T Minus 4 Days

After about 6 months of talking about and planning, we're about four days from departure. We have a basic idea how we're going to get there, and a basic idea of how we're going to get back. There's a pile of stuff on the floor and another on the dining room table waiting to be packed. The pet sitter has been organized, and the reservation have been made for the ferry across Lake Michigan (I think). Keith prepped the bikes last week while I was in Oklahoma, giving them an oil change, new brakes and a general once-over.

We've had to re-evaluate our packing situation. Originally we'd planned on splitting up the huge hockey bag that contained the tent/sleeping bags/air mattress bag and spreading it out over both bikes, eliminating the T-Bag for clothing. But after reviewing the weather, we realize that we need to bring some warmer clothing. Plus when we came up with the original plan we didn't take into account the new laptop, a game or cards, books, etc.

The packing list is a long one. Somehow we get everything needed for this:


on these:


We take:

• coffee kit with camp stove, 2 cans of propane, stovetop espresso maker (we'll give up a lot, just not good coffee), coffee and sugar, 2 cups
• 2x litre water bottles
• dry food: soup, KD, oatmeal, raisins, trail mix, pasta, etc.
• cooler: cream cheese, smoked fish, sausage, cheese, apples, etc.
• pots, pans, cutlery, cutting board, grill, collapsible hot dog skewers
  
• bin with misc camping stuff: rope, hatchet, repair kits
• clothing, enough for a week or so, good for both hot (could get up to 90 during the day) and cold (snow overnight in July is not unheard of)
• toiletries
• first aid kit
• rain gear
  
• shoes for hiking, shower shoes - it's packing the shoes that drives Keith crazy; they take up too much space and not much will fit inside them
• camelback for hiking
• tent, sleeping bags, pillows, air mattresses, and inflator
• 2 small cheap folding chairs
  
• laptop, AC cord and USB cable
  
• 2 ipods and AC charging cord
• phone and AC cord
• 2 cameras and AC charging cords
• deck of cards, euchre board, travel Scrabble, books, knitting
• maps, documents
• the kids - these are two bean bag toys that we travel with, stuck through a loop in the T-Bag. The cat has lost all of it's whiskers to the winds, the penguin is #2, as we lost the original during our travels. I know it's a bit silly, but they have meaning for us.