Continuing with my pre-trip diary entries, I decided to combine two entries into this week's post.
My journaling dated August 20th and August 26th were both short, and we want to get to
talking about the trip itself, don't we?!
Before you start reading this, be sure to check back later this week for my BIG
ANNOUNCEMENT!
If you missed last week's post, you can see it here.
The following was written shortly before we departed on our Epic Road Trip!
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August 20, 2025
We have changed the trip about seven times. This is the beauty of having nothing booked in
advance. We can change our minds.
There are a number of reasons we changed the trip. For starters, I was afraid of the possibility of
encountering bears at Yellowstone. With two dogs, it could be an issue. We will have SO much
food for a month-long trip. I did buy bear-proof containers but still we are going to have a lot more
than will fit in those, between our food and the dogs’ food.
Secondly, it’s going to be cold and apparently it already IS, in August! I belong to a camping group
online and one of the group members posted that she left Yellowstone two days earlier than
planned because it was too cold. Oy!!
We will go to Yellowstone on a future adventure.
This week, we did a couple activities to prep the dogs for the trip; and we also did a mock packing of the car as well. I’m including pictures here.
We set up the tent in our backyard and we also put our two cots inside. We invited the dogs in, and we all hung out inside the tent for the afternoon. I forgot to take photos! But I had taken photos the first time we set up the tent, right after we bought it, so here are those pictures.
A couple days later, we were washing the boat and cars, and I put the dogs on long leashes (about 30-feet each, estimated) so they could again spend time with us. This is what they’ll be doing at campsites, so I wanted them to get used to being on the long tie-outs. We will never, ever leave them unattended so no trolling, please!
We packed the car and took pictures so we could remember exactly where we put various items. The food (our cooler and a milk crate with dry goods) will be right by the sliding door of the minivan. The only time the food won’t be right at the opening of that door is when we drop off the
cat at the kitty hotel on our morning of departure. We’ll push the cooler and milk crate inside the car, and put the cat’s crate and food right in front of the door so we can get him out quickly.
Back to packing the car. We left a “path” down the middle of the minivan so that Charlie, Petey and perhaps a human, can walk back there if needed. Otherwise, Charlie is confined to a little square area where his dog bed will be located. It’s not ideal so I would like him to be able to stretch his legs. Petey loves to sit with me so he won’t mind not stretching his legs once in a while. Small dogs are easy travelers in that respect.
The dog food and other items are under the floor in a cubby hole Brad built when he added the plywood floor. It has hinges on it and can hold quite a lot of stuff. We purchased our dog food ahead of time (a month’s worth) after hearing warnings that we may not be able to find our brand/flavor throughout the country. The reason this can be an issue is that you should never switch a dog’s food quickly. Any time you want to switch to a different brand or whatever, you should always gradually introduce the new food and phase out the old. Just FYI.
August 26, 2025
Here we are, one week before departure. It’s hard to believe.
We have been talking about this trip “cross-country” ever since Cooper died in March of 2024! Not that Cooper dying propelled us into doing this, but it is a LOT easier with two dogs instead of three. Plus, poor Coop was disabled (but don’t tell him that!).
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| Cooper, always with us. |
As mentioned previously, we have changed the route a zillion times now. As it stands today, the plan is to cover the southwest, excluding California but only because we have both been there a bunch of times (Brad even lived there). So, we don’t need California this time. However, that could change!
Currently, the plan is to travel south, then west. The first day, we’ll get past Atlanta. We will stay overnight in Alabama at a pet-friendly hotel that I have already booked. After that, we’ll head through Memphis, Tennessee. Then on to Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, culminating in a stop at the Grand Canyon for a few days. After that we may head up to Utah to Zion and Bryce Canyon, then back home. The entire trip should take about a month.
Next Week: Departure!
Don't forget to check back here, or on my social media pages, for a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT later this week.
