Yeah I know, like it's all preparation

The time is almost here…with only 5 days before we leave our preparations are in full swing. I would list all the items we’re bringing, but it would take up about 3 pages. However, I am certain that there are at least 5 items I’ll wish I brought after 1 week. I have no idea what they are yet (if I did I’d bring them, silly), but I’ll let everyone know when I figure it out along the way.

With only a couple more days of work left, I’ve gone from excited to nervous in no time flat. I’m not nervous about quitting (oh no, there’s nothing but joy there), but the trip itself is giving me worries. Is everything going to fit in the car? Will it be safe the times we have to park it overnight (at hotels or trailheads)? What if the car breaks down? Flat tires? Cracked windshields? What if it rains every day? What if we get caught in a snowstorm? Are we going to be bored out of our mind? Or is there so much to do that we’re in over our heads?

Well, those are my worst fears, and I realize that those are such a pittance to worry about that they should pretty much roll off my back. My biggest worries were all with the house, and now that Ashley and Uncle Bert will be holding down the fort, I’m not too concerned about anything going wrong there. And whenever I catch myself worrying too much about anything, I just think back to my favorite Mickey Rivers quote:
“There’s no sense worrying about the things you can’t control, ‘cause if you can’t control it, there’s no sense worrying about it. And there’s no sense worrying about the things you can control, ‘cause if you can control it, there’s no sense worrying about it.”

As far as the rest of the preparations are going, we’re looking good. We have a bunch of plastic tubs with covers for all of our gear that we’ve separated into categories for easy discovery of items that we need (i.e., kitchen, backpacking, etc.). At least we’re starting off all organized…within a week the entire back of the VUE might look like a frat house after graduation, but we’re starting off good. I’ve also got the iPod updated and ready to roll. With about 26 hours of driving to get done in the first 2 ½ days I know I’ll need some good tunes to keep me going. Of course I made a “Drive Me Crazy” playlist (a sample: “Speed Trials”, Elliot Smith, “Title and Registration”, Death Cab for Cutie, “Driver’s Seat”, Sniff & the Tears), and also made a playlist inspired by the wild west and a free summer (samples: “Camping Next to Water”, Badly Drawn Boy, “Lonesome Cowboy Bill”, The Velvet Underground, “Don’t Go Back to Rockville”, R.E.M.). On top of that I’ve got the first 2 seasons of the Ricky Gervais show, a podcast he’s done with Stephen Merchant, his partner from the original BBC version of The Office. All told that’s over 25 hours of audio. Plus (to Sage’s chagrin) I’ve put on my top 10 Phish and Grateful Dead shows to jam the time away. Oh yeah, I’ll be jamming.

And to put my worries away, I decided to list out what I’m looking forward to the most this summer:

• Backpacking in Yellowstone
• Seas of wildflowers
• Sunsets over slickrock canyons
• Sunrises over alpine lakes
• Going off trail and finding our way
• Slithering through slots
• Seeing grizzlies, herds of bison, and possibly wolves

And because I’m your basic curmudgeon, I couldn’t leave without listing what I’m NOT looking forward to this summer:

• Hordes of yahoos standing 5 feet from their cars, taking pictures while they leave the engine running
• Noisy idiots at National Park campgrounds
• The lack of beer
• Bugs
• Driving 26 hours to get to the Rockies
• It ending