I am thrilled, today, to present my Dogs on the Road interview with Rasta and Rose of @burlydirtyhippy and The Ecclectic Dirtbags. Porter and I first met Rasta and Rose, and their parents Bruce and Jodi, in Baja at the Pescadero Surf Camp. We thought they were SO much like us. Rasta is a bit of a delicate flower, bothered by the heat and bugs, etc while Rose is like myself, TOTALLY fetch obsessed.
I was lucky enough to camp with them for a full week in Sayulita, so got to know them a little bit better. Here are their thoughts of the life of Dogs on the Road.
Tell me a little about yourselves~
Hello, I am Rasta, a 9 year old Harlequin Great Dane. I have been with my parents since I was a pup. I grew up helping momma around the farm, hunting down all the pesky groundhogs and watching over the chickens. I really loved farm life. Rose the Red Lab-ish showed up a little over three years ago. I must say she was a little too energetic for me at first, but her sweetness quickly won me over.
Tell us a little bit about where you have traveled with your family. Have you traveled internationally? Within the US?
Rasta - Mom and Dad have itchy feet and always went on weekend jaunts with Rose. I usually stayed back to tend the farm. Then the farm sold and we suddenly moved into a van. Oh boy has it been fun. We have covered the Southern U.S., from VA to FL, and all the way to CA. We spent several months in Baja Mexico and are now in mainland Mexico. Rose - When I was a pup I basically lived in my parents truck. We were always off playing fetch in the mountains, rivers, and beaches of the Southeast U.S. on the weekends, and even took an extended fetch session to Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. Now we all live full time in our van, it is awesome!
What is your favorite place to travel? Do you like hiking the mountains? Running on the beach?
Rasta - I love the beach, especially Baja beaches. Ooh the sand between my toes, so much room to explore, I love Baja! Rose - Rivers, oceans, ponds, creeks, anywhere that there is a ball and water! Especially Baja beaches!
When you’re traveling do you camp? Stay at hotels? Rent houses?
Rasta - We strictly camp, the more wilderness the better. Sometimes we stay in Rv parks, but we don't like them as much, too many rules. Rose - I love camping! But did you guys grab my ball?
Do you have a hard time finding good quality food and water on the road?
Rasta - In the states our food of choice is easy to find. In Baja? Well, not so much. Mainland Mexico has been much easier to find our favorite food. We usually load up with 80lbs or so of food when we find it. I am a big boy and Rose is a little chunky ;) Rose - Is it time for second breakfast?
Have you had any problems with other dogs, either playing at dog parks, or street dogs when traveling?
Rasta - We normally get along well with everyone, unless they are trying to mess with our van, or Rose's ball. Well, little dogs don't like me sometimes, they are always yelling at me. I normally just pretend they don't exist. We did catch a nasty respiratory infection from the street dogs in Sayulita, oh boy was it rough. Rose - Where's my ball?
What don’t you like about traveling? A different bed? Strange water?
Rasta – Other than fireworks there really isn’t much we don’t like….well, actually, sometimes when we go for walks in town I am treated like a freak. Everyone calls me names like cow and horse. Then they ask me where my saddle is, I don’t even have a saddle.
Rose – What’s not to like about traveling? Hey you guys have my ball? Right?
Thanks so much for participating in my interview series! Happy travels and hope to see you both again soon.
Happy Tails ~ Aspen