Blog  >  How I Spent My Summer Vacation Essay Winner August 31, 2015

How I Spent My Summer Vacation Essay Winner August 31, 2015

We Spent our Summer Vacation Inspiring Dogs Around the Country

By:  Dawn Celapino

My Cairn Terrier, Jack, and I spent our summer vacation touring the entire country!   We took 10 ½ weeks off from our regular life in San Diego and visited 25 states in 10,013 miles in our RV. 

We were on a mission!  Jack is a very active dog and we wanted to inspire others to be active with their dogs.   Our RV was decorated with active photos of  Jack so people could follow our journey at Jack's Journey USA and we were on our way!

Our journey started on April 28th in San Diego and we traveled through the south stopping in New Mexico to visit the White Sands National Monument.  It was exhilarating running up the white sand dunes. They went for as far as you could see! Our next stop was Texas to paddle 5 miles on our inflatable Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) at the Cedar Hill State Park.    

Heading north through Oklahoma, we did a super cool 12-mile hike at Beaver Bend Campground and went kayaking on the river!

We continued traveling north, stopping in states along the way to visit friends, hike, swim, SUP and meet new people.  At our half way point, we visited one of the only National Parks in the country that allows dogs on the trails, Acadia National Park in Maine.  It was our first time in Maine and even though it rained the entire time, that didn't dampen our spirits! We did some super challenging and beautiful hikes. 

After Maine, we started heading west. Another new state for us was Michigan.  There was a lot to do there!  We hiked, visited the Mission Lighthouse at the 45th Parallel so we were halfway between the North Pole and the Equator, did a lot of SUPing and visited another National Park that allows dogs, Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We got to see beautiful Lake Michigan and explore a little on the sand dunes!

From there we headed south. It was very hot by now as it was June but that was ok.  We did a lot of water sports and some Dog Yoga.  It is fun to see how the entire country lives and inspire them to make the best of what they have. 

Our favorite state is Colorado so we spent 2 weeks there doing a lot of hiking.  Together, we hiked the tallest peak in Colorado (second highest in the country) Mt Elbert at 14,440'.  Camping in a flower field in Crested Butte and on a lake in the Grand Mesa was like heaven. 

Every state we visited had something fun and unique to offer. The United States is a very diverse country. 

It was the BEST vacation ever and Jack and I did it all by ourselves!   

*Dawn received product from Woodrow Wear and Zymox for her winning essay.

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