Getting Ready

We packed the car today. This is the most prepared I've ever been for a trip, with the possible exception of the trip Tam and I took to Russia two summers ago, and which I had to draw up a two week schedule for Jeff, my parents, and the two babysitters who would be watching my two children (3 and 15 months) while we were gone.
This trip is much closer to home, but with a 5, 3 and 10 month old, I'm bound to forget something.

As with all road trips, there is always the risk of over-packing and this is no exception, especially with the addition of our newest friend, the "x-cargo" (yes, I know, someone had fun thinking up that name), which we bought from Sears, and which is full of our camping stuff.
Aside from the usual, we're bringing some pre-school oriented educational material. We're going to collect dirt samples from different stops along the way, noting the change in color and texture. We'll be doing a study on Georgia O'Keefe, Maynard Dixon and Frank Lloyd Wright. We'll be learning how to read maps and tracking our progress through the states while learning about the geography and history of the American West. This may seem like a lot to do with preschoolers, but I'm an optimist, and at the very least, our kids should be able to point out a saguaro cactus by this time on Tuesday night. "Alluvial Plain" is also on the vocabulary list, but we'll see...
Crossing the Mojave Desert is the first thing we'll do and also high up on the list of things I'm concerned about. We'll be leaving early Monday morning to get as far as we can before the heat of the day. Between Tammy and I, and fresh energy for a trip, we should be just fine. But I'm bringing water just in case. More later.