Travel Journal

I received a copy of "The Horse Travel Journal", by CuChullaine O'Reilly. It is a nice book, but I have observed some improvements that can be made to it. Most notable of these changes is that it should be spiral bound, for ease of use. When traveling, and subsequently camping out, a firm, just-the-right-height, surface will be hard to come by. The standard book binding, which this journal has, makes it hard to write near the center. With this in mind I have created a template in MS Word and converted to Adobe PDF format. I will be taking this file to a printing shop and have it printed and spiral bound.

In addition to the binding issue, I have added some additional categories to the individual day's entry possibilities. These categories are: 1) lessons learned; 2) # of days ridden; 3) purchased items; and, 4) items received.

Lessons Learned: There is a category for "Preparations for next day's journey", which I decided needed expounded upon. I could always put lessons learned into the actual journal part of this; however, the same could be said for any other category. I just thought that lessons learned would need to be a quick reference item, like the other categories.

# of days ridden: There is a category for "# of days on journey", but this is not the same as days in the saddle. I have seen an instance of a Long Rider that had in his ride synopsis about # of days ridden. There was a significant difference and I want a line to take this into account. I will be stopping to rest horses for a couple of days at a time, at a minimum, and I am sure there will be longer layovers as Murphy's Law will dictate this.

Purchased items: I am giving myself a year to plan this trip. With this in mind I believe I will forget something, or an item will break and I will have no way to repair it, etc. I am interested in my planning abilities for something that I have never undertaken. This category will be a reality check.

Items received: During the course of reading about other riders' expeditions, there are always people that bring out food (for horse and rider), water, a homemade pie, or other such nicety. With my horrible name recollection of people I actually see on a semi-regular basis, I wanted a place to write their names down, so that I will remember to mention them, or simply to send a thank-you card. There is a place for the item and then the name and address of the provider. With the current feelings of "entitlement" in this country I believe it will be appreciated. I will also want to write a thank you note to people who have generously given of themselves, regardless of how large or small the gift. I know I would like to receive one. Of course, I may not receive any offerings or help, but I have hope. If not, I would be even more concerned about the state of our great country.

Find your happiness.

-GW