Through the Mojave Desert

We left Hesperia, CA Sunday morning at about 10:00 am, heading for Arizona. I am sorry to report that our kitty, K.C., who has been such a trooper all across the U.S., has not been handling the traveling well lately. It started on the winding road to Jojoba Hills. K.C. became ill, vomiting and defecating in his carrier. This was repeated within the first half hour of driving from Jojoba Hills to Anaheim. Surely it was just the winding road?

Unfortunately, though the road was straight and fairly smooth, he was carsick again when we drove to Hesperia. I was very concerned, imagining a pattern that would repeat itself over and over for the next 3000 miles. Not to mention poor K.C.'s discomfort! I then remembered Auggie's Thunder Shirt, a stretchy knit shirt that velcros tightly to the body and provides a hugging sensation that is soothing to the animal. Auggie had needed it early in our travels to alleviate anxiety when left alone for a couple of hours, but had not worn it in a while. In desperation, I put the Thunder Shirt on K.C. before we left Sunday morning, and lo and behold, it worked! No messing in the carrier, which I am sure was as much a relief to the cat as to me (to whom falls the chore of cleaning the carrier and bathing the cat.) I may try using Valerian as well, having read about it on the Internet.

We will be purchasing a new carrier on Monday, as this one (soft sided) is now rather shot and difficult to clean. And with the Thunder Shirt, hopefully K.C. will be more comfortable when we are on the move.

So Sunday's drive was through the Mojave. It was different from what I expected; there was more brush and little bare sand, but the scenery was starkly beautiful with mountains rising majestically in the distance.

We drove for about 4 1/2 hours, stopping once for fuel and once for a sandwich prepared in our kitchen. We never stop for fast food--it is so convenient to have access to a fridge and table with a place to sit!  Before too long we were into Arizona and the rock formations changed.

We reached Lake Havasu City  and continued on south to our campground at Cattail Cove State Park, which is a very nice little place to stay. We are next to Lake Havasu which is actually a wide section of the Colorado River. We are across from a really lovely landscaped sitting area, surrounded by flowering bushes and mountains.

Not far is also a boat launch, so if it is not too breezy we may get a chance to put our kayaks in the water. We will have to see.