I’m almost ready to take off. I still have a few last minute items to pack, such as my clothes (not such a minor thing) and then I’ll be ready to hit the road. I plan to take off as early in the morning as I can possibly handle. If I can hit the road around 3am then I should be able to make it to SD by 7pm allowing plenty of time for stops.

My biggest fear right now is that I haven’t packed everything I’m going to need. I’ve been accused of being able to start my own sporting goods store with all the gear I own and I’m taking nearly all of it. You would think all that gear should cover me, but there is always something you forget in a trip like this and I’m not going to know it until I really need that item I forgot.

I tried to organize my gear into my big boxes to help me stay on track and I’m at least pretty certain that I have enough cooking gear; camping gear and bike gear. I have my tent, sleeping bag and air mattress (I can only rough so much); I have my bikes and all my bike gear; I have all those other items like my hatchet, hammer, first aid kits, biodegradable soap, trekking poles, camel baks, compasses, whistles, flares, GPS and probably a hundred other items I just thought might be good to have along. I think I have everything covered, but you really never know. It’s not like I’ve packed for a two-week road/camping trip before.

Regardless, I’m hitting the road tomorrow. Wish me luck! I’ll post as often as I can and keep all of you updated along the way. I’ll also try to remember to take lots of pictures and post them as well. If I don’t post for three or four days, don’t panic – but if you have my cell phone, it might not hurt to check in on me

To officially launch this blog I’ve been in the process of planning a road trip – well sort of. I have identified major areas of interest and mapped out the basic loop, but I haven’t gotten any more detailed than that. The problem is that in trying to get more detailed, I end up putting too much into the trip and realize there is no way to do it all.

So, my dilemma is whether or not to plan it all out and try to stick to the plan or keep it as is and wing the rest. Let me outline where I’m headed so far and you guys can help me fill in the blanks.

First leg is straight north from Dallas to Mt. Rushmore. I’ll then head to Yellowstone National Park for a few days before heading on to Moab, Utah do some mountain biking. I’ll then head to Vegas for a day or so, followed by the Grand Canyon for several days and an undetermined stop in Arizona before heading home. The trip will take 14 to 17 days to complete.

The biggest problem that I’m having with this trip is that there is absolutely no way to do any of these stops justice by spending only a day or two at each. I want to see as much as I can, but I also want time to relax and enjoy the sights. If you have recommendations or tips to make this road trip an enjoyable and memorable experience, please leave a comment and I’ll do what I can to add it in to the trip.

Of course, I will be blogging the entire way as well so you can check back periodically to see where I’m at and what I’m doing. The trip starts early on July 4th. So, let me know what you think!