Greetings from Wyoming. First thing, I am Squirrel (I am also known as Susan). We are not finding many wi-fi options since we are not traveling on interstate or through big cities (unless unavoidable), so there may be long dry spells from communication with us which is I know is difficult for you all. Thus far Agnes is getting us through the nights and Cliff is getting us through the days (shout out to Lee, favorite nephew in-law for the nod on Big Agnes). We are having a swell time. I am posting two pics with this entry which is the [View Full Entry]

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Well, its been an interesting few days. The Badlands (16th and 17th) were hot with no water where we camped. [Actually there was water but it was more like liquid sediment. And the campsite sucked. It was a big patch of dirt with picnic tables.] We saw lots of wildlife including bison and many, many prairie dogs and 2 prairie rattlesnakes (yep, that was a big 2, one on each of our little hikes). Also saw proghorn antelope, a lone one followed by a pack of coyotes. [Susan did; I missed this but did see the coyotes [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from Pipestone. No worries about the blood title. Jim's just a pint lower now. I tried to donate, but alas, my hemoglobin was a bit low (Mom and Dad-please don't worry about this; just a wee bit low, 11.9 and it needed to be 12.5). Yep, we have traveled over 1100 miles in the past days to give blood. We were recruited by Lorraine, the wife of Jim's deceased second cousin, to give blood this afternoon. And I just want to mention that the lovely LPN doing my interview and checking my vitals (my BP and temp and pulse were [View Full Entry]

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It begins. The night before we leave Nashville and the “official” start of our journey. But first, lets take time to thank our sponsors. Okay, maybe not “sponsors”, but supporters (emotional, financial, physical, spiritual. Well, not too much physical or spiritual support). Consider it a word game. Is your name here? If it isn’t, I just forgot. I thank you too. Special thanks to: JimNolaBobGloriaHeddiWindieMarkKarenAudreyAlanJoeMaryAnneJohnDaveCarolAndyEmmaGregSherryMeganLauraSlonnyPerryAnnMarySue RitaJeffMitchMargaretMarilynSherylRachelGordonLoriBurtColleenJulie [View Full Entry]

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The accompanying photo documents our newest discovery (sorry for the typo). Informed that we were leaving for a LONG time, Iris revealed her true identity as Spider Cat ("spider cat, spider cat, does whatever a spider cat does"). Imagine our surprise. Despite this revelation we will not be taking her with us, though she might be helpful hanging our food bags in griz country. But then she would be IN griz country, which would not be good when you look like snack food. So we're finally leaving. Next stop Nashville for a couple days of doing the fam thing, then the [View Full Entry]

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Here's the plan. We have never toured the northwest nor been to Yellowstone or Yosemite--those are all first tier destinations. We will also visit many other national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, and forests along the way. This trip will complete my tour of the United States including Hawaii and Alaska and Susan will add many new states as well. The general itinerary is listed below, however, the only thing we know for sure is that it will change. That's part of the fun. We plan to leave around August 10th and return around October 30th. So don't worry--the Halloween Party is [View Full Entry]

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We leave in 5 weeks for our 3 month adventure. Lots to do. Many burning questions. Will John water our plants while we are gone? Will Iris pee on our furniture while we are gone? Hopefully John won't pee on our furniture. Can we stuff our car with everything we think we will need? Are we too soft and too old to be sleeping on the ground in a tent? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other burning questions. [View Full Entry]

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