Category: Travels with Spike

There are few greater historical moments that fill my heart with pride and emotion than the D Day invasion of June 6, 1944.  We were so excited to plan a trip to the D Day Landing beaches, and of course, Spike came along.

After the evacuation of British troops from northern France (see Medieval War-Torn North-West France post), the British and Americans began preparing for an undertaking without precedent in the history of warfare. The weather was so bad in the English Channel during the first week of June 1944 that the Germans believed an invasion was impossible. In fact, it had been delayed 24 hours before Eisenhower gave the command to begin.

The weather was bad on our trip too.  A wet Easter weekend with bouts of wintery-mix.  We camped (!!) and were unsurprisingly the only tent at this small rural campsite near Bayeaux.  The owners felt so sorry for us they didn’t even charge us!

Just before dawn on June 6, 1944, battleships started shelling the beach as the landing craft crept towards the continent in heavy seas.  We explored the beaches and the most interesting museum located at one of the American landing beaches, Utah which tells many stories including about the US troops led by Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, advancing on Utah Beach, the tide sweeping them off their intended landing point into a relatively lightly defended area. By the end of the day 23 000 men had come ashore with some 200 casualties only.  The Rangers had a more difficult time though.  The cliff, Pointe du Hoc, had to be climbed in the face of enemy fire by the US Ranger Battalion. They were only relieved by troops fighting through from Omaha Beach 2 days later by which time 60% of the Rangers were dead.

The American invasion at Utah Beach was relatively successful compared to the outright failure at Omaha Beach where the US forces met intense fire from high and strongly defended cliffs above the beach. First, though, they mistakenly commenced the landing run too far offshore (12 miles out). The seas overwhelmed many of the landing craft. Of 32 D-D tanks that started 6000 yards off the beach, 27 sank.

German bunkers faced the length of the beach and the heavy guns pounded the Americans struggling ashore in the waves. By noon most of the 1st and 29th Infantry were still pinned down on the beach and the American 1st Army commander, Lt. General Omar Bradley seriously considered evacuating them. “Every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero,” Bradley would say later.

The “Spirit of American Youth” statue stands guard over the vast American cemetery above Omaha Beach and is worth a visit and some quiet reflection. The remains of 9 387 American dead lie here, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy. Theodore Roosevelt Jnr, son of the President, is buried here.

While the Americans invaded Utah and Omaha Beaches, the British and Canadians focussed on Juno, Gold and Sword beaches. The bad weather of D Day was possibly the most severe at Gold Beach. The British decided to carry all armor and munitions on landing craft rather than risk a launch of the D-D tanks into the rough water.

A Mulberry harbor was a portable temporary harbor developed by the British in World War 2 to facilitate rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. Two of these prefabricated military harbors were towed in sections across the English channel from Britain with the invading army and assembled off the coast of Gold Beach as part of the D-Day invasion. The installation was originally designed to last for 100 days – remains survive today!

Additional Thoughts and Reading

We went to the D Day landing beaches in April. The weather, that time of the year, is unpredictable. It was cold and wet for us but on the positive side, we had the beaches basically to ourselves which was pretty amazing!

European beaches have a liberal policy on dogs on the beaches, in restaurants, hotels etc. Traveling with your dog in Europe is a very normal occurrence.

These items will be a tremendously positive addition to your trip. The latter especially if you do it in the weather we did which was great from a no-crowds perspective – but certainly on the chilly side!

The D-Day Visitor’s Handbook: Your Guide to the Normandy Battlefields and WWII Paris.

Cold and Rain gear for Dogs.

Luxembourg is a pretty little country lodged between Belgium, Germany, and France.

The charm of this small, hilly state is accentuated by the many castle ruins looming over the picture-perfect towns and rivers – the l’Our, la Sure, and Moselle Rivers all meander through the green pastures and forested mountains that characterize Luxembourg.

We camped close to Echternach in the east between the Sure River and Luxembourg’s “Little Switzerland” forested area.  Camping information can be found here.

The Castle of Vianden is picturesque personified above the town of Vianden. It was originally built in the 9th-10th century on the site of a Roman fort (4th-5th century).

There are beautiful ruins of Brandenbourg castle above the town of the same name in the north-east of Luxembourg. The castle was built in the 10th century and went to ruin by the 18th century. A surprising amount of the structure remains and the underground cellars can be explored by flashlight.

It is built on top of a hill, as most Medieval castles were. The castle walls are still mostly intact as well as a tower that is 4 stories high. It was formerly lived in by the Counts of Brandenbourg who are buried in the town churchyard.

The Medieval Castles of Beaufort and Larochette are also steeped in beauty and history, but have some skeletons in the basement!

Additional Thoughts and Reading

Traveling through Europe can be enormously satisfying and intriguing as Europe is much smaller than the USA and you can hit a few countries in just one day of driving! Everywhere is so steeped in its unique history.

The Rough Guide to Beligium and Luxembourg

Death Valley National Park is different, probably unlike any other place you have ever visited or likely to again.

The dry, crusty mountainous pass opens to a valley the size of New Hampshire. On the face of it a timeless desolate, lunar-like void. Just don’t imagine there is nothing alive and of immense interest and possibility in the wilderness.

Nearly a thousand miles of paved and dirt roads traverse the changing landscape and you are never far from a moment of solitude and stillness that can define your time in Death Valley.

We camped at Furnace Creek Campgrounds. Mid-winter the daytime temperatures are manageable and the night gets a bit chilly. Spike turned in early (of course) and we luxuriated in the vast black skies and quiet until someone turned on their generator!

The lowest point in North America is the Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level. It is a surreal landscape of vast and shimmering salt flats. Walk out onto the salt pan and look back at the cliff above you – high up in the rocks is an indication of sea level which puts it all into perspective.

To get a better idea of the nature of the salt crystals that have gathered and eroded over centuries of wind and rain in the valley drive the dirt road to Devil’s Golf Course. You can walk out over the jagged spires of salt and imagine that “only the devil could play golf on such rough links”.

Artists Drive is a sign-posted scenic, one-way drive through multi-colored volcanic and sedimentary hills. To get the most out of the experience it is suggested to visit in the evening hours.

Abandoned mines litter the Death Valley landscape.  There are an estimated 2000 hazardous mine features in the park.  We visited the Keane Wonder Mine.  It was, in the first half of the 1900s, one of the 2 most productive gold mines in Death Valley. It has subsequently been closed to public access as it is just too dangerous.

Thoughts and Things

It is advisable to travel to Death Valley in the winter but bare in mind, even though the days can be blistering, the nights can be cold. Take water everywhere you go and enjoy this National Park that will be like nothing you have ever seen before! Spectacular stuff!

Also keep in mind, if you are traveling with your canine companion, dogs are generally not allowed on hiking trails – so if you take the dog let this be a sight-seeing excursion. And there certainly are enough sights to see from the car or not far off the road where it is fine to walk the dog.