From NC to TN

The first leg of the trip was a success! We didn't break any speed records, but we made it to Nashville in 11 hours, including some unnecessary stops at Best Buy to attempt to fix the XM radio. The occasional "hippie hellos"  (honks with a peace sign) kept our spirits up as we slowly made our way up the pass through the Smokey Mtns. The less enthusiastic motorists were only able to muster up half a peace sign, as they zoomed by. Apparently, going 35 mph up a hill on the interstate is not acceptable to some. We made it to Nashville in time to have dinner with Pete's parents and help celebrate their 39th anniversary with food, drinks, and S'mores. Before hitting the sack, as a precaution, we checked the "weather-resistant" cargo carrier in the luggage rack, and saw that it and most of the gear stowed there had soaked up a good amount of rain on the way in. A couple of nights drying out the gear, a brand new "more weather-proof" cargo bag, and I think we're good to go.

Tomorrow we leave for Arkansas to "camp" (or squat) in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Morrilton, AR. If it's good enough for Clarence Thomas and his wife, it should be good enough for us, right? Plus it's appropriate to camp at a Wal-Mart in its state of origin.

Weather permitting, we'll get our first day of climbing in Oklahoma on Wednesday.

5 Days to Go...

Well, the time is almost here. Our "To Do" list is growing short, as is time for final packing. The Goose is still at the shop with a shiny new transmission, getting those leaky brake hoses fixed and vanagon-approved tires. The car tires currently on there were most likely the reason for getting kicked around the interstate by passing semis, which will most certainly be an issue with a top speed of 60 or so (plus being possibly the least aerodynamic vehicle on the road). Sean at TransporterWerks has been great getting this thing road trip-worthy. We're excited to finally get it back with only 1 or 2 days to pack it up with all of this stuff. Should be interesting. The most difficult part may be getting our clothes down to fit into those little drawers.

The first stop on the trip is Nashville to see the fam, with Pete's brother's family coming down from St. Louis to take some family portraits. Then on to Oklahoma to break up the first 1280 miles to climb at Baldy Point before our first real climb in the Sandia Mountains outside of Albuquerque, a long bushwhack approach with 12 pitches of 5.7 climbing.

The next post will likely be on the road. Wish us luck until then!