Wolf & I Co. Blog | Adventures Of The Wolf Pack

After a stint in Australia, Ghia, Alan & Lena are now based in Colorado with nature everywhere the eye can see. We chatted with Ghia to learn more about what it’s like to live in such a dog friendly destination, their daily life and to get an insight into what it’s like living in an adventure capital of the world. Here's what Ghia had to say...

Right out of the gate, we knew Lena was meant to be an adventure pup. She was on her first surfboard at Urquhart Bluff, Victoria by the time she was 10 weeks old. So once we decided to move to Colorado (USA), we were stoked to see her world open up in the famous Rocky Mountains.

Lena immediately loved it here, she had the best of both worlds. A lake down the road from us to swim on most summer days, and then snow through the winter. We're still not sure which she loves more, we have a hunch she might be obsessed with the snow though!

Lena the Golden Retriever enjoying the wildflowers in the spring.

Lena's an early riser and most days, she's up by 6am. Like most dogs here, Lena sleeps on the bed with us. In the summer months, we consider ourselves lucky if she lets us sleep past six actually. She's naturally an active girl, so she gets three walks a day at a minimum.

Exploring by the river is always a fun activity for dogs!

On the weekends, we go adventuring into the mountains. She loves it there. She's been to some of the best mountain towns in Colorado. She's been on beautiful hikes amongst Aspen trees and swimming in the rivers around Crested Butte, CO. In fact, we swapped her from surf boards to SUP'in on lakes. She's a natural, though she may love leaping off them just as much as she loves standing right at the nose and watching the water go by.

SUPing is always a great way for humans and dogs to explore the rivers in Colorado.

Lena's made first tracks with us in the backcountry wilderness more times than we can count now. Our favourite places to go in the winter with her would be around Vail and Keystone Resorts. But there's so many places just in town too! One of the things we see a lot while out in the wilderness is wildlife. Lena went from casually watching kangaroo mobs to now watching moose, elk, coyotes and deer. Luckily we haven't come across a mountain lion or wolf yet- but they are around! So it's something people need to be aware of and make sure their dogs have good recall if they let them off lead.

Dog friendly adventures to be had in all seasons, especially winter in the snow!

Which brings us to another amazing thing about Colorado - there are so many places that you can both have your dog with you and they can also be off lead! Even in National Forests, dogs can be off-lead and Lena certainly loves the freedom! There are some restrictions where dogs aren't allowed, like National Parks (think Yellowstone or Yosemite), but in general across the USA, there are far more places you can bring your dog than places you can't. There are even certain resorts that let you bring your doggo on the gondola.

Lena the Golden Retriever loves playing in the snow.

Some of our favourite camping spots would be around Aspen and Crested Butte during the autumn months. The leaves are changing and it's just beautiful. Lena loves the weather and we always camp near a pond or alpine lake so she can go swimming with us.

A beautiful dog friendly place for a swim.

As spring just started, we're about to head out the western slope of Colorado to a little town called Fruita to go mountain biking with Lena. Then soon enough we'll be on to the camping trips for the summer. If you're thinking of a trip with your dog to Colorado, we'd have to say the best dog friendly towns are all of them - crazy as it sounds. 

Camping with Lena the Golden Retriever in the back country.

Colorado is one of the most dog friendly places!! We take Lena to stores and cafes all the time. She even gets a free piece of bacon or even a scoop of ice cream when we take her to brunch with us. Overall, we're really happy living here and we think it's safe to say Lena loves it too!

The perfect place for a hike and sunset. 

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