Off We Go

We left on June 30th from Bozeman for the Ultra Tour, it is a tour around the United States of America.  We are taking ourselves, our dog Lucia, my truck and camping essentials. Along the way we'll be staying with family and friends and in campgrounds.  We'll be seeing parts of the country that we've never experienced, see places from our family's past and in general go exploring by taking this amazing opportunity and living it to it's fullest.

Our gear being staged in the back of the truck

Our travels will take us through the perimeter of the county from the midwest to the east coast, down south, through the southwest, up the west coast, the pacific northwest and then home again home again jiggity jig.

South Dakota will be our first stopping point where we'll be staying with my (Jim's) aunt Janice for a night in Rapid City and then through to my parent's place in Brandon.  From there we'll travel to Minneapolis to stay with Meredith's sisters Chelsey and Marissa for a couple days and enjoy the city. After we leave Minnesota we'll be off to the upper peninsula of Michigan for our first night of camping and go through Traverse City the following day on our way to Cleveland, Ohio to stay with one of my closest friends Patrick Reedy and his wife Kate and their new baby girl.

From there we're off to Washington D.C. to stay with Meredith's friend the peddler Nelle P and take in a lot of what that cool city has to offer before reaching some pretty consistent camping along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  After several nights "roughing it" we'll be arriving at our most luxurious stop in New Orleans where we'll be staying in the French Quarter at the Oliver House Hotel for some well deserved R&R of good food and music.

After our relaxation we are off to Austin, Texas to stay with another of Mer's friends, Miss La Adamson for what exactly we can't be entirely sure but most certainly it will be a great time. Then comes the southwest in New Mexico and Arizona where we'll be camping and trying our damnedest to not roast our dog in the July heat. From there we meet yet another of Meredith's friends in the incomparable Jules Aseltine and Phil Weise for climbing, camping, wine drinking and general merriment.

This is the last of our known stops and the last of of the friends we plan to stay with, from here we'll be traveling up the Highway 1 up the the Pacific coast into northern California, Oregon and Washington before heading east through Idaho and back finally to Montana. The trip will take us over seven thousand miles in roughly 36 days seeing family, friends, and those yet to meet and creating memories that will remain throughout our entire lives. This journal is designed to help inform our closest of family and friends where we are, what we're seeing and also creating a window for us to gaze back upon our wonderful adventure. We hope you enjoy following us, we'll enjoy seeing you down the road.

Our first stop was in Rapid City, South Dakota with Aunt Janice.  We had a very nice time reminiscing of family and introducing Meredith to some Horner-isms. We got to town in the early afternoon and from there we had a nice hike up Buzzards Roost followed by a great dinner of chicken wraps, deviled eggs, couscous salad and a blueberry tart for dessert.