USA Cross Country Driving - Laguna Creek Ranch White German Shepherd Puppies California

We discovered early on that the only way for us to establish a superior breeding program was to drive cross country to breed with the best quality studs available

Since so many new dog owners are traveling the highways with their dogs, new puppy owners have asked us for our traveling tips

Driving cross country is a fantastic experience with so many beautiful things to see, even just the gorgeous scenery in coast to coast traveling is breathtaking

I40 is our preferred & recommended route with many services available

Having completed so many USA cross country drives we have compiled our best advice for driving our super sized country with added safety, awareness & confidence. (with or without a dog)

Plan & know your route — We use both Google & Waze with 2 different voices. Google tends to provide better directions, Waze alerts you to hazards such as police, road debris, accidents, etc…
Plan your days with hotel reservations ahead of time. Choose your stops by the maximum hours you feel you can successfully drive. (8 hours/day should be your minimum)
Establish your stops & check the weather for your entire route. The higher route you choose, (I80/ I90) the worse the weather typically becomes
HAZARDS: Be aware of weather hazards – Needles, CA can get up to 120 degrees at 3pm, plan your day around that fact. If you have a flat tire, which happens often in extreme heat, you could be in for a terrible, if not dangerous day. You also risk your car overheating or having a blow out in extreme heat driving, so be prepared, have drinking water, an umbrella for shade and join a driving club like AAA. Most important is to plan around hazardous time of day driving. Flagstaff AZ, Gallup NM, and Amarillo TX also are known for extreme weather swings.
WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND I40 for just about every cross country drive. I40 has a good range of gas & hotel availability and feels very safe. I80 goes through major cities which is always a real traffic slowdown especially if you are just passing through going the whole distance to either coast
Dog friendly hotels include almost all La Quintas, many Best Westerns, most Doubletrees, many Hiltons. You can easily use Expedia and select “dog friendly” for availability
Weather! Always check your weather reports, you may need to stay put in your hotel if there are tornado or high wind warnings in addition to snow & ice storms in your path
GAS! Know your gas consumption, your range per tank and know your gas stops. Most cars do not efficiently predict how many miles are left, especially in hilly terrains. Always know your gas stops especially since occasionally there can be over 100 miles between gas stations.