Yellowstone Adventure - Getting Ready

   Getting ready for the trip west is an adventure in itself.  I have made a check list on my phone to remind me what to do before I leave and what to take when I do leave.  It seems I remember something every day to add to the list.  I am trying to get everything done that I can so that Cathy will not be burdened by a task or two that I may have forgot, but there are some things that I just cannot get done and she will have to do.  I have been able to pay all the bills that will need to be paid before I can go but I know there will be several medical bills coming in that she will have to take care of.  She has indicated she would like to mow the yard but I would imagine with her taking care of the grandkids that she will have to call someone to do the job.  I have managed to get our cars switched over so that she will be driving my van and I will be driving her Hyundai.  The Hyundai gets better gas mileage and the navigation package will come in handy for sure.  I have been loading it up with things that I know I will need to bring and trying to visualize where I will put the rest.
   I am truly grateful for Kevin and Laura Cross' small groups for taking over my job of getting the food and clothing out of the bins at the church and for John Donathan for taking care of my Goodwill runs.  Mother's Day Sunday was my last service at LFCC for awhile and it was nice to get a few hugs from some ladies and hand shakes from some of the guys.  I really do appreciate those that said they will be praying for my travels and my work.  I also know I will be seeing a few of my LFCC friends this summer as some will be vacationing in Yellowstone and they promised to look me up.
  The group I will be working with has been keeping me informed of the happenings at Yellowstone with regular emails and they also reminded me that they have a place for me to stay prior to my reporting to the Human Resources office on May 18th.  They have been pretty good with communications and I really do appreciate that.  I also have been keeping a close eye on the snow removal that has been happening at the park and I am pleased with their progress.  I should not have snow issues getting there but I have added an extra day of travel just in case I run into trouble.  The plain states seem to be having a lot of bad weather so my trip across South Dakota may give me trouble.  I have been praying for safe travel and so have others, so I am sure things will be OK.
  This week I will be packing the two totes that I purchased for the trip and getting things staged in the Hyundai to ensure I don't run out of space.  I also have to wrap up a few personal obligations so that I do not leave any promises hanging before I leave.  I will be leaving at 6am on Saturday May 14 with a stop at McDonalds for breakfast.  I hope to make it to Little Sioux Iowa before I shutdown for the night.  Since I will be leaving on my birthday I plan on having a special meal sometime that day that is more than just road food.
  On a personal note.  One of my goals this summer will be to try to lose some weight.  I am hoping to lose around 25 pounds.  It seems I have developed a moderate case of sleep apnea and one of the things I can do to combat this is to lose weight.  Also I think my knees would feel much better with less weight to lug around.   Limiting myself to dorm life and only three meals a day will go a long way to helping this out.  Not to mention getting a lot of hiking in during the week.