Our dear friends Caroline & Chase were moving back to Austin from the mountains of Northern California.

Caroline, pregnant with her second child, proposed an adventure that included us flying out to her cabin near Mount Shasta, to hop in her Ford F150 hitched with her Casita travel trailer named Tawanda, and load us up with two more travel companions, Augie the Tiny Tiger (a 150 pound Great Dane) and Ink (a nine pound rescue who may be part poodle and piglet) in order to drive across the country. Eastbound and down towards Texas. 

Naturally we accepted this mission and before we knew it we were hitched up and rolling out of Shasta, CA howling out of the open windows with our pack. With the mountain in our rear view, we made a quick stop at the headwaters to fill up our bottles with ice cold spring water from volcano Shasta herself. There were gorgeous Pacific Dogwoods blooming off smaller trees, with towering Pines trees all around us so tall that you had to strain your neck to see the tops. The golden morning sun streaked through and we were off on the open road learning every moment how to travel like real road dogs. “Start before you’re ready” was our understated mission statement.