triathlon – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #362 – Sports, Sporting Events and Fun Games

August 23, 2025August 23, 2025Posted in Photography, Sporting EventsTagged American Football, Baseball, Games, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Sailing, Soccer, Sporting Events, Sports Teams, Swimming, triathlon66 Comments

Everyone gets scared, and everyone falls. The key is to get back up and try again.

Shannon Miller, American gymnast, winner of 7 Olympic medals

My featured image is from the 1996 Olympic yachting events in Savannah.

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of sport is: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

This week I am challenging you to feature sports activities. Show us your favorite sports, teams, athletes, fans, sporting equipment, stadiums, or anything else related to sports.. You can also include fun games you can play with your friends such as croquet, ping pong or horseshoes.

I have many happy memories of cheering on my children and grandchildren at their sporting events

I hated every minute of training, but I said “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion”

Muhammad Ali

Have you ever witnessed or participated in a triathlon? The following gallery shows the start of the swim portion of a triathlon in Florida and two bicyclists in the cycling portion of a triathlon in Virginia. In my mind, every one who participates in a triathlon is a champion.

Kite surfing, surfing, paddle boarding and swimming are just a few of the many types of water sports.

My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.

Hank Aaron, American baseball player who held the record for most home runs in a season for many years

This baseball gallery includes former Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, an Atlanta Braves spring training game, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium as seen from the top of the St. Louis Arch. Play Ball!

This motor sports gallery includes the start of the Daytona 500 NASCAR race and a power boat race.

Do you enjoy fun outdoor games like Croquet?

American football season is almost here. Soon high school stadiums will be filled with fans as the teams compete on Friday nights, on Saturdays college campuses will be filled with fans in town to attend the game, and on Sundays games in the professional NFL will be played all across America.

My husband and I have always been huge fans of University of Georgia Bulldogs. We had season tickets for many years and on many Saturdays we would cheer on the Dawgs from our seats in Sanford Stadium. This gallery shows the excitement of game day with fans tailgating before a big game, the team running through the band as they enter the field, the stadium filled with fans for a night game, and action on the playing field.

Today there are hundreds of different sports played around the world. Your challenge is to show images from any sports or games you choose. They can be action shots, crowds of fans dressed in their team colors, stadiums and other venues, your favorite team or athlete, sports you participate in, or anything else sports related.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of your sports images. Use your imagination and have fun! Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to this post. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

You showed us some amazing doors last week for Sofia’s challenge Doors. We hope you will join us for Anne’s challenge on August 30 at noon Eastern Time.

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Sunday Stills – In the Swim

July 6, 2025July 6, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged In the Swim, kayaking, Kite Surfing, OWS, Photo Challenge, Sunday Stills, swim, Swimming, triathlon, Water Safety17 Comments

Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge focuses on water safety. Her challenge is to show fun things in and around the water.

I love being in, on, or close to water. I’m a former lifeguard and scuba diver. I love boating, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, or just floating in the water. My favorite form of exercise is water aerobics. I strongly believe in educating people about water safety.

My first two images involve swimming. The featured image is swimmers at the start of the swim portion of a triathlon. The next image is a swimmer at a swim meet.

These next two images are lifeguards keeping beach goers safe. On the left are lifeguards on a beach in Georgia. On the right are lifeguards in Kauai, Hawaii. Many thanks go out to all the lifeguards everywhere.

The next two images feature kite surfers. This is a water sport I never attempted. It’s a lot of fun to watch them, though.

The next two images are kayakers in Hawaii on the left and Florida on the right.

I can’t have a post about swimming without featuring a photo of our beloved dog Blondie. Oh how she loved to swim! I still miss her.

Shared with Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge In the Swim but Staying Safe

Also shared with Debbie’s One Word Sunday Red

A few days in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia

September 16, 2015June 24, 2017Posted in Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Virginia, Wildflowers, WildlifeTagged Blue Ridge Parkway, Claytor Lake, deer, fawn, Floyd Country Store, Rocky Knob, triathlon23 Comments

Fall was in the air when we arrived in Virginia. In just a few days we went from hot and muggy to crisp and cool. Our shorts and tee shirts were traded for jeans and sweatshirts. The air conditioner was turned off and the windows were open to let the fresh air in. And the best part was campfires at night.

We love to stay at Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin, Virginia when we visit our daughter’s family. We had a great time hanging out with our grandkids in their new home and meeting their two new kittens. Watching our granddaughter’s swim team practice and our grandson’s soccer game were the highlights of this trip and the reason we came up here.

Sadly, we couldn’t spend every minute with the family so we spent some time exploring the area. This was our fifth stay at Claytor Lake and wandering on the many trails in the park is always one of my favorite activities.

Trail at Claytor Lake State Park

Wildflowers in the woods at Claytor Lake State Park

One day we decided to take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In order to get to our destination, the Rocky Knob Visitor’s Center at milepost 170, we had to drive about 30 miles on a narrow country road through beautiful farmland. After a stop at the visitor’s center to get my National Park Passport stamped we had lunch in the picnic area. A narrow one way road winds through the picnic area which has picnic tables scattered around the hills.

Rocky Knob picnic area on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

After lunch we enjoyed our short drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views from the overlooks were spectacular

Blue Ridge Parkway from overlook at Rocky Knob Visiter's Center — Blue Ridge Parkway from overlook at Rocky Knob Visiter’s Center

Buffalo Mountain from the Saddle Overlook on Blue Ridge Parkway

We only drove about ten miles on the parkway before exiting to the town of Floyd for a return visit to the Floyd Country Store. I posted about our visit to their Sunday Jam Session in this post from 2013.

Saturday morning before driving to Roanoke to our grandson’s soccer game I walked down to the lake to watch the start of the Claytor Lake Triathlon. An 80 year old man, his 50 year old son and his grandson all participated in the event. After watching the swimmers take off, I walked to the beach to see them exit the water and run to their bikes to begin the bike race.

Start of the Claytor Lake Triathlo

Waiting for the swimmers

Swimmers heading for the beach

Starting the bike ride

On our last morning at the state park I woke up to see four deer in the campground.

Deer visited the campground on our last morning at Claytor Lake

On Sunday afternoon our daughter’s family came out for a visit. So much fun sitting by the fire, going for a walk, playing ladderball, and sharing a meal of burgers, hot dogs and of course s’mores. A perfect end to our stay at Claytor Lake.