Henry the Beagle’s First Boat Ride

At ten years of age, Henry the Beagle is having a landmark year. In June, he went on his first camping trip at Mount Rogers, Virginia. Today, he went on his first boat ride. A canoe trip at Merchant’s Millpond State Park in North Carolina.

Henry was joined by Jimmie, who is an old pro when it comes to dog boating. Jimmie’s been on speed boats and row boats and paddle boats. A canoe would not be a tough transition for him.

It was a great day to paddle Merchant’s Millpond. With the crisp fall weather, the changing leaves, and the haunting backdrop of deformed baldcypress trees, it definitely felt like Halloween is approaching!

Fall Approaching in the Swamp

And what’s Halloween without a little orange? Both dogs wore their Outward Hound Life Jackets. One of the features of the jackets is the “rescue handle”. I have yet to have to use the rescue handle for an actual rescue, but as is wise with most outdoor equipment, we did test the feature out ahead of time:

Rescue Handles Working – Check

I am happy to say that Henry did an excellent job on the trip. In fact, he seemed more relaxed in the canoe than he is in the car.

Ryan with Henry

Jimmie and Vicky with Henry

I suppose it didn’t hurt that he had a lot of neat things to look at and smell.

Baby Beavers! Nutrias!

Changing Leaves and Stinky Algae

Just like camping, Henry surprised me with his calm and quiet. All these years, he had been limited to day hikes. I’m looking forward to taking him canoing again!

Till then, more pictures of Canoing Merchant Millpond State Park can be found on my Flickr site.

P.S. Mom– Don’t worry. No sign of the alligator today. 🙂