Here We Go...

Meet our Roaming Gnome. He's busy looking at the map and helping us get ready to begin our adventure across the northern part of the United States. We leave Friday morning, and our house is a total disaster as we decide what we need to take and what we can leave behind. It's a camping journey - tent camping. We have not done this in ages and are a bit nervous about it. But we're prepared: tent, ground cover, sleeping bags, camp stove, cooking tools, food, clothing (well, after the laundry is finished), maps, books, notebooks, camera gear, bug spray, camera gear, sunscreen, camera gear - you get the picture:).

This little gnome caught my fancy. I do believe you recognize him from some Travelocity commercials, though I haven't compared them side-by-side. He came with a passport, and a little history of garden gnomes and their journeys. It seemed so appropriate to have one, as a garden gnome begins in the country, in the garden, and then takes a journey away from that safe homestead. That's us!

While traveling we will have limited access to the computer so I will update as I am able. Please forgive me for not commenting on your blogs, or posting on a regular basis, but please check back for travel updates periodically. We will return around August 17.

Basic itinerary: Depart Friday a.m. from mid-Michigan, going south around Lake Michigan and then up through Chicago. Our first destination is Oshkosh, WI for the HUGE, week-long airshow, held annually. Air Adventure is the official name of the event, and for those who love aviation it's like a pilgrimage to Mecca. Photographic opportunities abound.

From there we continue west, visiting Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. Then on through part of Yellowstone National Park on our way to visit family in Boise, ID. Continuing west, we will arrive at the Pacific Ocean, by way of Portland, OR.

Then we have to turn toward home...probably through Colorado. This part of our trip isn't as mapped out, but we will need to be thinking about home on this leg of our journey.

So, though I am absent from the computer some days, realize you will be rewarded with photographs and stories of our adventures as is possible.

So, here we go! Don't you think "Roamin'" is photogenic?