The day has finally arrived after months of planning, hours of phone calls, pages of emails, days of packing  and unpacking and re-packing... It is time to hit the road.

But I am not going alone! A few weeks ago I had a call from my sister, asking if I would like some company for the long road ahead; if, that is, she could get the time off from her job, and if we could find someone to stay with our mom. We agreed that if those two seemingly impossible obstacles could be conquered, she would accompany me. 
"You call your boss," I told her. "I'll call Mary."

Mary is my oldest son's partner. She works as a community living support person, so I knew she would have no trouble with a 91 year old lady with Parkinson's. If... and it seemed like another big If... she too could get the time off from work.
I called. She didn't even hesitate. "I'd love to help you! I'd love to spend some time with Jeb's grandma! And" she said, "you and Diana need to do this trip together. Let me check with my boss."

I tried to busy myself while I waited to hear from both gals, slightly surprised by how much I suddenly needed these details to work out. Within an hour, they had both called back, and the news was good.

So it is that my sister and I are taking this tour together. She'll be taking pictures, navagating, and figuring out the systems of the car her fiance insisted upon renting for us. "If a rental car breaks down, they'll bring you a different one," he said. "You can't afford to be stranded on the side of the road somewhere in Wyoming!"

As for me, I am excited, and a little bit frightened by the enormity of this, my first tour as a solo artist. But I have never been one to shy away from an adventure, nor hesitated to bite off a great big piece of something, with a mind to figure out later how to chew it. 

Ii'll be updating this tour journal every day, so stop back often. Check out the photo page for updates too. Right now, it's time to go.
I'll see you along the way.