It depends on the weather.
In bad weather we manage 3x 2h per week but in nice weather I'd rather be outside so it's more 1-2x

You can stop along the side of the road in many spots. You will find periodic rest areas with remnants of camping such as piles of wood and rock rings, but most traders stick in a convoy and arrive at the rest area together for  sdded safety.

The bullseye lanterns are a good choice and needed with animals not used to pulling at night, if you want to train them, pull past dusk until they begin to become wary.

Mules and other equines may refuse to move and dig in, start kicking, panic and run, or start breying loudly, rear up, reverse, become inconsolable for a time. The aftermath of pushing a mule too hard may be lingering issues.

So the bullseye lamp gives them a bright, wide, forward view which is reassuring so they may not even care that it's dark.

I'm going to say Gundren's cart had them but you didn't need them.

I figured they would not make it to the rest stop today but wasting another day?
I was thinking about bullseye lanterns but thought this wpould make us too much of a target. I mean Gundren's cart didn't have them either

That's easy, we'll just make a random list of unrelated poisonous plants randomly off the internet.

Water Hemlock, Oleander, Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna), Poison Ivy, Ricin, Bitter Almond and Datura.

Done.

you can always hire the cheap knockoffs at the guild instead