MANCHESTER TWP., MI — A 5-year-old dog named Dude has nearly accomplished an incredible journey that few humans achieve. Once Dude and his human make it to Hawaii, they will have traveled to all 50 states.
Dude, a golden and red fox Labrador retriever, and Ryan Brinkman, 39, of Manchester Township, have been inseparable since Brinkman adopted him as a puppy in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. A couple of years later, Brinkman decided to take a break from flipping houses and set off from his home southwest of Ann Arbor to travel with Dude.
Their journeys road-tripping and car camping in parks gained them thousands of social media followers, including about 36,000 followers on his Instagram account and more than 24,000 followers on TikTok. Due to their influence on social media, some hotels have given them free stays.
The best part of traveling with Dude is “the time together and the exploring,” Brinkman said.
“It’s something new every day,” he said. “The smells, he loves that, and the attention from people. There are always new people to give him attention.”
Dude also loves sticking his head out of the sunroof during road trips and going on long hikes.
In 2023, they set out for Maine’s Acadia National Park. It was Dude’s first trip to a national park. Now he’s up to 47 national parks, and the pup has collected 49 B.A.R.K. Ranger tags at national parks and monuments. (B.A.R.K. is a acrostic that stands for bag your pet’s waste, always leash your pet, respect wildlife, and know where you can go.)
Most recently, they took a five-week trip to Alaska, which was “probably both our favorite,” Brinkman said.
Dude drank glacier water at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska.
“Dude found a moose bone while we were in Alaska. It was huge, and he was really excited about it,” Brinkman said.
The Alaska trip also involved driving through the Canadian wilderness, including through the Yukon Territory, where they spotted “incredible” wildlife, including bears, and made a visit to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada’s Rocky Mountains, which was “a highlight,” he said.
They made it to 49 states by taking four big trips and other shorter ones. After Maine, they traveled around New England. In a 100-day road trip looping the country, the checked 21 states off their list. They also drove from the northernmost point in the contiguous U.S., in Minnesota, down to the tip of the Florida Keys.
“I’ve learned to travel cheap,” Brinkman said. “I do a lot of car camping for free in state parks.”
He said his Honda HR-V gets good gas mileage and he doesn’t really purchase souvenirs. He set up his Honda “like a little camper,” with a bed in the back.
With a dog in tow, do your homework, he advises.
Brinkman does “extensive research” before heading out on a road trip, finding free places to camp and checking if parks have dog-friendly trails.
“They are always allowed along the roadway,” he said. Sometimes they just drive through and stop to enjoy scenic views.
When they make it to Hawaii, Brinkman wants to try to get Dude on a surfboard and see how he likes shaved ice.
Since you can’t road-trip to Hawaii, Brinkman is planning to book a flight from Los Angeles. He doesn’t want Dude to have to travel in an airplane cargo hold, so he is opting for seats on a charter flight.
“He’s got to be sitting next to me. He’s been at my side the whole time,” he said.
He set up a GoFundMe online fundraising web page to cover the cost of the upcoming trip to Hawaii, which he hopes to book for February or March next year. His fundraising goal is $15,000 for a 10-day trip, including charter flights and accommodations, to Hawaii.
“I’m not one for charity, and there are great causes like the Humane Society,” he said. He encouraged people to donate to the Humane Society if they don’t want to contribute funds to his GoFundMe campaign.
He will also likely work once he’s home for a few months to raise funds, he said.
Getting to all 50 states is unlikely to be the end of his travels with Dude.
“I think we might just do a tour of all our top places to visit,” he said. “If I could, I would travel all the time, which is basically what we’ve done for the last few years.”
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