SISSY CAMPING (“RVing”)

By Phil Epler

Now I just couldn’t let Sandy Huse’s comment stand without rebuttal. Although I don’t recall meeting her in the past, I’m sure she is a fine and outstanding person, (she must be the best, as anyone who has Greyhounds, is virtually without fault), BUT, she has a misconception about us RV’ers. That’s my opinion, anyway. :-)

Sure, the end result is usually comfort and luxury for all participants, however, when you take into consideration, the preparation, pre-planning, routes of travel, driving a 35’ rig with an 18’ tow vehicle behind you, (Nearly 55 feet combine length), can become a big challenge, when negotiating, say, the “Million Dollar” highway in the Colorado Rocky’s, where a narrow, tight winding road with thousands of feet sheer drop off, without guard rails, is the norm, It isn’t all such a “sissy-fied” way to camp.

Enough of the rebuttal. Let’s take a typical fun camping trip in an RV, with three hounds. In fact, we just returned from the Greyhound Gathering in Kanab , Utah . This is an event that I highly recommend and the freshest experience that we have to draw on. For more information on past and future events, go to: http://www.greyhoundgang.org/

On a Thursday morning in mid May, I brought the RV home from the storage facility in preparation for our 200 plus mile journey to Kanab. I’m sure you all recall, when you perform those little tasks that let your four legged kids know that they are about to go for a walk or ride, (words, we generally have to spell, in front of them to keep them from going wild, too soon). It instantly turns on the high intensity switch. I, say without exaggeration, that my kids go nuts when they see the RV pull up in front.

After loading our provision, checking all the systems in the RV, we left Henderson at about 9:00 am Friday morning. Alyeska and Heidi, made a “B-line” for the sofa, while BJ curled up behind the co-pilots seat, Heading north on I15, passing through a lot of boring desert and the eons old Virgin River Gorge.

Every few miles, Heidi had to get off the sofa to visit us and be re-assured that we still love her, (she is quite needy in this respect). Alyeska is so self assured, (typical of an alpha), that she assumes we love her. BJ on the other hand is never relaxed fully while the vehicle is in motion.

Just past St. George, we turned off on Utah Hwy 9 to Hurricane, We pulled off the side of the highway entering Hurricane, and about three hours from home, to give the dogs a comfort stop and fix our selves a bite to eat. (Hurricane Is at the western gateway to Zion National Park),

We then headed south-east over a steep and winding highway State Rt.389 out of Hurricane to the top of a plateau, then a straight shot of about 60 miles to Fredonia, then up to Kanab on Highway US 89, All without incident. We pulled in the Hitching Post RV Park at about 2:30 pm .

After we checked in with our hosts, set the RV up and aimed the satellite antennae, we took the doggies for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Then went to check in for the week-end festivities, after getting all our stuff, we went back to the RV to gather the dogs and take them to dinner with us.  

For those unfamiliar with this event, Kanab is the southern gateway to Zion . It has one main street, (highway 89) and about 60k+ of population, including Claudia Presto’s Greyhound Gang facility. During this annual event, Claudia has persuaded the local government, and most business owners, motels, and restaurants to open the whole town to the Greyhounds. We and our Greys are welcome in most businesses during this event.

During our stay, over the weekend, we and our Greys attended meals, raffles, a parade, had our pictures taken, and schmoozed with old friends and acquaintances and their Greys. Visited Best Friends animal sanctuary and had a wonderful time with our dogs. BJ was always the most eager to meet new doggie faces and behinds, quite a change from his earlier days, just out of the kennel. Heidi was the casual greeter, she just nuzzled up to anyone who happened to be near or look at her for more than a second. Alyeska, even at her age is very selective on which dogs she allows in her space. She constantly sported a red bandana around her neck (symbol for assertive and or aggressive behavior). She remains a paradox of behavior, 

Very loving and affectionate with humans, tolerant of BJ and Heidi, but just unpredictable with other K9’s. She has mellowed, but still is the alpha.The dogs all seemed to recognize each other and previously unknown Greys and for most part, accepted them. There were nearly 400 Greyhounds at this event along with 350 humans. 

MORE VACATIONING…

By Howard Schlesinger

We had a great time in Kanab. It was cold and windy Thursday, and snowed on Friday, but Saturday was a beautiful day. There was a parade on Saturday, then a horn started blowing and 400 greys started rooing. What a sound! They had a speed competition of about a hundred yards long, but the dogs had nothing to chase. You had to coax them to run. Our dogs hit 25 mph, however the fastest dog was a dog that never raced before - how about that! It was very well organized. The food was good, the scenery was great, and a good time was had by all.

We have a travel trailer and we've been to Morrow Bay north and to San Diego south with the greys. We have vacationed in Petaluma, which is 40 miles north of San Francisco, and also visited Carmel, and stayed in motels. Carmel is the most dog friendly place we've been. They allow dogs on the beach and the restaurants call to you to bring your dogs in.

We get all our information about dog friendly campgrounds from the auto club tour book, and motels from, petfriendly-motels.com. More and more motels are allowing pets so we can pick and choose. And no matter where we go, people always flock to us to see the greyhounds. We've given out more cards and adoption info at a lot of places. So by all means, don't be afraid to take your dogs wherever you go. You'll love it and so will the greys.

One of our favorite vacation destinations is the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California, a truly "pet-friendly" hotel. This charming Spanish-style hotel, built in 1929, is located in the heart of the quaint seaside town of Carmel, California, and it welcomes pets with open arms – no doubt due to the fact that one of the owners is long-time animal lover Doris Day.Care is taken to ensure a memorable visit for all visitors, pets and people alike, from the moment they step into the cobblestone lobby. The guest rooms are bright and comfortable, and the staff is very accommodating. Pets are welcome everywhere on the grounds – in the charming garden courtyard or in the breakfast room, where continental breakfast is served; in the Library Bar, where afternoon tea is served from 2-4 pm each day; and in the cozy living room, where we have spent idle hours lounging by the roaring fireplace with our greys, reading or chatting with other people and their dogs.

One of the few well-enforced rules at the Cypress Inn is that pets may not be left alone in the guest rooms, at any time. Upon arrival, visitors with pets are presented with a list of pet-friendly shops and restaurants, as well as a list of reasonably-priced pet-sitters who will come to your room and watch your pets if you decide to explore the sights without them. Pet-sitters will walk your dog around town, or will just hang out with them on the hotel grounds if you prefer. It is a good idea to book your pet-sitter as soon as you arrive, as their services are in demand, especially on the weekends.

At any given time of the day, you can look in any direction and see people strolling the streets with their companion animals, having coffee or window-shopping together. Many restaurants offer outdoor patio seating to accommodate their four-legged visitors. A fairly upscale restaurant (recommended to us by the hotel) allowed us to have dinner with our greys beside us in a quaint candlelit indoor room, surrounded by other well-behaved dogs and their owners. The following morning, while strolling through town and window-shopping, the proprietor of an antique furniture store beckoned all of us inside to shop and visit. Needless to say, most of the conversation centered on our wonderful greys, with whom the shopkeepers and others were fascinated! (Be sure to take adoption literature with you, because you will get lots of attention!)

Carmel Beach, about a ten-minute walk from the Inn, is a popular destination of visitors and locals alike. Leashed dogs are welcome to walk along the shore with their humans. Those that prefer to stay dry can picnic with their humans on a grassy park, lined with cypress trees, overlooking the beach activity.

Their website is www.cypress-inn.com.

	Jim & Roberta Mladenik for their loss of Indigo
	Lynn Aragon for her loss of Braveheart
	Jess & Karen Morehouse for their loss of giant Leader
	The Mason Family for their loss of Sarah
	Gigi Reyes for her loss of Anthony