Adventure Dogs of the Nomad Rally

The 2024 edition of the Nomad Overland Rally has a few furry friends out exploring with their humans. The Rally has been a “dog-friendly” event from the beginning, welcoming teams that wanted to include canine “members.”

In our inaugural year, four Nomad Teams traveled with their canine companions. The dogs were a source of joy, not just to the team members, but also to those of us who were reviewing the photos throughout the event. A couple of those first-year “adventure dogs” returned with their humans for the second year — including Amber and Dave Tembruell, who rallied in support of Steadfast Service Dogs 501(c)(3) for the 2023 Nomad.

The second annual Nomad Overland Rally brought us a few new human and canine combos to follow, and we loved seeing their antics as the pups accompanied their people on Overland Stages, hikes, paddling trips and just about everywhere. One of those teams, Aga and Darius Smigiel, with their beloved pitbull Nina, is back with us for 2024.  As Nomad Team 110, the Smigels and Nina are exploring around northern California towing their nuCamp Tab 320 trailer with their Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

The Smigiels, are joined by a few other Nomads travelling with their dogs in this year’s edition of the Rally.  Team 121 Rojas DOGRNR, is Dulcy Rojas and her two dogs, Babu and Zingo — her all-black Toyota 4Runner is known as “the DOGRNR.” Dulcy and her dogs are exploring around Arizona, where keeping cool can be a challenge in summer heat. Dulcy takes special care to be sure the dogs get opportunities to play in the water and cool off whenever possible.

Team 133 Worley is Jackie and Austin with their furever travel companions, two black dogs. The bigger one, Jyn Erso, is  a rather imposing 110 lb Lab-Great Dane mix. And the smaller one, a mutt named Prescott isn’t really that “small” weighing in  at 60 pounds.  Thanks to the pups, the Worley’s social media handle is @Blackdogoverlanding. The team is exploring around Colorado in their 2021 Ecodiesel Unlimited Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

Team 130 McClellan is Cara and her French bulldog Goose. The pair are frequently joined by Cara’s husband Matt for some of the Nomad Rally segments as the McClellans are on a long cross-country journey together. The Arkansas-based team is primarily adventuring all over the western USA this summer. Cara, Matt and Goose currently chronicle their on-going journey as Ozark Overland Adventures and are traveling in a few different Jeep-based overland rigs that keep Goose quite comfortable on the trails.

On the east coast, Virginia-based Team 109 Renzelman is Michael and Christine, with Ashlynn, their four-legged “mascot, scout, and protector.” Michael credits Ashlynn with keeping the team’s spirits high and their paths clear. The Renzelmans are adventuring across the country this summer, traveling from Virginia to Colorado in their Ford Bronco, Tiberius.

We love seeing all the photos of the canine team members and are looking forward to seeing their (and their Teams’) shenanigans out on the trails this summer.