After a long winter, it was finally time for our first van trip of the season! After weighing our options, we decided that based on weather, it was best to cross Hovenweep National Monument off the list!

Living in the Four Corners region, we have been lucky to see so many ancestral ruins already, such as Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon, and Hovenweep ranks right up there with them — plus, it's very dog friendly! The national monument is set up to protect a valley with 800-year-old ancestral Puebloan villages, and in contrast to Chaco, Hovenweep was more of an agricultural settlement than a gathering place.

We had read online not to trust GPS when driving to Hovenweep, so we printed out directions, but all-in-all it was easier to get to than we had expected. The primary roads you're supposed to drive there are all paved. Approaching from Cortez on County Road G, the road names & numbers don't match between Google Maps and NPS directions — between the two, one road had five different names and numbers — but the distances between turns work out perfectly, and the signage is well placed and visible. That County Road G route is also known as McElmo Canyon, and had beautiful scenery along the way.

Most of the other roads in the area are dirt, and especially north of Hovenweep in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument area the smaller roads are said to be high clearance only — something our van with batteries & generator under the chassis sure isn't. If you stay on pavement and plan your travels, you'll do just fine. Watch out for the potholes, though!

What we loved about Hovenweep is that dogs are allowed everywhere (except for inside the visitor center — but they sell Bark Ranger tags so make sure you go in and get one!).

Hovenweep’s ruins are largely undisturbed and not reinforced much, so the public can’t walk into the structures like you can at some sites within Chaco Canyon. One plus to this is that anywhere you can go on a trail at Hovenweep, your dog can go too – as long as they’re on a leash no longer than 6 feet. This means not having to take turns with another person to hold dogs, while the other checks out a ruin.

Hovenweep has several structures still standing, but there used to be many more. The valley is thought to have housed over 2,500 people, and stored at least a year's worth of food for all. The buildings that didn't stand on rock surfaces have collapsed and are hard to make out with untrained eyes, but the brochures talk about how many of the houses you see were actually the upper stories of larger complexes built downhill, on soil that has since shifted. To preserve this harder-to-notice history for future study, you are required to stay on trails, to walk strictly between the rocks lining the trail.

Our first order of business was getting a spot at the first-come-first-served campground. We had read on the Hovenweep Facebook page that in April they were averaging about 21 of the 31 spots occupied nightly. We arrived shortly after 1 pm on an early May Thursday and there were probably 10 spots available.  By the evening, we counted about 3 unoccupied. Strangely enough, Friday night had way more availability! So, go figure. There are several RV spots that claim to fit up to a 36’ vehicle. The rest are tent sites but can accommodate vehicles up to about 25’ feet.

The largest RV we saw during our 2-night stay was a class C. No hookups, no dump station, no showers, and the campground has a 5-gallon/person/day limit for the shared water spigot. Flush toilets and sinks with running water, but the men's restroom only has one toilet stall so sometimes there was a line.

The bathroom was exceptionally clean, with trash & recycling right outside. We also loved that there were hiking trails that began at the campground.

The website claims no internet, but we had about 1 bar of Verizon that worked pretty well. No AT&T. Camping is $20/night, paid to an iron ranger.

We spent our first afternoon walking the main trail at Hovenweep which is a loop that takes you around the Square Tower Group.  Make sure to have the Little Ruin Trail Guide for background information; the trail is clearly marked, so you won't need a map just for walking.

If you start from the visitor center, it’s 1.5–2 miles in total (the Tower Point loop is optional), and it's a nice short hike that contains a lot of ruins. The ground is uneven and at the north end of the loop you descend to the valley floor temporarily so there’s some elevation change, but overall, this hike is relatively easy.  If you don’t want to do the entire hike, you can take a 300-yard paved trail from the visitor center to overlook the canyon and several houses are visible. If you’re going to do the whole loop, make sure you bring plenty of water. You can also start the hike from the campground, which we did. It tacks on a little extra time and mileage but if you’re already at the campground it makes sense.

The next morning, we set off from the campground on the trail to Holly Group. This hike is 7.7 miles round trip which is on the high side for our dogs these days, but the weather was great so we felt good about doing it.

Be warned, it gets pretty intense in the first few minutes! As you descend into the canyon from the campground, you need to walk through a very narrow slot between two boulders.

To give you an idea of width, I like to wear a wide-brimmed straw hat and my hat was too wide to fit.

Our dogs are familiar with slot canyons and are used to one person walking through, so the dog has someone to run to. Since the slot had some large boulders to navigate in it, we send one dog through at a time, with their leash tucked into their collar or harness. They’re used to this, and it works well for us.

Once you’re through that slot the trail descends to the canyon floor, and you'll be walking mostly in a dry wash full of soft sand. Throughout this entire hike, and anywhere in this region, make sure you're scanning ahead of you on the trail for rattlesnakes.

Soon after, you'll pass through a fence from Hovenweep to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which is managed by BLM with less strict rules. That means we could let Lily off-leash, as she is good about responding to voice commands.

The trail is mostly well marked, with cairns and a few signs with arrows, and alternates between having you walk in washes and the sides of the valley floor. It’s a pretty walk and we found some shady spots every so often to take breaks in. Be warned though, this is not a hike to do on a hot day, especially with dogs.

As you approach the halfway point you start to climb out of the canyon again.

That means another slot to fit through!

This one didn’t feel as narrow as the one near the campground. At the bottom, there's a larger rock that made the dogs hesitate for a moment.

On top of the hill, you pass back into Hovenweep land with NPS rules, so back on leash Lily went.

The ruins at Holly were similar to the Square Tower group, with one tower being our favorite, as it was perched upon a narrow rock and had a boulder “ramp” leading up to the entryway.

We ate some snacks, gave the dogs a break, and then started our 4-mile return, which included doing the 2 slots again! I think we were all happy to get back! We all took naps afterward.

On our 8-mile hike to Holly, we only saw one group of 2 hikers. This is a remote hike so prepare accordingly.  Also, keep in mind that you can drive to Holly if you have a high-clearance vehicle but you’ll want to check in with the visitor center first to check road conditions — only go when it's dry.

We left Hovenweep on Saturday morning, and on our way back to New Mexico stopped at the Sand Canyon trailhead (south end) in McElmo Canyon in Colorado.

Sand Canyon is within the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument and was fairly busy.  This trail is used by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians (of which we saw all). It's 12.4 miles out and back. The north end of the trail is also vehicle-accessible, so you could stage a second vehicle at the one trailhead to cut the distance in half. At least the south trailhead had two large parking areas, so there should be space to park even when it gets a little too busy to be as pleasant of a hike.

Since we had just done an 8-mile hike the prior day, we only went about 1 mile in, did a little loop detour, and turned back. The scenery reminded us of Sedona, AZ. Lots of prickly pear cacti and red rock. We’ll have to come back one day and do the entire hike.

For our third and final night of the trip, we checked out a new-to-us campground at McPhee Reservoir in Dolores, CO. The House Creek campground had just opened for the season the day before and is first come first serve only in the shoulder season. We didn’t know what to expect, but counted on being early in the season and the campground being quite remote. There were some day-use cars coming and going — there are boat ramps and fishing on the reservoir — but out of the 22 sites, we counted only 2 other overnight guests. We had our pick of sites and chose spot #8, one of the cheaper non-electric sites — still pricey at $26/night. It seems pretty obvious that this campground is popular enough to be able to charge that while having sites reserved for at least every weekend of the summer. As usual, Tommi likes to gripe about campgrounds run by greedy concessionaire businesses.

We stopped here mainly for Mushy, who can’t get enough of water. He ran the shoreline, attacked waves, and spent the entire afternoon outside in the grass. We also did part of the McPhee Overlook trail which sets off from the campground (look for the trailhead where the group campground road splits off, near the dump station). It's about 12 miles in total — we went less than a mile in, but it was great! If you have the time and the willpower, you can hike it all the way into Dolores and get some lunch! (But you'll probably want a ride back!)

We had a lovely stay because it was so quiet. I’m not sure what this campground would be like in the summer, but we would definitely come back on the shoulder seasons.

So, the first RV trip of 2023 comes to an end.

The dogs are very tired but had a great time!

This post originally appeared on: https://fmcadventure.com/2023/06/26/visiting-hovenweep-national-monument-with-dogs/

New to RVing? We once were too! Like, REALLY new. We went from never RVing, to full-timing in a class A with two dogs.

Going from zero to full-timing can be intimidating but don't let that stop you. We've compiled a list of the top things we've learned over the past  5+ years of full-time and part-time RV life with dogs, in both a class A and a van, in the hopes that it helps others get started.

Think About What Kind of RVer You Want to Be

One of the most important things you can do before you begin RVing is to put some thought into what type of RV lifestyle you want to live. Does your dream life involve full-hookup RV parks in prime locations, with lots of new friends and amenities, your AC running, and long, hot showers? Or maybe you think conserving resources while boondocking and being alone out in nature sounds ideal?

Thinking this through before you buy an RV will help ensure you buy the right rig for you and your dog(s). If you want to stay in RV parks you'll need to keep in mind that some parks have strict rules around breed restrictions, maximums on the number of dogs per RV, if dogs can be left unattended, and even age restrictions on rigs. On the flip side, boondocking means you'll need to be more restrictive when it comes to water and tank use, and you'll probably need to plan your route around favorable temps so your dog doesn't get too hot or cold in the RV without hookups.

Another thing that will need to factor into your decision is if you'll have an additional vehicle you either tow (referred to as a toad) or that someone in your party drives separately. For our first few months of RVing, we didn't have a toad — we only had the 38' motorhome which meant we had to take it everywhere and didn't have a daily driver for errands or exploration. This meant we stayed in RV parks more, just for convenience and to be within cities that were walkable and had rideshare services.

Research and Choose the Best RV for You

Once you've decided on what type of RVer you plan to be, you'll need to start researching rigs. Of course, your preferences can change once you're actually on the road but a bit of prep will make a big difference. We did many months of research and YouTube watching of full-time RVers who shared their real-life experiences (think Gone with the Wynns before they transitioned to sailing) before we decided that a class A would work best for us. All of that research paid off, and although at times we may have wished for a smaller rig, the big class A with a Jeep in tow was perfect for us (2 adults who need space to work and 2 large-ish dogs).

And when we transitioned from full-time to part-time RVing, we sold our class A and Jeep and opted for a van instead to make impromptu weekend trips easier. The dogs (we now have 3) can cope with less space for a few days, but we wouldn't full-time in a van with this many big dogs.

Most RVers we know have had multiple rigs. It's okay! Especially if you've never RVed before, it can be hard to know what will work for you and your dogs, until you're actually using it daily.

If you plan to travel with dog(s), ask yourself questions like these: If I have multiple dogs, do they get along well enough to stay in the RV alone together, or do they need to be separated in some way? Can everyone in my party fit comfortably inside for a long rainy day? Do I want a crate for my dog in the RV? If so, where would it fit? Do I want my dog secured via a seatbelt — if so, where? Is AC important to me? Do I want to invest in a good solar system to make off-grid RVing more comfortable? How long will my driving days be? Do I want to make impromptu stops during my travel days — including for dog pee breaks — and will my vehicle(s) fit at a random parking spot? Will I want four-wheel drive and/or high clearance for my explorations? (in my van or in my toad; generally, the more capable vans have less space inside).

Train Your Dog for RV Basics

If you plan to RV in the future, there's training you can do ahead of time to help your dog succeed on the road. Basic manners will always be helpful, but the command we found the most helpful as RVers was "wait"/"okay". More on that here — but essentially our dogs know they're not allowed out of the RV (even with the door open) until they're given the "okay" command. This is incredibly important for safety reasons since we are often unloading the dogs at the side of a busy road and don't want them bolting out the door.

If you plan to have a crate in your RV for your dog, getting them used to it ahead of time at home is best. Our dog Mushy had some anxiety during driving days, and the crate was his safe spot. If we left the two dogs unattended, it also ensured that they wouldn't get in a fight when we were out (rare, but better safe than sorry). At home, you can feed your dog their meals in the crate, move it into a commonly used room and put a comfy bed in it, so the dog sees it as a favorable spot, not a punishment.

If your dog isn't used to being in a vehicle, taking them on short trips to fun destinations will help transition them to a lifestyle that includes a lot of driving. Remember to have enough ventilation reaching the back seat so the dog never feels like your car is a sauna. This is also the time to practice car basics like "stay on the back seat" (if desired), "no roaming near the gas pedal" (we had a chihuahua that was guilty of this), and "dogs are not allowed to change gears" (looking at you, Delta).

Separation anxiety can be common in dogs and usually leads to unfavorable behaviors which can be very problematic in an RV. Plus, if you are staying in RV parks often, a barking dog left alone is a sure way for you to get a phone call from the office! Best to work on any issues like this ahead of time, before beginning RV life.

Don't Skip State Parks, National Forests, BLM, etc.

You've probably heard that National Parks, on average, tend to be pretty restrictive to pets. What we learned early on during our time on the road is not to overlook what's outside or nearby the park. Areas like state parks, forest service, or BLM land tend to be very dog friendly. One of our favorite experiences so far has been in Utah, boondocking in the Dixie National Forest, hiking with the dogs in nearby Red Canyon, and doing dogless day trips into Bryce Canyon National Park. Another Utah gem that comes to mind is Corona Arch, a dog-friendly alternative to Arches National Park.

Know How to Keep Your Dog Safe in the RV

The biggest question we've been asked when it comes to dog safety in an RV is, "don't you worry about leaving your dog alone in the RV when it's a hot day?" and our personal answer is — we don't leave them alone if it's hot. As RVers who primarily boondock and seek out dog-friendly adventures, we try to take the dogs with us as much as we can. If that means skipping a national park that doesn't allow dogs, we skip. Or we take turns sightseeing while the other person stays with the dogs. We know that doesn't work for everyone, so there are RV temperature monitoring devices on the market, but keep in mind those rely on getting in touch with you via a cell signal. During our full-time life, if we did leave the dogs unattended on what was to be a warm day, we made sure to do whatever we had to do early in the day before the temperature rose. We also have homemade laminated signs for our windows that we put up when heading out, that let people know there are 2 dogs in the RV, and have both our cell numbers to call in case of emergency. This also helps emergency workers know to evacuate the pets if there's for example a forest fire.

Our class A actually had enough battery power to run the AC, but recharging afterward by solar power took a very long time. Occasionally we would book a full-hookup RV site just to run the AC, and pair that with a temperature monitoring device (in the event that the power went out at the park). Some folks will find a Rover or Wag sitter or use local boarding/daycare facilities. Some national parks/monuments have on-site kennels too. We love RVing with pet-having friends so that we can take turns checking in on our friends' pets while they're out, and vice versa.

Learn How to Keep Your Dog Nature Safe

If your dog lives in an urban area and isn't out in nature a lot, chances are, they're not vaccinated against things like leptospirosis, or a rattlesnake bite. There are things you'll need to research and consider to protect your pet, depending on where you plan to travel. Your vet can help you with this, but while RVing the western part of the U.S., our Los Angeles/San Francisco dogs were in the midst of venomous snakes, bears, toxic blue-green algae, cacti, scorpions, tarantulas, plague-ridden chipmunks, coyotes, jagged rocky ground, abrasive lava rocks, and more. Not all of these resulted in bad outcomes for the dogs, but that was due to the fact that we researched possible regional dangers, and took the necessary precautions. Again, planning ahead here is key. Research potential dangers of the areas you're visiting so you can be knowledgeable on how to protect your pet, and buy any supplies you may need (for example: bear spray, booties, etc.).

Another adjustment that an urban dog may need is what we call "adventure paws". We're reminded of this whenever we take a dog friend or new adoptee on their first hike. Dog paws that have only walked in houses, on roads, and on grass start to hurt easily in "raw nature", including simply rocky desert ground, and tend to pick up thorny weed plant stickers of many kinds. Dog paws that have lived an adventurous life for a year or so are much more robust, and the pads have thickened enough to pick up fewer stickers. And getting used to long nature walks builds up stamina, too.

Meet With Your Vet Well in Advance

Speaking of vets, make sure you reach out to your vet well ahead of time before you start RVing. If there are vaccines they suggest your dog receive, know that some, like the rattlesnake "vaccine", are given in two parts, several weeks apart. You probably also want to talk about dental cleanings, microchip & its contact info, and medication refills on the road. Best to get that ball rolling so you're not scrambling last minute.

Take the time to put all of your dogs' records on a USB stick, and a backup in the cloud so you'll have them no matter where you go. If you like having paper copies, you could have them in a small binder too, but don't rely on those being your only set.

If you like consistency, you may want to look into some of the national vet chains, if you think you'll be traveling in areas where they have locations.

And of course, you'll want to expect the unexpected. While full-timing, we generally moved to a new area every 7-14 days. As part of our trip planning, we researched what vets were in that area and which ones offered after-hours emergency visits.  Bonus points for calling their office ahead of time to confirm everything so you know exactly what to do in the event of a pet emergency.

We could go on and on on this topic! Check out our more in-depth post for all our tips on getting your pets RV ready.

Prep Pets for Various Weather

Generally, RVers try to "follow the weather" so they don't have to deal with extreme heat or cold. It's best to be prepared, so even if your dog doesn't use a sweater or raincoat at home, having one in the RV will likely come in handy one day. You can also never have enough towels on hand for muddy dogs! We like these quick-drying low-profile towels that store easily.

Consider Dogs When Route Planning

We've learned that long travel days and dogs don't mix.  When we were full-timing we stuck with the 2/2/2 rule. Drive under 200 miles, arrive by 2 pm, and stay at least 2 nights. That allows you to set up your RV in the daylight, and be well rested. Plus, it shouldn't stress your dog out.

If you must have a long driving day, try giving your dog some exercise in the morning before you get in the RV, so they are excited to rest and relax during the drive. We also like to take a nice long lunch break where the dogs can take a good walk or visit a dog park.

Know Where You Are

I forget where we learned this tidbit from, but it became standard practice for us as full-time RVers. Any time we arrived somewhere new, we used our dry-erase board in the RV to note down our exact location should we need to call emergency services. This was especially crucial if boondocking when there's no real address. For example: "4.5 miles down Forest Road 123, just past mile marker 34 on the south side of Highway 42". Remember two things: it's not enough that one person in a group knows how to describe their location, as they could be the one that is hurt; and if it's a real emergency, you will be panicking, what you want is tools to keep that panic from escalating.

We also updated our dry-erase board with the local emergency vet's phone number. Bonus points for putting these numbers in your cell phone too! We also shared a Google Calendar with our travel plans with two trusted people.

Consider Purchasing Dog-Related RV Products

Over the years, we've come to love and appreciate some products that help make RV life with dogs easier and/or safer. Here are a few of our favorites:

Slings — For our large dogs, we purchased a Ruff Rescue Gear sling. We put this in a backpack when going on long hikes. We have 3 dogs now, and they are all over 60 pounds each. If one gets hurt, this sling makes carrying them out much easier. For our 10-pound blind chihuahua, we used a sling by 4 Lazy Legs.

GPS Trackers — There are lots of products on the market now. You should consider getting one, especially if your dog has a high prey drive. We use Whistle (requires an AT&T signal and monthly plan payment). If you know you'll stay in populated areas, you may want to go a more affordable route with an Apple AirTag or Tile, but remember that those can only track a dog that's near someone's iPhone or Tile network, and are not useful deeper in nature. AirTags aren't made for dogs, but people use them on collars with third-party holders and they'll essentially alert you when your dog passes another Apple user. And alternatively, if you want something that doesn't need even a cell signal but works on a direct radio link, you can look at the more expensive hunting dog–type products.

Reflective Collars with Embroidered Name/Phone Number — We like the Orvis brand reflective collars. It's amazing how reflective these are and they hold up for about 2–3 years of everyday use.

Blinky lights — These are helpful if you're boondocking and letting your dog out at night. We like this very bright collar light meant for hunting dogs. Cheaper products exist but aren't all that useful once your dog goes behind a bush; this one is bright enough to light up nearby trees.

Booties — This product category seems to have mostly no-name manufacturers that come and go. Some of the ones we've used are My Busy Dog and QUMY, and you'll see lots of similar products on Amazon. Read their instructions on measuring paw sizes and you'll be fine. They're affordable and stay on relatively well. Mushy put them to the ultimate test at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah with his super zoomies.

There are lots of solutions for how to give dogs access to the outdoors when you're parked. Some folks like bringing fencing or pens with them, but that takes up precious space. For us, we've found that these metal-core tie-out cables work great and don't tangle easily.  We attach them to the mounting brackets of our van's running board.

With three big dogs, we have the potential to have to haul a lot of poop bags until we find a trash can. For our Jeep spare tire, we liked the Trasharoo and for our van ladder (where a Trasharoo would block the license plate) we use two of these pouches.

A large outdoor rug has been essential for us. The dogs lay on it when outdoors, which helps to keep them clean. It also helps grab dirt/dust/sand from paws before they enter the RV. When we had the big class A, we used a large 16x8ft Camco rug. For the van, we downsized and use an 8x8ft CGear Sand-Free mat.

To see a larger full list of products we like, check out this post.

RVing with dogs does complicate things, but if you're willing to put in the effort there are lots of solutions, you just need to find the ones that work best for you and your pet.

This post originally appeared on: https://fmcadventure.com/2023/01/09/our-top-tips-for-new-rvers-with-dogs/

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The Chaco Canyon, in northwest New Mexico, was a hub of Native American cultures from around years 800-1100. It's now protected by the Chaco Culture National Historic Park as a World Heritage Site. It contains several ruins of a very distinct architectural style, and likely served mostly as a special gathering place of religious or trade importance, with relatively few people actually living in the villages. Almost everything in Chaco Canyon is built to align with solar and lunar events, such as the direction of sunrise on a solstice day. It's a fascinating place to visit, and there are a lot of things you can do with your dog!

Where to Stay

There is only one campground at Chaco, and it’s in high demand. Reservations open on a 3-month rolling basis. For us, I found the best approach was to check daily, close to when the window we wanted was said to open for reservations. The exact date a campsite can be reserved depends on when the prior reservation ends.

We stayed in site 23 which had a view of a cliff dwelling and many petroglyphs nearby. We paid $20 per night.

If you're unable to get a reservation you could try your luck as all unreserved campsites become "first come, first serve" after 11 am. During our 3-night stay, the most we saw were two open sites. NPS has suggestions on alternate camping — including Angel Peak Scenic Area — but none are that close.  Driving in from 550, we saw a "Dry Camp" sign for a private lot called Horse Thief campground. Since RVs and Trailers over 35' aren't allowed at Gallo Campground, this may be a good option for larger rigs or those that can't get a reservation at Gallo.

Pros for Gallo Campground

• Proximity to historic sites. Some hikes begin at the campground.
• Water bottle & jug fill-up station
• Flush toilets & sink
• Amazing night sky!
• Petroglyphs and cliff dwellings within the campground
• Dump station

Cons for Gallo Campground

• No shade structures
• No showers
• Sites close to each other
• Can be hard to get a reservation
• No cell signal

When to Visit

We read that Spring and Fall are the best times to visit Chaco due to the weather.  We booked October 18th-21st, assuming we’d be bundled up for most of the trip since the park is at 6,200 ft elevation. I’m typing this from our campsite, in shorts and a tee shirt. This region’s weather requires a range of clothing.  At dawn, it was close to freezing.  By noon we were in shorts and t-shirts trying to escape the harsh sun. Don’t let weather forecasts showing 60-degree temps fool you into thinking it won’t be hot. The sun is intense!

What to Bring

This is not the kind of national park you can just roll into and figure it out when you get there. Do all your research ahead of time and have important things printed out. Bring everything you think you may need, because trust us, you don’t want to leave the park once you’re in it. The location is remote, and the nearest town with services is a far drive. Bring enough food for you and your pets. There is water at the park, but there’s no food or services (like gas). Bring first aid supplies for you and your pets, and know where you plan to go in case of emergency ahead of time (have the info below printed out before you go). We'd also suggest calling some nearby vets to see if they'll take a visiting dog in as an after-hours emergency visit if needed. We like Valley Vet and San Juan Veterinary Hospital in Farmington but call before your trip to make sure they're accepting new patients for emergencies. And keep in mind it's about a 1.5-2 hour drive from Chaco.

Getting There

You've probably heard stories about the road to Chaco. Take the route from Nageezi, US-550 to CR-7900 to CR-7950 (do not even think of using highway 57 from the south unless you like off-roading).  This access road has 13 miles of washboard dirt road — and that's the easy part, on the easiest approach route. There is a dam-like paved section across a wide wash that has a sign to not cross if you see any water. The last few miles closest to the park have up to 1-foot-deep ruts you need to navigate, and this is the stretch that truly becomes impassable after rain.  Less robust tires have been known to get punctured. Trailer contents will get shaken, not stirred. Cabinet doors have been broken.

Luckily we had dry weather leading up to our visit, which made our drive a bit easier than expected, but it still was not fun! (NPS if you’re reading this, you need a gift shop tee that reads, "I survived the drive to Chaco." I would have bought that!) In dry weather, we made it just fine with our 2-wheel drive, 21-foot-long, Travato van with notoriously low ground clearance (we have a generator under our butt).

Stock up for whatever you need in Farmington or off the I-40. If you need any last-minute supplies or gas, stop at the gas station near the turn from US-550. Once you make the turn, you’ll be on paved roads, then county-maintained dirt roads, then unmaintained dirt roads, until you finally reach the park, where it becomes paved again. It’s 21 miles from the highway to the park.  Don't rely on Google Maps or other GPS routing, and don't rely on a cell signal.  With offline maps and setting waypoints, a GPS works fine.

What to Do

If you got a campsite and conquered the road in — congrats! Now you'll need to stop at the visitor center to pay your entry fee. While you're there, we'd suggest picking up the “Backcountry Trail Guide” and “Pueblo Bonito” printed guides. They’re about $2-$3 each and they came in handy since there’s no cell signal within the park.

We also checked out all of the displays within the visitor center and bought some postcards.

Buy a BARK Ranger tag for your dog’s collar if they don’t have one already! The ones at this gift shop are generic and don't have the park location, but they're still a cool memento.

Dog-Friendly Hikes

None of the ruins are dog friendly (understandably). But there’s still tons to do with your dog! Dogs are allowed on all of the backcountry hikes, which are easily accessible from the park’s driving loop.

We did most of them or at least part of each. Here are our favorites in order:

Pueblo Alto Trail

This was the most challenging hike we did, due to needing to climb on top of the cliff at the start and back down at the end. The brochure says “Ascend the rocky slope to break in the cliff face, where a natural passageway leads through the crevice to the cliff top.” After experiencing it, I would suggest a rewrite for those with dogs.  Something like this: “Looking at the cliff? Don’t see a trail? Great, you’re in the right place! Scramble up the loose rocks while trying not to slip or argue with your dog as they inevitably pick the wrong route, jump a huge boulder and quickly slingshot back into you from their required 6’ leash.” It took us less than 10 minutes to reach the top, but as soon as we got there we both needed to sit and take some deep breaths.  

Once at the top it was smooth sailing! The trail is well marked with cairns. Be prepared for almost no shade though throughout your hike. We found one overhang that was shaded and allowed for a cool snack break.

We went to Bonito Overlook and hiked up far enough to see Pueblo Alto and New Alto in the distance. At that point, we decided to turn back instead of doing the full 5.1-mile loop since the sun was strong and the dogs were panting.

Unfortunately, you have to go down the way you came up, which for us meant being pulled downhill by anxious dogs. We had a few hikers watching us from the bottom and they seemed impressed/shocked we chose to do it with dogs as it’s rather difficult on your own. If your dog gets nervous with heights or needing to jump large boulders, you may want to skip this hike.

South Mesa Trail

This ended up being an unexpected treat. We did this hike on a cloudy morning which made it much more pleasant and cool for the dogs. You can do this trail as a 3.6-mile loop, but since we did this on our last day, the dogs were a bit tired so we chose to go to Tsin Kletzin and back (brochure says 2.6 miles, Tommi's GPS said 3.9 mile total for us, and it took us about 2.5 hours with some breaks). From the parking lot, you'll follow the trail past the ruins to start your ascent. Like other backcountry trails here, there are some steep sections and loose rock, but overall it was much more manageable than the Pueblo Alto trail. On our ascent, we saw a large pack of white-tailed deer which was really neat! The most difficult section is a narrow slot between the rocks where we had to let the dogs off leash temporarily to safely maneuver their way to the top. We humans had to remove our packs and shimmy through the narrowest section, but it was doable.

Once you make it past that, it starts to level out and becomes an easier walk.

As you approach Tsin Kletzin, the trail narrows to singletrack.

What made this hike so cool was that you really get an amazing 360 view from Tsin Kletzin. Most of my photos don't do it justice, but you can see nearby mountain ranges and some researchers believe that this great house was perched atop this cliff to connect Chaco with other distant communities by fires or reflectors used for signaling. Once at the top you can see why.

Wijiji Trail

This 3.2-mile trail is walkable from the campsite (or an easy pull-off from the park’s main road). It’s a completely flat hike, following an old road track, and was the easiest backcountry hike we did (like most, there's no shade though!)

It took us just under 2 hours to complete. We took turns holding the dogs while the other person explored the Wijiji great house. On the trail, we passed other hikers and a family of mountain bikers.

Canyon Overview Trail

This hike originates from the Gallo Campground, near camp host B site closest to the cliff. After some short switchbacks, you are on top of the cliff and can walk along the edge to a great view of Fajada butte.

The only backcountry hike we didn't do was the longest one, Penasco Blanco Trail. We walked the dogs at the beginning of that trail, and it's a road track that was very flat and easy to walk.  The rest of the hike is said to be flat, getting sandier as you go further.

Pueblo Bonito

Pueblo Bonito is the centerpiece of the park. We took turns exploring it while the other person waited in the van with the dogs since dogs are not allowed within the ruins.

There's a marked trail walking through the ruins that you must stay on, with a little bit of freeform exploration allowed in the plaza area, and a choice of whether you want to go through the low doorways or skip that section. Tommi is 5'10" and managed to make it through all but one doorway without putting a knee on the ground — marker #17 is a dead-end entrance to a well-preserved room with a very low doorway, but since it's an offshoot of the walking path, you don't need to enter if you don't want to.

You will get much more value out of your tour if you buy the $2 booklet from the visitor center.  It contains a few paragraphs of explanation about every numbered marker you'll see and an overview of the walking path through the ruins.  There are practically no informational signs at the site itself.

If ranger-led tours are offered at the time of your visit, I'd recommend trying to get into one of those. If not, maybe consider stopping at the Aztec Ruins National Monument to hear more about the history and architecture of the area.

Protips

• If traveling with dogs, go during the shoulder seasons (we can’t imagine how hot this place gets in summer!)
• Don't forget a 6' leash for your dog.
• Pack a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, good hiking boots, and hiking sticks if you like using them.
• Hike early before it gets too hot.
• Watch for snakes (we saw one gopher snake during our visit).
• Dump your tanks before heading out of the park to minimize weight and stress on tanks on the washboard road.
• Bring first aid supplies for you and your dog.
• There's no cell service within the canyon, but I had good Verizon service as soon as I climbed out of the canyon on top of one of the cliffs during our backcountry hikes (no T-Mobile signal, don't know about AT&T). The easiest/quickest way to do this would be the Canyon Overlook trail that starts from Gallo Campground. Tommi jokingly called this "social media hill." Wear hiking boots even if you’re just going the short distance to the top! I underestimated it and hiked it in running sneakers, lost my footing when the dogs reached the end of their 6’ leashes and I slipped and fell, tweaking my ankle and calf muscle.

Recap

We had been wanting to go to Chaco for years and it didn't disappoint. We loved how dog-friendly it was and as long as you're okay with driving on somewhat unreliable roads and dry camping — it's absolutely worth the trip!

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2022/11/21/visiting-chaco-canyon-with-dogs/

White Sands had been on our must-see list since the start of our RV travels in 2017. And ever since we became New Mexico residents in 2019, it's been nagging at us that we hadn't been there. So for our first van trip of 2022, we packed up and headed to Southern New Mexico to see the world's largest gypsum dunefield. Since it's quite a long drive, we tried to make the most of it and our trip looked like this: World's Largest Pistachio > White Sands National Park > Cloudcroft > Carlsbad Caverns > Roswell > Home. I suppose we could write a recap of that whole trip but it would be a much longer post so we'll focus on White Sands right now, but let us know in the comments if you'd like to know more about the other stops!

We broke our visit to White Sands across two days, but what we did could definitely be done in one.

Know When to Go

We had two things in mind when planning our visit to White Sands. Weather and missile testing. Yes, missile testing! White Sands NP borders the White Sands Missile Range, which occasionally conducts missile tests. They close the park when this happens (as a precautionary measure). The park usually receives notice of tests 2 weeks in advance, but the minimum is 24 hours, so you'll need to monitor this page to make sure the park will be open when you plan to visit. Have a backup plan for where you can detour to, or delay at, in case of closure.

And for weather, as you'd probably expect of Southern NM, it can get HOT. Since we travel with our 3 dogs, we chose to go in the spring, as soon as our van was de-winterized. We visited in early April, and in retrospect, it would have been better to go even a bit earlier. It was a bit warm but the dogs did fine. And since the sand is so white it stays cooler to the touch than you'd expect. The biggest issue we had during our visit was wind.  

Visitor Center

The visitor center is the last place for water, so make sure you have all you need before going further.  While you're there take a photo at the sign.

There is one road into the park; Dunes Drive. The first few miles past the visitor center are paved. Just past the Interdune Boardwalk, the road turns to sand. We both grew up around snow, so our brains had a hard time understanding that we were actually driving on sand!

We drove the full 8 miles to the end and parked.  

You have the option of walking a designated trail or just climbing up on the dunes and exploring.  We chose the latter.

We probably only walked 1/4-1/2 miles on the dunes and had epic views of sunset.

While in the park, dogs must stay on leash. Our dogs all got a case of instant zoomies as soon as their paws hit the sand, which made walking them a bit chaotic but eventually they settled down.

Like, really settled down.

They alternated between napping and watching people off on distant dunes. Because the sand is so fine and white, Delta's black fur resembled a powdered donut by the end of the day.

We thought about getting an early start the next day and hiking the Alkali Flat Trail. It's 5 miles with no shade, so we decided against it because our dogs seemed happy with their short walk and nap. But if your dog is rearing to go — it could be fun! There are trail markers every so often to guide you.

Dune Life Nature Trail

This 1-mile hike was our first stop the next morning. There are informational signs throughout the trail where you learn about all the animals that call the dunes home. We didn't see any critters, but it was fun looking for their prints in the sand and admiring the trees and plants that can survive in this environment.

Interdune Boardwalk

After finishing the Dune Life Nature Trail, we headed over to the Interdune Boardwalk. This short 0.4-mile walk is an elevated path, a long narrow platform, between two dunes. It's wheelchair accessible and a great option for those with mobility issues, or those looking for some shade structures and seating along their walk. It took us under 20 minutes to complete. The planks are a slatted composite-type material. Our newest dog Delta wasn't used to walking on something like this and actually jumped ship off the boardwalk after a few steps into the dunes because he was nervous. So we'd suggest having some treats with you and praising your dog as you take the first few steps.

Since the day was heating up we decided to skip the Playa Trail, as it looked the most plain out of all the options. We also didn't get to do the daily Sunset Stroll, led by a ranger, which sounded cool! We usually try to leave a few things undone at the places we visit, so we have something new to experience if we come back.

Where to Stay

We prefer boondocking so while visiting White Sands we stayed at Lake Holloman. The gate at the entrance is very narrow, but plenty of big rigs had made it through, just take care. Lake Holloman is a 5 minute drive to the national park entrance and so it gets a lot of RVers visiting the park. Despite this popularity, we had no problem finding a spot. Make sure you read the signs upon entering — the body of water may look nice but it's a wastewater evaporation pond for the military base. Don't let your dogs swim! Mushy loves water so we made sure to park far enough away from it that he wasn't tempted by it.

There's a free dump station in Alamogordo, but potable water is harder to find in this desert area. $10 dump+fill at Edgington RV Park, or $5 at Artesia RV Park if you're heading east. And Carlsbad Caverns are an out-of-this-world experience, only 3.5 hours east!

Looking for more dog-friendly sand dune adventures? Check out Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado!

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2022/06/24/visiting-white-sands-national-park-with-dogs/

Before RV life, protecting our dogs from snakes wasn't something we gave a lot of thought to, as Los Angeles and San Francisco area residents.  Before hitting the road as full-time RVers in 2017, we did some research into what our dogs may encounter in the areas we planned to travel (the western U.S.), and rattlesnakes ended up high on our list of concerns. We learned there was a rattlesnake "vaccine" (more on that later and why it's in quotations), but our local Northern California vet didn't carry it.  She did, however, agree that it might be something to consider when we made our way through the more rural parts of the Southwest.  It took us quite a while to find a vet who stocked the rattlesnake vaccines, but we are very happy we did.  Keep reading for our tips, and the story of Lily's worst day ever.

How severe is a rattlesnake bite

Rattlesnake bites on humans are generally not life-threatening but must be treated to avoid severe medical problems and to ensure they do not become fatal — to summarize, if you are yourself bitten, get to a hospital as soon as you can, but you'll most likely be fine.

However, the venom's effect is largely dictated by the size of the victim. Your dog is a fraction of your body weight, and the smaller the dog, the more urgent the situation is. We are no experts, but based on what we have been through, we would expect a 60 lbs dog to, at the very minimum, have life-long consequences from an untreated bite, and the recovery from even a properly treated bite to take a full year.  Any stories you may have heard of dogs surviving a bite without treatment are most likely from "dry bites" or mostly dry bites, with little to no venom injected.

If you encountered a Mojave Rattlesnake, you're even worse off since their venom also includes neurotoxins, and the "rattlesnake vaccine" mentioned here does not help at all.

So, we urge you to consider all rattlesnake bites on dogs as absolutely, 100%, life-threatening. Rattlesnake venom damages blood and any tissue it comes into contact with, causes organ degeneration, and in general "turns the body into mush" — in a very literal sense, to help the snake digest its prey. The venom also causes localized pain and swelling with a wide variety of secondary effects: nausea, headaches, weakness, difficulty breathing, and so on. Even after proper treatment, the systemic effects of the bite include weakness and fatigue for a very long time.

What is the rattlesnake "vaccine" and what does it do?

There is only one product in the market currently, Crotalus Atrox Toxoid (Crotalus Atrox = Western diamondback rattlesnake, toxoid = inactivated toxic compound used as a vaccine) from Red Rock Biologics. The vaccine helps against that specific rattlesnake subspecies and its close relatives, but not against Mojave Rattlesnake (neurotoxins), not against coral snakes (different venom), etc.

Don't confuse this preventative vaccine with the intravenous antivenom a vet will administer after a bite. The vaccine contains inactivated venom and causes the receiving body to produce antibodies. Intravenous antivenom is venom antibodies, transferred from one animal to another. (A larger domestic animal is injected with small amounts of the venom in question, left to produce antibodies, and then the antibodies are extracted from its blood.) The intravenous antivenom is a life-saving treatment for a bite, the vaccine is an ahead of time precautionary measure that may help decrease the effects of the bite.

We are putting "vaccine" in scare quotes because it really, really, is not enough to protect your dog. In case of a bite, you still need to rush to the vet — as an after-hours emergency if needed! — and a delay of two hours might still be fatal. Immune system T-cell production is way too slow to protect against the effects of rattlesnake venom, and what is really needed to boost a relatively small (60 lbs) animal's chances of survival is the intravenously injected antivenom — which costs $500-700 dollars per vial by itself, and a dog might even need multiple vials to recover.

Some doubt the effectiveness of the vaccine (see e.g. 1). You might just be wasting money to feel good. Receiving the vaccine will not guarantee your dog's safety if bitten, and it does not replace the need to be treated as an emergency.  It simply lessens the severity of a reaction to the venom and is said to "buy you more time" to get to a vet for treatment. For a $25/year cost, that sounds good enough to us.

How to get the vaccine

The vaccine is initially given in two doses, 1 month apart (later boosters are just one shot). You'll need to see the same vet for both visits, and a month can be a long time to stay in one place for an active RVer. The rattlesnake vaccine takes about 1 month to reach full effectiveness, so you need to get it early in the season to maximize its effect. Only vets in areas with rattlesnakes stock the vaccine, so you most likely cannot get it done before snowbird travel.

If you are traveling and don't have a regular vet, any vet you pick will likely want to do a full check-up on your dog, and possibly blood work before they agree to give the vaccine — plan ahead and make that be your one big yearly checkup. Vets will also typically refuse to administer higher-risk vaccines on the same day as standard vaccines, so you may need extra visits to cover DHPP and rabies. You may want to call a vet ahead of time to make a plan of what gets done when.

Dogs that are not in perfect health or that tend to have adverse reactions to vaccines might not tolerate the effects of the vaccine at all. Smaller dogs may not be able to cope with the vaccine, leading to a dead abscess at the injection site. Our dogs are all in the 50-70 lbs range and have been fine.

For areas where rattlesnakes are active throughout the year, it's recommended to re-vaccinate every 6 months. Our home base is well below freezing in the wintertime, which means our local snakes hibernate, and we do shots every April. The vaccine takes 1 month to become fully effective and lasts about 6 months, which covers the heat of the summer for us.

Why we are so happy our dogs got protection

We ended our full-time RV life in September 2019. In May 2020, Lily got bit by a rattlesnake on our property in New Mexico.  She was outside by herself for about 5 minutes.  She came inside the house like everything was normal.  About 20 minutes later she came to us, with blood running from two puncture wounds in her nose and a swollen face.  We quickly popped a Benadryl down her throat, threw on our shoes, got her in the car, and sped to the vet.  We were concerned because the vet was about 30 minutes away, and it had been at least 30 minutes since she was bitten.  We were panicked but we knew that this was the exact reason we had gotten our dogs the rattlesnake vaccine, so that it would buy us time to get to a vet.

On the drive, we called ahead and let them know we were coming so they were ready.

We are forever grateful to Valley Veterinary Clinic in Farmington, NM.  Dr. Darren Woodson whisked Lily away and got her hooked up on IV fluids and administered a vial of antivenom. Some people doubt the effectiveness of the rattlesnake vaccine, but Dr. Darren said it was good that Lily was up to date on her shot and that he did think it helped her recover.  Giving Benadryl as first aid was also the right thing to do, and if you give your dog some, make sure the vet knows of it, including the dosage (otherwise, they will most likely give it too).  Lily was able to come home with us the same day, after a few hours of intravenous treatments.

The final bill, with a checkup visit 4 days later, came to $1,251.05.  That includes the one vial of rattlesnake antivenom she needed, which was $518.70.

When we got home, we looked for the snake but never found it, and haven't seen it since.

How can you tell if a snake is venomous?

If you're like me, you see a snake and start to do a quick-footed jumpy dance and scream, regardless of if you know the snake is venomous or not. It is good to know how to identify a "good guy" from a "bad guy".  

The easiest thing to remember is that venomous snakes generally have broad, triangular heads.  Whereas non-venomous snakes tend to have a more rounded head.  Rattlesnakes, and vipers in general, tend to have a pretty distinctive pattern on their back, but unfortunately, mimicry is a good survival strategy, and the harmless gopher snakes have similar patterns. Outside the American Southwest, you need to learn whatever your local snakes are.

Rattlesnakes are, of course, famous for the rattle in their tail.  If you see or hear it, you can be pretty sure you're dealing with the real thing.  If you see a snake coiling up defensively, you're also likely dealing with the real thing.  If you get a good look at the tail of something that looks like a rattlesnake, and the tail just slims down to a tip with nothing special about it, and it's not a tiny baby snake, you're most likely looking at a gopher snake, who just wants to be left alone, is doing his best to keep the rodent population down, and will generally try to avoid you. Gopher snakes also tend to not coil up when afraid, instead, we've seen them either try to move away or "play dead".

We have come across many young rattlesnakes, which can be harder to identify because their rattle isn't fully developed yet.  However, even on a young rattlesnake, you'll generally see the tip of the tail having a different color or shape.  Young rattlesnakes have less venom by volume, and in general, their bites are less serious.  However, their venom has more neurotoxins, so you should still take young rattlesnake bites seriously.

Other ways to protect your dog from snakes

Avoiding a venomous snake is obviously much better than hoping for a quick recovery. Here's what you can do:

• Teach your dog simple commands such as "come" and "leave it!" so you can control them if you see a snake.
• When on a hike, make sure to scan the trail ahead of you, so you see the snake before your dog does.
• Avoid reaching under bushes and rocks where you can't see, and keep your dog away from them too. In mid-day heat, snakes will prefer staying in the shade.
• Keep your dog on leash if they're not great with voice commands.
• Keep the area around your RV free of food that could attract rodents, as snakes hunt rodents.  Remove any clutter where a snake could hide.
• When arriving at a new location, find the phone number to the local emergency vet (preferably one with 24-hour service).  You may also want to call and ask if they stock antivenom.
• Consider rattlesnake aversion training. This training teaches your dog to avoid the sight, smell and sound of rattlesnakes.  This is usually done by a trainer with a contained live rattlesnake and when your dog approaches, it's delivered a painful shock via e-collar. There are some trainers that do not use the pain-based approach, but they are harder to find. We have not done any official training yet, but when we encounter dead snakes (usually that have been run over on our road), we use it as an opportunity to do some training on our own. With the dog on leash, walk towards the snake, then firmly say "leave it!" and walk a wide path around the snake, and then reward them for doing so. Lily is, of course, a star pupil at this, remembers where the dead snake is, and gives it a wide detour.  It's our hope that the dog will associate the smell of the snake as something to avoid, just like they know not to go near a mouse caught by a trap.
• And just in case someone does get bitten, add Benadryl to your hiking bag, and know the proper dosage for your dog.

How Lily is Doing Today

Overall Lily is doing great, but she does have some lasting effects from her rattlesnake encounter.  She has suffered decreased energy, scarring at the bite site, and residual swelling/fluid in her neck.  She's had regular vet check-ups since and her blood work is great and shows nothing to be concerned about.  Her energy levels started improving only a full year after the bite, and she's still not quite to her previous self.

We hope this article was educational and prevents others from going through what Lily went through. If you live in an area of the U.S. where the temperature dips below freezing during winter, snakes will be coming out of hibernation soon, so now is a good time to discuss with your vet what's best for your dog. Please do your due diligence as this is post is only our personal experience.

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2022/03/21/protecting-your-dog-against-rattlesnakes/

In September we loaded up the van to check off a bucket list item, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  

We, like most people who visit the Grand Canyon, had only been to the more popular South Rim.  We actually stayed there for 2 weeks! Why is it more popular? Well, for starters it's open year-round, easier to get to, has more lodging and food options and more nearby things to do, and is very dog friendly for a national park.  The South Rim is amazing, but we wanted to see what only 10% of visitors end up seeing — the "other side."

Now that we live in New Mexico, the North Rim became more accessible to us so we squeezed in a trip before it closed for the season. As usual with national parks, shoulder seasons are the best time to go.

Getting There

The North Rim is more remote than the South Rim. If you're standing on the South Rim side, the North Rim is roughly only 20 miles away.  However your options to get there aren't so easy; a 5-hour drive or a 2-3 day rim-to-rim hike.  Even driving from other directions, the National Park is deep inside the Kaibab National Forest, and takes longer to get to.

The nearest towns to the North Rim with full-service grocery stores are Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. Make sure you have enough of your dog's preferred food before heading to the park!

North Rim Dog Stuff

As already noted, the South Rim is more dog friendly than the North Rim.  Here's what you're missing taking your dog to the North Rim, as opposed to South:

• No boarding facilities — Unlike the South Rim, North doesn't have a kennel, which means there's no place within the park to board your dog while you hike into the canyon.  

• Not many dog-friendly trails.  At the South Rim, many walking paths are paved and thus allow dogs.  At the North Rim, they are only allowed on the bridle trail (greenway) that goes past the campground, and the portion of the Arizona Trail north to the park entrance station.  It's a nice long walk or run, but more wooded than scenic.

• Not many places to sit and hang out.  This one caught us off guard!  There just isn't much outdoor seating around the North Rim Lodge.  We got food to go since we had the dogs with us.  We walked around for a while looking for a spot to settle down but all of the available picnic tables, benches and chairs were occupied — and this was off-season!  We ended up bringing the food back to the van and ate inside.

Our 1-Day Itinerary

Here's what we did with our 1 day at the North Rim, with 3 dogs:

• Left our boondocking location and drove some 45 minutes to the Rim, almost half of that on the bumpy forest road.  Going deep into the National Forest gets you to the better sites!  The canyon itself will be far in the distance, but you can find sites on the edge of a cliff looking in the right direction, and along the edge you can get some cell signal too.

•  Picked up some snacks and drinks at the food truck at the North Rim Country Store (6 miles outside of the park entrance).

•  Braked for some traffic on State Route 67!

•  Arrived at the park and stopped by the visitor center for a photo op and to pick up maps/postcards. Don't forget to ask about the B.A.R.K. Ranger program!

•  Walked to the lodge and took photos at the rim.

•  Took turns holding dogs while the other person hiked out to Bright Angel Point. Allow 30 minutes per person.  

•  Took turns holding dogs while the other person checked out the inside of the lodge.  Make sure you visit Brighty!

• Hiked the bridle path from the Lodge to the Campground. Got a snack at the General Store before heading back. The walk to the campground is roughly 2 miles round trip and has some incline to it and no water along the way so be prepared when you head out.  The trail continues past the campground if you want a longer walk, and connects with the Arizona Trail.

•  A quick, to-go lunch from Deli in the Pines.  (The Grand Canyon Lodge also does take-out).

•  Scenic drive to Point Imperial and Cape Royal (PDF brochure) (warning, vehicles over 30 ft are not allowed).  Be warned that dogs aren't allowed at all the viewpoints.  For example, dogs are not allowed on the Cape Royal Trail.  We took turns walking out to Angels Window.  We would have liked to walk to Cape Royal also but, having to take turns, it would have been too time-consuming and lonely: the walk is 1 hour round trip from parking lot.

Recap

If you've never been to the Grand Canyon before and are traveling with your dog, we definitely recommend the South Rim over the North.  If you've been to the South already, North is definitely worth a stop, and in general less busy.  Just make sure to adjust your expectations so that you're not disappointed you won't be able to see/do everything with your dog along for the adventure.  Things to consider:

•  Will I be traveling with someone?  Can we take turns doing the trails/buildings that aren't dog friendly?

•  If my dogs are used to hanging out in my RV while I explore, will the weather be cool enough during my visit?

•  If I plan to stay at the Park, can I get reservations at the North Rim Campground? (There are no walk-up sites available)

Bonus

If you're reading this, you're likely an animal lover, so we want to mention that just 90 miles from the park in Kanab, Utah is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  If you're this close, make sure you stop by!  They give free tours, offer a $5 all-you-can-eat vegan lunch, and if you plan ahead you can volunteer with the animals.  Absolutely worth the stop! Oh, and they have 6 RV sites you can reserve!

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2021/12/27/grand-canyon-north-rim-with-dogs/

Truth be told, I didn't really know Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado existed until we moved to nearby New Mexico.  Formerly classified as a national monument, Great Sand Dunes was established as a National Park in 2004.

The sand dunes formed from sediment washed into large lakes from the surrounding mountains. After the lakes dried, the exposed sand was moved by predominant winds into one corner of the valley, but the wind did not have the strength to lift it over the mountains. Storm winds blowing in the opposite direction cause the iconic dune shapes to form.  The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America!

In spring and into early summer, snowmelt from the mountains flows as a shallow creek through the flat sand between the dunes and the mountains.

We were originally planning to visit in the fall of 2020, but postponed due to the pandemic.  It ended up working out in our favor because instead, we visited in early May of this year — and we think it was the best time of year to visit (we'll explain why in a bit!)

The drive from our home in NM was about 4 hours which made for an easy weekend trip.  We did have a bit of traffic just before the park though...

Luckily, with the help of a cowboy, the traffic cleared up and we continued our drive. As you approach the park the dunes become more visible.

We decided that since it was already mid-day and too hot to be hiking the dunes with the dogs (Yes! You can take your pup on the dunes!) — that we'd only check out the visitor center on the first day.

The dogs were so excited to get out of the van and explore.  The first thing we did was walk the trail directly behind the visitor center.  

Due to COVID precautions, the visitor center was only allowing a handful of people in at a time.  Tommi and I took turns waiting in line and going in, while the other one held the dogs outside.  We learned all about the park's BARK ranger program and where dogs are allowed within the park so we'd be prepared for the next day.

There is camping within the park but we usually prefer to boondock on public lands because it gives us more space to explore with the dogs.  We drove about 20 minutes to dispersed camp at Lake Como Road (also known as Sacred White Shell Mountain, though the nearby mountain is named Blanca Peak).

We woke up early the next day to arrive at the dunes as early as possible since it was a Saturday and the park would likely be busy.

Dogs are allowed to hike High Dune, and not the further-out ones, so that was the plan. We made our way to the dunes parking area and were there by about 7:40 am.  The lot was empty and we had our choice of parking spots.  We geared up and headed out by 8 am.  In retrospect, it would have been better to get an even earlier start to get the uphill hiking done before it got too hot.

What did we pack to hike the dunes?

• Lots of water for humans and dogs
• Snacks
• Booties for all 3 dogs in case the sand got too hot (it can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit!)
• Wide-brimmed hats
• Sunscreen
• Poop bags

I mentioned earlier that early May was a great time to visit.  The reason for this is that the seasonal creek at the base of the dunes, Medano Creek, usually runs from mid-April to July. By August it's dry.  Late May is said to be the peak of flow and the park becomes very busy as it's a popular spot for parents to bring their kids to play and tube in the creek.  The NPS website has a great breakdown of what to expect by month. The weather in early May was also fairly pleasant, and not horribly hot.

Back to the hike!  If you visit when the creek is running, you'll need to cross it to access the dunes from the parking lot.  Don't even try to keep your shoes dry, just walk right through it.

Protip: Try to get your dogs to do all their business on the parking lot side of the creek so you can be close to trash cans.  Once you cross the creek, you're carrying poop bags for the remainder of your hike! (We know this from personal experience... thanks Lily and Mushy!)

There's no set trail to follow to get to High Dune, so you just set off and find your own way.  

It's easiest to walk on the ridges of the dunes, and you'll see lots of footsteps of previous visitors.

The park website says the average hiking time for High Dune is 2 hours and 2.5 miles.  Let me tell you... it's not easy! We are in decent shape and do a fair amount of hiking, but hiking in sand is a whole other experience! We took a lot of breaks, both for us and for the dogs. We also touched the sand with our hands regularly to make sure it wasn't becoming too hot. At times the dogs would lie down on their own.  Delta in particular didn't seem to like the feeling of the sand between his toes and would lie down often.

During breaks we drank water and ate snacks.  Sandboarding is a popular activity here so we watched a group of people board down a very steep dune (some more successfully than others!)

We made it about halfway to High Dune and decided that because the sun was glaring down and warming the air up quickly, that it was probably in the best interest of the dogs to turn back.  I think if we had gotten an earlier start we could have made it to the top.

Going down was a lot easier, and more fun!  At one point we ventured off the ridge and ran down the side of a dune and the sand was knee-high!

It was so nice and refreshing to end our hike in Medano Creek.  The dogs seemed to love having their paws in the cold water and enjoyed some stick fetching and zoomies.

We ate the remainder of our snacks while sitting on the bank of the creek, and then headed back to the van shortly after 10 am.  Boy, had the parking lot filled up!  It was completely packed and people had started parking on the side of the road leading to the lot.

We got back in the van and headed over to the parking lot for Mosca Pass Trail, which to our surprise was super empty!  (The main draw of the park is definitely the dunes and the creek.)

We rested for about an hour before starting our afternoon hike.

We chose Mosca Pass Trail because it offered some relief from the sun, in sections. Like the dunes, you're essentially hiking uphill the entire way.  It takes 3.5 miles to reach the pass.  We had heard the pass wasn't that scenic, and the end point of the hike is just another parking lot, so our goal was to hike up high enough to see the dunes and then turn around.

At about 1.5 miles in, we caught a glimpse of the dunes and called it a day.

For those of you wondering, we're happy to report that Delta did become a BARK ranger like Lily and Mushy.  He followed the BARK ranger rules perfectly and earned his certificate from the visitor center which we framed when we got home, and it's now proudly displayed above his crate.

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2021/09/06/visiting-great-sand-dunes-national-park-with-dogs/

Looking for a dog-friendly adventure not far off I-40 in New Mexico? El Malpais National Monument and Conservation area near Grants, New Mexico is worth the stop. Hiking, great food, and a fun roadside attraction.  This spot has it all.

This was our first trip of the year and Lily was ready to hit the road.

We visited in late March when there was still some snow on the ground.  Because of how strong the sun is in this region, shoulder seasons are your best bet for exploring this area with your dog.  

Camping — Joe Skeen Campground

This first-come, first-serve, free BLM campground has only 10 sites, and we were unsure how busy it would be.  We arrived on a Friday around noon and were relieved to find a few empty sites.  In general, the sites aren't very large so they are best for cars and smaller rigs, and they are not very level either. We had to orient our van carefully to not be tilted sideways.  Our phones and hotspots got a little bit of coverage here, but neither Verizon nor AT&T signal was good enough for work. If we come back in we’ll set up our WeBoost booster and see if that helps.

There are no designated hiking trails right at the campground, but we ventured off to make our own with the goal of getting on top of the ridge above.  Is this doable? Yes.   Was it advisable in snow?  Maybe not, but we lived and I got the birds-eye photo I wanted!

Hiking — Narrows Rim Trail

This was the big hike we had planned for this trip.  It’s an 8-mile out-and-back hike along a sheer cliff edge overlooking the lava fields up to 500 feet below. This hike took us 4 hours and by the end, although the temperature was only about 55 degrees, the sun was so strong that our dogs were feeling it and getting a bit worn out. There’s little shade and it’s known to be windy, so come prepared.  Areas of this hike are very rocky, so I would not have wanted to do it in the snow, for fear of not seeing my footing. Also, doing it in the heat of summer would likely be dangerous for a dog so plan accordingly.

The turnaround point of this hike takes you to an overlook of the La Ventana Arch in the distance.  This arch is one of the largest natural arches in the state of New Mexico.  It’s hard to tell the scale from so far away, but read on to see how you can see it up close!

I'm glad we opted to do the hike first, before stopping at the parking area for a close-up look.  Seeing it from above was a cool preview, and gave us an idea of scale for when we saw it from below.

Scenic Spot — La Ventana Natural Arch

If an 8-mile hike doesn’t sound like fun, you can easily view the arch from below. The La Ventana Natural Arch parking area has some covered picnic tables and a graded trail with a slight incline that takes you below the arch.  

If you want an even closer look, you can scramble up the hillside which will take you fully underneath the arch, so you can see daylight behind it — but beware, it’ll have you out of breath!  

Plus, going down is trickier than going up, especially when you have dogs pulling you, so keep that in mind.

Note: When we visited, there was no fence or signs prohibiting you from seeing the arch up close.  If there is when you visit, please abide by the rules.

Hiking — El Calderon Trail

If you only have time for a short visit to the area, prioritize La Ventana Arch.  If you have more time, check out the 3-5 mile dog-friendly El Calderon Loop Trail, about 20 miles south of I-40.  The road into the trailhead has some low-hanging branches, so if you have a tall RV this might not be a wise stop.

This trail takes you over ancient lava flows, past lava caves, and around the rim of a cinder cone crater.  The caves are probably a great experience but dogs are not allowed, and the caves are closed during COVID-19 anyway, so we wouldn't know about that. The cinder cone is neat but not quite as awe-inspiring as the arch.  It was a great hike to tire out the dogs for our 3-hour drive home.  

Protip: Not sure what to do or where to stay?  The rangers at the El Malpais visitor center are super helpful and confirmed that the hikes we had planned were, in fact, the best ones for dogs. Most of the others have jagged lava rocks that are not paw-friendly, even when wearing dog booties.

Food — Spicy Bite

Since transitioning from a large class A to a Class B, we've noticed we do a lot more food tourism because driving a van takes less planning than driving a big rig.  Recently, every trip we go on seems to involve at least one restaurant we're really excited about.  Truckstop Indian food might not be your idea of a good meal, but it was ours!  (We visited twice on a 3-day trip!)  Spicy Bite in Milan, New Mexico is a popular spot with truckers, so much so that we were the only non-semi in the lot, both times we stopped. Due to COVID, their indoor dining was closed at the time of writing, but luckily our Class B makes the perfect table for two.  We highly recommend their Navratan Korma and they have generous servings of garlic naan.

Roadside Attraction — Route 66 Neon Drive Thru Sign

We drove through Grants, NM during the day, so we didn’t see the sign in all of its neon glory, but it was still everything I had hoped it would be.  This is a super quick stop off the Interstate, and worth the photo op if you have a vehicle that can fit under the 10’ tall sign.  There is a warning PVC bar you’ll need to go under first, which was nice to see, as it was hard to tell from photos just how big the sign’s opening was.

We stayed about 10 minutes and never had anyone pull in behind us.  There's a park directly to the side of the sign, which was a great quick stop for the dogs.  

There’s a lot to explore in this area that we didn’t get to on this trip.  We’ll be going back soon to check out Bluewater Lake state park, and also have the El Morro National Monument on the list!

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2021/06/21/visiting-el-malpais-national-monument-with-dogs/

We were able to squeeze in one more trip for this year, before needing to winterize our van.  We had been planning to go to the ski town of Telluride, CO over the summer, but kept postponing the trip to follow our state's COVID travel restrictions. We finally went in late September, and that ended up being perfect because we got to see the leaves changing.

So, why did I want to go to Telluride so badly?  Really just one reason: DOG-FRIENDLY GONDOLA

More on the gondola in a bit, but first let's talk about where to stay.  The town of Telluride has limited options for RVs: there are no private campgrounds in town, and the Town Park Campground is reservation only and had no availability for our dates.  You can find boondocking sites 30-60 minutes out of town, either relatively close but on a slow road or further away but along a highway, but finding camping (free or paid) with usable cellular data signal near Telluride is a real challenge. In future years, we'd like to come back with a reservation and explore town more over the course of a few days, walking from the Town Park.

I needed to work on Friday so we chose to boondock at the "main area" of the eastern end of Million Dollar Road because it had known reliable cell signal.  What it also had was lots of other campers!

Even though the main camping area was a bit crowded, this was a great spot for two nights.  We took lots of hikes right from the van and got to experience the leaves starting to turn.

With work wrapped up on Friday, we were ready to explore Telluride on Saturday. We got an early start and enjoyed a beautiful dawn at Million Dollar Road before driving the 30 minutes into town.

You'll want to do your research on where to park in Telluride before arriving. The signage isn't great, it's better if you know where you're going.  The town does not allow overnight RV parking, street parking is in general metered, and parking is rather limited for large vehicles.  Tommi says don't try taking a trailer into town; it's doable but not fun.  Here's what we did:

Park at Carhenge in the southwest corner of town.  It's free, the most spacious parking you'll find in town, and everything is walkable from there.

From the parking lot, we took the beautiful River Trail which is a dirt path that runs along the river.  There are many spots for dogs to access the river.  It's about 0.7 miles to the trailhead for Bear Creek Falls.

Bear Creek Falls is one of the most popular hikes in town and is 5 miles out and back.  Be prepared for a gradual uphill all the way to the waterfall.  Just a few minutes into the hike we were treated to views like this!

Since we got an early start, we didn't see too many other hikers on the way up.  Roughly 50% of the people we passed were wearing masks and in some spots the trail is very narrow.  We made sure to always have our masks on when passing other people.

You don't see the waterfall until the very end.  This was our first peek at it!

Keep in mind we visited in September, which meant the falls weren't as grand as other times of year.

We sat and admired the waterfall for about 30 minutes while we ate our packed lunch. All 3 dogs cooled off in the pool below the falls and enjoyed the little break.

On the way back to town the views of the valley are spectacular!  Plus, being all downhill is a nice treat after the climb up.

After our hike we let the dogs cool off in the river and then walked around town a bit to grab lunch.  

We ordered a pizza from Brown Dog Pizza (I mean, how could we not!?) and while we waited for our order to be ready, walked to PET Telluride for some dog treats.  We felt very safe (in regards to COVID) at both places. Brown Dog had an employee outside to take and hand-off orders so you never had to go inside, while PET Telluride only allowed a hand full of customers inside the store at a time (masks required).

We would have explored town more but it was getting busy and more congested, plus the dogs were already pretty tired.  It was... GONDOLA TIME.

This gondola connects the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village with 1 stop at San Sophia Station.  It is completely free and dog friendly!  Due to COVID-19, they've limited each car to 1 group (which is actually kind of nice in that you have your own private gondola!)  You are required to keep your mask on the entire ride.

When we first passed the gondola around 8 a.m. on our way to Bear Creek Falls there was no line.  By lunchtime the line spanned about a block.  At 8,750 feet elevation, the sun was strong so I went and stood in line by myself while Tommi hung out with the dogs in the shady grass area adjacent to the gondola, and Lily took a much-needed nap.  It took about 25 minutes or so for me to reach the entrance, at which point Tommi and the dogs joined me.  

This was our dogs' first time on a gondola.  Lily, our wise mama dog, did great.  Our other two were not thrilled with the experience.  This is a hard thing to practice for though!  You're asking your dog to step into a moving box in a loud building.  The gondola does not stop (except for emergencies), the cars just slow down in the boarding zone.  There is no time to get the dogs comfortable, as you have just a few seconds to board.  We had Lily and Tommi go first — Lily boarded without hesitation — and then Mushy and Delta reluctantly followed.  If you have a small to medium size dog, it's probably best to pick them up when boarding.

Once you're on board, the doors automatically close, and as the gondola car departs the building it swings a bit.  None of the dogs really loved that part but once out of the building, it gets quiet which was really nice.  Lily was happy to join Tommi on the bench seat and take in the view.

Once on the gondola, you have two options for destination.  Since we had already had a long day, we chose to get off at the first stop which is San Sophia, and an 8-minute ride from when you got on.   You can walk along the ridge and get some great views of town below.  We decided to ride the gondola back down to Telluride but your other option is to hike down!  The wide trail switchbacks down the mountain and it's roughly 1 mile long.  We saw several people with their dogs on this trail, and Lily really enjoyed watching them from the gondola.

After our long day of adventures, we packed our 3 tired dogs into the van and started heading home. We chose to spend an extra night along the road at one of several little boondocking pullouts squeezed between the highway and the river.  These spots can be annoyingly noisy during the day, but as the highway quiets down for the night they're great for an overnight stop. No cell signal as is typical around this area, but good river access for the dogs.

Telluride is a ski town, and probably a very different experience in the winter tourist season.  If you visit November–April, do your homework, as they might for example have more dog rules during the busy times.  The gondola also closes for maintenance in Spring and Fall (we visited a few weeks before the Fall closure), so pick your travel dates accordingly.

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2020/11/30/a-dog-friendly-visit-to-telluride-colorado/

We recently camped at the Angel Peak Scenic Area in northern New Mexico, and wanted to share some beautiful pictures and local tips with you.

We've lived in northern New Mexico for just over a year now, and Angel Peak has been on our to-see list since we moved here. We purchased our Winnebago Travato 59K Class B van at the start of the pandemic and because of the circumstances, didn't get to do as many summer adventures as we had planned. To remain safe, we decided to stay close to home for a recent trip, and finally visited Angel Peak!

Angel Peak is a BLM scenic area located southeast of Farmington, NM, with a free first-come-first-serve campground. The campground has no water or trash services, but it does have pit toilets, fire rings, shade structures, and a nicely maintained short campground walking loop. Camping is allowed in the 9 built sites only, and off-road driving is not allowed anywhere within the scenic area boundaries. The vegetation here is all delicate desert plants, and gathering firewood is not allowed.

The scenic area has views of towering rock formations surrounded by badlands with maze-like ridges everywhere.

The dirt road in is about 6 miles long. The first mile or so is washboarded from heavy truck traffic, but it gets better after that.

On the way in, you'll pass 3 picnic areas that are definitely worth the stop as you get a great view of the badlands. Overnight camping is not permitted at these picnic areas but unfortunately we did see people breaking that rule.

We arrived to the campground just before 3 pm on a Friday in September. We drove the loop once through to see what sites were available. There are only 9 and the sites on the rim side are better, both for the views and the overall size of the site. Only a few of the sites will accommodate RVs at all, and some weren't even suitable for vans, just tent camping.

On our second loop around, we chose a site on the rim side that didn't have a view of Angel Peak (those spots were all taken) but that was nice and roomy for the dogs. It did have a pavilion, fire ring and also a nearby pit toilet that was very clean.

One of the things we're loving about van life (as opposed to Class A life) is how quickly we can be set up and out exploring! No jacks to level, no slides to put out, just open the side door and enjoy!

Hikes and walks

We headed out from our site and followed the short rim trail that's lined by rocks. This trail takes you to some viewpoints of Angel Peak and the surrounding badlands, two of which have benches.

The campground is at the edge of a ridge, and there's not a great way to get into the valley from the rim. The valley floor has a network of oil field roads, but to access those one needs to backtrack along the entrance road more than we were willing to walk. One day, we will come back with our 4x4 Jeep and explore the valley, but here are some dog-friendly hiking options in the area:

Angel Peak Trail

If you exit the campground at the northeastern end, along the road closed to vehicles, and follow the edge of the rim, you'll find a well-defined path that leads to the balancing rock in the distance. When on the ridge, pay attention to where the trail goes, as the easiest route is not the most straight one.

It's not a long hike, about 1 mile in total, and it's fun and really narrow in spots! We stopped at the balancing rock as another hiker told us it got a little sketchy if you went further.

Oil field roads northeast of the campground

Since the balancing rock hike wasn't very long, and the dogs had already walked the campground loop a few times, we decided to walk some of the oil field access roads on the land outside of the campground.

These roads go for miles and miles, and there's really no shade so prepare accordingly. We had a good time trying to identify the different animal prints in the sand. There are definitely deer frequenting this area, although we didn't see any. We also encountered two cattle guards during our 3.5-mile walk — something to keep in mind if your dogs don't like crossing them.

Castle Rock trail

There is also a 1.2 mile roundtrip hike called Castle Rock trail, that begins near the picnic areas. We didn't do this hike on this trip, but definitely will the next time we go back.

Cell signal

In general the area does not have great cell coverage. Be prepared with offline maps, and don't plan on remote working here. We did manage to get a barely-usable signal with a booster, but that may depend on the individual campsite.

Links and resources

Please pack out whatever you brought in, leave your campsite better than you found it, and don't crush the fragile desert ecosystem.

While you're in this area, don't miss the nearby dog-friendly Bisti Badlands!

• https://www.blm.gov/visit/angel-peak-scenic-area
• https://www.campendium.com/angel-peak
• https://freecampsites.net/#!11264&query=sitedetails
• http://www.aztecnm.com/fourcorners/newmexico/hiking/angelpeak.html
• http://www.aztecnm.com/recreation/brochures/AngelPeakBrochure.pdf

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2020/10/19/angel-peak-campground-nm/

This is a write-up of what I did to winterize our Travato. I'm explicitly talking about our specific rig, a  2019 Winnebago Travato 59K class B van. I may have left something out, or I may have screwed up something — but hopefully this helps someone, at the very least it'll help future me!

The steps I took are based on a combination of previous experience and some resources found online. They're specifically tuned for the 59K. There's a resource collection at the end, for other Travatos.

I choose to use both compressed air and antifreeze, as it seems blowing with compressed air just always keeps finding another pocket of water somewhere; I just don't trust it to be thorough enough. On our earlier class A motorhome, compressed air was enough, but I don't feel as confident here.

Print this out, cross items as you make progress, and make a note if something was different!

Materials and tools

• dump station within driving distance, or sewer hookup
• 2 gallons of RV antifreeze. Local O'Reillys had them for $4/gal
• towel
• flashlight
• air compressor, blow-out plug, adjustable pressure regulator, quick-connects and teflon tape to build the right adapter
• sliding ziploc plastic bag and something to tie it with (to keep shower head from dripping anti-freeze)
• water filter cartridge wrench really helps
• easier if you have help: extra pair of hands to siphon antifreeze, for a few minutes toward the end

Winterizing steps

1. dump and rinse black tank well; you'll dump again to get rid of water from the lines, but that's after blowing the black tank rinse water line; or, skip this round and get the air compressor out again after dumping later, blow line then
2. park level
3. ensure Truma is off
4. ensure water pump is off
5. lift things out of kitchen sink, prop lid open
6. open kitchen faucet, temperature half-way, leave open
7. open bath faucet, temperature half-way, leave open
8. flip up driver side bed, remove storage cubby and side access door
9. drain Truma with yellow pressure relief valve, leave open
10. open low point valves, wait to drain, leave open
11. remove O-ring filter from city fill inlet and tank fill inlets
12. press city fill and tank fill backflow valves with finger, wait to drain
13. restore O-ring filters to city fill and tank fill inlets (or air will leak later)
14. remove water filter, empty water, reinstall canister; use towel underneath
15. empty pump strainer, clean debris, reinstall; remember threads are upside down, pinch in-the-way hot water pipe to pump with other hand to be able to reinstall
16. assemble air compressor, open hood, connect air compressor power, start van, turn on air compressor
17. adjust to 0psi, connect to tank fill inlet, adjust gradually to 20psi, wait to drain, adjust to 0psi
18. run water pump for 2 seconds no more, turn off
19. adjust to 0psi, connect to city fill inlet, adjust gradually to 30psi, leave on
20. wait until drained, close low point drain valves
21. wait until drained, close bath faucet
22. wait until drained, close kitchen faucet
23. adjust to 0psi
24. switch Truma bypass to winter mode
25. adjust gradually to 30psi, there should be no air flow; next blow pipes one at a time by opening, draining, closing each outlet
26. blow kitchen sink hot+cold
27. blow bath sink hot+cold
28. blow shower hot+cold, ensure handle cutoff valve is open
29. blow toilet fill
30. blow toilet bidet, hold down valve in handle while pressing toilet pedal, after it starts blowing air hold it out the door and low toward ground to remove water from low point in hose
31. blow ext shower, leave hose connected
32. blow low point drain valves; remember to close valves
33. adjust to 0psi, release pressure from pipes with low point valve, disconnect from city fill
34. connect air to black tank rinse inlet (avoid exhaust pipe!), adjust gradually to 20psi, adjust to 0psi, disconnect
35. turn off air compressor
36. turn off van
37. disconnect air compressor power, leave air compressor to cool
38. close covers on city fill, tank fill, black tank rinse
39. empty water filter canister and reinstall, again; use towel underneath
40. empty pump strainer and reinstall, again
41. close Truma pressure relief valve
42. switch siphon tube valve to winterize
43. bring 1 gal antifreeze to pump, remove siphon tube cap, put siphon tube into antifreeze
44. turn on water pump, after initial burst there should be no water flow
45. next pump antifreeze to pipes one outlet at a time, hot and cold separately, close when pink stuff comes out
46. beware running out of antifreeze or siphoning air because tube is not submerged. beware spilling antifreeze bottle. easiest if you have a helper at the bottle
47. antifreeze kitchen sink hot+cold
48. antifreeze bath sink hot+cold
49. antifreeze shower hot+cold, ensure handle cutoff valve is open
50. the shower tends to drip, wrap a 1gal ziploc bag around the shower head and rubber twist tie it
51. antifreeze toilet fill
52. antifreeze toilet bidet
53. antifreeze ext shower; disconnect, drain and stow hose
54. turn off water pump
55. restore siphon tube cap
56. switch siphon tube valve to normal
57. restore bed
58. stow kitchen sink things, close lid
59. drive to dump tanks
60. pour antifreeze 1cup in kitchen sink (waterless trap but it won't hurt)
61. pour antifreeze 2-3cups in bath sink (P-trap)
62. pour antifreeze 2-3cups in shower drain (waterless trap); should be roughly the rest of 2gal bottles, adjust amounts to not run out
63. put towel in laundry
64. carry water bottles etc to house
65. stow air compressor (or if still hot, stow air hose, move compressor somewhere safe)
66. order new water filter for spring (the Culligan US-600A cartridge takes D-20A, D-30A, or D-40A filters, higher numbers are fancier but clog quicker — I've learned the D-30A resists flow so much the water pump cycles on/off all the time and you only get a trickle of water out.. I'm buying D-20A from now on) (you may also need new O-rings)

Resources

• 2019 Travato Operator's Manual (PDF) (other models), has photos to help you locate things, but is also annoying because it covers 59K and 59G with the same instructions
• 2019 Travato 59K plumbing diagrams: drainage (PDF), fresh (PDF), other models
• Truma Combi Operating instructions (PDF), and other manuals
• Travato Owners and Wannabees guides: Winterizing (PDF), De-winterizing (PDF), more
• RVgeeks video, good but generic & class A oriented; great background about air compressors
• Escapees winterizing guide, generic
• FitRV has lots of content about active winter use: tips, winterproofing, insulating, and so on.

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Colorado is famous for its mountain ranges and forests. The peaks reach well over 14,000 feet, and many small towns are above 7,000 feet. We are lucky to live close to many of these towns, just on the other side of the state border in New Mexico. We took our "van full o' dogs" exploring Ouray and Silverton and found beautiful nature and cool mountain air.

This was an interesting trip for us. Our home base is at 6,000 feet so we're no strangers to altitude, but we are in a semi-arid climate, while the Colorado mountains get a lot more rain and snow — it can often be dry at our house and we can see the clouds and rain to our north in Colorado.

On this trip, we went from high desert to a mountainous pine forest in a short afternoon drive.

Our first stop was Silverton, a colorful small town of less than 700 people at 9,318 feet elevation with many historic buildings preserved from the mining era. There are several bars and restaurants for the tourists, but not necessarily enough tourists to keep them always open (especially during COVID times), so watch out for business hours if you plan on eating here.

Silverton's main attraction is probably the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This historic steam railroad has been in continuous operation since 1881. For better or worse, our family motto tends to be "If I can't bring my dogs I'm not going" — so we can't say we've experienced the railroad, but we hear it's awesome! Something to definitely consider if you're without pets, or want to board them at a doggy daycare for the day.

Beyond the train, the local businesses are mostly hotels, inns, gift shops, and one gas station. Make sure to check out the Silverton City Park (aka Harmony Park) halfway through town, with the musical instruments (which somehow we didn't get a photo of — I think we were too busy playing!)

After walking around town, we found a campsite a few miles outside Silverton along a creek, in a designated dispersed camping area.

Outside of the handful of designated areas, the mountain roads are not great for RVs; if you have a pickup with a camper shell or a short 4x4 van with good ground clearance, you can probably find amazing spots deeper in on the forest roads, but most others are destined to have neighbors, and based on counting fire rings these areas get incredibly busy seasonally. Even if you have an off-road capable vehicle, make sure you know where you're going and ideally travel with two vehicles: some of these mountain passes are the gnarliest jeep roads in the US, and may not have the width for a longer vehicle to turn around safely.

On these mountains, cell signal quality seems to depend mostly on luck, whether your campsite happens to have a line of sight to a cell tower or not. Obviously you're more likely to find good signal no more than a mile or two off the highway. On the average we were surprised how well we managed to find a good signal, managed to work remotely from nice camp sites, and mostly suffered on weekend evenings when the cell towers were overloaded.

Going north from Silverton toward Ouray, you'll drive on the Million Dollar Highway. Parts of it are carved straight out of a mountain wall, and because of the heavy snowfall there are very few guardrails. That means near-vertical drops, thousand feet down, sometimes immediately outside the white line on the road. In the spring, before they've had time to fix the road, you might find chunks of the road have fallen out due to water erosion. There is no room for error here.

Trucks do use this route to service the mountain communities, but I personally would not want to bring a class A or a large trailer on this route. It's doable, but not fun. Pay attention to the 25 mph recommended speeds on bends, and practice your engine braking skills elsewhere — you do not want to be using the brake pedal all the time on these long downhills.

Also, pay attention to the fickle mountain weather and be ready to postpone your drive in case of rain. In even medium rain, there are literally waterfalls hitting the road surface, and sometimes the water brings down rocks with it. For a van, staying below the recommended speeds for the bends in good weather, it's a beautiful drive, and very much worth it for the scenery alone, just pay attention and let the passenger do the sightseeing. And leave that trailer or larger motorhome at camp.

At the north end of the Million Dollar Highway is the slightly larger town of Ouray, a mining town nicknamed "The Switzerland of America". Ouray is a cute little town, surrounded by a hiking trail loop with easy access to waterfalls and beautiful mountain nature. It's much more touristy, but not in a "lots of gift shops" way, and has a nice variety of restaurants (we loved Thai Chili). Ouray sits at an elevation of 7,792 feet — lower than much of its surroundings — and was much warmer than we expected.

Because of the heat, we wanted to find some water to cool off in. The dogs loved the "baby bathtubs" hike - perfect wading pools to cool off toasty paws.

After that, we hit up Cascade Falls which is right in town. It's a very short walk to the falls and the coolest thing is that you can actually hike up some switchbacks and stand behind the falls!

One day we'd love to come back to the Silverton and Ouray area and do some longer hikes. At the time of this visit, our dog Lily was about a month into her recovery from a rattlesnake bite which had drained her energy levels, so we kept our walks short. If you and your dog are up for a longer hike, we hear the Ice Lake Basin Trail outside of Silverton is phenomenal - and it's definitely on our list for another time. Some other Ouray adventures you may want to look into if you're without pets are the hot springs and Box Canyon Falls.

We did not have much luck in finding boondocking closer to Ouray, so after a day trip with two hikes, we headed back south to camp near Silverton.

For us, driving above the clouds past 12,000 feet has never been a big deal, even when we lived at sea level. Neither one of us is prone to altitude sickness. We also haven't seen the dogs be affected, but it's something to know the warning signs of! But make no mistake, these are serious mountains and even the "low" areas are at 6,000 feet. If you're driving to this area of Colorado from closer to sea level, make sure you know the symptoms of altitude sickness, and be prepared to drive back down to a level where you're comfortable. If you have the time, maybe camp somewhere halfway up the mountains for a week or two to acclimate.

If you have more time, you can go north around Mt. Sneffels and check out a third mountain town, Telluride, as well. It's the biggest and perhaps the most touristy of the three, as it has a popular ski resort. Next time we're out this way, we'll be heading that way ourselves, stay tuned for our adventures in that area. Until then, it's time for a nap!

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2020/08/03/dog-friendly-silverton-ouray-co/

We meandered down the California stretch of highway 395 at what I would say is the perfect time of year to visit: September-November.  The weather was cool and perfect for hiking with dogs, campgrounds were empty, summer tourists had already left, and winter tourists were still waiting for snow.

We had been staying in the San Francisco bay area, so we headed toward the south end of Lake Tahoe to start our journey down the 395, right where it crosses from Nevada to California.

Protip: Gas in California is notoriously expensive, so before heading south, we took a slight detour to fill our Class A's 150-gallon diesel tank across the border in Nevada.

South from Lake Tahoe, all the way until you hit the desert, most RV parks close for winter around October.  If you are not comfortable with primitive campgrounds and boondocking, make sure to have reservations.  Many campgrounds will also shut off water faucets early, while dump stations stay open longer.

Side note: Our eventual destination was Palm Springs, and we would recommend you too swing east to avoid the mountains. Big Bear Lake can be nice but I wouldn't take a big RV up there.

Mono Lake

Our first stop did not disappoint!  We explored Mono Lake in all its otherworldly, stinky, glory.  Especially Mushy, his nose kept going the whole time.

Did you know: Yosemite Valley is roughly a 1.5-hour drive from Mono Lake.  Since we had already visited Yosemite a few years back, we decided not to take the detour.  If you go, research the drive ahead of time, as there are sections that are steep and winding.  Some portions of the road have an 8% grade.  The road also closes in winter.

Mammoth Lakes

Mammoth Lakes is a very touristy ski town. As such, it has many restaurants and laundromats relative to its size, and while Tommi especially is no fan of tourist traps, it was a great experience outside the season.

The local water company has a $10 dump station built in a loop that can be a little tight for big rigs.  We watched a huge fifth wheel have trouble making the turn, and our 38' motorhome needed one extra wiggle to make it out from the loop.

While visiting the Mammoth Lakes area we chose to stay at Glass Creek Campground. In October, the place was close to empty! We've heard it can get crowded in summer.

The back of the campground connects with a handful of forest roads that were great for dog walks.  Dogs with high prey drives will need to be always on a leash, though — there were chipmunks everywhere.

Close to Glass Creek Campground is a geological oddity named Obsidian Dome that is worth a visit.  Wear sturdy shoes and prepare your offline GPS map.  And yes, dogs can go!

We loved hiking in the Mammoth Lakes area.  

And Mushy loved all the options for a quick dip!

East of Mammoth Lakes there are at least a dozen hot springs. We highly recommend you seek out one of them for a nice soak. Wild Willy's is one of the easier to find ones, so we agreed to meet some friends there.  

Overall we loved the Mammoth Lakes area.  We were sad we couldn't see Devil's Postpile (the access road was closed due to road paving), but that leaves us something new to see the next time we're in the area.  

We eventually left Mammoth as it started to get too cold, around the second half of October.  The stream that the campground is named after had a layer of ice on it most mornings.  And to seal the deal, we heard the campground was closing for the season.  It was time to head south.

On your way south toward Bishop, you'll encounter a looong downhill grade. South of that, the weather will immediately be much warmer — just make sure you know how to do engine braking, to get there safely.

Bishop

On this trip, we just drove through Bishop but it's worth a stop.  Make sure you get some goodies at Schat's Bakery!  Bishop is widely known for it's annual Mule Days event, a fun family stop if you're visiting over Memorial Day weekend (the town sells out though, so plan ahead!)

Alabama Hills

We found a great boondocking spot at the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine and ended up staying 2 weeks.  We loved this area so much — you can read about our stay in detail here.

Since we were boondocking we used Tuttle Creek Campground to dump and fill.  The speed bumps on the entrance road mean business, take them slow or break something!  The road in was a bit narrow, it probably has just enough room for two class A's to pass, but you might scrape bushes to make that happen.  Tommi drove ahead with the Jeep to make sure I had a clear path.  

Cell signal around Alabama Hills can be challenging. We found a spot with the magic combination of being able to level a class A and getting a good enough AT&T signal, but if you're not having much luck, we hear the cell signal at Tuttle Creek Campground is much better.

Whitney Portal

Whitney Portal is a camping area at the base of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States.  The road up to the campground is pretty steep.  We did see a few Class A's up there but I'm sure it was a slow drive!  

We didn't get to try it but we would recommend you go with an empty stomach and eat at Mt Whitney Portal Store.

California City

Heading further south, if you're comfortable exploring unmarked desert, go seek out the remains of California City.

Ridgecrest

We used Ridgecrest as a basecamp for errands and vet visits. The city had everything you may need to restock: Walmart, propane, laundry, and an awesome Mexican place with great veggie options we did take out from too many times.

For boondocking, there's a large BLM area about a 20 minutes southeast of town, with multiple campsites and endless desert mostly used for off-roading.  You will need a bit of luck to avoid engine noise, but we had enough friends camping with us that we managed to take up one whole clearing, so most off-roaders were miles away.

Oh and watch out for those railroad crossings, if you drive full speed into that one particular crossing, you'll feel like you blew a tire.  You'll know which one I mean if you find it.

Trona Pinnacles

A must-see!  The Trona Pinnacles are tufa spires (some as high as 140 ft!) that rise from a dry lake basin.  We had an amazing day trip here with the dogs and took tons of photos.  The area is managed by BLM and allows camping.  The entry road is quite washboarded.

Sawtooth Canyon BLM Campground  

We spent our Thanksgiving with friends at the Sawtooth Canyon campground, just south of Barstow.  Plan to arrive before dark (we didn't, and very nearly got lost scouting inside the campground) and make sure you park in a designated space.  Cell signal here is spotty, but often improves a lot by simply going around one large rock. There are limited sites, and this area is popular with rock climbers, so good luck!

US 395 is on our repeat list

California's section of highway 395 was a great experience for us, and perhaps even our favorite slice of California.  We'll definitely be camping and exploring further next time we're passing through.  

Have you traveled on CA's 395?  What was your favorite stop?

This post originally appeared on https://fmcadventure.com/2020/07/13/dog-friendly-adventures-along-us-395-in-california/

We are no longer full-time RVing, and as part of that transition we downsized from a diesel pusher class A motorhome to a class B van. As you may have already noticed, our lives often revolve around dogs. Here are our thoughts on picking a campervan ideally suited for us and and our dogs. The opinions below are, naturally, opinions, and you should find the RV with the floorplan and features that work for you.

Finding the Goldilocks zone

First, we had to decide the big picture. In terms of rig size, we knew we wanted "any grocery store parking lot, any gas station" small. We knew we didn't want a pickup camper shell, for many reasons but also just simply because the high steps looked like a bad idea with medium-size dogs.

We looked at the B+/small C size range for a while, and seriously thought about an LTV Unity with a murphy bed. We ruled out class C's in general because they're mostly still in the "we'll need to tow a car" size range, and the smaller murphy bed units because it seemed like there was almost no room to move around with the bed down. In the other direction, we ruled out the 19-foot Revel as likely too small and spartan for us to enjoy it, especially for seating. We finally settled at looking at vans roughly 21 feet long: long enough to have enough room inside, short enough to spill out from a single parking space by only a few feet. In practice we mostly park overlapping two spaces, but it's very nice to not have to do that.

A good bed is a must

Since we truly value our sleeping comfort, we felt we didn't want a floorplan with a rear sofa that reclines into a bed. There was just no way all those cushions would form a smooth surface. We also weren't keen on the idea of needing to waste storage for bedding, or making the bed every night. For a long time, we thought we were going to pick the Travato 59G with a corner murphy bed: it really had a great floorplan for being able to store things under the bed, while keeping the rear door usable. This went as far as figuring out details like that the 2019 year model switched away from a propane fridge — a detail I (Tommi) really liked.

Reading other people's experiences about the 59G ultimately convinced us that the corner bed was not for us. It was simply too high for our dogs to jump up on their own, and our dogs are too heavy to lift up regularly (I already have to scoop up our 65+ lbs Lily to get her into our lifted Jeep, that's enough). If you have only lap-size pets, that would look very different. For us, even if we forced the dogs to always sleep on the floor, they'd likely pile up right underneath, exactly where you need to sort of slide down from the tall bed, and there'd be many tails stepped on. And with our latest addition, we now have three dogs in the 50-65 lbs range — they take up a lot of room, and at least one of them would be pretty much guaranteed to be right there.

Twin beds it is

Given all the above, we ended up wanting a floorplan with twin beds and an aisle in the middle, even if it meant that the rear doors opened up comically right to the pooper.

Most vans with twin beds convert into one big bed by propping a table surface in the middle, but I doubt we'll ever do that. We like our night time routine to be short & simple, just like our arrival/departure routines.

We plan on leaving our bedding in place during the day, covering it up with a day cover of some sort, and at night letting the day covers double as dog beds on the floor.

Decision time: 2019 Travato 59K

Scouring reviews, we picked the Travato 59K, and then model year 2019 or newer because of all the extras they made standard. The newer models are even more dog-friendly: starting with 2020.5, the running boards have loops for attaching a leash to. We decided to let someone else take the hit of the first year price drop though, and shopped for lightly used rigs.

To save costs and because we're no longer fulltiming, we opted to avoid the Volta lithium system. No lithium means no running the AC if we leave the dogs in a parking lot, though. We'll put in lithium batteries as a DIY project later if we need them for that use case. For normal use, we expect to be much more mobile than with our class A, so we believe we'll mostly charge by driving. And we have solar for the basics and a generator when we need it, if we stay parked for longer.

To give an idea of how much we're liking the 59K, one of the biggest downsides for us seems to be that the exterior shower isn't plumbed for hot water, and thus any muddy dogs will be rinsed with cold water. That's not a huge compromise.

We found a used 59K with some options we really liked: heated tanks and awning windows. Tank heaters ("heated drainage" in Winnebago terminology) help in the winter, and 2019 Travato fresh water plumbing is already inside the rig, to protect against freezing. Awning windows let us have windows open even in heavy rain, and can be securely locked while still slightly open. Similarly, the Travato ceiling fan has a rain cover and can be left running in the rain. One quick 1,300-mile road trip later, we now have the van, and the dogs are slowly getting familiarized with it. We're starting to get answers to some of our open questions through experience.

#1: Side door entry/exit is going to work just fine

I wasn't sure how the door was going to play out, but I think the dogs will be perfectly fine using it, and behaving themselves when the door is opened.

Delta is still in the process of learning about waiting, and he's slippery like a weasel if he tries to force his way out, but he's making great progress on his patience.

#2: The aisle is wide enough to turn around in

We were sort of concerned the dogs might need to "reverse out" of the aisle, but they all seem to be able to turn in that space if needed. They also can walk past each other, and we can walk around / over them if they stand or lay in the aisle.

#3: They can jump up on the beds easily

Our dogs don't, at least so far, jump up on the beds from the aisle. One of the beds ends at the kitchen cabinets, so there's not a great place to jump up there. The other bed is free from obstructions and the dogs get up there, and then easily step across the aisle to be on whichever bed they want.

#4: The floor is slippery

Our Travato has vinyl flooring, and it's uncomfortably slippery for the dogs. The second time Lily jumped in through the side door, she slid across and almost into the kitchen cabinets. We found $8 hardware store doormats that are unobtrusive, the perfect size, and easy to cut where needed. We covered the floor with them, and the dogs seem much happier.

#5: Finally an exhaust I don't have to worry about

Our class A had a prominent exhaust in the rear passenger side corner, and the generator exhaust was in the front on the driver's side. I always worried that some careless dog was going to singe their ear when we walked the dogs immediately after driving, and the area near the generator exhaust was Mushy's favorite lounging zone.

On the Travato, both exhausts are on the driver's side, away from areas where the dogs are likely to be. They'll also be less accessible to the dogs just because I doubt the dogs will crawl under the van, as there's much less room. Mushy is going to be bummed he lost his private basement room, though.

#6: Lily wants to ride with us, the boys are more ok on the bench seats

Lily tends to lay between the two front seats when we're driving. This was also where she rode in the class A, and in the Jeep she typically stands on the middle console at least part of the way. She's a people dog, and wants to be near us.

If there's no human passenger, Lily will often jump on the passenger seat to see out. (And about a quarter of the time, triggers the seat belt reminder.) In the class A, she'd sometimes ride in the passenger's lap, all 65+ lbs of her, to get her sniffer out the side window. I don't think we can allow that anymore, with the shape of the van cab and the smaller seats.

Delta is very excited about sitting on the bench seats in the back and looking out in all the directions. The 59K has nice panoramic views, and he's thrilled about it.

Mushy, well... Mushy doesn't like car rides. He absolutely hates getting in our Jeep and being taken on bumpy roads. He'll either hunker down on the ground or the bench seat, or scramble to try to hide underneath the gas and brake pedals. We're working on that. At least the van is, on the average, a smoother ride than the Jeep.

The boys might get harnesses that clip into the seat belts on the rear bench seat, to keep them away from trouble. We already own at least one such harness, we'll have to test that.

Looking forward to road trips

Given the current COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions on tourism, we haven't had much chance for longer trips in the van yet. We definitely need to spend more nights on the road with all three dogs to see where everyone is going to sleep. Will they try to pile up on the beds with us, or settle to sleep on the floor? Will an aisle full of dogs be too much, if we want to use the bathroom in the middle of the night? Will the Truma heat vents blow right into where they want to sleep, and will that be a good or a bad thing?

Do you travel with pets in a small rig?  Let us know your best tips in the comments below!

Ever since we bought our house in New Mexico, we've been wanting to visit the nearby Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (aka the Bisti Badlands). Winter can be a tricky time to visit since it can get very muddy. In early February, after a few weeks of dry weather, we loaded up our Jeep and drove the hour and a half south for a dog adventure day.  

Protip:  Let me tell you now how to pronounce it so you're not like me and pronounce it wrong for months:  Bis-tie (not Bis-tee).

Since we hadn't been there before, and the area is known for having poor-to-no cell reception, we chose to visit mid-day. Most photographers visit Bisti at sunrise or sunset for the best lighting, but since it was our first time there we didn't want to be driving either direction in the dark, or finding our way back to the car in the dark! Since our visit, we've purchased a class B campervan and can't wait to go back for an overnight visit and have better lighting for photos! (After stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, of course!)

This is one adventure where you'll really benefit from doing your research ahead of time.  There are no marked trails so you'll need to know where you're going and pay attention. Download offline maps to your phone, bring your GPS device (if you have one), make a plan for what you want to see, etc.  It would be impossible to see everything in one day so you'll need to prioritize. Here are some of the sites we found helpful:

• https://farmingtonnm.org/listings/bisti-de-na-zin-wilderness
• http://www.firefallphotography.com/bisti-badlands-a-photographers-perspective/
• http://www.firefallphotography.com/bisti-badlands-tips-comprehensive-guide-for-photographers/
• https://www.thewave.info/BistiBadlandsCode/Map.html
• https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-mexico/bisti-badlands-trail

You can enter the wilderness either from the west (Bisti) or east (De-Na-Zin) entrance.  The west is the more popular choice because it's closer to the highway and the cool stuff to see is more condensed into one walkable area; the east is less crowded and has more large land shapes like hills.  The western end actually has two parking lots, but the northern one is not as well known and is harder to find.

The southwest parking lot is the most popular and easiest to find, and it's prominently marked, even on Google Maps. To get there, take the paved state road 371, it's about a 3-mile drive on dirt/gravel road to the southwest main parking area.  If you see other routes to that parking lot on your map, they are either blocked or non-existent.  The roads are in general in good enough condition and any passenger car will be fine.  Watch for rocks on the road and slow down a lot before turns.  If you're visiting the east end, make sure you know where the turn is, as it's hard to spot.

Bisti is primarily managed by BLM, with the exception of a few parcels of Navajo land within the boundaries, and as of our writing, there is no entrance fee or booth. There is no water and no trash service, but there is a newly-built pit toilet. We saw websites warning to not let dogs go in the water near the parking lot, as it's run-off from a nearby uncapped oil well.

Before you get to see things like this:

You'll walk through an area like this:

Be patient.  It's about a mile walk from the parking area to the first photo-op, some of it in soft desert sand.  Keep the creek on your left and aim just to the left of the two red hills in the distance, that's where the hoodoos start to show up.

We kept Lily and Mushy on leash until we got far enough in that we didn't see another person around.  

The dogs had a great time exploring!

Lily didn't know why we wanted her to sit here, but she was happy to oblige.

So interesting to see how water has sculpted this landscape.

And the colors in some areas are stunning!

The Nursery

This is one of the most well-known spots within Bisti,  the "cracked eggs" in an area called "the nursery" or "alien hatchery."  For the full photographer experience, plan to arrive before sunrise.

We took a break in the hills behind the nursery and gave the dogs some water and snacks.

Petrified Wood

About 70 million years ago, this area now known as Bisti was a coastal rain forest where dinosaurs ruled.  Some of the trees can still be found almost intact.  And in 1998 the "bisti beast" was discovered; a tyrannosaur that would have been about 30 feet long and weighed roughly 3 tons.

Bisti and De-Na-Zin are beautiful, in their very unique way.  The shapes you see here often consist of soft sandstone on top of nothing but dirt, and almost everything pretty here is precariously balanced and about to fall down already, so please limit climbing, keep your kids & dogs under control, and watch your step.  A few acres of the wilderness is Navajo land surrounding their sacred places, and you really can't tell where the borders are when hiking there, so please treat the whole area as important to someone. Leave it like you found it, for the next visitor to enjoy!