The Trip to Wisconsin starts with a plan for three stops on the way there. Gone are the days of cruising non-stop to our destination. Years ago, when the kids were young my daughter Jennifer would always want me to pull an “all nighter” so we could get to our destination or back home fast.
As the kids, and I, got older I really had less of a stomach for that kind of driving. Then we got our floor children, the dogs (or as we referred to them; “the girls”). Driving for long stretches with multiple dogs is not easy. You need to worry about their comfort and schedule their potty and water/food breaks. Ever try to get two German shepherds out of a truck at a wayside? Both want to be first and both want to be next to each other…it can be a circus.
The longest I wanted to drive with the girls was really 8 hours and that was pushing it. This would require at least four potty and water breaks. Then at each has station we would see if they needed a drink etc.. all of that adds a lot of time to the trip. Then once we hit the campground the circus began again but it was not as wild because the girls knew they were finally out of the truck and could go in the travel trailer.
Now we have Eva, and she is harder to deal with because she still has a lot of puppy in her. While the truck is cruising down the highway all is well. The minute we stop for gas she starts barking. When we check in at the campground she barks. When she sees other people at their camper she barks. So we still have a lot of puppy stuff to work through, and we will get there.
I would like to say the first day of travel was uneventful, but that would be a lie. We had a really strange thing happen in Oklahoma where a gust of wind came up from a ravine and hit us so hard it actually rocked the trailer back and forth pretty violently. When it first hit the windshield we thought it was a swarm of bugs because we saw dark flecks hitting the windshield. Then the trailer started rocking and thankfully it didn’t flip. I think a fast moving train going the opposite direction generated the wind, but this is just a guess because a mile later I saw a train track on that side of the road and it was the only rational explanation I could come up with.
Our first campground stop was the Checotah/Lake Eufaula KOA in Oklahoma. It’s a very short 4 hour drive from our house.
You have heard me critique the KOA chain before but I always point out the good KOA campgrounds. The Checotah/Lake Eufaula KOA is a very nice quiet KOA. Even Eva seemed to enjoy the animals that reside on the property. Tammy and I always say we will come back for a longer stay and I want that to happen.
Luckily for us Eva was happy doing her business at the KOA, so we all felt good about that.
Eva settles in to our usual routine, and goes to bed in her crate with little complaining…but day 2 is coming! The next stop will be a KOA in Missouri, one we have never stayed in. The trip to Wisconsin Continues.
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