First Camping Trip With Our Newly Adopted Dog

We recently adopted a new member into our family--Archie, our 3-year-old Border Collie mix.  We had been looking for a rescue and Archie came into our lives.  He is a very sweet but timid dog.  As a border collie mix, we see he is quite intelligent and rather stubborn. 

His previous owner lived in a city and Archie was not happy with the noise and crowds of a city.  She said it stressed him out, so she decided to rehome him for what she felt, was best for him.  Lucky for us, we took him into our home, and he seems to be comfortable and used to his new digs. We have about an acre of land at our home, and Archie is getting used to the wildlife that visit our yard and the peace and quiet--with the exception of the rooster crowing down the street.  We decided it may be time to take him camping.

We weren’t too sure how well he would do riding in the car for a few hours and being in a new environment.  We decided to go to a campground that we had been to a few times before and that wasn’t too far away.  We camped at Pocomoke State Park in Maryland.  This is one of our favorites, located on the Eastern Shore.  Pocomoke is a great campground with wooded sites. We stayed in our usual Site 104, and he just went crazy sniffing all over the place. Luckily, he is not a barker!  There are always dogs at campgrounds, and he didn’t seem to be too phased about it!  He did very well being at the campsite.

We brought his bed with us with the intention of him sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed, nope, he climbed in bed with us and wouldn’t move.  I told you he was stubborn!! We worked it out and had a very enjoyable time with our pooch!

We did go for walks around the lake and even took him bike riding for a short time.  Wray attached his lead to his bike and Archie ran along side of him as we were biking around the loop of our site.  He did great, but he was one tired doggie after that.  I don’t think he got quite that much exercise at one time before!

The nearby town of Snow Hill has a park on the water with a boat and kayak launch.  We walked around the park and on the docks. It was a nice day and a great way to spend some time in Snow Hill. 

This weekend was a great introduction for Archie and for us camping with a dog.  He does well in the car and was happy when he was with us.  We like to camp in different places as close as campgrounds in our state of Virginia and campgrounds as far away as Florida.  When we camp at places that are a longer distance, we stop and boondock at the half-way point and then continue our travel the next day.  After this first experience with Archie, I think he will do fine on extended visits, like when we travel to Kentucky or Florida.