I’m looking at the date I just entered and a memory popped into my head. The memory was of Friday, August 3, 2000, when Sonntag and I set out on my first road trip, a week or more later than planned. That trip got delayed because the week before, I set the Defender outside in the hot sun to see what would happen to it in extreme heat. Well, as it turns out, something did happen. The temperature needle disappeared into the red zone. I needed a new radiator. A week later, and $900 poorer, but happier for my planning move, we set out for Alaska, my first road trip more than 600 miles. This one was going to be 10 times that, and then we had to get home. The problem was that, although I had mapped out the route, I had no idea what the daily routine ahead of us was going to require time- and energy-wise, and we had to meet the National Geographic photographer, Richard Olsenius, in Fairbanks on August 15. I figured that an average of 417 miles a day on the route we planned was doable, although experience now tells me that that I must have been smoking something to think that. As it turns out, without any pushing that I now recall, we pulled into Fairbanks noon on August 15 meet up with Richard at the appointed time and place, and the rest is history. The moral of this story is that experience tells me that no matter how late I am in getting on the road, if I set a goal and act smartly, I’ll make it. [Knocking on wood faintly heard.]
Until yesterday morning, I was not completely confident that I was getting into the stride for this trip. But after my visit to the vet with Donner on Monday, the boost to that confidence final came. Although he has a long way to go to recover from this latest allergy attack, I am now confident that I am doing everything that can be done and that his is not suffering from this affliction.
Riding on the wave of that confidence boost, I moved on yesterday the first of the final stages go getting ready, cleaning, organizing and setting up the Defender. To say that it was a grueling experience would be an understatement. But after eight hours of hard work, it now only needs to be packed.
Today I moved on to the next of the final chores, cleaning and organizing my home and setting up the packing stations for the 47 individual containers or things that will have to fit into or onto the Defender, Donner and myself excepted. This, too, was grueling work. What was particularly time consuming was that this chore means putting everything that is not going on the trip out of sight and putting things that will or may go on the trip in sight in the designated stations so that when I go to check out I do not forget anything of the 1155 words on my To-Take list. But there was serendipity too. Since December, I have not been able to do any house work between maid visits because of my knee/leg/back issue. Today, for the first time in eight months, I was able to work as if nothing had happened. In fact, I think I worked more vigorously than I have in years. Knock on wood again, I think I conquered that terrible affliction that affected me too.
As grueling as both these chores were, they came close to approximating the grueling daily chores on the road, so they served a serendipitous purpose, allowing me to hit the ground running on the road.
As I have written before, one of my goals on this trip was to get rid of the irritations of prior trips. That meant buying new stuff, lots of it, which I hate doing. But the stuff came in faster than I could unpack it or put it somewhere, so my dining room table became ground zero of this stuff. (See below photo.) Instead of integrating the stuff into the appropriate containers as it came in, I decided to leave it all in one place, and then when I got to the packing stage, integrate it at that point. That’s my chore tomorrow as I pack those 47 containers. The silver can in the photo, by the way, contains my patches; the glass of red wine will not go as it is being consumed now as I write this.
One of the worst things about the stage I am at now is if I cannot find something I need to take. Call it the red zone of preparation, if you will, but if that happens, instead of continue looking for it, I drive somewhere to replace it or order it online for express delivery. This has been happening at least once a day for that last several days. For instance, that happened with the muzzles I want to take for Donner, just in case. I know I had two, but could only find one. As we speak, Petsmart is air-shipping two more to me, at a cost of shipment more than the muzzles cost.
Another of the worst things is running into a snag with something, which make take precious minutes if not hours to remedy. For instance, I decided yesterday after loading the Defender that I needed to take a suitable waste basked after all, for the Defender’s fluids. The only one I could find at home suitable was a beige Rubbermaid 15X12X9, which except for the color, was perfect because I do have not an inch to spare where it will rest in the Definer. But the beige didn’t exactly go with the décor of the other stuff, mainly because by early on in the trip it would start showing the dirt. Also, when I tested driving today with Donner with the portable battery jumper the only place it could be, right behind the console so I could recharge it, Donne kept tripping over the numerous accessories that hang off it as he moved from his bed up front to the one in the rear. What I need to get, I told myself, is some flexible container to hold it. So off I went to Target, five miles distance, and after 30 minutes wandering the aisles, cursing softly to myself, I found nothing. I returned home and got onto the Bed and Bath website hoping to find something there, but after looking at 784 waste baskets found nothing, so I gave up. Then as luck would have it, I stumbled across a brown, Rubbermaid 15X12X9 waste basket smack dab in the middle of my dining room. Minutes later, I also stumbled upon a brown flexible cooled I had bought earlier for another reason, but later abandoned, and the Stanley charger fits perfectly into that. But I lost four hours going through all that.
Another time drainer was my idea to take along a foldable step stool just in case, the same one I had lugged long on several road trips for Leben and Erde, to make it easier for them to get into the rear of the Defender. Because of space limitations on these trips, in the past, that step stool made the trip on a 12X12 platform mounted on my rear tow hitch, so onto the Defender that platform went. Donner will love this, I thought, thinking it would be easier for him to get into the Defender. Well, I was wrong, Donner did not love it. In fact, he wouldn’t get into the Defender. I spent an hour and many treats coaching him to jump in using the platform, but he would have no of it. He finally found a narrow opening to the left of the platform that he adopted as his new entry point, so I resigned myself to letting that be his choice. But today, when I went to Target, I tested how that platform interferes with my backup camera, and it was just terrible. So when I got back home the first thing is did was to pry off that platform. The step stool will still go with us, but somewhere else. This is probably a good thing because back in 2011, that same model of step stool broke loose from the bungee cords securing it the platform on some lonely road in northern Ontario between Hearts and Thunder Bay, and this takes away my fear that that will happen.
Okay, here’s the plan from here. Tomorrow, I will pack the 47 individual containers or loose items (see below list), a chore that will take me all day. Friday, I will do my final planning and do the stuff I need to get out of the way before I leave. I could leave Saturday, but I need to take one day of rest before I do. So as of now, barring unforeseen circumstance, it looks like Sunday I’ll be on the road.
The question some may be asking, on the road, yes, but where to? Good question. The truth is, I don’t know yet. However, I did the mental math and there is now way I can make the entire itinerary without really pushing it, and I don’t want to do that. So, my guess is that Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador are out. Considering that I have been there already on two road trips, no big deal. And I would not classify any of them into the to 10 places I have to go on these trips. So I’ll save them for next year. What else might have to go I will decide on Friday.
Below is the list of 47 containers or loose things that I have to pack tomorrow.
ED
PASSENGER WELL gear
DONNER”S SEAT
BATTERY COMPARTMENT
COMPRESSOR COMPARTMENT
Driver’s seat stuff
Triangles, Stanley, LED lights
Dash Board stuff
Console Stuff
office
Picnic bag
E-Bag - ED
E-Bag Donner
in-tent bag
Shower
First Aid kit
Library
Map Room
Waste Basket w/oils
trash Bag
Water Jug
Utility Box
Donner’s Food Box
Donner’s Bed + Mat
Ed’s stuff Box
Donner’s stuff box
Boots
Walking Stick
Backpack
Stake bag
|
ON DEFENDER
Hi Jack Life
Pull-Pal
Jerry can gas
Jerry can water
Ed’s Cot
Donner’s Cot and chair
Wardrobe
Linen Closet
Garage
Supply Box
Food Box –ED
Food Box – Donner
Tent 4 person
Tent 2 person
Sleeping bags
Mattresses
Tarps and Poles
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