White Dog Photography adventures than most city parks. There are 17 of them and several of them you already will recognize from these pages, including Saltese Uplands, Dishman Hills, Antoine Peak and Liberty Lake.

Of course we’ll go back to those four and try to look at them with a new eye but we are looking forward to discovering new locations, like James T. Slavin, McKenzie and Gateway.

We won’t be getting started until mid-June. There’s lots happening in the land of Big White Dog, including sessions for the 2024 Paws of the Inland Northwest calendar in support of Companions Animal Center in Hayden, Idaho, and Tails of the World.

What the heck is Tails of the World?

Oh dear friend, I’m so glad you asked.

I belong to a collective called Tails of the World, a movement of pet photographers around the world who self-publish art books of their work and raise money for their local animal-related nonprofits.

Our fearless leader, Caitlin McColl, who is based in Australia, also gathers us to publish a roundup book called Tails of the World. There are more than 80 photographers involved and Big White Dog Photography has been selected for the second year in a row to represent the Inland Northwest.

Sessions are $200 with $150 becoming a donation to Pet Savers, which provides affordable spay/neuter and vaccine services to pet parents in our region. Upgrade to a full adventure session and get a $250 product credit toward art work.

Want more details?

All around the circle

I’ll be itching to get out and start exploring some new parks in the great Spokane Parks Challenge.

Another good reason for us to wait until June is that Bella hasn’t yet been cleared to do too much extra activity. She’s doing well and we are going for longer walks — in fact, she got to hang out with her friends Newt and Artie last weekend — but we have another month of rehab to go.

Our vet, Dr. Julie Sowa at Pawlouse Veterinary Therapy, says she’s a little behind where we want her to be and that can be tossed up to the fact Maremma sheepdogs are stubborn assholes. Bella will sit down in the middle of her rehab session and throw out her bag of nopes.

Nope. I’m not doing that exercise anymore.

It gets really dicey when she decides to stop while she’s in the hydrotherapy treadmill.

Kinda funny actually.

While we wait (but happily get shooting for the spring season), check out more parks from across Canada and the United States. Our pet photography blog circle went out to spotlight parks in our areas this week.

Start with Sandra McCarthy Photography in New Hampshire, who went to Acadia National Park.

Click the link at the bottom of Sandra’s post to continue through the circle. When you get back here to our next attempt at the Spokane Parks Challenge, that’s when you know you’re home.  

Right where you belong. 

And if you’re thinking about booking a Tails of the World session but aren’t sure where you might end up, check this out: