“Hey pretty baby, won’t you hold me tight?

I’m loaded up and rolling out of here tonight.

Maybe one day I’ll settle down

and take you back with me to the Guitar Town.”

– Steve Earle, “Guitar Town”

The Beast is dirty but ready to roll.

Preparing for any trip always leaves me with equal parts excited anticipation and worry.  There is the unsettling fear of the unknown, of what lies ahead on the road.  Mechanical problems, missed turns, lost reservations, illness – these all can lay waste to the best made plans. 

Vacations are like microcosms of life.  You can prepare and plan all you want.  You may think you know where you are heading and what you’ll see when you get there, but travel – just like life itself – can throw you a curveball you never expected and leave you in a completely unexpected situation.  Life on the road is about adaptability, just like life at home.  Keep your options open, keep your head up and prepare as best you can knowing some things are just beyond your control.  The best thing you can do is enjoy the ride as best you can, knowing it will be over before you realize it.

Ya gotta live it, you may as well love it.

“We can never know about tomorrow

Still we have to choose which way to go.

You and I are standing at the crossroads

Darling, there is one thing you should know.

You’re a part of me, I’m a part of you.

Wherever we travel,

Whatever we go through.

Whatever time may take away

It cannot change the way we feel today.

So hold me close and say you feel it too.

You’re a part of me, I’m a part of you.”

— Glenn Frey, “Part of Me, Part of You”

We’re in the final stages of packing now.  Everything we don’t expect to need tomorrow morning is loaded in the fifth-wheel or tucked away in the truck.  The plan is to wake up at 5am, have a quick shower, some coffee and perhaps a bite to eat and then get rolling down the highway. 

We’ll be heading down Highway 22, a.k.a. “The Cowboy Trail” until we hit Highway 3 a.k.a “The Crowsnest Highway”.  From there we’ll angle to the west, bound for Cranbrook and our expected first fuel stop.  Then we’ll drop across the border into the panhandle of Idaho and down as far as Post Falls.

Later tomorrow night we’ll meet with a bunch of Calgarians in Spokane, WA for a Geocaching event with some of the locals.  After sharing our tales from the road and having some late night coffee to keep us awake we’ll return to the RV, settle down in our home away from home and prepare for another day on the road.

My internet access will be spotty so updates may not come all that frequently – it depends on how lucky I get with finding Wifi.  I do have my iPhone, but I only have 75MB of data on my temporary roaming plan so I need to ration that out as best I can. 

Take it easy out there and we’ll see you online, everyone!