We went to Cave-in-Rock State Park in far southern Illinois. Traffic out was a disaster. My Mazda had the alternator die in Carmi. The only mechanic at first said no way he could fix it as he couldn't get the part. So we called my daughter in Fishers to pick up my wife and dogs, who we brought. The only hotel in town didn't take dogs. Later he called and said it used a Ford part, he could do it. So we called my daughter back to tell her to stop. He later called to say his help left at 5, he couldn't get it done by himself. So we called the daughter again. Finally, just as a severe thunderstorm came up forcing us to evacuate our park bench, he called to say he could do it and it was ready. Called daughter again, who no longer believed anything I said. She had just made it to Evansville. The guy worked 2 hours late, so props to him.
I don't know how far it was from Cave-in-Rock to Carmi, maybe 50 miles, but it was bumper to bumper at 25-30 mph. But it was worth it. The experience was incredible.
My wife loves traveling with our dogs, and that made me reticent. What do people do when breaking down in the middle of nowhere with 2 large dogs?
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