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Published: March 17th 2023
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This is a catch up blog for two days. Yesterday I stayed at Shakamak State Park somewhere in the wilds of Indiana with no wifi.
After a 10 hour drive yesterday, we arrived at Shakamak in the rain at about 4:30. It was a long tedious drive and took longer than expected because I felt the need to stop every 2-3 hours to reassure Malika and encourage her to eat, use the litter and have a drink and a cuddle for a few minutes. She has found a hiding spot by the back door under the bed and runs for it as soon as the van moves. But once we stop she is out and exploring and was actually playing with her toys last night. I never realized how much time she is up in the night. She would run under the covers of my bed to the bottom, around my feet and up the other side like it was a race track. And then she walked up and down on me - I think she wanted me to get up and play but I wasn’t about to. She finally settled down about 3 am and crawled under the covers and went to sleep. I had prime rib, baked potato and salad left over from our girls night out on Wednesday at the Mill Tales Inn and Malika had canned tuna as a treat. She hasn’t been drinking a lot because she is used to a fountain at home and here she just has a big bowl.
Today was challenging. Miles of tabletop flat land and strong winds contributed to blasting gusts of wind on the right side of my van. It was dangerous because when a gust punched the van it often knocked out the cruise control. Just when you’re fighting the wheel to the right to control the vehicle the cruise shuts off losing momentum just when you need it to keep your position and it causes you to wobble. It often happened just as I was passing the transports because they protect you from the gusts and when you emerge in front of the truck you get blasted with a gust. My steering wheel was on a permanent right hand tilt all day just to keep the van in my own lane. And it wasn’t just me, the transports were struggling to stay in their lane as well. That wind is straight out of the north and cold as all get out. But even with the cold wind I am seeing a change in the countryside. There are many large white flowering trees everywhere, magnolias are just starting to open, shrubs along the road are turning green with small new leaves and daffodils are in full bloom. What a lovely sight - all those bright yellow nodding heads. Our driving today was about 6 hours - we gained 1 hour today. When I got us set up and settled at our campground (the welcoming lady was so friendly and helpful), I set up a chair outside and Malika had a new experience exploring outside on a leash. She really liked it and was chasing leaves and exploring everywhere. After it got cold and we came in, every time I went near the door she ran to go out again. Right now she is warming up under the covers.
And tomorrow we will be in Oklahoma. Those miles are getting chewed up.
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