i'm on my way, don't know where i'm going

i've always loved this paul simon line, and use it a lot or sing it in my mind. though i love to live by this motto, i still like to plan a little. haynes and i have made a list of places we want to see over the next three months plus and have placed those places into a geographically-intelligent timeline. now we will see if we can enjoy every space, nook and cranny.

to keep y'all in touch with our travels and give you the ability to enjoy these places with us (both through words and photos), haynes is going to join me on this history-keeping narrative on another blog (goldrushof09.blogspot.com). we will also keep up with the service aspect of our trip on different site (reducereuserecycleread.blogspot.com) as to provide an online resource for the elementary school children we will be speaking to. both of these can be accessed at your right.

for now, however, here is a highlight of our trip plans.

we will be heading out next wednesday on a formidable trip around the western U.S. and bordering Canadian provinces. i say formidable because of the list of places we want to see, and the only three months that we have to see them (this list has changed more than three times now and even once since i originally started this entry).

i will be based out of Tempe now until December so we have cut some time out of Arizona and southern Utah stops, knowing that we will have time to see those from this base. and we have a two week journey planned for July to head from a wedding in St. Louis to a wedding in Sacramento, a week apart, and then back to Tempe. so we can revisit or see anew some of the planned stops. with those possibilities and the restrictions of a few of haynes' grad school interviews and my graduation and two weddings in Georgia, we have planned to start on wednesday heading up to Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

from there to Zion and over to L.A. for haynes' first interview. then zigzagging over to Las Vegas, up through Death Valley and to Kings Canyon/Sequoia and back down to L.A. for haynes to fly out to Detroit. Then straight up the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts to Vancouver (with a couple more stops along the way, zig zagging to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and other national parks, ski resorts, and cities along the way). Then to Whistler and Banff and down to visit friends in Montana and Grand Tetons in Wyoming before heading to a few more stops in southern Utah and back to Tempe for Pat's Run on April 18. And then across New Mexico and Texas to be back in time for graduation on April 25.

our next leg starts with some of the Mississippi delta to New Orleans and out to Savannah for a wedding. next to the Rockies front range in Colorado and up to Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, etc. and family and friends in Omaha, Kansas City, etc. and finally back to Georgia for a wedding outside of Atlanta.

all of this will have to be done by June 2 when i have to be back in Tempe for my job at the Pat Tillman Foundation. and that ends the trip (for the most part).

now a call for "hitchhikers" and additional volunteers - we have extra room in the car and will be doing some service along the way and so could always use the extra set of hands. we have committed to picking up 300 pounds of trash and talking to 15 elementary school classes along the way. i tell you all of this because if you are somewhere along the way, find haynes and i in our big white truck or noticeable red tent with an orange fly and join us for the journey.