Since 1984, Med-Vet has distributed an array of medical/veterinary supplies. I’ve had really good luck with them so far, so I suggest you try them out. High quality and low price are of the utmost importance, and their ordering system is really convenient. I’ve been buying gauze and other supplies for my physical therapy practice. Check it out:

UPDATE: I have had to move my blog to http://2225miles.blogspot.com so that I could use Google Latitude. Sorry about the inconvenience.

UPDATE: I have had to move my blog to http://2225miles.blogspot.com so that I could use Google Latitude. Sorry about the inconvenience.

Well, I don’t really have a ton of exciting stuff to add about the trip, but I did make some progress in the past week or so, so I thought I’d add it here.

My main accomplishment is that most of my shopping is done for the trip. The main thing I got that wasn’t on the list from my last post was a new car stereo. I decided that I really want to be able to listen to my iPod/Phone on my car since radio stations might be lacking a bit on some parts of the drive. Plus, this stereo has Bluetooth built in, so in addition to being able to stream music from my phone, I’ll get to try out the world of hands-free telephone calls. This is a bit of a tangent, but I decided to get the stereo from Abt Electronics. When I called to pull the trigger on the purchase, I was on hold for quite a while. Finally, a “manager” took my call because he saw that I had been waiting so long. After we finished up the order, he said to ask for him if I had any questions or problems with the order, and said that his name is Mike Abt. Anyway, he’s the president of the company, but I guess if customers are on hold long enough, anyone available is supposed to take the call. I knew there was a reason I liked Abt so much. Here’s an article in case you’re interested, which you’re probably not: Abt and Goliath.

Anyway, back to the trip. The good news is that I’ll be having a good friend of mine accompanying me on part of the drive there (from Minneapolis to Calgary), then she’ll fly home from Calgary. It will be great to have someone with me–even though I like traveling by myself, 5 days in the car by myself is a lot. We were looking at my original route, and we have actually modified it a bit. The main difference is in Montana. Originally, I was going to go Billings, Great Falls, Glacier National Park. Now, it looks like we’re going to try Billings, Butte, Glacier National Park. Here are the two routes so you can see the difference:

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My friend was interested in stopping at some hot springs, which is why we picked this new route. I am not sure which one we will stop at though–there’s Fairmont Hot Springs which is basically just a swimming pool and resort, there’s Chico Hot Springs Lodge, or Warm Springs Montana which is a natural spring instead of a warm swimming pool. Anyway, there are lots of options.

The other benefit of passing through Butte, MT is that we can drive up Montana Highway 83 which is an old logging road through forested valleys that is supposed to be beautiful.

As I am preparing for my two thousand mile drive, I’m trying to decide what I need to purchase for the trip to be safe, comfortable, and convenient.

So far, I’m working on:

1) AAA membership
2) CB radio (for communicating with truckers, hearing about speed traps)
3) A can of Fix-a-Flat
4) Spare headlight bulb
5) Fire extinguisher
6) One quart of motor oil, one gallon of water for the radiator, a gallon of washer fluid, a roll of paper towels, a box of large ziplock bags, a rubber mallet, a long nylon rope, a reflective windshield cover, and a funnel.
7) AAA Emergency Kit
8) One person tent, matches, a blanket, long-burn candles, sunscreen, and a knife
9) A small box of PowerBars and other high energy snacks
10) Extra pair of glasses, sunglasses
11) A book about Banff

Let me know if I am missing anything!

From July 2 until July 23rd, I will be volunteering on an organic seed farm in Sorrento, British Columbia that I found through WWOOF .

I have an adventurous friend who is interested in traveling with me, but if it doesn’t work, I’ll be driving there alone. I’ve decided to go for a variety of reasons, which I am sure I will elaborate on in future posts. But for now, I’ll just discuss the basics. On June 27th, I’ll be leaving Chicago on a 2,225 mile road trip to the farm in Sorrento, Stellar Seeds. The trip will take me through five American states, two Canadian Provinces, and through three national parks:

June 27: Chicago, IL to Fargo, ND (637 Miles)

June 28: Fargo, ND to Billings, MT (607 Miles)

June 29: Billings, MT to Glacier National Park, MT (413 Miles)

June 30: Glacier National Park, MT to Calgary, Alberta (230 Miles)

July 1: Calgery Alberta to Sorrento, British Columbia (338 Miles)

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