It was a difficult decision. Up to this point I have been to 16 national parks over the last nearly two months and I’ve been able to adjust to a canine copilot. Usually either by driving through and jumping out at viewpoints or when it’s cold enough, actually leaving him to sleep in the car. But this time it was different. At Carlsbad Caverns there is no driving by, you have to either climb down or take the elevator down 750 ft below ground. The weather temp outside is between 80-90 degrees so my two options were to skip this national park or leave him at the on-premise kennel while I did a quick run through. The question that always pops in my head in these situations is, “when will I ever be back to this part of the country?” So with that in mind and a lot of treats and pets for Franklin, I gave the woman $10 and stuck Franklin in a crate.

Let’s define what they mean as a Kennel. First, there is no outdoor area, no human interaction, no treats, well pretty much there is nothing but a row of crates. I expected this going in, hence my hesitation but I knew I would be quick and Franklin would be fine. So I left him, shaking and howling and did the quickest tour of Carlsbad Caverns I possibly could. I was in and out in less than an hour. I collected my miserable sidekick and he, without looking back, sprinted to the car probably thinking, ‘we just drove for two months so you could leave me here?’

We are ok now, our stress level has subsided as we now enter the great state of Texas and hot, hot weather. The caverns are really amazing and although he may not agree, it was worth it. Sorry Franklin!