Back into the woods

Here I go - on the move again, with a newly refurbished topper, and a little bit less stuff. I'm going to check out the Piney Creek wilderness area, the Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail, and depending how that goes, the Current river section of the trail and a little bit of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Then I'll crawl out of the woods, maybe a week from now and into Cape Girardeau, or something like that..

The country here in SE MO is getting pretty nice - lots of deciduous trees and green grass - it looks a lot like the pictures you see of Kentucky. And the fall colors look to be nearing their peak. This should be a good outing, and generate some cool pics.

www.ozarktrail.com

Comfort/preparation quicksand

Man, it sure is comfortable here at my parents' house. Home-cooked meals, warm bed, hot water. All feels good and relaxing. I've been able to do a lot of re-organizing, condensing, fixing, too. But, it's like mud or quicksand or something - there is always something else to fix, or another day to wait. I feel in danger of losing momentum, I can't shake what I guess would be called anxiety - so I've got to draw the line and call my preparations good enough. I think I'll head out Monday - down to the Osarks, which I hear are quite nice. Maybe I'll spend a couple backcountry nights out there before moving further east.

I think it will take me a while to stop making plans and just truly go with the flow. I've really been conditioned - for a long time, I've always been looking ahead, making plans - being ambitious, basically. I'm finding it quite hard to let it go....

Safe Haven

I have made it to Columbia, MO and my parents' house. Hot meals and a bath, I'm going to stay here for a couple days. Even just 4 days on the road exposed some weak points in my preparations - the truck topper is shifting and leaks, my power inverter died, I locked myself out one night @ 4 am (retrieved the keys w/ a coat hanger I found, through a crack in the door becauses it sometimes does not latch fully closed...) Also, my map and Topo software is not compatible with Windows Vista (that's really annoying...)



Along the way, I stopped at "The geographical center of the continental United States" - otherwise known as Lebanon, KS.
Spent most of last evening alongside the wierdest historical site I've ever come across. A stone bridge, several miles removed from KS HWY 16 on dirt roads. Decided around midnight the spot was too incongruous and well-travelled, so I got up and drove the rest of the night to Columbia.

Smith Center, KS

I had to stop here, since the town has the same name as a famous basketball stadium. In Smith Center, KS, loudspeakers pipe in easy-listening oldies and instrumental music along Main Street. And the library has free Wi-Fi. So, far, I've spent two nights out and the temp keeps dipping down to near freezing.

I think that's as cold as I care to get. Kansas is much prettier when you don't take the interstate. So is NE CO. I crossed to KS on Rd. 4, near Bonny Lake and Hale Ponds (a riparian wetland, in NE CO, who would have thought!) Saturday was cold and miserable almost all day, but the weather cleared and I spent last night at Prarie Dog State Park in Kansas. I'd like to make it to the hilly country out by Lawrence, KS today. Maybe even to the MO river..

Here goes nothing

I thought I'd write a big introduction blog, but now that the time has arrived, I don't much feel like it. This, dear reader, is all you need to know:

I'm have sold, given away, or otherwise dispositioned most of my material possessions. I've kept a basic set of clothes, camping gear, tools, a bike, and the laptop I've writing this blog with. All is loaded into a pickup truck with a bed topper. I leave today from Longmont, CO, heading east. I've a couple stops planned out, but no real itinerary. I will live as basically as possible, and see as much as I can while I still have the energy and health to do it. I hope I find some incredible stories and places, and can share them with you here. So here goes nothing - Let's see what's out there....