9 Days To Go!

---

I am entering my last week at work at Brabo. Friday will be my last day/ night. I am taking the weekend off so I can have time to catch up with friends and sort out any final loose ends.

I heard from my friend Saf-T in Detroit, and we have a place to stay there (if anyone can put us up along the way it is well appreciated). We only have two concrete dates as of yet: August 10th in Chicago for the Nationals Vs Cubs game, and August 21st in Banff to meet up with my parents and Grandma to give them Leche (my dog). Everything else is tentative, and only the seasons will be our motivation to keep moving.

I replaced my chain and sprockets today, and put the larger sprocket on the front. This took my RPMs from 6,000 to 5,000 when going 80 MPH. That should save me a lot on gas over 20,000 miles or so. Our highway pegs should arrive tomorrow, and that will complete the motorcycle preparation for the most part. I will change my tires before the trip, and get the tool kit and spare inner tubes we will need soon too. I took a bunch of mental notes today while Casey and I worked on my bike. I learned how to keep the chain at the right tension and how to take the rear wheel off (this will be necessary when changing tires or fixing a flat).

Dan bought a pellet gun the other day, and we have been honing our aim so we can hunt small game for food while camping in the wilderness of Canada and Alaska. We are also going to get a fishing rod. We will be using our KLRs to explore parts of the wilderness, and will only be able to take so much food with us when we go in. My camping stove uses gasoline, and Dan has two extra fuel bottles that attach to his panniers, and we may get another one-gallon can when we go into the deep country.

Please leave messages with contact information if you want to meet up with us along the way!

---