The Ultimate Road Trip With Our Furry Sidekicks
This August my family and I took a road trip to Grand Teton National Park. In total we traveled 2,500 miles over 7 days in a mini van loaded with camping gear, snacks, 2 adults, 1 teen, and 2 mini Aussies. While we didn’t get to hike on wilderness trails in the park due to park rules, we got plenty of exploring and exercise. Here’s a recap of our journey and how we had fun with our pups.
1. Plan frequent people and pup stops during travel days. Dog-friendly zones like this one allowed our pups to run around off-leash. Every rest area we stopped at had a dog walk. I took pictures of their most recent vet well checks which had their proof of vaccinations.
2. Research local wildlife in the areas you’re traveling to. Grand Teton National Park is home to a lot of wildlife. We saw deer and elk on this trip. We were warned about a black bear that frequented one of our campsites daily but never saw her. We kept our pups’ food dishes, treats, toys, and kibble stored each night and in between uses.
3. Play it safe. Follow the park and campground rules. We stored all dog food, treats, bowls, water bowls and all our items in a bear bin or our car. Dogs don’t need as many things to keep them happy as we think. Whenever we left our site, the only items out were our tent, chairs, and hammock.
4. Look for places to exercise and explore with your fur babies. Ask locals for recommendations or check your map online. Emily Stevens Dog Park in Jackson, WY provided over 5 gorgeous miles to hike and swim (will the doggies swam). We packed extra blankets and snacks for out tired, soggy doggies.
5. When traveling out west in the US, plan to see wildlife even in urban areas. We talked about what to do and how the dogs might react. We didn’t see any bears, elk, or moose while getting a burger in town, but kept bear spray on us and read signage like this one. In Jackson there are many reminders about watching for wildlife. We found a safe town park to chill and take a break from busy sidewalks.
6. Plan some (in our case, plenty of) chill time. The extra stimulation that travel brings can sometimes be overwhelming or stressful for pets. Just like you, pets need to decompress. We enjoyed many hands of cribbage, cups of coffee, and hammock time while our doggies rested. While some dogs like a raised dog bed for chilling out in camp, one of ours prefers lounging in a chair.
7. Just enjoy this time together! This is our sweet Jenny Lake site, and the campground host promised an early morning bear viewing of a solo sow that has been wondering through our site regularly. We were instructed to bring everyone (and every morsel and product) into our car at first sight of her. Could it be the famous 399? Probably not because he didn’t mention cubs, and 399 had older cubs this year. We’ll never know because she never showed up. Our doggies were content to scope for chipmunks and red squirrels and rested in between our walks. We always kept them on a leash in camp on this trip.
