WEA: Land Between the Lakes 2022

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2022: VIDEO IS UP!!

Our 2nd of hopefully many Wheel Epic Adventures takes us to Western Kentucky, specifically the popular Turkey Bay OHV destination of Land Between The Lakes.

Arriving on Saturday, June 18, 2022 we were able to get setup and settle in before dark. The 3 hour 28 minute trip here turned into a 4 hour 9 minute trip. We did 'go back in time' one hour changing from the Eastern to Central Time Zone and we had to stop for fuel about 2 hours prior to arriving. That stop ended up being longer than expected AND I was involved in a pretty brutal dragging by the Husky Trio known as Jack, Rubi and Timber, @5HuskyBlues on Instagram.

Here's what happened. My one job in this convoy of 4 rigs headed West was to transport the Husky Trio. Stopping at Love's in Elizabethtown, KY, I saw the very nice dog park area and decided that I would park at the entrance and get all three of them out at the same time and walk the short distance to the park. MISTAKE #1

When we entered the park, I noticed a fence on the top of the hill that was not secure so I opted to hold onto the 2 boys, Jack and Timber, but I let Rubi go dragging her leash behind her. She stayed nearby and I knew she would. I walked around with the boys on their leash and they did their business. I grabbed Rubi's leash and began my return to the truck. I looked up and noticed the other 3 in my party were not finished refueling so I returned to the dog park. MISTAKE #2

I was inside holding all three about half way up the slight incline. Our friend arrived and got his dog out and asked if it was okay to bring him in. I thought it would be okay and began the walk down the hill towards the entrance. MISTAKE #3

Just as the friend and his dog got to the gate, the Husky Trio took note and they all charged...I tried to keep up, MISTAKE #4. I was no match for their power and determination as we made the downhill approach, I was literally drug down the hill, the last 2 feet was on my right side. Landing very hard on my right knee and hip. While I don't recall how I managed to get up off the ground, as I usually struggle having very little lower body strength, I found myself trying to calm the trio while recovering from the ride down hill. I leaned on the fence holding a death grip on their leashes. They continued to bark and whine. I tried to calm them down. Finally, all the dogs got settled...small sounds still came from the ever talkative Rubi...but we seemed to have finally regained our composure. Reinforcements arrived and we loaded them back into the Husky Hauler, aka @Phoenixglade8tr

Folks...never, ever second guess the power of a determined animal especially working dogs like Huskies! They drug me with very little effort or pause, a well over 200# outta shape woman, down a slight incline for about 2 or 3 feet...maybe more before I actually hit the ground. I have always told the family that the trio was too much for me and on this adventure, I proved myself right. Never will I ever to that again.

Lessons were learned and bruises were had. I replay the event in my head and hope that there's not some tik tok or youtube video out there that will surface one day of my horrible mistakes.

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Meanwhile, at the campsite we have done a little more relaxing than adventuring these first few days. Just trying to get more familiar with the camper and camping with 3 huskies. We did another modification to the camper on Sunday, tinting the bedroom windows. That made a remarkable and very noticeable difference. There is a major need for curtains even though the blinds are awesome, curtains that block the sun would help keep it cooler on these 90 degree days. For the most part, our upgrades have all been good choices.

We finally used the mesh for outside shade today and it installed very easily and quickly. Another wise lesson learned from those we watch on YouTube. The A/C is working really well considering we are in full sun. Our ice maker is a blessing! The modification to it is working out perfectly! We are still NOT a fan of the 2 burners on the outdoor kitchen, so we will most likely be looking to upgrade that next. Keeping the ice maker and fridge is a goal. Using the burners with just the screen door closed caused the smoke detector to go off while cooking outside. The winds were calm. Hindsight, the rear outdoor kitchen would probably have been a better option. That would mean losing the second door which we find extremely useful, so finding a way to upgrade the cooking surface and remembering to close the door might be our only option.

We have also had to dump the gray tank already. It began actually backing up into the sink when trying to wash dishes. Not sure why it seems to fill so quickly as we have been very conscious of our water consumption. We are almost perfectly level so we are leaning towards the faulty sensor that is not sending us an accurate reading on the panel.

We will embark upon the OHV park in the days to come.

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Be sure to pop over to the Instagram (@wheel.epic.adventures) for more pictures and other stories about our adventures.