Westward Ho!

Last night PW and I watched a (nother) western movie in preparation for our epic "Westward Ho" trip this September. Neither one of us has even a smidge of bow-leggedness in our bones, nor do we "pack" our pistols when we pack, but we're really looking forward to experiencing the Great American West. We have begun stacking stuff by the door already, which is our motus operandi work-around for PW's ADD and my leaky brain. The reasoning is that if we have to trip over it to get to the car, we won't forget it. So far we have stacked our Grand Canyon hats, some Levi's and our chic-kicking rodeo boots. The hybrid Rav-4 is not exactly the Westward Ho type vehicle you might think of when you think of the West, but we've pimped it out with black and tan seat covers, and at 43 miles to the gallon, I couldn't care less if it was a clown car. But for this trip, it can be a rodeo clown car. Supplies yet to be purchased are snake venom antidote and sun tan lotion, and perhaps motion sickness medication for the Balloon Ride we plan to experience in Albuquerque on our escapades. I love that Albuquerque is our first stop, because the city's name has "quirky" in it. I'm calling it "al-buh-quirky," with no disrespect intended to the spanish royalty aftter whom it is named. Beginning from our our cabin in the woods, our first stop will be Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which the internet informs me is one of the few documented sites for the Trail of Tears. From there we will venture on to Kansas City, and then to Sioux City and Rapid City, South Dakota. Plans are to arrive in Billings, Montana, where we will visit Mt. Rushmore, carved by the Confederate stone carver Gutzon Borglum, who also carved Stone Mountain in Georgia. We also plan to swing by Sturgis, famed for biker-types and bare-chested women, although there will be nothing of a leud and licivious nature happening at that time. Just in case, though, I have my tatt design already drawn up: it's an angry parrot, sporting a "Ride or Die" helmet on his head and his wings on the handlebars of a Harley. Just need to get the magic markers. From there we enter Glacier National Park, where hopefully, there will still be a glacier to see. Sadness. But I digress... Next stop is Great Falls, Montana. I have never been to Montana but I can smell it from here. That's how I picture it, at least. The travel videos we've been viewing look very green, lush and scenty. I imagine it to smell like Acadia in Maine: all Christmassy, all the time. Lovely. Freezeout Lake is next, where we will also take in the Missouri River on our way to Bozeman and Galatin, where PW wants to do some river fishing and I'll cop a squat with my binocs, hoping for some new stars in my bird book. Stay tuned as we complete preparations and begin our trip to see our great big beautiful country!