Travel Days and Dachshunds

Wow! What a difference a good night’s sleep makes. Cabela’s RV parking area was remarkably quiet, not being near a main road. Ronni and I didn’t stir a whisker until nearly 8:00 am, at which point we had a quick discussion over which was more important – a potty walk, or coffee.

The potty walk won (of course), but I started the tea kettle heating and turned the thermostat up a tad before we went outside, so we’d have a warm “home” to return to and hot water ready for coffee. A fair compromise.

Still being May, morning temps were hovering in the mid-40s, and I hate to waste propane while sleeping under warm blankets with a toasty warm dachshund. So the thermostat was set at a chilly 50°, only popping on a couple of times in the early morning hours.

Have I mentioned that a smooth-coat dachshund’s natural body-heat is amazing? It’s like nature’s live heating pad and doesn’t even need to be plugged in. Now, if I could just get her to sleep on my feet …

Thirty minutes later, coffee close at hand, Rhonda fed and the RV ship-shape and in travel mode, we were once again on the road.

It was another gorgeous day and we were headed around Turnagain Arm and over the always spectacular Turnagain Pass into the Kenai peninsula. There were RATS waiting to be hunted!

Of course, this being only Wednesday, we had plenty of time to make the 100+ mile journey. Our next destination, a Barn Hunt trial in Soldotna, didn’t begin until Friday morning.

With time to spare, we meandered along the Seward Highway, stopping at a couple of pretty rest areas alongside Six Mile Creek. Rhonda is always up for a sniffy-walk, and my new knee was in need of regular stretching.

Once we turned onto the Sterling Highway, the miles flew by. We were past Kenai Lake and driving the narrow, winding road through Cooper Landing in no time.

I pulled over to make lunch at a roadside pull-out with a lovely view of the Kenai River and plenty of space for the RV. These are the little moments that make travel so enjoyable. It’s not necessarily the destination – although we certainly did have several this trip – it’s the journey itself.

Captivated, as alway, by the Kenai River, I convinced myself to drive on, cruising down the scenic highway through the town of Sterling and on to Soldotna. With my chosen campground close at hand, I stopped to fill the gas tank (before gas prices could jump even higher), topped off my propane and picked up a few groceries.

Back inside “Roada”, it took me no time at all to cross once again over the glistening Kenai River, take a right turn, and then another quick right turn into Centennial Park Campground, which would turn out to be my home away from home for not all, but much of the next ten days.

Stay tuned … the story has just begun.