Short Term Itinerary, as I see it now

June 27: leave Las Vegas (as stated below)
June 27 - July 7: Green River, Wyoming (family bidness)
July 7 - July 10: Laramie, Wyoming with the fabulous Ms. Tara (it's Jubilee Days- rodeo and street dancin'!)
Sometime around July 11, 12, 13: fly to Europe
Rest of July: Barcelona
Early August: friend S meets me in Spain
Rest of August: S and I bum our way along the Adriatic all the way to Turkey
September: Croatia (once again a solo traveler)
End of September/early October: a couple of weeks in NYC with good friend Gretchen
Mid/late October - ??: southern Asia
After that: You'll know when I know.

It's apparent that I don't have a hard and fast agenda. There's not much about my schedule that's inflexible, and I hope to enjoy the winds pushing me where they may.

As it is today, they're pushing me to stay inside. I'd planned to venture out of the house and take some picturesque photos of the Green River area (they do exist!) but it's cloudy and rainy and I'm enjoying wearing pajamas and drinking tea. I might try to rally up a niece or two to come hang out with me- some of them aren't too old to still think I'm neat.

I'm a 35-year old woman who lives with her mom.

I left my mother's house when I was, oh, 16 maybe 17 but this middle-aged baby bird has returned to the nest. (wink nod to the similarly-aged friend who abhors my use of "middle aged.") I won't live here long, uh, 10 days or so? Maybe that's a visit. Since I don't have a home saying that I live with my mom makes me laugh.

Yesterday I left my temporary digs in Vegas and cruise controlled it all the way up to Southwest Wyoming. It was 110 degrees in Vegas as I packed the car, and packed and packed and packed, realizing I woefully underestimated how much crap I had to do as I leisurely drank tea that morning. By the time the car was loaded my hair was as wet as my t-shirt. Niiice. The temps didn't start dropping till I neared Provo, Utah so I had to keep the a/c cranked, unsure how much air was getting to my blockaded doggie in the far far back. She survived so it must not've been too bad.

The drive was uneventful but the high-desert plains of SW Wyoming surprised me. I've never seen them so green. Lots of rain recently but mostly snowpack that is 200% above the norm from what I've been told. I pulled into Green River just as the sun was making its final gasping breaths, and the temps were a heavenly 75ish.

Some pictures from yesterday:

The Las Vegas sun looks so friendly and harmless at 6 am. Lies, all lies. June 28, 2011.

Times like these I'm glad I opted for the dorky ass mom wagon.

I think the only legal requirement is the front window remain unobstructed. Somewhere in Utah on I-15.

Admittedly, driving and taking pictures is dangerous but tell me you wouldn't scramble for your camera with an evening sky like this. The bug splatter on the windshield can't even ruin this scene. Halfway between Salt Lake City, Utah and Evanston, Wyoming on I-80. June 28, 2011.

The Premise

I've taken at least a year off work and have decided to travel. Some of it will be stateside, but my goal is to spend most of it overseas. I don't have an agenda, and I don't want one. Doing nothing is my plan.

As for this blog, my plan is to post if not daily then almost daily. Not just social updates a la FaceBook but about adventures, interesting people, experiences and things I learn along the way. And pictures, lotsa them. I will include in the captions where they were taken but the location at the end of each post will be where I am actually posting from- this will, at times, not coincide.

Happy reading, and please send any suggestion or comments my way!