We have been away for awhile, and by that I mean we have not been away nearly often enough. Establishing roots in our new town has distracted from our vacation time. Part of this process included adopting a new basenji-mix, Jabari, and helping him to become acclimated to his new home. Our first road trip from Denver to Crested Butte was our first test to see if has what it takes to become the next Travel Hound. 

Every one of Jabari’s travel events that we know of has held some major significance to him. First, coming from Egypt to the U.S., and then from a shelter in Montana to live with us in Denver four months ago. It’s no wonder that he becomes stressed to the point of being sick nearly every time we go anywhere in the car. But we feel that sharing our local and regional travels with our dog is an important component of our lives. So we had no choice but to give it a try.

Our trip started with some early modifications when we missed the turn to Bassam Park, where we had intended on spending the morning snowshoeing. Jabari had shown a surprising passion for snow based on the few snowfalls we have had to date, so we were curious about how he would take to a full plateau of snow. It turned out to be for the best to miss this portion, since the area had less snow than we had in our backyard, so it really wasn’t worth the effort. 

Instead, we stopped for a quick walk near Ruby Mountain and then headed to Buena Vista for some lunch. It was a warm day, so we asked the host at the local brewpub if we could sit on the patio with our dog. We got the same response as we did the time we traveled there with our previous dog, Tobie, in April 2010. A hesitant, but hospitable “sure, no problem.” It occurred to us that our visit to this same spot with Tobie was during what ended up being our last vacation with him, about four months before he passed. In a way, it was as if the Travel Hound torch had officially been passed to Jabari, as we shared our first lunch with him at a public establishment. 

We had never been to Crested Butte, and early December is the perfect time to go to enjoy shoulder season rates, both for lodging and for lift tickets. We arrived in the eclectic, unpretentious mountain town, and spent enough time to take Jabari for a quick walk around the main street. He does not get along with most new dogs he meets for the first time, and we were concerned that he would be fined for not having a chill attitude (this was actually a clause in our condo rental contract – directed at people, of course, but still). Luckily, we had no encounters with dogs, but he did show a strong liking for a gentleman who was working on posting a sign – one that forbade people from tying up their dogs unattended while they shopped. He thought it was ironic, but Jabari seemed to know that this man had the best interest of him and his fellow canines in mind.

Crested Butte was frigid in the morning, but for this year in particular lacked any significant natural snow. Jabari eagerly spent the day napping in his crate while his people skied. For me, I felt the uncrowded mountain offered a good variety of challenging green and blue runs that helped me to secure my defensive skiing skills for the congested slopes within range of Denver day-trippers, where I would be spending the rest of my ski season. My husband, who prefers advanced terrain, was disappointed by the lack of access that is typical so early in the season. We traded the car-picnics that we usually rely on when skiing closer to home with the full ski resort experience, lunch and all. We toasted to opening day of the Ice Bar near the Twister lift and our favorite lunch spot became the Avalanche Bar and Grill. 

Because this vacation was more about bonding as a new family, our evenings were spent together at the condo, after one of us returned early from the slopes to walk Jabari in the unseasonably warm afternoons. Some nights we would cook, and one night we walked across the street to Django for some more culinary takeout. We accompanied every meal with the local brew from Eldo Brewery, which we were able to take home in growlers. 

Since we wanted to make vacations extra special for Jabari, we bended some rules as we let him join us on the couch for our nightly movie, and we let him share our Raclette and potatoes on our final evening. We found that he appeared to be more attentive, and while still vocalizing his concerns over any little noise, he seemed more responsive to our “demands”. 

On the return trip home, we made a couple stops along the way to let Jabari romp in some snow when we could find it. Specifically, at the Continental Divide on Monarch Pass, and then on a side trip to the ghost town of St. Elmo.

Travel Hound Jr.

We were hoping that Jabari’s attentiveness and improved manners would extend beyond our vacation mode. We’ve been home for a couple of hours now, and so far Jabari and I have had a heated debate about whether or not he will be groomed, he has returned to his counter surfing antics, and has stolen a sock. And, he has just announced, in a single bark, that he is on the couch – when does the movie start? So perhaps bringing the “chill” home from vacation is too much to hope for. Will more vacations help? We are certainly eager to find out.

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