Travel always teaches me a lot about myself and the world. Here are the top 25 takeaways from my 2011 road trip.
1. Avoid fussy fabrics
2. Sip water constantly for perspiration instead of pee
3. 99% of strangers will help you in a pinch
4. An apple beats a bag of chips (on many levels)
5. Elk often rest in high grass — look for antlers above the grass
6. Wind can blow your bike over; don’t park broadside
7. Floodwaters stink after a few weeks
8. Always carry a camera
9. Recharge — yourself and your electronics
10. Pink looks good on everyone
11. Even the Mississippi River starts out small
12. Start every morning with yoga and thanks to The One
13. Life is full of blind corners
14. Pack your warmest sleeping bag
15. Leave some of yourself to the imagination of others
Because breast cancer strikes one in eight women
16. You get when you give
17. Everything wobbles, but not every wobble becomes a fall
18. Clothes can double as a pillow
19. Canadian customs will confiscate your pepper spray
20. Donkeys look like horses, but apples give them diarrhea
21. Rethink souvenirs
22. Bless the detours
23. A news holiday is good mental hygiene
24. Turn your ABS off when going off road
25. Campground squirrels are fearless thieves
This squirrel took our watermelon and stashed it in the tree
