Jax & Moonie 'Been There' Collar

Hey Tribe,

New collar alert!

If you haven't discovered them already, I'm about to make you want to reach for your wallet.  Jax & Moonie is a company that produces handmade leather collars; you may be thinking, there's nothing super special about that, but stay with me for just another second - as accessories, nay, necessary companions to the collar are little gems called Bark Marks: leather bands that slide onto the collar with stamped locations or number coordinates recording the cool places you and your dog have been.  Did your jaw drop?  Mine did.  It's brilliant.

These beautiful, non-dyed leather, Been There collars are soft, eco-friendly, and made here in the USA.  Red detail stitching is hand sewn and adds an additional feeling of top shelf quality.  But it is the Bark Marks that make my adventurous heart swoon - imagine returning home from that epic trip with your best woof and you have the keepsake photos, but you aren't going to look at them every day: you WILL look at your dog every day and seeing that Bark Mark representing your trip right there on the collar will bring back all the memories.  It's like a charm bracelet for your dog!

Selecting the places to put on the Bark Marks was such a wonderful experience for me - the KBDs and I have been to some really neat places.  What to choose, what to choose!

Rex checks out an abandoned passenger rail car in the woods.

Rex and I take in views of Eklutna Lake while hiking Twin Peaks trail.

I knew the collar would be for Rex, since Fly's fur absorbs collars like the Blob; I also knew that his first Bark Mark would say "Portugal" "Alaska" to represent his birthplace and his forever home and that crazy trip between the two places.

Rex's Been There collar records the awesome adventures we have taken together and the milestone accomplishments we have experienced; it also represents plans for future journeys, because I am totally planning trips just so I can add more beautiful Bark Marks to his collar!

Jax & Moonie's website is such a pleasant place to spend some internet time and they have a cute and helpful how-to video for making sure you are happy with your collar's size.  They are also just plain nice people and will put a smile on your face if you correspond with them.  You can find their other social places on Instagram and Pinterest if you need drool worthy photos.

Ready to purchase?  Use the code REX15 for 15% off your order!

As always, this review was totally independent and Jax & Moonie didn't ask for it, nor do they even know I've written it yet - all opinions are my own!

Denali Highway Weekend

Hey Tribe,

Road trip season has arrived in Alaska!  Usually, this means roadways chocked full of motorhomes, but this season has started more mild, so, to keep the feel alive, we loaded up the Scamp and did a little 500+ mile road trip of our own.

Serious road trippers

The abandoned Paxson Lodge marks the beginning of the Denali Highway

Most of our time was spent rambling and rumbling along the Denali Highway; for added adventure along the way, we brought the kickbike and the kayak, but the lakes weren't quite thawed enough for paddling.

Happy dogs, ready for any kind of adventure!

Snow holds a strong grip at the higher points of the highway and the dogs were thrilled to romp in the cool winter glory.  Though they don't mind summer and all it's smells and growing things and creatures to inspect, their faces tell you everything you need to know about their thoughts regarding snow.

Happy Little Chappie

Fly never says no to snow

Rex is a snow swimming powerhouse

Happily the roads were in decent condition and snow free.  They were traffic free as well, with only an occasional passerby; this was ideal, because the dogs and I were able to kickbike along the road without fear of being run over.

Perfect day for a run

Snowmelt pitstops are so refreshing

The road is ours

Our journey was spent by ourselves and it truly felt as if we were the only travelers making our way across the expanse.  How very Alaskan.

The Denali Highway is 135 miles of gravel road that connects two of Alaska's main highways and "is certainly one of the most spectacular drives in the world" according to the completely *not* biased alaska.org which is a very nice resource to check if you are planning/dreaming a trip in Alaska.  

What I love most about the Denali Highway is its sweeping views and peeps at several glaciers; it has a lot to offer in the way of trails and lakes and is very much a choose-your-own-adventure experience.  Pull-outs and side roads are plentiful and we took advantage of many for snack/lunch breaks and to do a bit of leg stretching.

Rex and I take in the sights

Fly wonders why this painted portrait of herself is yellow and not b&w.

Our selected campsite was a gravel pit area off the road, so we had a bit of privacy.  Or so we thought.  As soon as I set the dogs free to romp and explore, Rex ran up over a gravel pile and out of sight.  Immediately, I called for him and a few seconds later he came running back to me shaking his head.  Something was wrong.  As he ran closer I saw what was wrong: he must have tried to kiss a porcupine from the look of the quills sticking out of his muzzle.  Rex was grabbed, pliers were grabbed, quills were grabbed.  Whew.  Guess we weren't as alone there in the gravel pit as we'd thought.  After dinner, both KBDs suddenly bolted for the ridge.  Another porcupine?  No, this time it was a caribou trying to covertly spy on us, but it turned and jumped away as we all rushed up to where it was previously skulking in the low brush; I re-called the dogs as the 'bou's fluffy backside grew smaller the further it ran across the tundra.  From our vantage, we spotted a lone moose browsing below us at the edge of a creek.  No, we definitely were not alone.  Oh, and that pesky porcupine came back later in the evening.  Ugh.  So much for privacy.

Rex keeps watch at camp

Fly prefers to keep watch of cooking dinner

Everyone gets their own bed when it's sleep time

A kickbike ride got our muscles going in the morning.  We passed several sleepy campers swatting thirsty mosquitoes and staggering around their campsites and I was happy we were on the road before other travelers so we had the morning and the songbirds to ourselves.

Ready to roll

Love these kinds of trails

Overlooking the Susitna River

The day was spent riding, driving, and stopping at prime overlooks and scenic pull-off spots so the dogs could frolic and sniff and we had a very enjoyable time, despite a storm that came pouring over the mountain range.  Alaska is beautiful, no matter the weather, and the Denali Highway never disappoints.

Lion's Head

Hey Tribe,

Memorial Day was saturated by rain.  We decided to hike anyway.

I've been wanting to hike Lion's Head for a year and figured this rainy day was as good as any; maybe there would be fewer hikers.  It isn't a very well known (popular) hike, but the views of the Matanuska Glacier are reported to be stunning - though the reward comes with a steep price: the hike is only about a mile, one way, but it is up, up, up.

ThePurposefulWanderer and Sally joined the KBDs and me and together we cruised up the highway to Glacier View and easily found the parking lot for the trail.  It is on AT&T's private property, but those folks are generous, or maybe just wise (knowing people will hike there no matter what), and allow hikers to access the land - provided they call and let AT&T know.  Easy, since cell reception is, of course, spectacular right there.

Meet ThePurposefulWanderer and Sally

Rain didn't stop our intrepid band of hardy hikers. This is Alaska.  The climb started gently and then became noticeably steeper as the many foot trails wound and weaved, braided stream style, through the blueberry bushes and other alpine shrubs.  Our view was obstructed by heavy clouds, but snippets of the rapidly shrinking road and river below us were occasionally revealed through gaps in the rain.

We chose our path based on if we wanted to scramble over slippery chunks of rock or swish through trails stomped into the bushes and we wound our way to the top of Lion's Head.  It actually didn't seem very StairMaster esq after all and we were a little suspicious we weren't actually at the summit.  Rocky and scattered with low alpine plants, the top is, according to internet posts, the best vantage point to view 27 icy miles of Matanuska Glacier.  Alas, all we viewed was cloud and little teasers of the famous glacier.

Summit snacks are tasty no matter the summit, so ThePurposefulWanderer and I shared our bounty while standing in the rain.  Three soaked dogs savored string cheese and then were eager to get going again - so we humans complied, since we were now wet and cold.

ThePurposefulWanderer snapped this stunning photo of Fly and me checking out the view.

The trail down was now quite muddy and we took slow, cautious steps.  It sure seemed steep now.  All the bushes and branches lining the trail provided necessary grab handles to aid our descent and, in my case (no less than 7 times), to arrest slips and falls.  We were met a few times by approaching hikers and their dogs, so our three were leashed to avoid any unpleasant meetings.  It's also just good manners.

I must brag a bit on Fly and Rex - they didn't pull me down the hill, but would stop walking when I called "wait" and would walk on again when I caught up and said "ok."  It was good practice for them to work on leash, listen and watch me, and for us to walk as a team.  Karelians are by nature so independent and I was happy to use the opportunity to reinforce our team bond.

Mud management was attempted when we returned to the truck, but life with dogs is never very clean, so we laughed, the KBDs rode in the back, and Sally, after being toweled off, was soon dozing in the back seat as we drove home.

Lion's Head is purported to be stunning in the Fall, so a return trip is absolutely necessary now.

Oh and when the dogs and I returned home, I realized I'd left an item back at the trailhead...we'll save that for a later post.

Pink for Rex

Hey Tribe,

KomaloCo sent us a surprise package that included scented wax melts and two bandanas!  The bandanas are horoscope prints that match the dogs' birthdays - isn't that a cute idea?

I don't know anything about horoscope stuff, so I had to look it up to see which bandana was meant for which Karelian.  Fly, born August 26th, is apparently a Virgo; Rex, born March 17th, is a Pisces.

Of course, maybe you've spotted the issue with designated bandanas...

We love these cute bandanas and we've loved being part of the KomaloCo crew of models - even if it means Rex has to wear pink!