JoDo Chasing Rainbows
Exploring the US and Canada from our RV
Update: Traveling with a Cat
Black Lightening is now a travel cat. She has come a long way from when we started in June 2018. We were concerned when we started this journey that our cat would hate it. She was not the happiest of campers on travel days when we first started. She would cry if we did not give her enough attention.
She is now a pro with her carrier. I don’t have to pretend the carrier exists. I can bring it down and place it in front of her and ask her to walk in. Before I used to have to catch her, hold her and place her in the carrier. Not any more. This also makes it easier on me when we have to go to the vet. She still doesn’t like that either but it is no longer a stressful time for either of us.
She has also taken over the motorhome. She likes to nap in the front passenger seat in the morning. Her mid-day nap is usually on the bed so that she can lay down but still look out the window if an interesting animal should appear. The afternoon to early evening nap is on the jack knife. I got her a towel that I can wash each week so that the couch is not full of cat hair.
Lucky for us she still does not want to go outside. She does like to sit by the door and look out but that is it. I am very thankful that she has adapted to the road. She is our last living pet. She will be twelve years old this year. I want her with us for the rest of her/our days.
If you are traveling with a cat who is unhappy, don’t give up. Try to be patient. It takes time. It took our cat a year to adapt to the road. We also used a calming spray on her towel in her carrier. That seemed to help.
Do you travel with a cat? How did your cat behave?
Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam was created to harness water to create electricity and to provide water to cities in Nevada, Arizona and California. This river also feeds water to cities in Mexico. The Dam also helped stop flooding along the Colorado River. So this Dam that was built during the 1930s along the border of Nevada and Arizona is still very important to the day to day lives of those who live in the Southwest.
We drove to the Dam on US 93 from the Nevada side since we were staying at the Boulder Campground. Before I-11 was built this was the only way over the Dam. I remember seeing stories of how crazy it was to traverse this area when I was a child. I can’t imagine a truck having to make all the twists and turns down to the Dam. I didn’t like it in the car. The Dam is still a popular tourist attraction. After you pass through security and car search, you can make your way to the Dam. Parking is $10. You can also walk to the Dam on the old Railroad Trails if you don’t want to pay. That is about a 3 mile walk from the parking lot to the Dam. We did that once for fun.
If you have been following this blog for awhile, you know that I have a fear of heights. Each time we go to a location I like to test myself. Hoover Dam is a great place to test this fear. Donna and I walked from the Nevada to the Arizona side and back. It was pretty epic. I did not get nauseous at all. I call that a win.
We also walked the I-11 bridge to the Nevada/ Arizona border. I could only do this by not looking at Hoover Dam at all. Donna took in all the views. I can state this bridge is very sturdy. It only had a slight sway in it.
Have you been to the Hoover Dam? What did you think?