The Great Wander

We have two dogs.  A Gordon Setter and a Shih Tzu mix of some sort.  When we first started planning this adventure, especially the sailing part, a lot of people asked, “What about your dogs? Are they coming with you?” My first, obvious, gut reaction, was “Of course!”  Then I started wondering, how does that work?  There are lots of obstacles to traveling with dogs, and we’ve encountered several of them while visiting national parks this past month.  But all obstacles can be overcome in some way.

For many good reasons dogs aren’t always welcome on trails.  I can’t imagine taking a dog to Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.  Getting them there would be challenging, if not impossible.  We climbed several 10-foot ladders to get in and out of the site, not too many dogs can do that.  Additionally, can you imagine walking by these 800-year-old structures and stepping in dog waste?  Let’s face it, there’s always a few dog owners that don’t clean up after their pets, which tends to ruin things for everyone.  So, having dogs in the parks is a challenge. 

Another consideration that can be challenging is the amount of time in the car driving between destinations.  Dogs need exercise, especially our younger Gordon Setter.  Dogs need water and bathroom breaks.  Dogs can get car sick.  So, you need to plan stops accordingly.  Of course, the opportunity to stretch our legs and grab a snack every few hours was good for us as well.

As we have been to several national parks, we’ve found several options.  Some are more desirable than others.  After Mesa Verde and Durango, we headed up to this great little campground about 50 miles south of Moab.  From there we were easily able to visit Canyonlands National Park, Bear’s Ears National Monument, Four Corners, Monument Valley, and Valley of the Gods.  We also hung out one day in camp.  On our visit to Canyonlands, we took the least desirable option with the dogs and kept them in the car with one of us or walked them on the pavement where they were allowed.  We traded who stayed with the dogs and who could hike trails.  Even though it wasn’t scorching hot yet, we set some time limits on hiking, so that no one person was stuck walking the road or sitting in a hot car.

It wasn’t a great option, but it worked.  The dogs got some limited exercise, we got to see some of the park and take some cool pictures.  Like I said, it wasn’t great.  There is some Bureau of Land Management land outside of the park that we used at the end of the day to get the dogs some good running exercise for a little bit while one of us cooked.  But, keeping dogs in the car isn’t the best option, especially if you really want to explore more.

Another option, which we used in Durango and Mesa Verde, was to leave the pups at a Doggie Daycare.  Kona, the Gordon Setter (follow him on Instagram at @kona.thegordon_setter) has been going to doggie daycare while we worked several times a week, so this wasn’t a big adjustment for him.  Here, we learned to really appreciate reviews left by other customers.  You do have to be a little picky, they are part of our family after all.  We found a daycare/kennel in Durango that Kona enjoyed being at so much he didn’t want to leave!  He was having a blast.  The next day, though, we used the kenneling service for the day in Mesa Verde National Park.  While it was convenient, I wouldn’t recommend it.  It kept the dogs safe, but that’s about it.  No playtime, out of the kennel every few hours.  Like I said, there was a lot of room for improvement.

A third option, board the pups at a kennel for a few days.  We did this so that we could see the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks.  We had a central spot that we stayed at, dropped the dogs off at kennel and then left them there for several days.  Outside of Kanab, we found a great kennel that really took good care of them and then we could see more of the parks.

There’s no way we could’ve hiked the Narrows in Zion National Park with the dogs.  The Narrows is a canyon where the Virgin River flows.  The canyon narrows the further in you hike, and in places you end up in chest deep water.  There were hundreds of hikers in the Narrows that day, and it was such a relief to know our dogs were safe and well cared for at the kennel.  That was an amazing experience.  It was also wonderful to be able to stay late and capture the sunset in the Grand Canyon, again knowing our pups were safe and sound.

I know some folks would say, “Just leave them at home”.  Well, that’s an option too… but not for us.   Our home right now is the Ford Expedition that we drive to each of these locations, and we didn’t want to kennel them for more than month.  There’s a lot of places that we’ve been able to get them out and let them run.  They enjoy being with us and us with them.  You can travel with dogs, it’s not as easy as not having dogs, but it’s doable.  You just need to have a little bit of forethought and consider their needs as well as your own.