Today, my west coast brother has informed me, is "Call of the Horizon Day." This is so appropriate because my spouse and I were really feeling the call of the horizon today. For several weeks now we have been planning to take a driving trip west in September, and there is no greater horizon, in my mind, than the wide open spaces of Montana, except maybe Wyoming or North Dakota or South Dakota. In case you're wondering about my choices, you should know that I've traveled to 22 other countries and seen many excellent horizons but these are still my favorites. We've been planning this trip in our minds and in casual conversations but not really planning if you know what I mean. Today however we made a start. After looking at an atlas of the world and deciding that the map of the United States was just too small to be of any real help, we took a quick drive to the nearest AAA office to get some good maps. Yes, actual paper maps. I love AAA. I have been a member since 1972 and over the years they have towed my car, jump started my car, brought gas to my car and unlocked my car. They have also provided me with many maps and triptiks, and even helped me plan a trip to Italy. Do you remember triptiks, those spiral bound tablets of page after page of maps that would take you from city to city along your route? I think they were the forerunner of GPS. The nice lady who assisted us this afternoon loaded a bag with eight maps, with print large enough to read, and two state magazines. We were so excited that we came right home and started planning our route. We spotted several sights that we want to see either going or coming, roughly calculated how many days it will take to get to my west coast brother's home, our ultimate goal, and are heading to bed now, feeling that we've really accomplished something. The next big step is to plan our departure date. We are practically on our way. I love a good road trip.
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