The only patter of little feet that I am hearing is the fast-approaching start of my extended auto trip to Jackson Hole, WY.
I’ve got to get my act together.
Nightmarish images of the day and me waking wondering what I should take.

No, thank you.
Three weeks out and I am packing now.
Boxes delivered and constructed.

First of my clothes set in the first of the boxes.
Reassurance I am in charge of the departure, not a victim of.

Today’s post details the “Packing of Boxes” for my extended auto trip, the entry added to the page on the Web Site dedicated to ‘Packing.’

Today is Monday, August 13
This is my 125th consecutive daily posting.
Time is 5.00am under cloudy skies, some rain, all day.
Today’s dinner is…Chicken Soup.

__________________________________
Encyclopediacs
What is the difference between a National Park and a National Wildlife Refuge?

Find the answer just before today’s Post below. Partial answers for partial credits.

_______________________________
Thumbnail Biography:
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was an American statesman and writer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.
He also served as the 25th Vice President of the United States from March to September 1901 and as the 33rd Governor of New York from 1899 to 1900.
As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century.
His face is depicted on Mount Rushmore, alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.

Home-schooled, he began a lifelong naturalist avocation before attending Harvard College.
His book, “The Naval War of 1812” (1882), established his reputation as both a learned historian and as a popular writer.
Upon entering politics, he became the leader of the reform faction of Republicans in New York's state legislature.
Following the near-simultaneous deaths of his wife and mother, he escaped to a cattle ranch in the Dakotas.
Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley, but resigned from that post to lead the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War.
Returning a war hero, he was elected Governor of New York in 1898.
After the death of Vice President Garret Hobart, the New York state party leadership convinced McKinley to accept Roosevelt as his running mate in the 1900 election.
Roosevelt campaigned vigorously, and the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket won a landslide victory based on a platform of peace, prosperity, and conservation.

After taking office as Vice President in March 1901, he became President at age 42 following McKinley's assassination that September, and remains the youngest person to become President of the United States.

As a leader of the Progressive movement, he championed his "Square Deal" domestic policies, promising the average citizen fairness, breaking of trusts, regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs.
Making conservation a top priority, he established many new national parks, forests, and monuments intended to preserve the nation's natural resources.

In foreign policy, he focused on Central America, where he began construction of the Panama Canal.
He expanded the Navy and sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to project the United States' naval power around the globe.
His successful efforts to broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. He avoided controversial tariff and money issues.
Elected in 1904 to a full term, Roosevelt continued to promote progressive policies, many of which were passed in Congress.
Roosevelt successfully groomed his close friend, William Howard Taft, and Taft won the 1908 presidential election to succeed him.
In polls of historians and political scientists, Roosevelt is generally ranked as one of the five best presidents.

Frustrated with Taft's conservatism, Roosevelt belatedly tried to win the 1912 Republican nomination and eventually win the election in 1912.
He failed, walked out, and founded a third party, the Progressive, so-called "Bull Moose" Party, which called for wide-ranging progressive reforms.
The split allowed the Democrats to win the White House.

Following his election defeat, Roosevelt led a two-year expedition to the Amazon basin, where he nearly died of tropical disease.
During World War I, he criticized President Woodrow Wilson for keeping the country out of the war with Germany, and his offer to lead volunteers to France was rejected.
Though he had considered running for president again in 1920, Roosevelt's health continued to deteriorate, and he died in 1919.

Thank you, Wikipedia
 

________________________________________________________
Movie Details
“The Edge” is a 1997 American survival drama film directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. Bart the Bear, a trained Kodiak bear known for appearances in several Hollywood movies, also appears in the film as a vicious grizzly; this was one of his last film roles.

“The Bear” is a 1988 French film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and released by TriStar Pictures. Adapted from the novel “The Grizzly King” (1916) by American author James Oliver Curwood, the screenplay was written by Gérard Brach.
Set in late 19th-century British Columbia, Canada, the film tells the story of an orphaned bear cub who befriends an adult male grizzly as hunters pursue them through the wild.
Several of the themes explored in the story include orphanhood, peril and protection, and mercy toward and on the behalf of a reformed hunter.

Annaud and Brach began planning the story and production in 1981, although filming did not begin until six years later, due to the director's commitment to another project.
“The Bear” was filmed almost entirely in the Italian and Austrian areas of the Dolomites, with live animals—including Bart the Bear, a trained 9-foot tall Kodiak—present on location.
Notable for its almost complete lack of dialogue and its minimal score, the film was nominated for and won numerous international film awards.

Thank you, Wikipedia

______________________________
Follow Up:
Got this text message from Kat regarding her yoga study about which we posted yesterday. 

“I finally got my Tripod Headstand!!!!"

__________________________
Word of the Day
Tripod Headstand (Sirshasona II)

Tripod Headstand is a triple play pose, combining an inversion, balance and arm balance all in one.
That makes it a tricky pose for some, but Tripod Handstand is worth the effort as it is a building block pose to advanced inversions and Ashtanga 3rd Series.
To prepare for Tripod Headstand begin with shoulder strengthening poses such as chataranga, plank and dolphin. Once you have mastered these poses, you are ready to try Tripod headstand.

Begin from hands and knees pose, with both hands, shoulder width apart.  Bend the elbows 90°, elbow over wrist and upper arms are parallel to the ground. 
Place the crown of the head onto the mat, making a triangle with the head and hands. 
Curl the toes, lift the knees to straighten the legs and raise the hips as for dolphin.
Slowly walk the feet towards the head.
When the hips are over the shoulders, slowly raise one foot vertical and then the other.
Ground the palms, lift up through the shoulders and core, straighten the spine and stretch up through the inner heels of the feet with toes touching.
To exit the pose, lower one foot and then the other to the ground.
Bend the knees and return to start position or child pose.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Answer for Encyclopediacs
The National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants.
Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to over 562 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts encompassing more than 150,000,000 acres (607,028 km2).

The National Park Service oversees the National Parks and is enjoined "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

It appears to me that the difference is one of orientation and degree: the NWR leaning towards the protection of the wildlife while the National Park Service leans towards making their lands accessible to the enjoyment by the public.

Packing for an extended solo Auto-Trip
Total 30 days on the road 

As soon as we say, “We’re going,” many of us immediately think, “What must I take? What am I going to wear?”
Well, the great thing about an auto-trip is that we can take an awful lot including as many outfits as we'd like. I mean, within reason.
Point is that we have an entire car as luggage.

But where to start?

From experience, three bags form the control center of the trip's smooth functioning.
The number one, the alpha dog, the first being the waist-pouch (or purse or pocketbook that never leaves us.)
In my case, the waist pouch my belt secures to itself by threading through its back.
This little bugger contains tickets for today’s events, cash, as in folding money, credit cards and business cards, iphone, a folded sheet of blank paper and a pen for notes, and car keys.
Everything we ever wanted at our fingertips but wondered how.

Why call the waist-pouch 'first?'

Because we use it constantly, like paying at rest stops and gas stations.
Like for identification - our driver's license; or to share contact information with a just-met friend - our business cards.
Like stopping at a rest area, not needing to reach or search for anything.
Like open the car door and swing those long, cramped legs out to the pavement and we're free to pee.

Because it's convenient.
Like walking around town with our light backpack over our shoulders.
Stop to pay for something and we don't have to swing the pack from our shoulders to fish out any of the useful stuff waiting in our waist-pouch for cafes, restaurants, admissions, and shops.

Because it contains the most important of the personal property we plan to take.
That so, it is always with us, like a pair of shoes, even while driving.
Attached to us even at a urinal or on the bowl. I do what I have to do to keep that baby dry, because it's never coming off.
Losing it will bring serious problems when we're far from home and vulnerable.
So, so important.
We’re not leaving this baby behind, anywhere.

Several other noteworthy characteristics.
It doesn't need to be constantly replenished.
It requires no space in the car for backup materials.
Its contents each has an assigned space in the bag, and since we use it again and again, we will immediately note if anything not in its place before we close the top.
It's used the same at home so this the one bag that doesn’t need packing.

Second, because after the waist-pouch we spend more time with it than any other bag, is the light backpack.

The light backpack contains our reading book and reading glasses, sunglasses, Vaseline (my lips are always dry,) a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, a toothbrush and toothpaste, (I hate my mouth when it isn’t fresh tasting,) a sweater against air conditioning, and a large cloth shoulder bag that folds or crumbles very small, to be used to carry unlooked-for-shopping. I hate having my arms occupied with carrying things.

Nothing expensive In the bag but everything useful.
And like the waist pouch or shoulder bag, the light back pack needs very little room in the auto for back up materials. We’ll replenish supplies for the light back pack in local markets.
Second in importance because every time we leave the car to walk-about we take this bag with us: around the center of town, to museums, to cafes and restaurants.
The light back pack comes into the hotel room with us.
Like the waist-pouch it is always loaded with the same list of goods.

And like the waist-pouch, we never close it up without knowing from total familiarity that the bag is complete.
We don’t lose anything.
We don’t forget anything.
We don’t have to pack this bag until the day before we leave.

Now for the heavy-duty backpack, the third bag constituting the control center of our trip. Organize these bags well and the packing logistics are almost complete.
Some may consider this bag the first in importance.
Who does will get no argument from me.

Think about the trip and I think we’ll all agree that the most repeated and often stressful activity of the trip is the transition from the car to the hotel room and its reverse.
From the car, it’s very easy to forget something we’ll need for the overnight necessitating an extra trip or two.
From the hotel to the car, it’s easy to leave something behind. And that sucks.

Much of the contents of the heavy-duty backpack stays in the bag, minimizing the time it takes to load and unload it properly.
And like the waist pouch and the light back pack, the contents having reserved places in the heavy-duty backpack means we sense if anything is missing.
That augurs well when repacking, reducing the risk of leaving anything behind.

The waist pouch and the light and heavy-duty back packs are packed.

Consider that we have the entire car as our luggage.
I find it best to compartmentalize the trunk with boxes with removable covers.

Online I bought a dozen boxes for $31.00. Eight of them were smaller size, 15Lx12Wx10H and four were medium, 18L x 15W x 14H.
I assembled them. It took a half hour.

I received them on August 10, leaving September 4, about 25 days before leaving.
None too soon for me.
I worry.

I immediately use one for my underwear, socks, and pajamas.
These only came ½ way up from the bottom.
Plenty of room in the box yet.
Not.

We’re not looking to fill the boxes.
For us, the boxes are the compartments of the car.
We’ll keep all of our clothing on single stacks so when we’re looking for an article of clothing nothing has to be moved.
Underwear, socks, and pajamas are all looking up at us from their dedicated box.
Pick one out and nothing else is disturbed.
Rummaging and upsetting other clothes is not part of what we’re doing.

One exception: liquor.
Traveling across many states and communities will certainly bring us into contact with a ‘dry’ locale.
All we’ll need is ice.

I drink with every dinner.
No exceptions: alcohol is part of my daily routine.
So I will be taking nips of vodka and gin.
Nips because perhaps a locality doesn’t allow open bottles of alcoholic drinks in the car.
Use it and throw the bottle out.
For the drinks, I’ll carry some small bottles of tonic water. 
And some paper cups.
While the liquor is not immoral or illegal, I’d rather not flaunt it.
I will tuck the bar-makings under my underwear with a pack of condoms.
No one likes to search underwear.

Back to packing.
Our goal is to create an easy ‘pick’ of the clothing or of anything else that we need.

Fill the boxes over the next several days, smoothing their usage while we’re still at home when tweaking is easy.
After a few days, the practice will result in setting up the boxes to function pretty conveniently.

Shoes in one dedicated box.
Sweet.
We can take boots, slippers, sandals, dress shoes, two pairs of sneakers, whatever we want.
What a luxury.

Same with coats and jackets.
No need to be efficient.
Take anything we can possibly need.

Over the next few days I’ll be packing my boxes.
I’ll tweak this page as I make discoveries, not really finishing it until the trip is entirely over.

Having packed the three bags and assembled the boxes, what items are still looking for a home?

One is my printer.
I take my printer.
I like to take my printer.
It doesn’t take much space.
It sits quietly in the trunk until we arrive at our motel.
And then I use a hotel cart to carry it in and out.
So it’s no trouble at all.
Why take it?
See “Travel Aids” later on this page.

A second set of items looking for a home is the clothes we need for better restaurants, pants, shirts, jacket, and tie.
These I hang up on the hooks provided by the rear passenger windows and then carry them into the hotel room using a hotel cart.
(While few restaurants require jackets and ties anymore, I dress to suit the occasion.
And dressing up makes me feel better while I eat a more formal dinner.)

And the passenger seat.
Remember we’re solo on this trip, no one to hand us a drink of water; or an orange.
We need to outfit the empty front passenger seat for the benefit of the driver: a water bottle, sunglasses, music, maps, fruit, an emergency urine bottle (albeit more needed for women than men who are more casual about ‘taking a leak,’ any place will do,) a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a comb.

Travel Aids are next.
What are they:
Audio Books
Music
Hard copies of Maps and
Idiot Sheets, as in "What is an Idiot Sheet?"
______________________________________________________________________
Idiot Sheets, the ‘why’ I take my printer.

Night after night of pulling into the selfsame-hotel with its selfsame-room as every other mid-level hotel and motel in the county has a stultifying effect on us.

Each day we wake in the selfsame room totally disoriented.
Where did I just come from?
Where am I?
Where do I go next?
Time and places blur.

My antidote to this disorientation is the Idiot Sheet, composed and printed out before I go to bed.

On the top of this sheet, in large font, I will type in tomorrow’s day and date.
I will, in large font, type in the town I am in; the time I am leaving the hotel; and the destination.
It’s 5.00am when I wake.
I don’t have to think.
Thank you Idiot Sheet.

Of less importance, but nonetheless useful, I also add in the highlights of tomorrow’s activities, inc. contact info.
I keep this sheet on the passenger seat as a handy note paper to gather odd thoughts I have during the day.

I need my Idiot Sheet.
I need my printer.
It’s a big car and it makes for a big suitcase. 

I need my printer.
It’s a big car and it makes for a big suitcase.