Internet Highway Roadblock

 India has been enjoying her time on the road but has had the hardest time keeping connected.  Just because an RV park advertises it has "WiFi access" does not mean it is fast or even existent.   Looking past that, India did enjoy her rest break while traveling through the Mojave Desert.  I think she was thinking dessert and not desert.

Getting to Las Vegas and seeing the bright lights was a welcome sight.  Three road weary and tired dachshunds were happy to arrive at the "Hitching Post RV Park". 

Upon arrival at our camping spot, India immediately made a new friend.  We have seen hundreds of the "Rent Me" RV's traveling on the highway, each with fun, traveling graphics, depicting families having fun.  One company thought it would be cute to have a big yellow dog looking out the RV door.  Cute, yes.  Annoying to a dachshund, YES!  India seemed to think the big yellow dog next door was trying to stare her down so she went into "Dachshund Alarm" mode.

Our neighbors in Las Vegas, the ones with the big yellow dog graphic, just happened to be from Holland.  These were just a few of the German and Deutsch people we have met on the road.  We could hear them talking about the "Teckel" as we would walk by.  Seeing the dachshunds somehow made them homesick I think.

On the last leg of our journey, we made a short detour through the world of "Flight Test."  We have a few friends that work at Edwards Air Force base and, being retired military, we have access to the base.  So we went for a visit.  The dachshunds started a minor security alert at the gate as they all started barking at the armed guards.  Luckily, we were able to convince the guards that the dachshunds were unarmed and harmless, so we were able to go on base for a visit.  Sorry, no pictures from on the base, but believe me, there are no UFO's here.

We finally made it to Oxnard, California.  We all exited the truck, after 3,200 miles on the road, and dipped all of our toes into the Pacific ocean.  It was truly a Coast to Coast Dachshund adventure.

Our official "End of the Road" adventure photo was taken at the end of the old Route 66 on the Santa Monica Pier.

"Off the Grid"

It is a darn shame that this picture just doesn't do justice to this part of Kansas.  And though we didn't get any snapshots, Scout, Deutsch, and India politely took turns viewing the scenery through the truck windows.  We think their pointy little noses detected a smorgasbord of delightful smells.

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a prime place for gathering more information about this very pretty prairie.  And while we are happy that Mommy and Daddy enjoyed doing just that, our delight was the result of finding this to be a great place for stretching our little legs and filling up on a bit of H2O.  (A potty break was also welcomed.)

With everyone back in the truck, we continued along our way, headed for "small town" Kansas and a visit with our Daddy's family.

           This is our cousin Sam.                                                               And this is our cousin Zip.

As you can clearly see, our cousins are not dachshunds.  Nonetheless, they are a barrel of laughs.  They like to run and play, too.  And just like India, they take great pleasure in chasing all sorts of birds.  And oh yeah, you should see Zip jump!  We think that boy may have springs under his feet.

In the car again, and back to using that strong sense of smell for which dachshunds are known.

Dodge City was ok, if you like cowboys and that kind of stuff, which we do.  One year for Halloweenie, Daddy picked out a sheriff costume for Scout, and was he ever adorable!  If only we"d brought the costume!  Scout could have cleared Dodge City of the bad guys in no time!

So much of the past few days have had us internet-less, so we haven't been able to share our most recent adventures.  As you can see from this picture of where we stayed in Texas, the surroundings are pretty sparse.  Off the grid, as some stay.  But as all dachshund people know, doxies are exceedingly curious, so new and different surroundings simply mean lots of exploring, investigating, and learning about new things.

We've not seen anything like what we saw in New Mexico.  We haven't come across Old Mexico yet, but if it's anything like the new one, then count us in!

The absolute greatest thing about New Mexico was making new dachshund friends, who also happen to hail from that awesome state.  On the left is Cocoa, who was born in 2007.  His big brother, Lucky, is pictured on the right, and he is a pretty spry fifteen year old.  They, along with their mommy and daddy, were our camping "next door neighbors."  Our mommy and daddy got to meet their parents and learned that they think the dachshund rescue is wonderful.  Of course, we unanimously agree!  

What can we say about Arizona?  There were more new and great smells, and watching out the windows was, once again, terrific!

Boy, were we ever happy to see this sign!  Mommy and Daddy said we would be staying over in Utah, and despite the fun we are having on the road, we were ready to just kick back for a bit.

We never imagined we'd be camping with a backdrop as stunning as this!  Daddy hit this one out of the park!

South Dakota has Mount Rushmore, and now Utah has Mount Dachsmore!  Since Deutsch"s face is less prominent in the picture than Scout's and India's, we've all decided that he pretty much shares the same kinda spot as does Teddy Roosevelt in the original Dakota version. 

Gateway to the West

Today's adventures started off at precisely 8am, but due to our time traveling, dachshund carrying, travel trailer, we quickly went back to 7am.  Okay, so in reality, we crossed into Illinois and moved into the Central Time Zone.

So, has anyone ever had the desire to stop at a "roadside attraction" or "oddity" as you travel?  Today was that day for us.  Soon after entering Illinois, there were signs advertising "The Worlds Largest Wind Chimes" in a small town called Casey.  Why not stop?  We didn't know where the "World's Biggest Ball of Twine" was housed, so we might as well see this wind chime.

I was not expecting much.  Upon exiting the truck, we were greeted by a three story tall structure that looked, and sounded like, well, a three story tall wind chime.  And not only does Casey claim the record breaking wind chime, but there are three other rather large objects in town, each holding the record for being the worlds largest.  There is a giant golf tee located at the Casey Golf Course.  This thing is so big that there are plans to set it up so a person can stand on top of it to drive golf balls.  Inside the town yarn shop, there is a set of giant knitting needles, as well as a crochet hook, that would make Paul Bunyan look petite.  

If you are ever traveling through Illinois on I-70, stopping in Casey to see the roadside attractions is worthwhile. 

The "Bucket List" item of the day was driving into St. Louis to see the "Gateway Arch".  The best viewing area for taking pictures of the arch is actually in East St Louis, IL, at the Malcom Martin Memorial Park.  The park was empty when we arrived so we proceeded to take as many pictures as humanly possible of us and our fur babies.

Our final destination for the day, and our rest stop for the night, was Eisenhower State Park in Osage City, KS.  What a wonderful park!  We chose to stay here because of the natural beauty of the park, tucked away in natural, undisturbed, prairie land.   Scout, Deutsch, and India didn't care what the place looked like; they simply were ready to go for a long walk, followed by something delicious dinner.
Kansas, and much of the midwest, has endured massive amounts of rain over the last few days, and it has been devastating.  Many people have been displaced from their homes due to flooding, and the threat is not over.  The ground is so saturated here that the dachshunds have no choice but to go outside to relieve themselves in the mud.  Poor little guys.

Tomorrow brings family and visions of Wyatt Earp to mind.

Dachshunds, Start Your Engines!

Leaving Maryland on May 27, 2015

The five of us departed Maryland on 27 May, 2015, at exactly 5pm.  We wanted to leave in the afternoon, after work, in order to avoid the infamous Washington Beltway morning traffic.  Traffic was light, and all the dachshunds, Scout, Deutsch, and India, were happy to be going on vacation with us.

Driving through D.C. was a breeze, as was cruising by Frederick and Hagerstown, MD.  Our itinerary had us reaching Grantsville, MD, in time to stay overnight at the local Pilot Travel Center.  Free "lodging" is a courtesy they extend to RVers traveling the country.  Advance reservations are not an option, and unfortunately, upon arrival in Grantsville, the Pilot Travel Center was filled to capacity with those cowboys of the highway: truckers.  The truckers have parking priority, so we moved on down the highway, eventually finding our way to Morgantown, WV, where we spent the evening in a Walmart parking lot.  Walmart also extends the privilege of overnight parking to weary RVers who need to rest.

As planned, we departed for our next destination, Terre Haute, IN, promptly at 7am on May 28.  We left West Virginia and passed through Pennsylvania, only to re enter West Virginia again.  Leaving West Virginia a second time, we entered the state that is round on the ends and tall in the middle,
o-HI-o.

During a visit to one of the highway rest areas, we met another short in stature, high in personality dachshund named Kamikaze, or Kaze to his friends.  Kaze was your typical, full of love and energy dachshund; you would never know he was going blind.  (He has detached retinas.)  He seems to have adapted well to his setback.  And just a by the way, the little fellow was rescued.

Today was another easy day of driving, getting us to our destination of the Terre Haute, IN, KOA campground, just about a half hour after our scheduled arrival of 4pm.

Though Scout, Deutsch, and India were well behaved and traveled well today, the barking in the campground upon arrival garnered them some unwanted attention.  We asked the sheriff to feed them well and to give them some blankets to crawl under.  We said we'd be by the jailhouse around 7am the next morning to bust them out so we'd all be ready to mosey on down the road to Eisenhower State Park in Kansas.  We hope the little felons, uh, fellows, that is, slept well!

Deutsch

India

Scout 

Packing my bags early

Hi, it's India here.  In less than a week I will be getting on the road so I am going through my checklist to ensure nothing I need is left behind.  Lets run down that list:
1.  Shot records...CHECK
2.  Medications...CHECK
3.  Blankets.........CHECK
4.  Hug-A-Harness..CHECK
5.  Leash.............CHECK
6.  Food..............CHECK
7.  TREATS!!!

Did someone say TREAT?

We've planned our Cross-Country Route!

Ready to hit the road!

Hello again! We are India, Deutsch, and Scout, all dachshunds who are leading our parents across the U.S. over a 3 week period from May 27 through June 4, stopping along the way to meet everyone we can and make people aware of Coast-to-Coast Dachshund Rescue!  

   We're starting out in Maryland and will travel across the country, ending up in Oxnard, California. If you live along the way, please come out and meet us! 

Here are the dates and approximate times where we'll be. Look for the RV with the Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue magnets to find us. Our Dad and Mom are Mike and Beth, so when you talk with them, tell them you want to meet us.

Look for these magnets on the truck driving our home on wheels!

MAY 27

At 5 p.m. EDT we Depart Point Lookout State Park, Scotland Maryland

At 9:30 p.m. we'll Arrive Pilot Travel Center, Grantsville MD

MAY 28

At 7 a.m. EDT we Depart Grantsville MD VIA US-40 (National Pike) to Long Branch, PA to pick up I-70 W

By 5 p.m. EDT, we expect to Arrive in Terre Haute, IN (Terre Haute KOA Kampground, 5995 E. Sony Drive

MAY 29

At 7 a.m. EDT, we leave Terre Haute, IN via I-70, and we drive through St. Louis and Kansas City, so keep an eye out for our RV!

We'll settle for the night around 5 p.m. CDT in Eisenhower State Park, 29810 South Fairlawn Rd, Osage City, Kansas

MAY 30 - There are a couple of stops along the way today where you can look for us!

At 7 a.m. CDT We depart Eisenhower State Park Via I-35

And arrive in Wichita Kansas

- At 11 a.m. CDT we depart Wichita via US 54 W toward Dodge City KS @1100

- At 2 p.m. CDT we'll mosey into Dodge City

Look for our home on wheels with the Magnets on the truck

- After an hour, at 3 p.m. CDT we'll "Get Outta Dodge" and hit the highway.

- Finally ending around 7 p.m. CDT at the Star Of Texas RV Park And Horse Hotel 5680 TX Highway 15, Stratford, TX

MAY 31

At 7 a.m. CDT (sense a theme here?) we leave Stratford, Texas via US 54

Arrive at USA RV Park (whenever we get there!) at 2925 W Historic Highway 66, Gallup, NM (Route 66)

JUNE 1

At 11 a.m. MT we depart Gallup, NM via I-40

We arrive Goulding's Monument Valley & RV Park Campground Monument Valley, Utah (and we're staying put for 2 nights)

JUNE 3

At 7 a.m. MT we depart Monument Valley Utah for Las Vegas

We arrive Hitchin' Post RV Park 3640 Las Vegas Blvd North Las Vegas, NV

JUNE 4

At 7 a.m. MT, We're "Leaving Las Vegas" via I-15 to the I-210W to 159 to 101 (did you get all that?) and finally, we  Arrive Oxnard, CA  Naval Air Station Point Mugu