I Wanna Be Sedated

Chicago to Seattle=2000
We'll see…triptracker set at 0

Here's the plan:
Well actually no plan yet. We are watching the Weather Channel to see which of the three main westward routes will be meteorologically clear.
Interstate 94 goes through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho ...it is the most northern route
Interstate 90 goes through lower Minnesota, South Dakota, a bit of Montana, Idaho…we could check out Mount Rushmore on this route…but a stop this early in the trip could weigh us down
Then there is I-80…a very boring but easy driving passage. It goes through Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, then Washington. It is the Yellowstone route, but Old Faithful is closed this time of year.

The idea is to get to Seattle ASAP, maybe do Vancouver, BC, head to the ocean, travel down to Astoria, then over to Portland
And if time is good, go to Bryce Canyon in Utah (this is wishful thinking...HooDooS!!) then back to Chicago.

Just finished packing…
4 pair of jeans, 2 leggings, black bondage boots, black leather, square-toed slip-ons, 14 panties (cotton to sparkly) 4 tees (Billy Goat Tavern, Wilco, Lake Geneva, Ween) lace top, cute etched skirt, 2 sweatshirts (black zip and emerald pullover) oh my glittery valentine tee, blue-stripe sweater, lots of socks, and some other stuff that will surprise me when I open it in some distant hotel.
Other essentials: laptop, bag of art stuff, 3 cameras (a digital and 2 regular…one for b&w only, the dig for internet, and the little clam for pics of the traveling SPAM…lots of film) treats, cigs, a beauty bag, Cielo, 2 flashlights, kitty litter, food larder, leopard pillow and black blanket, high-tops, leather jacket, my herbal sleeping mask, CDs and a player (believe it or not Dee does not have a CD player in his truck! I am NOT kidding.) glasses…and probably more like THE MAP and other things.
Considerations:
Go as far as we can on Day 1.
Hit a Laundromat at Day 6.
Everything else: Open

Seattle:54 and rainy

current weather where you live:22 and cloudy
first gas-up: $180.9 a gallon...$51.34

Last night Dee and I were invited to a Bon Voyage/Happy Road Trip Party at Clay and Sally Kimball's. Tasty charcoalized rib eyes steaks, double baked cheesy mashed potatoes, julienne green beans, and cardboard-box wine. It was fun! At least this time the meat was cooked. When I was over for a chicken barbecue two weeks ago, the heat from the coals evaporated before it reached the meat. About 9 degrees that day! Now that's COLD!
Clay gave me a can of corned beef. Looks like SPAM to me. It is going in our survival larder (along with peanut butter and sardines), so if we run out of food I won't have to eat Dee. Good thinking.

All of my friends are convinced that it is an unnatural time to be away from one's home base, but I believe it may be the best time to collect the last two states (save Alaska) that I need to complete my road trip travels of the USA.

My father was a great road-tripper, and when I was 12 I decided I would "collect" each state in the United States via road trips. I only need Washington and Oregon, and that problematic Alaska that I mentioned. (I won't gather Alaska on this trip. I'll do it in five years when my nephew graduates from high school. It's all planned!)

As our country sits on the brink of war, and if something else should happen terroristwise sending us into a world of ID's and days when everyone is suspect, I feel the need to go. I know it's not the time of year to travel across the vast Northern plains and into the snowy Rockies (even Yellowstone is closed.) on what could turn out to be a modern-day Donner Party adventure. But I am steeled to leave with peanut butter and crackers in my backpack. I want to feel what our country is about right now with everything in a state of surrealism and orange alerts. That's what I will use as my narrative focus.

I am leaving on Monday before the states are duct taped and plasticized