A key employee threw me for a bit of loop... three weeks before my scheduled departure, he gave me two weeks' notice. so I'm searching for a replacement while determined not to fall into the "grab the first available" trap.
I may have found a replacement today but no way he'll be here before my scheduled departure. Fortunately, the rest of my staff (and the lovely Jessica) seem determined to get me out on schedule. Brenda Treul will cover the news side of the Statesman until a replacement shows up and Dan Moore will help with ad coverage. Austin Holt, who swears he wants to be a full-time writer, will enjoy a trial by fire.
Jessica tells me to plan departure on June 13.
In my mind, the trip is still on.

I think I've nailed down my clothing list:
four pair of socks
two pair of underwear/compression shorts
two pair bamboo tights
a pair of cold-weather over-socks
a long-sleeved tee shirt
two Under Armour tee shirts
a dry-fit sleeveless shirt
one pair of jeans
one pair of shorts
Aerostitch windbreaker
electric jackeet liner
windbreaker with hood
swim trunks
flip flops
gym shoes
and, of course, a cap.

Not a lot, but I'll do some sink/stream laundry every evening. Everything but the jeans and the socks will dry overnight.

Bought a used Garmin Zumo for $300 from a guy in Louisiana.

As luck would have it, today my GPS appears to have failed... It won't boot off the battery. Even when booted while connected to hard wiring, it doesn't acquire satellite signals. Awaiting a response from Garmin. Sigh.
Garmin has been good but a new replacement is about $700. If this one can't be repaired, I'm giving some thought to TomTom Rider.

To the Arctic Circle and back on a Yamaha Super Tenere

It wasn't supposed to work out quite like this.
The original plan was for my riding buddy, Terry, to ride to the Arctic Circle with me. Usually accompanied by my wife, Jessica, we've ridden motorcycles from our homes in East Texas to Maine, to California, to British Columbia and tens of thousands of miles in between. We've visited Yellowstone, Yosemite, Washington DC, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon and uncountable other points of interest.
This time he begged off and Jessica has (for now) sworn off riding.
I'll be riding solo 9,000 miles from Kilgore, Texas to the BLM Arctic Circle Waypoint and home.
The prospect is exhilarating.

(The photo at the top was taken in Sturgis several years ago. Moto-tourists (me, Jessica, Terry Summers and Mark Rooney -- bikes from left to right.) were making a counter-clockwise circuit, hitting the high spots in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado and dipping into iIdaho and New Mexico.)