The last few days here in Iowa City have been punctuated by a series of rapid-fire pivots from one thing to another, as we rapidly approach the end of our time here. Here's the rundown:

We discovered last week that our van has a degenerative engine problem that effectively renders it a time bomb. Without repair, there is no way to know how long it will run before it dies. Repair could cost upwards of $5000, and take seven to ten days to complete. We were planning to keep the van only until we get our 5th-wheel rig later this year, so we do not want to spend that much on the van. Further, we do not have time to wait for repairs - we are leaving Iowa City this Friday. We quickly brainstormed several options, then adjusted our plans, deciding to leave the van with a friend in Decorah to give us time to ponder what to do with it, and get a rental car to take us to our flight in Detroit that will get us on the trail. A rental isn't cheap, but it's a lot less than five grand, and we will have a trustworthy vehicle for these next couple of weeks.

On Friday morning we were scheduled to pick up the rental vehicle from the Cedar Rapids Airport. This ended up being a bit of an adventure due to a fast-moving snowstorm that blasted through in the morning and dumped a couple inches of heavy wet snow, and caused what would normally be a 20-minute drive to the airport to take over an hour. Despite that delay, we completed the task, returned home, loaded the van with our secondhand recliners and took them to the secondhand store to become thirdhand furniture. A couple days earlier the dog had begun having some rashy skin - he's tender that way - and so we also took him to the vet to get him checked out before being kenneled.

For our last Friday dinner in Iowa City I wanted to have a rowing get-together to have one last time out with the crew. I was surprised and pleased to have commitments from over 20 folks. I had planned for our outing to be at 2 Dogs Pub, so I called and made a reservation for the group on Wednesday, and called again Friday to confirm. When we arrived there were already a few folks waiting, but the waitstaff didn't know anything about a reservation, and some minor confusion ensued. I checked my phone, and discovered that I had made a reservation at Two Dogs Bar & Grill in Roodhouse, IL, 3 hours drive away - oof, the joke was on me! The staff at 2 Dogs was great though and we were able to rustle up enough tables to fit everyone, while I got some good-natured ribbing for my mistake.

On Saturday, our sweet dog Archie/Junior went to the kennel. We already miss him; we knew we would. Life with a dog imposes routines and patterns on day-to-day life that have become built into us. Those patterns don't go away with the dog - for instance, it is jarring when dog-walking time comes along and we realize with a pang that there's no dog to walk. We also feel regret that the dog will be kenneled for so long, and worry about his welfare. He can't understand what's happening. Will he miss us and feel abandoned? Will he be sad? What new patterns will he learn? Will he be the same dog when we are reunited with him? These are questions that we can't answer - we can only speculate - but we do expect that he will be changed when we return. Of course, we will be changed too, and there's no denying that on the other end of this adventure our three lives will be very different from what they have been. And we have no doubt that we will all adjust and adapt into new routines and patterns, and life will go on.

After getting the dog to the kennel, we puttered around town a bit, met with Mike to hand over the keys to the van, and then spent a couple hours visiting with Seth. We had lunch with Seth at Magpie, took a little drive along the river at Palisades, and then headed back to his place and stood outside chatting for a bit, after which we got back on the road to home.

Today was quieter. We hauled a load of stuff to the storage unit. It's getting pretty packed, but it looks like everything we have left to store will fit.

Also today, Kristin cut my hair - my last haircut before we hit the trail - and I trimmed my beard super short. May I present... Trailhead!