We're starting out on a road trip through the Pacific Northwest. There should be pictures soon to go along with the stories and the reason for their delay will soon become clear when we get to the "computer hard drive dies" portion of the trip.Eight miles from home we remembered the things we'd forgotten. Thinking them necessary we made a quick round-trip and were back on the road. With the obligatory tardiness in the initial start we were on the road about an hour behind schedule. After dropping in on the parents we were on the road headed up US 95 towards our first stop at the Death Valley Fruit and Nut company in Beatty, Nevada.Stocked with some hard candies we were again headed north. The shuddered and for-sale bordello, Cottontail Ranch, marked the point were were to depart from US 95 and head west. The trip across Lida summit, through Oasis and past Deep SpringsDeep Springs College. Read more about Day 1: Sandy Valley, Nevada to Mammoth, California

Thursday evening I wrote from on-board a Southwest Airlines flight. I thought I'd spend the flight reading the excellent Pro Drupal Development book that I'd picked up earlier in the week. Instead I spent the flight talking with Paul Engemann, Larry King's brother-in-law, and the wife of a pilot on the way to support her husband's run in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. The wide-ranging discussion covered everything from raising kids to traveling the globe and even multi-level marketing. While not as productive in the work-a-day-world sense the conversation was an enjoyable break.