DMT - Day minus 102

You might be wondering how I'm adding minus days to my deadline from my last post. As Hillary would say, "I misspoke". Or to put it bluntly, my brain had a white-out from the calendar to the computer. It happens ...

While trying to make lists of everything I need, and need to do, I ran across this one from a previous trip. I post it for your consideration:

1. Carry a log book. Write in it every day. Draw pictures.
2. No iPod or any player! Traveling is about listening to others, not yourself. This is the most important advice I can offer.
3. Be willing to expose yourself to solitude. It's amazing what the world has to offer if you open yourself to the experience.
4. Put your mobile phone in a plastic bag and wrap it in 20' of duct tape. If you can't fix the problem with the duct tape THEN you can call for help.
5. Minimalism — lay out everything and then remove half. Wait 3 days and then remove half of what’s left.
6. The slower you go the more you see. If you see the word "Old" in a road name, take it!
7. Imagination will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no imagination.
8. Make a plan, set a date, stick to it.
9. Everything will wait until you return if it's truly important.
10. Do not be route obsessed. If it says "West", and you're heading west, go exploring.
11. When you meet someone along the way offer to send them a postcard.
12. Yesterday's t-shirt can make a pretty good towel in a pinch.
13. Never get a room at a motel next to a stop light. Always try to get a room on the top floor.
    Note: Gretjen says that you should avoid a camp site 50' from the Union Pacific main line.
14. Nothing beats camping under the stars but sometimes a hot shower in a cheap motel is worth every penny!
15. Don't wear black in the summer.
16. Ask the locals for interesting things in their area. If you are traveling alone they will seek you out to talk to you.
17. When you arrive in a new town park the bike and walk to get a sense of what's where. You can't see anything when you're riding in traffic and you certainly can't talk to anyone!

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