Say hello to this summer’s cutest campers
Let’s hear a “woof, woof!” for some of the cutest fur babies to hit the campground this season. We’re talking about the Bark Rangers we met while camp-hosting at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island and at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse on the grounds of Fort Casey Historical State Park.
It’s no secret that pups – and the occasional kitty cat – are part of the whole rolling roof revolution. If home is where you park it, then you’re going to bring along your beloved pets, right?
That’s what we’ve observed during our RV adventures the last five years. (Our animals are stuffies, but more about those characters later.)
In between our hosting chores, we made a point of handing out Bark Ranger bandanas to the doggies who were especially well behaved. The program was launched by the parks department to draw attention to goals pet owners should aim for while visiting. BARK actually stand for:
- Bag your pet’s waste
- Always leash your pet
- Respect wildlife
- Know where you can go
On the lookout for potential Bark Rangers, we’ve come across so many cutie pies, including a local celebrity, a social media influencer.
Quigley Lopez is the star of a beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of his complicated journey to his forever home, a tale told by his owner Dave O’Hare. Quigley lives near Spencer Spit and takes daily walks there, warmly greeting everyone. Don’t be surprised if his Bark Ranger tales show up in a future book.
We’ve also met a sweetie named Taffy and a cutie called Coco. Then, there’s the pug with a fruit-flavored handle who routinely gets 100+ likes for posts on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Anjou is named for that famous pear variety because her owner grew up in an orchard near Leavenworth.
We wrote about our pal Ann Peavey back when she won a Coleman trailer from Camping World. She and her husband, Mike, recently upgraded to InTech’s Terra Magnolia model and Anjou seems pretty happy about that.
“Anjou’s relatively new to the RV scene, but already a seasoned traveler with tens of thousands of miles under her belt – or would that be under her collar? – escorting us on road trips near and far. Since jumping into the on-the-road trailer lifestyle last year, she’s visited all of the Western states including Alberta and British Columbia. We’ll be heading out in September on a month-long desert southwest,” Ann said.
Travel is a bit challenging, but Anjou’s a good sport: “As a differently-abled dog (she lost mobility in her back legs three years ago due to a degenerative spinal disorder referred to as Pug Myelopathy), she loves the stimuli in the different sights, smells, and sounds of the various campgrounds and boondocking sites where we’ve stayed. And, of course, she loves the added ear-scratches and attention she receives from other pug-loving travelers we’ve met on the way. At 14, Anjou’s in her golden years and living her best pug life on every trip.”
We sure enjoyed our visit with Anjou in June and hope our paths cross again soon!
Meanwhile our crew of critters includes a cuddly grizzly named Sea Beary – picked him up at Alyeska while we were road tripping in Alaska in 2018 – and an alley cat named Joe, who long ago belonged to our now 32-year-old. We keep them around to entertain young visitors. At least that’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
We’ll share more Bark Ranger photos on our Going Mobile Travel Facebook page and please feel free to post your park-loving pet pics. If you do, we’ll do our darndest to get your four-legged bestie a Bark Ranger bandana. Supplies are limited!
