Arkansas trip

[gja1000]

As mentioned, the pictures are posted in this http://www.4womentalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6555 thread.

I thought I'd tell you a bit about the trip. We had a great time, but it was not without it's interesting twists!

Gary uses oxygen at night, and we borrow a portable machine from our oxygen company to take in the trailer with us. The first night out we discovered that the tubing they gave us (goes from the machine to Gary's nose) was only 4 foot long!!! We had to put the machine in BED WITH US in order for the hose to reach to Gary! The next day we spent an extra hour on the road finding an oxygen supply company so we could get a longer hose.

When we got to the campgrounds, the bathrooms were not finished. We'd been told that they would be finished on May 22, our first day there. We have a bathroom in the trailer, but the campground did not have sewer hookup and our holding tank is not big enough to hold two weeks worth of toilet waste so when we camp like that, we use the camp bathroom to save our holding tank. Well, they said the bathroom would be finished in a few days, so we thought we were OK. Long story short, they never did get finished - sooooo - we had to go buy a portable potty dump so that we could empty our holding tank. Also, that meant we didn't have a shower either, but we showered at our aunt and uncle's or in the other campground - a minor hassle.

THEN, after we'd been in the campground for 8 days, they told us we'd have to leave because they were fixing the road. So, we packed up and moved to another camp, abotu 1/4 mile down the road. It was very nice AND it had a bathroom and shower! But it was not within walking distance of the fishing spot as the other one was, so Gary was not very happy - but he got over it.

We caught lots of fish, had a campfire every night. We cooked over the fire and ate fresh out of the river trout, cooked over the fire and it was really great!

Gary's 4 sisters, their husbands, a couple of kids, and Gary's aunt and uncle were there over the holiday weekend. It was lots of fun!

We went into Eureka Springs for the Blues Festival the weekend after Memorial Day. It was really great and we heard some fantastic music! I shopped a lot in Eureka Springs and it was lots of fun. We were near the town where the Walmart headquarters are located so all the Walmarts in the area were GREAT!!!!!

The dogs had a great time, up till the end. The second week they both got diarrhea off and on - which often happens, especially with Rowdy. I treated with bland diet and peptobismal/kaopectate and they did great. But the day before we were leaving, in the middle of the night, Rex threw up foamy stuff and when I wiped it up, it had blood in it. I was very worried about him, but in the morning, he seemed perfectly fine. The next day we packed up and left and drove 7 hours to our aunt and uncles in southern Oklahoma. Both dogs had some diarrhea and I could see a few streaks of blood in the mucus. That night, Rowdy threw up foamy stuff with more blood than Rex. That was Friday night, and our vet (5 hours away) was open from 8-12 on Saturday. So, at 3:00AM we loaded up and I drove through to the vet and got there at 8:00. We even had a stool sample! The vet didn't find anything in the stool. Rowdy had a little temperature, but Rex did not. So he gave them some pills with GI soothing stuff and an antibiotic. Neither Rex or Rowdy were eating. But within 5 hours of taking the first pill, they were both begging for food. I still have them on chicken and rice but both seem perfectly normal today - thankfully. The vet gave me enough pills for the next trip in July!

We had a wonderful trip and we decided to go back in July (even though it will be hot) instead of going to Yellowstone. It will be so much better for Gary as the altitude in Yellowstone is very bad for Gary. There are probably more things that that is all I can think of now!

[Janet]

Outside of the diarrhea part...sounds like a great trip. Fish over a campfire....made my mouth water. I love camping.

[Blueyes]

I'm glad everything went ok for you! I hate to camp without a sewer hook up...it's such a pain! Happy to hear the doggies are feeling better, and you are home without any major medical event form Gary

[DianaB]

It sounds like you had a few inconviences but a good time. I'm glad to hear that the dogs are alright. I'm sure that was a worry. I missed you on here!!!