Adventuring with Dogs:
5,000 Miles, 2 Dogs and 1 4Knines Dog Hammock
By Amber Drake
This is a story about a summer adventure that included 2 humans, 2 dogs, 9 states and 4Knines.
We emBARKED on our journey in far west Texas, hitting the road to visit family and enjoy the Pacific Northwest.
To get ready for the trip, we put our truck in “Dog Mode” which includes folding up the rear seats and putting our homemade dog platform in so the dogs have a stable, flat spot for their travels.
Next is the 4Knines Floor Hammock® for Crew Cab Trucks. We have tried many dog hammocks over the years and this one is by far the highest quality and only one that fits in a crew cab truck with the seats folded up! Next we squish 2 large size dog beds into the rear cab of the truck, now it’s ready for the dogs!
We loaded up the human accessories and other dog accessories in the bed of the truck, protected from the weather by a tonneau cover for our journey. You don’t want wet dog food when you arrive at your destination! For our trip planning, we try to stop every 3 or so hours to let the dogs (and humans) stretch their legs. For this trip, we used an off-road navigation app to help us find spots off the beaten path where we could safely let our dogs run and play fetch with their ball. This included many forest service roads in New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Colorado on our long road trip that spanned the course of a few months.
We spent time with family and our dogs enjoyed lounging in the lush green grass of the Seattle area that we do not have in West Texas! They also got to play on a beach and splash in the ocean for the first time… super glad our dog hammock kept the sand and water off our truck seats! If you take your dog to the beach, make sure you have plenty of towels, but also know that no matter how hard you try, they will still be wet when you load them into the car.
Our trip also involved romping in the snow and mud in the mountains of Oregon in June. We didn’t expect snow in June, so we did not have towels, but luckily, we did have our dog hammock that saved our seats and floor.
In addition to snow, we also found plenty of dust in the mountains near Bend, OR. The dust is very fine, like baby powder and seems to get into every nook and cranny of EVERYTHING! We discovered having a Swiffer duster around helped with some of the dust that settled on the dashboard and every other crevice of the vehicle but didn’t have to worry too much about the back seat that was protected by the hammock.
We were also lucky enough to get to try kayaking in Washington state where the dogs briefly tried to swim along side the kayak, so one of us had to hang out on shore to keep them entertained while the other paddled around in the lake.
Now back home, settling in to our regular routines, we look back at the adventures that we had and are ready to rest up for the next adventure when the opportunity arises.
A few tips we learned along the way:
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Always have towels with you
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Bring a 4Knines dog hammock — it will save your sanity AND your seats!
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If your dog loves balls, always bring a spare in case one gets lost
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A water jug with a spout makes it easy to get water for the dogs and for hand washing
About The Author
Amber Drake is a dog mom, graphic designer and outdoor enthusiast!
