This week, we’re doing a special post to reflect on a previous trip that we had done prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, we've been back for well over a month (and we've been indoors for just as long!), but we wanted to take a moment to share about our special road trip to California with Markus. Being in a car allowed us to visit more places, so we went out of the Pacific Northwest and on this two-week road trip, we started with California, which gave us the ability to extend the trip to surrounding states and we ended up hitting Nevada, Arizona and Utah as well. Since there’s way too much to cover in one post, we’ll be breaking it up in the upcoming weeks and months.

First up: The road to Los Angeles

Road to Los Angeles

For this road trip, we wanted to bring Markus with us. If it had been just us travelling alone, we likely would’ve just flown. Doing a road trip to California and Los Angeles had always been a bucket list item of mine, so we figured why not do it now?

Vancouver, British Columbia to Eugene, Oregon

Being in Vancouver, we started here and made our way through Washington and Oregon in quick succession. On the first day, we went from Vancouver all the way to Eugene, Oregon. Since we’re Nike buffs, we made stops at the Outlet Shoppes at Burlington, Centralia Outlets and at Woodburn Premium Outlets - all along the I-5 on the way to Eugene. One thing we weren’t aware of was that Eugene was the home the University of Oregon and we ended up driving around the campus, which was fun for us. We settled in Eugene for the evening, where we stayed at the EVEN Hotel.

EVEN Hotel in Eugene, Oregon

• Type: Hotel (4-star)

• Pet Fee: $25/night

• Suite Available: No

For the first evening of our trip to Los Angeles, we stayed in EVEN Hotel in Eugene, Oregon. We powered our way through Washington State, stopping every 2-3 hours to stretch our legs and to give Markus a break as well. By the evening, we were in Eugene at the EVEN Hotel, a chain that I personally hadn't heard of before.

There aren't many EVEN Hotels in the US, but this particular chain was close to the University of Oregon, so it actually had that college vibe to the rooms. I've never been to one of these chains, but their rooms are all equipped with exercise gear (called their in-room fitness zone) and other things that students would need like whiteboards with magnets and desks to work. I thought this was really unique and I liked the concept, especially considering how close we were to the University of Oregon.

All of the rooms were equipped with an exercise ball, resistance bands with notches on the wall so you can adjust the levels, a yoga mat and block, a foam roller, a tall mirror, a free water bottle and Lysol wipes to clean it all down. On the table, there's also a book with workouts inside that you can do with the provided gear. With motivational words and quotes on the wall, this would've been a great hotel to stay especially as a college student!

For us, it was alright. I wouldn't mind coming back with Markus, but there's just not much happening in the area. That said, we were hardly there and it was nice and quiet, which allowed us to sleep well and on a road trip, that’s really all we’re looking for anyways. We had to make sure we removed the Lysol wipes off the floor (which was next to the gear), since we were going to leave Markus alone in that area, but that's about it.

As I mentioned, there wasn't much going on in the area. The location was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but there were some grassy areas up and down the street to walk around for Markus to find his spots. With this trip, we weren't too picky with our hotels, so it was a good first stop for us. The stairs and the elevator were accessible for dogs, so we didn't have any issues getting up and down.

All in all, we enjoyed our stay here. I think it's worth checking out at least once, but I'd probably try another hotel if I were to come back to this area. That said, cost is always a factor and their rates were competitive, so if I couldn’t find anything else I liked, I would easily consider coming back.

Our Recommendation For Reactive Dogs

Our stay here was good. It wasn’t spectacular, but it also wasn’t bad for us. The rooms were quiet (probably because we came during the off-season - just a couple weeks before spring break) and it served its purpose of letting us rest peacefully overnight. I did like that there were two elevators and the stairs were easily accessible with wide steps as well. While we weren’t blown away, we could also see ourselves coming back here because of their price.

Eugene, Oregon to Sacramento, California

The next day, we made our way from Eugene to Sacramento. We didn’t pack as many stops on this leg because we wanted to spend some time at our destination of Sacramento. The stops on this day were mostly parks (around Donnelly Park and Shasta Lake) so that Markus could stretch his legs. We made it into Sacramento by early evening and were able to spend some time in downtown and enjoy the city.

Donnelly Park

Donnelly Park was a quick stop for us and there wasn't that much to see there. We just needed a stop at a park so we could walk around and also for Markus to have some grassy areas to go to the bathroom. The park was really nice and it goes around a small lake. Since there aren't too many other bodies of water in the area, there ended up being a lot of ducks here.

You can do a quick round along the lake. You'll find a skatepark towards one of the sides and there are also plenty of areas for families like picnic tables and a playground. Again, we weren't here for long, but it was the kind of quick stop that we were looking for that also wasn't too far off from the highway (we were on CA-99).

You can read our full review of Donnelly Park here.

Lake Shasta

One of the thing we were banking on doing was a short hike or walk around Lake Shasta. We came across a trail that would've been what we were looking for, but there were comments that mentioned their dogs having had a lot of ticks after their walk and since we didn't have any proper tick removing equipment with us, we didn't want to chance it especially this early in the trip.

We needed up just pulling off to the side at Exit 695, where there is a rest area with a small view of Lake Shasta and an outdoor dog area. We didn't spend too much time here, but it was enough for us to stretch our legs and head back on the road.

Best Western Plus Sutter House in Sacramento, California

• Type: Hotel (1-star)

• Pet Fee: $25/night

• Suite Available: No

On the second night, we were in California already. Eugene isn't too far off from the border between Oregon and California, so within a few hours of leaving Eugene, we were already in California. Still, there was still a long way to go to make it to Los Angeles. In fact, this leg from Eugene to Sacramento was going to be longer than the leg from Vancouver to Eugene (I didn't realize how long California was compared to Washington and Oregon), so we set out pretty early in the morning.

About 8 hours of driving later, we were in Sacramento at our hotel at the Best Western Plus Sutter House. This hotel was a lot older than a lot of the hotels we’re used to and looking back from after the trip, it had a different vibe than all the hotels we got to stay at from the trip. Having been on the road and staying at hotels and Airbnb's for nearly two weeks, this may have been our least favourite stay.

The reason we chose to stay here was because of the reasonable pet fee and it was within walking distance of downtown Sacramento. That alone crosses out most of the hotels you're going to find and we were left with the Sutter House, which, in fairness was well priced, but I suppose you're getting what you pay for here. The stay was fine - we didn’t have any issues, but the rooms were just a lot older than expected (the decor, the bathrooms, the bed, etc.). There was also only one small elevator in the building and a small staircase off to the side. For accessibility purposes with a dog, it wasn't great. We had to squeeze into the small elevator with Markus and with other people and their luggages. We got it to work, but if your dog isn’t comfortable in those situations, you’ll have to wait for the elevator or take the small stairs.

The hotel was also interesting because it had an outdoor pool on the second floor. It’s interesting because all the parking is on the first floor and the spots are all under the building at ground level. All the rooms are on the second floor and above, but there's a large outdoor swimming pool on the second floor, above where all the cars are parked. The rooms are built around this pool, so while no one was swimming because it was cold, it's an area for people to gather.

We've mentioned in the past that Markus is a dog that tends to bark at outside noises or at the door when he's settled into the room. We were concerned that since the pool was right outside our door, there could be a lot of noise, making it hard for Markus to settle. If your dog is similar and will bark at noises on the other side of the front door, this might not be the best hotel for you or you’ll have to request for one of the other rooms that aren’t near the pool.

Aside from that, the area around the hotel was alright. There weren't many places with grass for Markus to find his spot, but he managed to find a few bushes and that was okay. There isn't much happening immediately around this hotel, but it's not too far of a walk to busier areas in downtown Sacramento, which was nice to check out. Despite what the hotel ended up being, for the cost, it was nice to be able to explore Sacramento in the evening for the little bit of time that we were there. For that reason alone, the Sutter House could still be your best bet.

While doing a bit of research on hotels and in the area, we had read that some people didn't feel safe in that particular area, but we never got that vibe. Some people suggested not to wander too far, especially in the evening. With the two of us and a dog, we felt safe enough, but I would still just take it with caution.

At the end of the day, there weren't many locations in downtown Sacramento that allow dogs and come at a decent price range. This was one of maybe three at the time that fit our criteria for location and cost and since we didn't plan on staying long, it wasn't the worst thing that the hotel was older. If you're looking to save on costs, then staying here is fine. If we were to come back, though, we'd likely expand our budget a little more and look for a nicer place to stay, even if it's just for one night.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

It’s hard for me to recommend this location if your dog is reactive. The layout of the building makes it so that the public outdoor hangout area (with the swimming pool) is in the middle of the building with the rooms surrounding it. For a lot of the rooms, it means that as soon as you open the door and step outside, there could people hanging out there by the pool. Because of this layout, there were some rooms that just kept their doors open so they could go to and from the pool to their room.

For a dog like Markus who gets defensive when he hears noises outside, he was on guard for a lot of the night and even barked a couple of times, which made it hard for us to sleep through the night. If your dog is sensitive to sound or had the guard dog mentality and will bark at noises outside, I wouldn’t recommend this location.

That said, one of the reasons why we had to go with this location was because there weren’t many options in downtown Sacramento that both allowed dogs and didn’t break the bank. In fact, in our research, this really was the only one that was within reason for us. I hope you have better luck when you’re searching!

Sacramento to El Monte

The last day was going to take us just outside of Los Angeles. We had stops at the Tulare Outlets and the Outlets at Tejon where we did a little bit more shopping and we went straight into Los Angeles knowing the traffic wasn’t going to be pretty if we got there too late.

All in all, each of these days ended up being around 6-8 hours of driving a day with breaks at about every 2-3 hours. Since we were early on in our 2-week trip, it wasn’t too bad at all and we’ll likely make just this leg to Los Angeles again. Rest of this trip, we also went to Nevada, Arizona and Utah, but we’ll cover those in future posts.

Airbnb in El Monte

• Type: Airbnb

• Pet Fee: None

• Suite Available: N/A (bedrooms)

The next day's travel between Sacramento to El Monte wasn't going to be too long. Our friends were arriving by plane in the middle of the day, so we didn't want them to have to wait too long. We found a really nice space, but since we had other people with us, we had to rent a 10-person Airbnb in El Monte.

For many reasons, we prefer to stay at an Airbnb rather than a hotel. Cost aside, it's nice to have a dedicated space of your own without having to be concerned about foot traffic and noises in the hallway outside your door. This is the hard part about traveling with a dog who tends to be more protective and will easily react to noises, but it's one that we're learning to work through with Markus. Staying at an Airbnb solves this problem because there are usually no hallways on the other side of the front door where other people are making noise.

In the El Monte neighbourhood that we were in, I noticed how differently dogs lived. In Vancouver, we're used to dogs being indoors that you hardly ever see or hear dogs unless you're all out for a walk. You just don’t see dogs hanging around houses outdoors. In the area where we stayed, all the houses were gated and a lot of houses had dogs roaming the area inside the gates. A lot of these dogs would be interested (or threatened) by Markus and bark at us as we walked by. This was the norm for most of the houses that we passed by, which was so new to me coming from Vancouver. I was surprised not just at how many houses had dogs, but how many of them had multiple dogs. It's good to know that Markus’ barking and his guard dog mentality would’ve fit right in with this community, though.

We enjoyed our stay here as. There are a few areas in the neighbourhood to explore on foot and plenty of places to take Markus. You can walk onto the main street, where there are a few plazas and places to eat off to the side. There's also plenty of grass everywhere for dogs to find their spots.

The house was great as well. It was a gated house and it had three rooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen and a living room. There were washing machines as well, but we didn't need to use them since we weren't there for long. 

The area here is a short drive to downtown Los Angeles and I'd totally understand if you wanted to stay closer to downtown, but we didn’t mind it. Of course, the cost made a difference for us and we didn’t find the traffic to be that bad. So long as you're planning your travels outside of rush hour and add padding time on your travels, it's not that bad. We did get caught in rush hour traffic one time and, well, let’s just say you don't want to get caught in one. All in all, we'd recommend the stay here if you don't mind driving. The flip side is if you’re not going into downtown, but you’re visiting the surrounding areas, staying outside downtown will help you avoid the traffic.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

Like most Airbnbs, we had the space to ourselves so we didn’t have any concerns with Markus there. I will mention again that it’s common for households to have dogs in their properties around this area, but they’re behind gates. These are actual property guard dogs and when they see you with your dog walking down the sidewalk, a lot of them will bark at you. That said, it is all just barking since they’re gated, but be prepared to make a lot of noise if you need to go for a walk!

The Californian Doggo

I should mention that this was my first time in Los Angeles, so I was excited just by the idea of being there. It was even more special that we got to bring Markus along. We were on a tight schedule, but there were a few things that we got to do and enjoy with Markus.

This list only consists of a few of the things that we got to do with a Markus. Obviously there are countless things to do in California, but a lot of them didn’t allow dogs! Some of the places that we mention here were just quick stops for us, so there isn't much more for us to add. For the stops that were longer like National Parks or hikes, we plan on doing full breakdowns of each of those locations in the upcoming weeks/months since we went to quite a few!

Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier is one of the most well-known seaside beach destinations with shops, food and an amusement park. We got to take Markus there and it was everything we imagined - the breeze on a hot California day, the food and the entertainment on the pier. The vibe on the pier was great and we were glad we went. The pier is also steps away from one of Los Angeles' famous beaches in Venice Beach. Although Markus was allowed on the pier, he was limited to where he was allowed to go on the beach area.

Hollywood Sign

What more cliché way to visit Los Angeles by going to the Hollywood sign? If you look up “Lake Hollywood Park” on Google, that’s where we ended up for most of our pictures. Although it was pretty busy while we were there, there was plenty of parking and areas for Markus to get his headshots in. He's an aspiring Hollywood doggo.

There’s a drive past this park to the Last House on Mulholland where the view is supposed to be spectacular, but this was in private property and there were police waiting there to turn people around, so we didn’t bother. The view at Lake Hollywood Park was good enough for what we were looking for. 

Hike at Monrovia Canyon Falls

What a special little treat this hike was. We managed to get a group of friends together through Instagram and we did the Monrovia Canyon Falls hike together. We were incredibly appreciative of this experience because our dog owner friends in California set the whole thing up and managed to invite a large group of thirteen dogs altogether (most of them Shibas!)

We did a special breakdown of our time at the Monrovia Canyon Falls that you can read here.

Joshua Tree National Park

Our last stop in California on the way to Las Vegas was the Joshua Tree National Park. While we were doing our research, we were surprised and disappointed to find out that the tree from U2's Joshua Tree album wasn't actually shot at the Joshua Tree National Park. For some reason, we assumed there was one specific tree, but Joshua Tree National Park was filled with thousands of Joshua trees, which is a type of tree that’s unique for the way that it twists and lacks leaves, except for the ends.

Unfortunately, Joshua Tree is really limited to where dogs are allowed in the park, so if you're hoping to do a bit more exploring, you're going to have to keep your doggo behind. Since we had Markus with us, we kept our visit to only the places we were allowed - which is roughly around 100 ft. from the parking lots or picnic areas. We still managed to see quite a few things in Joshua Tree National Park and we broke it all down for you to read.

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.