Cross Country (almost) with Two Dogs - Florida to Colorado

In June of 2021, we once again found ourselves relocating to another part of the United States from Florida to Colorado. We were excited for this adventure after spending four and a half years in Florida, and over a year under COVID.

This time around, we had two dogs in tow. Sadly, our babies Ava and Otto had passed away. So we prepared for the move with Ginger, our eleven-year-old Jack Russell mix, and the newest member of the pack, Ellie. Ellie was still a pup at the time and this was a huge adventure for her. Ginger, on the other hand, said, "This isn't my first rodeo", and slept most of the journey. 

Luckily this time we were moving in summer and did not have to worry about snow or chains. However, we were pulling a trailer with our classic Karmann Ghia inside, so that added a new layer of stress. A week before the trip, my husband traded our 2-wheel drive GMC Sierra for a 4-wheel drive Silverado. He knew it would be next to impossible to trade in a 2-wheel drive when we reached Colorado so that was a smart move. 

After relocating from Washington to Florida, in 2016, I knew the steps to take to get started on a plan. If you haven't read the details, I encourage you to check out the posts about that trip here Cross Country with Three Dogs .

The last trip was a success with limiting ourselves to 10 hours of daylight driving. We were in no rush so we followed the same formula. I calculated the miles we would need to drive and marked potential stops on the map. The next step was to find hotels that would accept dogs. Ellie is a giant breed so we had to confirm weight limits this time as well. Back in 2016, I used Rand McNally to plan the drive. Unfortunately, that online tool is no longer available. I did some research and found Furkot recommended by people who previously used Rand McNally. It took some getting used to but I did find it useful. 

The stops for this journey were:

1. Mobile, Alabama - 8.5 hours driving

2. Van, Texas - 8 hours driving

3. Amarillo, Texas -  7 hours driving

4. Amarillo to home (Colorado Springs) - 5.25 hours

Total Miles = 1,902.

We avoided staying in big cities due to the trailer we were pulling. We were pretty lucky on hotels this time and did not have to make a lot of calls to confirm we could stay. 

Here is  a list of the hotels where we stayed:

Mobile, Alabama - TownePlace Suites Mobile

Van, Texas - Fairfield Inn & Suites Van Canton Area

Amarillo, Texas - Courtyard Amarillo West/Medical Center

**For Transparency, I do not receive any monetary benefits from Hotels or Restaurants. I am providing the links for your convenience.

Cross Country with Three Dogs - Washington to Florida

Wow time flies! It has been almost two years since Mauricio and I had to pack up and move back across the country. The first time was from Atlanta to Oregon in 2013. Then back to the east coast in December 2016.

  

That's stressful enough but to do it with three dogs? That is another thing entirely!
We had two dogs when we made the journey to the West Coast and for that move, we hired someone from Uship to bring them along. I was a nervous wreck the whole time afraid one might get off the leash while walking and not come back to him. They made it safe and sound, after 10 long days due to a blizzard! He was worth every penny but I wasn't willing to do that again. The dogs were older (8, 8, and 9) and now we have three. Flying them wasn't an option either. Due to their ages, we thought it would be too stressful.

Plus we have two with bulldog and one is 120 pounds so they all have to be shipped on cargo planes for thousands of dollars. That ain't happening.

We had to start the complicated process of planning a drive from Washington to Florida. The first thing we looked at was renting an RV. Perfect right? We load up the critters and head out and maybe get some sightseeing in, not have to worry about a hotel, and have our food right there in the rig. Sounded kind of fun! Well, there is some kind of limit on how many RVs can be dropped in Florida. Who knew!? Something about everybody in the country driving an RV to Disney for the holidays. Every place we called refused to rent to us if we dropped off in Florida. We even tried to do multiple RVs and say pick up in Washington, drop in Arizona, then pick up from another company in Arizona and drop in Florida. No go. Camping was out because it was December and we're not really skilled campers. Plus with three dogs in a tent and potentially having wild animals about, no thanks! The only option we had left was to drive with a van or SUV and find hotels.



My husband loves cars is an understatement and a topic for another post. In the middle of all this, he decided the smaller SUV we owned wasn't big enough. We looked at renting a large SUV or van but for $2000 - $3000, it seemed like a bad choice. Plus, we had a cargo basket we were bringing on the back so I could transport some plants I loved that the movers wouldn't bring. He went ahead and decided to buy a new Dodge Durango. I know that option isn't feasible for everyone but he had his eye on it for a while and just didn't tell me. In the end, it was the perfect vehicle and size for us. The passenger mid-row bucket seat rolled forward so our big girl could easily get in and out.

The next, and major, step was planning the drive and finding hotels.  That's the main purpose of this series of posts. Hopefully, I can help someone who is in a situation where they have to drive cross country with their pets and don't know where to start planning. Because it was winter, we decided to play it safe and drive south on I-5 to Los Angeles and east on I-10 to Florida vs. the shorter route through what's called the "ice box". To be on the safe side regardless and made sure we had snow chains** on board. You can get the correct size for your vehicle on Amazon and save quite a bit of money.

We planned to drive up to 10 hours a day but avoid driving after dark. I measured the distance from city to city to lay out a timeline so we could find hotels.

The stops were:

1. Redding, California just under 10 hours driving.
2. Bakersfield, California - 7 hours driving. This was a shorter drive because pushing to 8 - 10 hours would land us in the middle of no where with no hotels.
3. Tucson, Arizona - almost 12 hours driving because we detoured through Joshua Tree National Park.
4. Fort Stockton, Texas - 8.5 hours driving.
5. Houston, Texas - 7 hours driving.
6. Mobile, Alabama  - 7 hours driving. Mobile to home 11 hours.

Total miles = 3,753.

Normally, we like to travel loose and stop when we're tired or see something interesting. That's not really possible when you're on the road with pets. You can't run the risk of deciding to stop for the night and no hotels allowing you to stay.

I did quite a bit of research on websites that offer lists of pet-friendly hotels. What I found was discouraging. Most hotels only allow small pets (under 25 pounds), or up to two. I was leery of hotels advertising "pet friendly" but no specifics. A lot of hotels are under the umbrella of a corporation but are privately owned and the owner, not the company, makes the decision about how many pets and what size. So, once we had a list of hotels advertising pet friendly, we had to call each and every one to confirm they would let us stay. A lot of them said no, only allowing one or two dogs, or no dogs over 25 pounds, or no bully breeds.  It's very important to actually make that phone call and not assume what is on the website is the true policy. Almost all hotels have an upcharge for pets. Some are $25 some are $100, meaning that is what you pay above the advertised price for the room. Be prepared to pay double what you expect when looking at the website.

Here is a list of the hotels where we stayed:

Redding, California - Fairfield Inn and Suites

Bakersfield, California - Residence Inn Bakersfield

Tucson, Arizona - Radisson Suites Tucson

Fort Stockton, Texas - La Quinta Inn Fort Stockton

Houston, Texas - Candlewood Suites Houston I-10 East

Mobile, Alabama - TownePlace Suites Mobile

Check out my day-by-day posts for pricing and details about each hotel and area.

• Day One - Redding, CA
• Day Two - Bakersfield, CA
• Day Three - Tucson, AZ
• Day Four - Fort Stockton, TX
• Day Five - Houston, TX
• Day Six - Mobile, AL
• Day Seven - Home, FL

**For Transparency, I do not receive any monetary benefits from Hotels or Restaurants. I am providing the links for your convenience. If you purchase an item through Amazon via one of the links provided I may receive compensation of less than $1 directly from Amazon.