Preparations.

Before we go on long trips with our truck/travel trailer rig, we prepare carefully for it. We always spend a lot of money on vehicle maintenance which is a pain, but better than facing engine trouble out in the middle of nowhere. Carole spends literally months hoarding and packing things we will need on the trip; everything from clothing to cooking utensils to toothpaste, foods, and a thousand items that never fail to surprise me along the way.

This time we're even hauling some things such as extra tanks of propane, and we picked up a genuine jerrycan for gasoline. You never know if you're going to run out of gas on some of those long stretches of highway. This last item is something that we have thought about for a long time--ever since we came very close to running completely out of gas in the wilds of Missouri one year.

This will be the longest trip we have ever taken with the travel trailer. To date, the longest trip we've had to haul the Casita was the round-trip to Key West and back. Even though we only journeyed through four states, the drive is far longer than one would think. This trip we'll log roughly 5,000 miles. Yow!

So, we're bearing down on the final preparations. Most of the stuff is ready. Just a few details to take care of, and then it's off!