Again, just about everybody has written about road trips. There is a whole genre of writing. Travelogues involving Indian or BMW motorcycles, Cuba, beer, Tibetan monks. Lonely Planet is lousy (probably in a good way) with Road Trip books. They are written for Arm Chair road trippers like myself  (the last mountain I climbed consisted of the laundry at the back of my closet.)  People who are pretty sure the next road trip is just around the corner. If only they didn't have to put in an honest 40 of labor, work on the house, play with the kids and probably visit the in-laws (whom I actually like). So we sit down with a beer and read about borrowing a mountain bike in Tibet. . . People often make the mistake of mixing the road trip with sitting at a favored bar drinking a favored beer. You don't want to do that, what you drink helps define where you are - you are on the road not in the bar - Tecate in cans should suffice.

These are proclamations or emails I tend to make/compose near the end of the night after tipping back a few pints.

• Do we have a place to stay? If not we  pitch the tent, not spending to much time on looking around for a GOOD spot - synchronicity applies - if the trip is righteous  the best spot  will appear as needed so that we can sidle right on in. Most likely we will arrive Friday at darkish. Thursday is normally to early and Saturday to late. We will need somebody that KNOWE'S  to get us into the VIP cocktail reception -  5:00'sh would be good. . .
   
• What about worthy traveling companions - What kind of vicious world is it when you don't have a dime to your name and the only kind of REASSURING e-mail you can get is from some rotten, sick bastards who just want to have fun probably at your expense while you are trying to put sole to the asphalt.  If it was me I would teach us all a  lesson by PLANNING on arriving in Flagstaff abandoning your (a) car at my place and RIGHTFULLY sitting down in Ricks car with a notebook a good pen and a cheap beer and saying "the early snows will come late, we best get a move on if we want to be there for anything of worth."

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