Happily Ever Hodges

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Road Trip 2019

How We Went From CA to AL

Being a military family, many of you know the dreaded summer transfer season. You build up all these dreams of the perfect location and epic road trip for it all to be crushed by reality of military life. Don’t get me wrong we had an epic road trip even though it wasn’t the same as we originally planned! Here’s how we did our move across country with 5 people, 3 vehicles, and a cat.

CA: Once we found out we had to move ourselves, we had to scramble to finish packing and get arrangements in order. My sister-in-law flew in to help us drive to Reno, NV where we would pick up the rest of road trip crew. Northern California is filled with grade hills so make sure you are prepared for that. Also, remember when planning road trips you might be in the middle of nowhere for long periods of time. We invested in walkie talkies and that helped us through a lot of tough spots.

NV: Since we had the U-haul with us, we planned to stay outside of the cities to help with parking and safety. We backed the U-haul towards the building, fences, light poles, etc. Basically, as close to an object as possible so someone couldn’t open it.

UT: We stopped along the way to see the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It right across the border. I would recommend bringing shoes that you don’t mind getting wet or ruined by the salt. It was a nice break to stretch our legs and see beautiful scenery.

WY: Cheyenne was a beautiful stop! It was right before their annual Frontier Days so we were able to see everyone setting up for the weekend. I’d love to go back and see more of the history and attend Frontier Days. This was also the day we had to carry our cat in a backpack, but that’s for another post.

SD: I also believe in picking one big thing to do on a road trip. For us, it was seeing Mount Rushmore! We stayed in Rapid City which is 30 minutes from Keystone. There is actually a lot of fun things to do in the area. It gave us a nice break and rest in the middle of the trip too.

NE, MO, LA, to AL: Back to Back driving days can be difficult. Add the slow moving Uhaul to the mix and it was exhausting. To combat this, we only drove about 6 1/2 to 7 hrs a day most days. We would arrive just in time for dinner where we could see the different cities and towns.

Road Trip advice: Limit how many hours you drive in a day. If family or friends offer to help let them! Plan one big thing to do on the trip for a rest day or sneak in a little visit to home. Good luck on your next transfer!

Traveling with A Cat

When we decided to adopt our cat, we knew he would be traveling. He had a harness since he was a kitten. He is strictly an inside cat. I didn’t harness train him to go outside because I anticipated him to go in the litter box and he did. Here are some helpful tips that I used to prep my cat for travel.

At the time of travel, our cat was over a year old. A few months before the move I started putting him in his carrier on short trips to Starbucks or to the drive thru. I would take the long way back home just to give him more time in the car. It’s important to bring your cat to more places than just the vet. Your cat will not like going in the car if every time he does he gets poked and prodded at the vet’s office.

I bought him a backpack as well as a regular carrier. I found it was very heavy on my arm to try and carry him when we made stops. If you decided to invest in a backpack, then make sure you get one with plenty of ventilation. Also, note that the cat is getting his heat and your heat from your back so make sure to check on him. We like to play Pokemon Go around town so this was a way to get him used to the back pack. The back pack I use has a strap to clip his harness to it so he can’t jump out.

Food wise, I bought foldable travel bowls. They were perfect because they fit inside the backpack pockets. It’s important to note that our cat didn’t want to accept water or food while on the road. If he was nervous about an area, he didn’t want anything. One day he was getting hot so I pulled him out of the backpack and dipped my fingers in the water and he licked the water off.

Hotel wise, I took him out of his carrier and immediately showed him where his litter box was. I used litter box liners because I didn’t want to waste litter everyday. After each stop, I would tie up the liner after scooping. Our cat looked and explored the room before settling down and using the litter box. He also liked to sit on the window sills.

Packing wise, I had his carrier, backpack, travel bowls, food in a ziplock, treats, favorite toys, stratching post, and feline way. Make sure you lock up the toys at night so else you have to try and find them all in the morning. Feline way is a plug in to produce happy cat pheromones. I’m not sure if it calmed him down or not but I used it anyway. I also bought toys with catnip in them to help him relax while in his carrier. The catnip pillow ended up his favorite and he cuddled it the whole trip.

I did a lot of prep work for my cat to travel and it paid off. He was very good on the trip and is now happy in his new home! I hope our experience can help you!

1 Day in Rapid City, SD

Rapid City in A Day

Most people that are traveling to Rapid City, SD are stopping to see Mount Rushmore in Keystone. It’s about 30 minutes away from Rapid City. During our time, we visited Bear Country USA, Mount Rushmore, Tramway Adventures, and the Chuckwagon Dinner Show.

Bear Country USA: Get there early!! It’s coolest in the morning and the animals were very active. It’s a wildlife park where you drive through with your windows rolled up and see various species of animals. The bears were of course the highlight. The bears would walk in-between the cars and in the road so you got a good view of them. After the drive through tour, there is a place to park and get out and walk. That’s where you can see the baby bears!! They were so cute! There other species of animals to see too like badgers, porcupines, and bobcats. It’s well worth the price.

Mount Rushmore: It is important to note that is not a national park but a national monument. National Park passes will not get you into the park for free but fret not because it was only $10 for parking. Unfortunately, we went to Mount Rushmore during construction so the amphitheater will the film and museum was closed off. However, you can still go to the Sculptor’s Studio and walk up hundreds of stairs. We invested in the audio tour phones and it definitely enhanced the experience. I feel from what we missed because of construction we gained from the audio tour. It’s only $6 and it’s self guided. I would also recommend getting to this early too because it was very crowded and limited space because of construction. Bring plenty of water if you plan on climbing all the stairs.

Tramway Adventures: As soon as you get to the town of Keystone, you will see many attractions. We chose to do the Tramway Adventures for the Alpine Slide and Zipline. There are different packages on their website to choose from. We were not able to do the 2 hour zipline but instead the 800 ft. zip which was still fun. We also did the chair lift while some of our group did the Alpine Slide. There is a view of Mount Rushmore on the top. If we had more time, I’m sure we would have done some of the other attractions at Tramway.

Chuckwagon Dinner Show: Ever been to Branson, MO to Pigeon Forge, TN and seen the dinner shows? Then, you’ll enjoy this! It takes place right outside of Rapid City and it’s where some of Dancing With Wolves was filmed. Before dinner, you walk around the movie set and I even got a penny from a real penny press! Then, we go in for dinner on long picnic tables. We got our dinner served on tin plates with tin cups. It was time for the show! The music was great and it was a big variety so all ages could enjoy. It was a highlight for sure.

I don’t know if I’d go back to this area just because the reason to go was for Mount Rushmore and I felt I don’t need to see it again. It was a great experience and I recommend going at least once in your life to see the amazing sculpture in the Black Hills.