Special Events — Page 2

The Writer’s Blog Tour

November 7, 2014 by admin

Introducing Eve Fleishman, our multi-faceted friend who nominated us. She’s a “forty-something, married, no kids, two cats, small apartment in the big city kinda gal” with a lot on her plate as a singer-songwriter-performer-blogger. Check out her interview on her blog, Alice and the Rabbit Hole.

Ever have a completely unremarkable week when out of the blue comes an interesting opportunity? Such was the case upon hearing from a long-time friend: the über-talented singer-songwriter (and newly blogging) Eve Fleishman! Hers was a nomination of Intrepid Pup to participate in a virtual Writer’s Blog Tour. Tag, you’re it! And while Intrepid Pup followers have probably noted that we don’t do (m)any blog hops, here’s one where we’re going all in to give that proverbial “peek behind the curtain” on the writing process and then paying it forward by spotlighting some fellow writers to continue the tour. Read all the way to the end to meet our two nominees.

But first, on to our Writer’s Blog Tour interview:

What am I currently working on?

Part of Team Tavish While I was lucky to be able to take vacation time from my regular job to get on some longer, really great road trips with Tavish this year, the flip side is that there unfortunately hasn’t been much time to write them all up. Anecdotes and good tips galore. And oodles (read: thousands) of photos to filter through! Bottom line…there’s a lot in the pipeline at the moment. Intrepid Pup fans can look forward to forays into literally new territory: an unforgettable few days of urban exploration in the Big Apple, hikes in first-time states for Tavish, and hey(!) in October, Intrepid Pup went international. So, there’s a border crossing and several days in scenic Canada, where, I kid you not, one of the first things we heard was, “So, you’ve got a super sweet dog there, eh?” Beyond that, come December, I’ll be prepping a couple of new installments for our seasonal feature (now heading into its third year) entitled, “The National Howl-iday Scene.” And I really have to go back and finish a couple of posts that have been rattling around for waaaay too long, including “Bark Ranger in the Port City” which will recount Tavish’s visit to a newly refurbished National Park site and his inaugural call out as a “celebrity.” They’ll be worth the wait—promise!

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

The blogosphere is increasingly made of up people posting about their pets. The millennia-old bond between canines and humans is cited in everything from scientific journals to reality TV. And given the growing, multi-billion-dollar pet services industry, cherishing one’s dog is hardly unusual. To tout Tavish as “the best” diminishes all the other great relationships people have so fortunately forged with their pets. Yet Tavish is my best, and I’m lucky to have found so steadfast a companion who also happens to serve as muse.

There are some terrific websites that have demystified the concept of traveling with one’s pet and immensely facilitated locating dog-friendly destinations and lodging. And while it’s easier than ever before to confidently decide upon a place and get there with your dog, I still don’t think there are a lot of detailed resources devoted to what activities you can actually do with your dog once you’ve arrived so that you’re both getting the most out of it. Sightseeing, exercise, learning, fun and spending time with your dog don’t have to be mutually exclusive activities. I feel that IntrepidPup.com’s niche is to sit squarely at the intersection of storytelling and authenticity, and I especially like that this blog has attracted crossover audiences among dog lovers, avid outdoorsmen, travel enthusiasts, and history buffs. It’s been gratifying to see how the Intrepid Pup has evolved into a brand influencer not only on the dog blog scene but also among museums, cultural and historic sites and national parks.

Why do I write what I do?

Tavish_TeamTavish IntrepidPup.com kind of just happened. Really. The one thing that people seem to universally comment on about Tavish is that he always seems really happy, and that rubs off. You can’t help but smile. A ready gift to share with others is how personable he is, and that’s something one can feel all the way down the leash and back up again. Lifestyle-wise—as the human part of Team Tavish—I’m an outdoor enthusiast and amateur photographer with a professional background in museums. Friends had been encouraging me to write and somehow combine these elements. When a job change a few years back meant I wasn’t doing as much writing and designing, I turned to developing IntrepidPup.com as a way to fill and nurture that creative void. I spent some time figuring out what my niche would be (as I mentioned earlier) and had some basic goals in mind but never anticipated IntrepidPup.com becoming the award-winning platform it is today.

How does my writing process work?

What’s my writing process? Well, the dog does the typing, so that’s a big time saver. *I wish*

Oh, it’s sooo easy! Says no writer. Ever. You know that expression about sausage? Where it’s best not to see it getting made? Well, usually, so too, is my writing process. It’s complicated. A little messy, even. I’ve always enjoyed writing and am a bit of a grammar and vocab geek, so the flow, precision and word choice aspects of writing are appealing. For me, writing is like assembling one of those maddening 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. I don’t write in order: I zip around, write a little of the conclusion, pop back up to the lede, scroll down to some random part in the middle, swap out sentences here and there. I’m that jigsaw puzzler who snaps together all the edge pieces and then plugs away at filling in the difficult bits. Because exploring with Tavish is the fodder for my written end-product, I have to make sure I’m making the time to get out there and explore in the first place. Since I’m pretty visual and also aware that I’m writing for an online audience, I’m thinking at the outset about how it’s going to look on the screen—from the layout to image selection with the number and size of the photos. With the Intrepid Pup articles, I frequently turn back to a brochure I picked up along the way or to (sometimes illegible and cryptic) notes I’ve jotted during an excursion. I always surprise myself with how much back-end research winds up going into a piece, even when I’m “writing what I know” from personal experience. I write directly on the computer but will never fully relinquish the material comfort of having scraps of paper and a pencil close at hand. I know when I’ve finished, and it’s akin to that moment when the puzzle piece you’ve already examined and touched a hundred times turns out to be the one that slips effortlessly into the final gap to complete the picture. Simultaneously satisfying and anticlimactic.

Continuing the tour…

My nominees to continue the Writer’s Blog Tour are Sharon Boston of Nerd Trips and Trevor Johnson and Ryan Pratzel, the creative team behind Travel at Random. I’m grateful for their friendship but also consider them trusted sources when it comes to informative, entertaining writing. Get to know them a little better for yourself with these introductions below, and look for their own interviews in the coming days:

Sharon Boston | Nerd Trips

Sharon Boston combined her natural curiosity about people, quirky sense of humor and interests in travel, history and architecture into a unique blog—Nerd Trips: Roads Less Traveled to Presidents, Poets & Other Historic Persons. Through a writing style once described as “breezy and informative,” Sharon transports readers to locations ranging from the O. Henry World Championship Pun Off and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to Lincoln’s boyhood home and the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

On a Nerd Trip, you can stand in the room where James Madison spent months writing the Constitution, then hear a lady ask where Dolley’s dogs are buried. Or debate with park rangers about which president would win a foot race. And if you think Poe’s stories are scary, you should see the stairs in his house.

Nerd Trips are more than just learning facts about famous people, part of the fun is the laughs you have along the way, discovering small towns, local eateries and kooky characters. Come along for the ride!

Ryan Pratzel and Trevor Johnson | Travel at Random

Travel at Random shares the journeys of Ryan Pratzel and Trevor Johnson. We travel for business, we travel for pleasure and we travel for the fun of it. Our blog is a mix of reviews, travel guides, attractions and tips we pass along. Ryan has been traveling most of his life. A former journalist, Ryan owns a video production and marketing company. Trevor is the web developer behind the blog and contributor as well to the ever expanding content. We’re both avid travelers always seeking our next adventure.

TravelAtRandom.com has taken our readers from New York City to a remote glacier in Alaska’s wilderness, from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe and everywhere in between. Our mission is to share our experiences and hopefully help and learn from fellow travelers along the way. Join us on our journey!

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Filed Under: Special Events Tagged With: blog, blog hop, bloggers, history, interview, Nerd Trips, reviews, tips, tour, travel, Travel at Random, why I write, writers, writing

National Howl-iday Scene, Part VI: President’s Park

December 25, 2013 by admin

Tavish beholds the National Christmas Tree from the Pathway of Peace in President’s Park. The national tree has been illuminated by GE since 1963–originally with thousands of incandescent bulbs and now entirely by eco-friendly LEDs. The lighting design changes each year.

Intrepid Pup Tavish has been in dogged pursuit of the best of the national howl-iday scene. In Christmases past and present, he’s sniffed out “Season’s Greenings” activities at the U.S. Botanic Garden, Christmas at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, yuletide preparations at The Biltmore, and much more (see the blog index for the others). His next stop? The National Christmas Tree!

The tree lives year-round on the grounds of President’s Park, 82 acres maintained by the National Park Service and encompassing the White House itself. For much of the year visitors take little note of the evergreen on the Ellipse, but come December, it becomes the focal point of the park. Fitted with a mantel of LED lights, the tree is officially turned on by the President during a televised ceremony complete with a concert.

Tavish in President's Park with the 2012 National Menorah

Lighting of a national menorah was a tradition begun by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 in nearby Lafayette Park. The 30-foot menorah was incorporated into the President’s Park festivities in 1987. Here’s Tavish in 2012 on the final night of Hanukkah.

President Franklin Pierce is credited with putting up the first Christmas tree inside the White House in 1856, but it wasn’t until 1923 that President Calvin Coolidge lit a national tree outside for the benefit of the American people. For more than 90 years, the storied tradition of a national Christmas tree has continued. Early on, the ceremony took place either on the White House lawn or in nearby Lafayette Park, and various trees were designated as the “national community Christmas tree.” During WWII a national tree was decorated but never illuminated. When the ceremony permanently moved to its existing location on the Ellipse in 1954 to better accommodate crowds, the National Park Service began annually cutting and transporting a tree to the site. By the early 1970s, however, they returned to having a planted tree, and there have been 5 since. The long standing 1978-2011 tree was removed after irreparable storm damage. Its replacement lasted only a year before succumbing to transplant shock. The current National Christmas Tree—a 28-foot-tall Colorado Blue Spruce—was planted in October 2012.

Just as the trees have changed, so too has the pageantry at President’s Park evolved. Various elements have been added, such as a menorah (1987), a model railroad (1993), and Santa’s Workshop (2008); others have fallen by the wayside like the Yule Log (2012) and live reindeer. Performances by local choirs and musical groups occur nightly (except Mondays) following the initial tree lighting ceremony and continue all the way up until Christmas Eve. What has remained a constant since first introduced on the Ellipse in 1954 is the Pathway of Peace, a walkway lined by cut Fraser Firs to flank the National Christmas Tree each December. The Pathway now contains 56 tree representing all 50 states, plus Washington, DC, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each is decorated with distinctive ornaments handmade by schoolchildren and artisans from that region.

Dogging the Details

38°53′41.57″N, 77° 2′10.98″W
The National Christmas Tree, President’s Park, Washington, DC
Annually, early December to January 1 ( site is accessible 10 AM – 10 PM)

The 2013 National Christmas Tree with the White House in the background.

President’s Park ranks a “1” on the Intrepid Pup’s wag-a-meter for being relatively easy to get to and for providing a unique experience once you’re there. If you’re coming with your dog, plan on doing some walking as you can’t bring your pup on the Metro system. Metered street parking is available, though, and we’ve found that it’s usually a little easier to find a space in the blocks west or north of the White House. Timing your visit for during the week or early in the evenings also helps.

Leashed dogs are permitted on the grounds of the National Christmas Tree, and admission is free—no tickets or reservations are required. Be forewarned, however, that there are typically large crowds, which aren’t always every pup’s cup of tea. If your dog doesn’t like getting jostled or is otherwise prone to claustrophobia, simply forgo walking along the Pathway of Peace; you can still enjoy the tree lights from afar from various vantage points throughout the Ellipse. It’s also been our experience that visitors are so busy looking at the tree that they’re not necessarily looking down and may even be startled to see a pooch in their midst. For your and your dog’s comfort, we recommend visiting at an off-peak time. If you’re going at night, consider adding something reflective so your pet stands out and is visible to other passersby (Tavish’s Chilly Dog® jacket has reflective piping, and he sometimes wears his Nite Ize® SpotLit blinking LED collar light, too). Your best photo ops will come a bit away from the fray, where the Pathway leads south from the tree and opens up onto the Ellipse. With the tree and the White House as your backdrops in the middle distance, you also won’t be holding up throngs of foot traffic to get that perfect shot!

Filed Under: Historic Home, National Park, Special Events, Wag-A-Meter=1 Tagged With: Carter, Christmas, Coolidge, dog, Hanukkah, holidays, menorah, National Park, Pierce, presidents, Tavish, tree, vizsla, Wag-a-meter=1, Washington DC, White House

The National Howl-iday Scene, Part V: The Biltmore

December 10, 2013 by admin

Being there: Intrepid Pup Tavish heads to North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate to see how America’s largest home–and also among the most dog-friendly–prepares for the holidays.

Tavish cozies up to one of the lions flanking the entrance to the Biltmore.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so it’s high time for Tavish the Intrepid Pup to resume his series on the national “howl-iday” scene, scoping out what are arguably among the country’s most iconic—and dog-friendly—holiday spots. (Visit the index to find the four other venues that have made Tavish’s list to date!)

The Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, defines elegance and hospitality on the grandest of scales. George Vanderbilt II—grandson of renowned American industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt—was a prominent art collector who carved out his own considerable legacy in taking six years to build his magnificent country retreat on 125,000 acres with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With Richard Morris Hunt designing the house and preeminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted masterfully curating the grounds, Biltmore’s châteauesque appearance is reminiscent of fine European estates and stands as a testament to the sumptuousness of the Gilded Age. Vanderbilt debuted his home on Christmas Eve of 1895, so it’s especially fitting to make a visit during the holiday season. The annual “Christmas at Biltmore” festivities run from early November to mid January, and although most of the outdoor formal gardens have gone dormant for the winter, the home itself is arguably at its most splendid.

Tavish extended his Biltmore experience at Antler Hill Village, five miles from the main house but still on the grounds of the estate! There you’ll find the winery, an exhibition gallery, a farmstead, trailheads, and (weather-permitting) ample dog-friendly patio dining.

The transformation of Biltmore to its opulent yuletide finest is a highly orchestrated affair involving legions of designers, florists and staff. There’s different themed décor each Christmas, and preparations are well underway by September. According to one of the guides we met, the final two weeks of October are when things really hit a fever pitch. A giant live tree (always at least 35 feet tall!) is carefully installed in the Banquet Hall and adorned with hundreds of ornaments. Garlands are hung, and pastry chefs put the finishing touches on the signature gingerbread house. Unfortunately, photography isn’t permitted inside Biltmore, so you’ll just have to take our word for it that everything is as magnificent as you’d hope!

The tickets required for entry to the grounds include parking, shuttle service, a brochure-guided tour of the house, and access to the estate’s Antler Hill Village. Don’t miss the winery, where you’ll receive a complimentary tasting. Special Candlelight Christmas Evening tours are also available. Plan on spending a minimum of 90 minutes on the house tour—longer if you partake of the recorded audio guide (an extra fee applies). You’ll traverse three floors of living space—plus the basement kitchens, servants’ quarters and recreation areas. With 250 rooms, you can readily see why Biltmore is the largest private residence in America!

Leashed dogs are welcome at Biltmore, and while they can’t go in the house, there’s plenty of room to roam outside. You’re expected to clean up after your pet, and receptacles are conveniently located throughout the grounds. Biltmore offers a few outdoor self-service kennels, but we recommend savoring the Biltmore wonderland by exploring with your pup!

Dogging the Details

35°32′26.02″N, 82°33′8.35″W
Biltmore, Asheville, NC

Biltmore earns an enthusiastic “3” on the Intrepid Pup wag-a-meter for its unique offerings, canine heritage, and dog-friendly experiences.

Asheville is a refreshingly dog-friendly destination with—at last count—more than 30 accommodations for those traveling with pets. Team Tavish stayed at the Days Inn Biltmore East on Tunnel Road, just a 15-minute drive along I-40 to the Biltmore. Like many area hotels, ours offered the convenience of purchasing Biltmore passes directly from them at no markup. We visited Biltmore on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (one of the estate’s busiest days of the year) and even though we arrived shortly after the grounds opened for the day, parking spaces were already filling rapidly. Shuttles chauffeur guests from the various lots right to the front door. Dogs aren’t allowed on the shuttle, but when we let the parking attendant know we were traveling with a dog, he radioed ahead and kindly directed us to a parking area within easy walking distance instead.

Tavish ran the Deer Park Trail, which offers varied terrain, panoramic mountain vistas, and great views of the house. The trailhead for this 2.6-mile round trip hike is adjacent to Biltmore’s South Terrace. It feels like the backdrop for a movie set, and indeed portions of the films Being There, Last of the Mohicans and Forrest Gump featured these very grounds!

Tavish was eager to burn off some energy, so we checked out our hiking options. After George Vanderbilt’s death in 1914, his wife Edith “downsized,” selling off 87,000 acres to the U.S. Forest Service. Not to worry: 8,000 glorious acres remain with some 22 miles of trails from which to choose. A series of short loop routes (each under a 1/2 mile) total 2.5 miles in just the gardens alone. Longer trails of up to 4 miles round trip originate from the main house and also from the Antler Hill Barn near the winery, a 15-minute drive from the main parking lots. Since we were taking turns going on the house tour and walking Tavish, we selected the Deer Park Trail which begins at the house’s South Terrace and meanders through a hilly landscape down to the Lagoon. Racing through the tall grass, catching fleeting scents of various wildlife that consider Biltmore’s grounds their home, Tavish was following in the paw prints of the many dogs who’ve gone before.

Dogs have historically been numerous and well-loved at Biltmore. George and Edith Vanderbilt had a kennel of Collies and owned Borzois/Russian Wolfhounds and St. Bernards. The dogs purportedly had run of Biltmore’s first floor. Imagine that! The Vanderbilts’ only child Cornelia shared their affection for canines. As an adult, Cornelia maintained a kennel of Llewellin Setters and later, with her husband John Amherst Francis Cecil, had Salukis. And it seems the tradition continues; upstairs in the main house, we spotted a circa 1990 Cecil family portrait complete with a regal looking standard poodle named Blackberry.

This circa 1910 photograph (inset) depicting Cornelia Vanderbilt and beloved St. Bernard, Cedric, was replicated on Biltmore’s grounds in a 2010 sculpture by Vadim Bora (1954-2011). It was the artist’s final commission.

But of all Biltmore’s dogs, it’s Cedric that represents the pack. Cedric was the pet St. Bernard who appears in several vintage photographs held in Biltmore’s Archives. The Vanderbilts even gave Cedric’s progeny to family and friends. He lives on as the “voice” of the home’s audio tour for children. And if you head over to the estate’s Antler Hill Village, you can’t miss Cedric’s visage on the sign of his namesake tavern. If the weather is nice, sit out on the dog-friendly patio and raise a glass of Cedric’s Pale Ale or Brown Ale in his honor. A charming statue of Cedric playing with young Cornelia is out front (see photo above). While you’re there, you’ll also want to pop into the neighboring Outdoor Adventure Center and the Mercantile—Tavish discovered that the shopkeepers offered a complimentary treat to visiting pups! Biltmore’s staff members seem to genuinely embrace the pet-friendly ethic, making this historic home a great place to visit at Christmas or in any season.

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Gardens, Historic Home, Museums, National Register of Historic Places, Special Events, Wag-A-Meter=3 Tagged With: Biltmore, Biltmore Brewing Company, borzoi, Cedric, Christmas, collie, dog-friendly, Frederick Law Olmsted, hiking, intrepid pup, Llewellin Setter, North Carolina, Richard Morris Hunt, saluki, St. Bernard, trails, Vanderbilt, wolfhound

National Howl-iday Scene: Part IV

January 4, 2013 by admin

montage of Christmas at Mount Vernon images

Tavish revels in “Christmas at Mount Vernon.” From the greenery adorning the entrance gates to the themed decorations within, George Washington’s estate is a festive place to be all the way through the holiday season. The Intrepid Pup posed in front of the one of several lavish Christmas trees and drooled (literally) at seeing the elaborate display of gingerbread houses. He even had a few friendly licks for Mount Vernon’s dog-loving plantation manager whom he met on the grounds!

If you’ve been a longtime follower of the Intrepid Pup, you might recall that Tavish originally introduced you to dog-friendly Mount Vernon in IntrepidPup.com’s first-ever blog post. Now, Tavish returns to George Washington’s historic home on the banks of the Potomac River for Part IV in his round-up of the best of the DC metro area’s national “howl-iday” scene. (Visit the index to find the other spots that made the list)

“Christmas at Mount Vernon” is celebrated annually at the estate from late November through the first week of January. To the authentic artifacts and educational experiences that already draw nearly 1 million visitors a year, Mount Vernon adds special activities for the holidays. You can watch costumed interpreters explore historical foodways by making chocolate, view a gingerbread display depicting a half dozen of Mount Vernon’s buildings, and find richly decorated Christmas trees throughout the orientation center and museum. The rarely-seen third floor of the main house is open to visitors, and there are designated evenings prior to Christmas for candlelight tours.

Dogging the Details

38°42′29.65″ N, 77°05′07.67″ W
Christmas at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, Alexandria, Virginia

Christmas at Mount Vernon runs from late November through early January; check website for exact dates each year.

Tavish with Aladdin the Christmas Camel at Mount Vernon

“So, how long are you here?” Tavish shares a moment with Aladdin, the five-year old camel who puts in a guest appearance each year especially for “Christmas at Mount Vernon.”

As we’ve noted earlier, Mount Vernon does permit leashed dogs. While dogs do need to enter and exit via two public buildings, they’re otherwise instructed not to linger inside and understandably are not allowed at all in any of the historical structures.

There’s plenty to do on the 500-acre grounds—even in wintertime—and there are two things in particular to seek out that can only be seen during the six weeks encompassing “Christmas at Mount Vernon.”

The first is the camel. Yes, you read that correctly. George and Martha Washington used to welcome hundreds of people to their estate each year and were purportedly the consummate hosts. Records show that at Christmastime in 1787, Washington paid 18 shillings for the thrill of having a “Christmas camel” come to Mount Vernon to entertain his holiday guests. This tradition has been kept alive in the present day through Aladdin, a real live camel. Aladdin’s regular home is on a Virginia farm with other exotics, but for six much-anticipated weeks a year he’s the celebrated guest at Mount Vernon. On the morning of our visit, Aladdin was contentedly sitting in his outdoor enclosure. Mount Vernon’s plantation manager was also on hand giving a short spiel. Then a large and very excited group of Cub Scouts arrived and peppered him with questions. What we gathered from this fairly humorous exchange is that Aladdin is five years old—very young in camel years—and quite tame. No, he isn’t the same camel that Washington met(!), nor is he a descendant from that camel. Camels are used to cold nights in their natural desert habitat, so Aladdin is not bothered in the least by December temperatures in Virginia. He doesn’t spit, since apparently that’s a learned behavior. Oh, and his best friend is a zebra. The plantation manager caught sight of Tavish and noted that Aladdin is comfortable around dogs, so he invited the two to make an acquaintance. Tavish was clearly intrigued, and he and Aladdin peered curiously at one another through the fence.

Tavish maintains a respectful distance from the presidentially-pardoned turkey, Cobbler and his buddy Gobbler.

The other highlight to find is the turkey. Mind you, this isn’t just any turkey. This year it was Cobbler, who was officially pardoned by President Barack Obama as the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a White House ceremony on November 21, 2012. As part of the deal, Cobbler and his pal Gobbler greet the public throughout “Christmas at Mount Vernon” and then live out their retirement with other heritage breed animals as residents at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility. Tavish wasn’t nearly as keen on checking out the turkeys as he was the camel. Maybe it had something to do with Cobbler and Gobbler being pretty vocal and fanning their plumage, but Tavish elected to give them a very wide berth.

“Christmas at Mount Vernon” earns a “2” on the Intrepid Pup wag-a-meter, because just mentioning a dog, a camel, and a White House turkey in one breath sounds like some comedian’s opening line, right? Seriously, though, how many places can you witness such an unusual and historical combination for the holidays?

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Historic Home, Special Events, Wag-A-Meter=2 Tagged With: camel, Christmas, George Washington, holidays, Mount Vernon, turkey, Virginia, Wag-a-meter=2

National Howl-iday Scene: Part III

December 22, 2012 by admin

Tavish at the LDS Temple's Festival of Lights

Even raindrops can’t keep Tavish from basking in the glow of 600,000 lights at the Washington D.C. Temple.

Tavish the Intrepid Pup continues on the howl-iday trail throughout the greater Washington metro area. Stops so far have included the Capitol Christmas Tree and the U. S. Botanic Garden’s “Season’s Greenings.” Next on his itinerary: the annual Festival of Lights at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The site is a study in juxtapositions. Called the Washington D.C. Temple, it’s actually physically located in Kensington, Maryland. The maelstrom that is the Capital Beltway is just a stone’s throw away with more than 250,000 vehicles a day passing in the Temple’s shadow. And yet the Temple sits upon 52 beautifully wooded acres—in the midst of a residential neighborhood, really. The glistening facade of white Alabama marble looks like nothing else in the area, but it still manages to blend in harmoniously.

When it opened in 1974 it was only the 16th operating Temple; today there are more than 140. Six spires rise to 288 feet, making this Temple the Church’s tallest. While the adjacent Visitors’ Center is free and open year-round, visitation soars during the annual Festival of Lights celebration.

Dogging the Details

39°0′56.07″N, 77°3′56.21″W
Festival of Lights, Washington D.C. Temple – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Kensington, Maryland

The 35th Annual Festival of Lights runs from November 30, 2012 through January 1, 2013 with the lights coming on at dusk. Free concerts are offered nightly in the Visitors’ Center at 7pm and again at 8pm, with tickets available 90 minutes prior to each performance.

Tavish gazes upon the life-sized crèche outside the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center.

Team Tavish had the misfortune of timing this visit with a torrential downpour, so we didn’t stay nearly as long as we would have liked. The up-side to the weather, however, was that all 600,000 lights looked extra-spectacular reflecting off the drenched pavement. Tavish wasn’t too keen about getting rained upon but kept still long enough for a few photos as we gawked at the lights and stopped at the life-sized crèche.

Admission to the grounds is free. Non-Mormons are not permitted in the Temple itself, but all (well, excluding dogs) are welcome in the Visitors’ Center. When we arrived, crowds of people were streaming in to hear the first concert of the evening and see the displays of decorated Christmas trees and more than 100 nativity scenes from around the world. Had the Intrepid Pup not been with us, we would have ventured in as well!

The Festival of Lights earns a “1″ on the Intrepid Pup’s wag-a-meter for illuminating the joys of the season!

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