map musings

No riding yesterday... Butch always gets Wednesdays off, it's my long work day at the nursing home... but I spent 8 hours of it waiting at the dentist's office for a walk-in appointment. (I'm fine, just a busted tooth easily fixed.) Which meant I spent all day at the nursing home today, and then went to work at my other place at 4:00. No riding again. I am happy to have the work, but we NEED to ride!

And early tomorrow morning Butch gets shoes. He hasn't had shoes for a year and a half, he'll be ouchy in the morning. I work all afternoon and evening. No riding for the third day in a row.

I will need to borrow a saddle if I can't get my new one modified to fit by Saturday, because we are going to hit the trail come hell or high water. Two weeks off, and now this. He's starting to lose tone and so am I. We were both so fit! Aaargh.

On a whim tonight at the grocery store checkout line, I bought a US road map. Been studying it for the past couple hours. Can't believe I don't have a route worked out yet. Especially since I changed my plans so drastically. It was originally a wagon trip from here to NY, not caring how long it took or the way there, a lazy meandering. Now it's a ride; can barely carry more than the clothes on my back and a day's mule feed, so I'd be wise to stick as close to civilization as possible, meaning, have a planned route. And without a cozy wagon I'll want to be back home before it turns cold, which creates a timeline and changes the destination. I'll want a home to come back to since I'll be gone a much shorter time, which changes how I put my affairs in order before leaving, and how much it will cost to hold my spot here while I'm away.

In fact, it changes the entire feel of this adventure. I loved the idea of an open-ended journey, wandering without a timeline or "goal", just for the sheer joy of it. Bringing my cat and all worldly possessions with me, wagon as home. And I still plan to launch that adventure next. So this will be a different sort of journey- not better or lesser, just different. This will be my test trip. I suspect it will be more about getting past my own fear than anything else...

I would still like to make it as far as Kansas City. In fact, I'd like to figure out a way to launch the trip from the midwest, bypassing AZ and NM altogether. I'd love to wander Mule Country over the summer! Once I have my wagon, I can drive through the southwest on the next trip.

Don't have the means to drive truck & trailer a thousand miles, fly home, ride out to the waiting rig and drive back. Or drive truck, trailer and mule a thousand miles away, ride a loop and drive us back home. Hmmm. Is there something I could do to earn gas & expenses money on the road? Gotta be a way to make this happen... hmmm.