Paws, Claws & Open Roads: Our Cross-Country Camper Van Trip to Utah with our Dog and Cat

Many of you who follow me know that my dairy farmer husband retired and we decided to head to our place in Utah and spend the winter. To make a long story short, we purchased a home out west this summer (a dream we’ve head for over 20 years) and planned on spending time here (PA) and there (Utah) especially during ski season. Our son has decided he doesn’t want to take over the family farm so The Farmer was starting transitions and the plan was to retire in approx 2 years and spend more time in our happy place.

I think God had other plans and a local farmer reached out to us. He was loosing the farm he rented and was looking to farm elsewhere. Tours, talks and countless meetings occured and the decision for The Farmer to retire THIS year fell into place. We went from a 2 year plan to a 5 month plan!

You can follow my video here where I made my announcement:

Because of Breck (our 160lbs Great Dane) we knew flying was NOT an option, so we needed to drive across the country. Enter ELMO (the cutest camper van in the land) we knew it would be a tight fit but perhaps the most comfortable for all of us. Farmer hooked up a Uhaul trailer, I packed up my stamp studio, the dog/cat and some drugs and we set off on December 19th with fear and excitement (one of us was a bit more excited than the other one)

We ended up leaving WAY later than planned and Farmer did not want to spend 2 nights on the road. He wrote a heartfelt note to our employees to include in their last paychecks from him. The Famer is a pretty quiet guy. He doesn’t let emotions out often but the feels hit hard that morning. Farming is not easy, it’s 24-7/365 and there is ALWAYS something that can go wrong when working with animals, people and weather. He handles it all with the help of our amazing employees. They show up. Every damn day. They allow us to do the fun things we do because they are reliable and they care plus they have a great boss. So, with tears in our eyes, we loaded everyone up and hit the road.

The MVP of the trip is certainly The Farmer. He is an alpha driver….I am a passenger princess. I like to snack and nap. The weather could not have been shittier. It was incredibly windy which is super fun in an RV especially when towing a trailer. We had wind, snow, sleet for darn near a full day. We did have Breck and Beans medicated. Breck had his bed to lay on, but we sure did realize how small Elmo is or maybe how big Breck is once he was inside! So, to answer everyone’s question: Did Breck fit? YES! Barely. He could stand up, turn around and lay down. But, we had beds, bathroom and kitchen. I stepped into the van in PA and stepped out in Utah! I never left it once! LOL!

Poor Breckie- made me think of the Genie from Aladdin: “phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty bitty living space!”

Beans aka Squirt, Ma’am, Ms Puss- was in her travel carrier to start off the trip. She was pretty quiet but those little white paws would reach out trying to grab Breck asking him to PLEASE open the door.

At our first gas stop- I let her out to explore. Which she is VERY good at. As long as she stayed away from Farmer, we figured we’d let her find her comfy spot. Which she did- my lap!

Notice the can of air freshner in the cup holder. A camper van with a great dane who has the nervous belly toots is …oy! It was a bit rough for a bit- we kind wished for our covid masks 😉

We had to stop quite often for gas- Elmo doesn’t normally get great gas mileage but towing a trailer with hella headwinds, we only averaged 7.8 mpg. UGH! As soon as Farmer hopped out, she’d jump in his seat to watch him pump gas (did I mention, he is her person) She wanted to be in his lap sooo bad. But she settled for me instead.

Nebraska is VERY long and VERY boring and cabin fever was setting in! I saw the chatgpt prompt going around for candy cane girls so I hopped right on that bandwagon 🙂 I even made Breck a dandy candy dane!

Farmer pushed hard! He took two 20-40 minute cat naps and drank A LOT of caffeine. I only drove in Wyoming for 1 hour! Told you I was a princess!!! We stopped for gas and saw alerts for 50-55 mph winds so it was time for him to take back over. It was legit- we passed 3 overturned tractor trailers and countless rigs pulled over waiting it out.

We rolled into our Utah driveway around 8pm Mountain Time- 36 hours door to door. It was dark so we brought in the essentials and tried to chill out for a bit. Did I mention Farmer was hopped up on caffeine? He is VERY sensitive so his heart was racing but he did manage to calm down enough to sleep. I stayed downstairs on the couch with Breck while Beans tore all over the house all night. Meds wore off and she had slept for about 30 hours, so she “let er rip, tater chip!”

Breck woke up and checked out the view from our living room- this is definately NOT PA!! After the sun came up a bit, we took him for his first walk to check out the neighboorhood (and the turkeys) We have a TON of turkeys. Farmer was a little concerned about Breck barking/chasing them, but he seems a bit scared. As much as these things damage the yards/flower beds/landscape in the neighborhood and crap EVERYWHERE- maybe he should have a turkey chase? We also have a lot of mule deer, but he hasn’t had a run in yet.

Not our best pic- long drive/little sleep/no showers, but proof of life for our family and friends!

Thank you to all who sent us prayers, good thoughts and all the vibes! Elmo was solid, the Farmer was awesome and the animals were rockstars! It’s still a little hard to believe this has all happened (but the Farmer is VERY quick to mention….it’s not over yet!) By the first of the year, we hope it’s official that the farm paperwork is settled and he IS retired)

We are finishing unloading and getting ready for all of our kids to show up and have the merriest of Christmas-es! Sadly, there is no snow. It’s unseasonably warm and wet. I can’t say I hate that, but skiing on Christmas Day may not be super fun but we will be together and that’s all I’ve asked for 🙂

Now…..on to the next question ya’ll have asked! Am I retiring??? I am definately not retiring from Stampin’ Up! I have packed up a bit of my studio and will be running my business from Utah. We will travel back and forth between PA and Utah often, so stay in touch, please!!!

As soon as I’m unloaded I hope to get back to stamping, recording/lives and holding virtual events! One thing that is very exciting is my orders now arrive in 2 days! I am about 40 minutes from home office, so if you are ever in Utah, come visit me AND Stampin’ Up!

You can subscribe to this blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and enter your email)

Join my mailing list so you never miss a thing (plus you’ll get a FREE tutorial every Friday): CLICK HERE

You can also follow me on social media (facebook/youtube) Jody Brechbill- Stampin’ Queen

I was very happy to see that I HAVE been a good little girl this year! I arrived to find that Stampin’ Up! had been delivered under the Christmas tree! “Big Bertha” was set up when we were here in November, but…..she’s waiting for Poodle to help me decorate when she arrives this week (and I was waiting to see how Beans would handle a tree in the house) Because of a giant dog and empty nesting, we have not had a tree for almost 7 years. I wanted one this year because we have space and I wanted it to to feel like Christmas when the kids arrive. There won’t be any gifts, but we DO have a tree 😉

And finally….what you’ve been waiting for! My new stamp studio! I am using one of the upstairs bedrooms and it’s a blank canvas! I have a desk that I’m hoping my “santas” will set up! A few stampin’ staples have come with me and I’ll be working with what I have. I’m hoping to show progress in the next few days while I have some “muscle” to help with heavy lifting – desk, chair, rug is needed for now.

Again, we thank you all for following along on our adventure! We have lots more to come, but for now, we are going to take a lesson from Beans. We’re going sit down, relax and enjoy the holidays with our kids

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Love, The Brechbills