10,000 Mile RV Trip with Our Dog

Recently, we finished traveling 10,000 miles in 65 days of RV camping (in a truck camper) with our dog, a 4-5 year old Chocolate Labrador mix.  Leaving home Feb. 27 and returning in early May, we traveled through a variety of ecosystems and climates, with temperatures ranging from +3F to +93 F. 

Utah

We traveled through parts of Alaska, where we live, down the Alcan Highway to Dawson Creek, BC, then SE to Montana, south to Texas, and then NW through Grand Canyon and related National Parks, up through Idaho to Canada, and then back to Alaska.  

Below is advice for others who are considering extended road trips with their dogs.  (To read our evaluations of the specific campsites and their amenities (or lack of them) we visited in March, April, and May, 2025, see companion article:  Our Itinerary up and down the Alcan Highway in March/April). 

1.       Recommended Resources: 

a)       www.freecampsites.net identifies free and inexpensive, natural locations, such as forest roads, beaches, as well as some organized dry campgrounds.

   www.rvlife.com lists paid, primarily private, RV parks and lets readers rate them.  You can add search criteria, like “pet friendly.”  

b)      www.bringfido.com lets you search for pet friendly restaurants (those with outdoor seating, in season) and dog parks.

c)       www.petsmart.com offers pet sitting and overnight stays.  We used this service for a graduation ceremony and related celebrations.  The price was very reasonable – about $20 for 4 hours in 2025.     The company does require proof of vaccinations required by their state/facility.  Because this varies!!! check in advance before you leave your home veterinarian.  Texas, or at least this boarding facility, requires two shots that Alaska does not.

d)      www.cdc.gov:   If you plan to travel from the US to Canada and then back again, find the pet form on the CDC website.  You will need to fill this out in advance and show it at the border, along with proof of rabies vaccination.  

         Sites for national and state and city parks in your target regions.  Note:  many national and even state parks can be huge.  Searching near your target route will help you find campsites on THAT side of the a park that may be thousands or hundreds of thousands of acres in size.

 

Bay Area

2.       Campgrounds and campsites vary widely in their pet friendliness  (from worst to best, below)

a)                   The worst are private or city owned RV/camp parks that are basically parking lots for closely spaced vehicles, with no shade or privacy between spots. The closeness, the noise of vehicles coming and going, dumpster lids banging, garbage trucks arriving can contribute to anxious and noisy dogs.  These are common in and around cities and tend to cost the most.

 

We paid for 3 ($77 in Golden, CO; $61 outside Grand Canyon, AZ; and $39 in little Bowie, TX) that fit this description.  We also spent a free night in a city lot in tiny Vulcan, Alberta surrounded by commercial parking lots. I avoid these city and private parks when alternatives exist. They are not dog friendly, are crowded and unattractive. 

 

g)       The good news is that in summer months, most of these have electricity and water and often a dump site, as well as laundry (for a fee) and showers (sometimes free).  In cold weather winter locations, many of these campgrounds are closed altogether, or they offer electricity but no water services. Most of these were closed from mid-Oct to end of May in Alaska and along the Alcan.

 

b)      Other city or town owned campsites are much more appealing, within larger, natural settings.  We enjoyed locations next to a lake, river, golf course.  Many had day use areas for picnicking, maybe with playgrounds, boat docks, etc.  These are better suited to dogs and usually cheaper, too!  We enjoyed lovely ones in Austin, TX  along the Colorado River, Minersville, UT ( at a lake), and next to a municipal ski hill for children near Grande Cache, Alberta.  Some do and some do not offer utilities.  Prices varied from free to $20.  The spaciousness and water body offered exercise options for our lab. 

 

Grand Canyon

c)       The best public campsites for dogs (and us) were, without doubt, state and national parks, preserves, and forests. The most common camping price was $20/nt for dry camping and $30 with electricity for our truck camper.  Other prices vary by the size of your rig and the amperage you desire.  All of these offered natural landscapes and often lovely views of lakes, rivers, reservoirs, deserts, lava fields, mountains, and forests.  Many had cleared trails.  If they did not, you could walk along the shore or in the woods with your pooch. Yes, the rules say a 6 foot leash, but in March, we were usually the only camper there.  In April, there were a few other people who scattered thoughtfully away from each other.

d)      Our favorite campsites were ones where we boondocked in a pretty setting that is not an intentionally designed campground.  This is allowed in most National Forests and often within a mile or so of designated campgrounds of State and National Parks.  We might drive down a forest road until we found a spot to pull over.  Since many park services in northern, snowy regions are closed until Memorial Day, we occasionally camped behind a visitor center or near the locked gate to a campground.  Other sites included a woodsy parking lot to trails frequented by snowmachiners and cross country skiers, a unplowed rural airstrip, side roads that dead ended in a berm of snow, and parking lots for day use access to trails that are not cleared or used much in winter.    

 

The website, www.freecampsites.net, was of enormous assistance to us, and we added our reviews to it, too. 

 

From the dog’s perspective, there were rarely other people/dogs at these sites, so he could roam freely, nearby.  Other boondocking sites were much larger and better known, so we did find a number of vehicles there, such as at Lake Powell and south of Zion National Park down a rutted dirt road to public land. But since the nature of boondockers is to avoid crowds, we all politely spaced ourselves far apart. 

 

3.       Driving with a dog

a.       Routine: Our dog rested in the cab of the truck with us as we drove.  About every 2 hours, we stopped to stretch our legs and offer him water and a snack.  If a gas station was not adjacent to a fringe of grass or meadow, we sought out a more natural, dog-safe location later, for lunch or a bit of a walk, such as short drive down a rural road that crossed the highway.   In urban areas, we looked up dog parks or walking trails.  These vary widely in appeal from fenced meadows to woods traversed with dirt trails, to parks with ponds and hardscaping for people and dog washing areas just outside the gates.

In our yard in Alaska

 

b.       Supplies:  We kept a collapsible water bowl and water jug and dry dog food in the car with us, along with small rags to wipe his feet and a cloth mat to lay over our laps for him when he was damp.  He seemed to like chewing on rawhide bones especially when he was a bit nervous; they served as pacifiers.  When we made camp for the evening, he was interested in playing with toys or he would find and bring us a stick or a bone. 

 

c.       If crossing the border between USA and Canada:  The Canadian border patrol did not want us traveling with an open container of dry dog food.  Cans are fine.  

c)    Health:  An older dog might have trouble jumping in and out of a car, truck, or camper several times per day.  The only issues we faced were ticks and burrs, which we found and removed quickly.  However, other travelers could encounter issues with temperature regulation in hot or cold climates, hot sand or asphalt, dog fights or other animal injuries, such as snake bites for dogs not familiar with those reptiles.  Another possibility is cuts from broken glass or bits of metal in some poorly maintained campsite.  Keep your veterinary information handy, and, if you are concerned, find local veterinarians in your target location, especially if you plan to linger there.   I have no idea if dogs ever suffer from motion sickness.  Maybe?

Our dog was a good trooper on this long trip.  I doubt he got as much exercise as he does at our rural Alaska home, but enjoyed exploring new scents every time we stopped at a new place.

Tracks and Scat: Noticing Nature

Engagement with nature is the same as with people. It requires slowing down and paying attention to details. It isn’t driving past and enjoying the view. It isn’t jogging through a park while chatting with a friend or listening to music. Engagement means walking, looking, pausing, noticing, analyzing, comparing, and appreciating.

In this regard, one of my favorite pastimes in the remote part of Alaska where we live, is to identify and interpret the scat and tracks of the wild animals that live here. In winter, the tracks are clear for several days in the snow, but the warm excrement slips below the surface and disappears, so that clue is lacking.

In summer, ground cover obscures the tracks, other than in mud. But I see vague footprints in gravel along creeks, and of course our forest is riven with myriad animal trails and the occasional matted grass where one bedded down for the night (or day). Among bushes and trees, I notice branches stripped by moose, berries scattered by bears, trees gnawed by beavers, and tree trunks rubbed raw by bull moose as they shed their velvet and paddles (antlers). Bears leave swatches of coarse hair where they rub against trees (and our cabins). In summer, animal scat lasts for days, and I can infer how recent it is and what the animal ate.

By paying attention, I learn about my largely silent neighbors: where they travel, if they are moving fast (in fear or in pursuit) or slowly (feeling safe), what they have been eating, how recently they have passed through, and the conditions for their respective dens.

In the spirit of the season, this article focuses only on WINTER TRACKS. A summer article will describe SUMMER clues.

Every afternoon above about 0 degrees F, my husband, dog and I take a walk. We prefer the frozen, windswept lake for easy walking in shallow snow, but we also go into the woods on snowshoes (to cut firewood). Either way, we look for tracks, point them out to our chocolate lab mix dog, Buddy, and try to interpret what we see.

VOLES, HARES, WOLVERINES, BEARS, MARTENS, WEASELS, LYNX, ad WOLVES

VOLE

This week, in the flat light of an overcast day, we barely saw the close, shallow tracks of a vole (meadow mouse) heading away from the woods and out toward the middle of the lake. Why? Any dark colored creature on the white expanse would be an obvious appetizer to an eagle eyed carnivore – avian or otherwise. Usually, we find their serpentine trails in spring when the snow melts, in long stretches dug slightly into the mud and slightly into the lowest layer of snow, where they are insulated to a balmy 33 degrees F. Why would one venture out into the cold exposure of a windswept lake? I do not know.

Our dog and other animals hear or smell the voles beneath the snow. Buddy sniffs and digs where he can reach under the chicken coop, where I am sure voles hole up during the winter and gather occasional bits of food and straw.

MARTEN

A more dramatic occasion occurred with a marten. These animals (whose fur is the ermine you associate with royalty) are about the size of a cat, but with shorter legs, all brown/black, with cupped ears. They have been referred to, evocatively, as “nature’s most adorable assassin.”

Moose on our frozen lake

My husband was soaking in our outdoor, wood fired hot tub mid-winter. I happened to be looking out our kitchen window and saw the following, too. A black marten left the shelter of trees (which they can climb) and trotted out to the middle of a meadow. There he stood for a moment and then jumped up into the air and straight down into the snow, emerging with a vole in his mouth. He returned a while later for a second course, but the voles had skedaddled. Instead, he was attracted to the sound of Bryan splashing water over his head in the tub. Did he hear another meal? The marten bounded toward him and even climbed up the lowest two steps to the deck surrounding the tub! Adorable or not, my husband was disinclined to be so close to those sharp teeth, so he splashed water onto the marten, who ran away into the woods. He has his space; we like ours.

HARE

Hares, being a prey species like voles, usually stay in the woods, but one time we watched from our front porch as a hare raced out of the woods and along shore, as fast and straight as I have ever seen one move. Sure enough, a predatory marten was chasing. Before they disappeared beyond the trees, it looked like the marten was gaining. It is a dog eat dog world out there. When we walked down to the lake to analyze the tracks, the distance between the leaps of both creatures was greater than we had ever seen, reflecting their speed.

Usually, hares stay in the woods, sheltered among the roots of birch or under the snow weighted boughs of spruce or a thicket of alder laid low by the snow. When they venture out for forage, like dead grass or berries, they move from one sheltered tree to another. Their tracks are distinctive from the way they jump – their big back feet tend to obscure their smaller front foot prints, like a frog jump.

In spots illuminated and warmed by the sun, the older tracks (of any creatures) expand in the snow, looking much larger than is true. This is one way to assess how much time has passed. Tracks in shaded areas tend to remain true to size longer.

The tree canopy protects the hares somewhat, but since the deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn, they are particularly vulnerable to predators in winter. One year, we spied a bright red (so fresh) blood pool at the base of a tree, and a light blood trail leading away, but no footprints at all! Our interpretation was that an eagle or hawk dove down to grab a fleeing hare just as it emerged from its sub-nivian hideaway. I doubt it was an owl because those birds are so light. I have seen them dive to break a duck’s neck, and then sit there to feed on the large bird that it could not lift.

LYNX

Here, the lynx/hare population follows a predictable 10 year cycle: more hares = more lynx. Last year was the trough, so we anticipate seeing more of both in upcoming years. Only once have I seen what I think were lynx tracks. Their feet are so insulated with tufts of fur that you can barely see the toes and claws. The tracks looked to me almost like a big softball shape slightly indented into the surface, surrounded by a softened snow edge.

MYSTERY DECODED

Perhaps the most joyful discovery occurred shortly after Freezeup this year. When the lake ice was thick enough to support our weight (4 – 6 inches) and barely covered with an inch or two of snow, we ventured out, wearing ice cleats since the ice was so slick, and carrying a rope in case one of us fell in. Can you can interpret what we saw before I answer the question?

Along the perimeter of the lake, maybe three feet from shore, we saw what looked like a single tire track that scraped the snow down to the ice. It was about 6 inches wide and 6 feet long. Then a gap of 10 inches of snow, and then another track of ice, then snow, then ice, for 1/3 to ½ a mile! Two or three times, the track veered right up to the shrubbery along shore. What was this?

We bent down to get a clearer view, because in the flat light of winter, there are no shadows to illuminate nooks and crannies. Then we saw it: two small foot prints at the end of each icy track. Of course! This was a river otter sliding and then leaping and then sliding along shore! Wouldn’t you have loved to see that in action! How fun! Perhaps its forays to the shrubbery were to find any remaining open pools of water. On the far side of the lake, two such pools remained liquid for another week where little creeks drizzled into the lake. Sure enough, we found evidence that the critter slid into the water and disappeared into the woods. What a delightful discovery and happy memory! Had it snowed before our walk, we would have missed the evidence.

WOLVERINE

A few years ago, a wolverine hung around our place. These are creatures that look like small bears and are noted for their fierce temperament. We used our scat and tracks book to identify the animal by the size of the feet and the distance between steps. We found two trails, on two different days, where it wandered out of the woods, in a loop along the lake, and then back into the woods about ½ mile north of our cabin.

A night or so later, our dog alerted to an exterior visitor. The next morning, we found that the wolverine’s tracks led from the woods north of us, under our cabin’s front porch, out the other side and down to the lake. Because of the dusty dirt beneath the cabin, its dirty paw prints left a clear trail in the snow where he exited. We even saw sharp front claw marks in the icy snow berm that he had to climb up from under the cabin. Did it smell the gray water line under the sink? Did our dog leave a bone somewhere? I do not know why it paid a visit, but I am glad that we did not let our dog out that night. He surely would have lost his life to this apex predator.

MOOSE

Moose prefer riparian landscapes where rivers offer open water longer than our lake in the winter, and shore plants like willows can feed them. When they travel through snow, they, like we, travel along hard packed snowmachine tracks for easier walking. Imagine the caloric stress for a 1200 lb pregnant herbivore laboring through belly high snow, looking for food for 6-7 months! They are understandably ornery and often unwilling to cede the trail to an oncoming snowmachine or dog sled. For this reason, it is common to carry a gun to startle the huge ungulate into moving away a few dozen yards so we can pass.

For the same ease of transit, moose are often seen walking on roads in Alaska. As you may imagine, collisions can be fatal for both beast and driver. In the populated area around Anchorage, volunteers are on call to collect the enormous road kill, butcher it, and deliver it as food to homeless shelters and other food charities. Nice.

In winter, we see moose when we near rivers, and less often on our lake, especially now that we have the dog. I recall seeing one curl up, rather miserably, it seemed to me, out of the wind below our cabin, after nibbling whatever she could reach on low birch and ash branches. The next morning, we saw that she had traversed the snow paths on our property, sampling adjacent tree branches, before heading into the woods, which protect her from wind. Off the path, her footfalls in the snow were so deep that we could see her belly scrapes in between them.

If reincarnation exists, I do not want to become an arctic moose. It seems to be an arduous and vulnerable life.

BEARS

Bears hibernate, of course, so we were astonished to see the unmistakable footprints of a large bear in a glen low on our property one New Year’s Day. Naturally, we were disinclined to follow in our bulky and cumbersome snowshoes, so we retreated. I called Fish and Game after the holiday to inquire, citing measurements for the footprints and the stride length. A warden explained that the bear was likely old or ill and left a den to die outside somewhere. Somehow this strikes me as both sad and noble. How about you?

These excursions illuminate my environment. From animal tracks, I discern (or interpret) evidence of joy, thirst, hunger, fear, confusion, illness, and dying. Human footprints surely yield such clues, too, to attentive doctors, policemen, and forensic analysts.

We just need to pay attention.