Ready, set...

Mitch calls it our Silveradoshasta. (I think we need to work on the name.)

The last major hold up in our plans to take off was finding a vehicle to tow our camper. When we first began our search for a trailer, we had not planned on finding a new(er), beast of a work truck. This was mainly because of how expensive even older, very high milage trucks we found were. I had no idea how much large towing capability would cost, although upon realizing this it totally made sense. (Definitely a duh moment for me.)

Now we ended up going with a smaller, lighter weight trailer because of lower cost all around, easier and safer towing, and the numerous state/national park limits on RV length. Even though our truck can tow a lot more than what we currently have, I'm still happy with our initial decision. I suggest you give yourself plenty of time to shop if you're interested in going the truck plus trailer route and are missing either or both. Mitch and I searched for a 4 wheel drive truck/SUV over several weeks before deciding to fork over the cash for a barely used truck--it's such a better deal for the buyer if you can swing it. We found our 2013 Chevrolet Silverado at a large dealership with a mere 16,000 miles on it. Mitch was correct when he thought Ford dealerships would have cheaper Chevys than Chevrolet dealerships--a stroke of genius, in my humble opinion. And we are very happy with our decision to go with an American car company...now that I've traded in my Honda Accord I will finally stop hearing jokes about my lack of patriotism.

Anyway, I'll spare you the boring details and get to the point--now we can actually leave! We're clearing out our place in Atlanta and should be on the road 24 hours from now. I can hardly believe it. The past few days have been insane, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no exception. Our initial PackRat container was rejected because it weighed over 10,500 lbs. and their trucks tow a max of 6,000 lbs. (technically they will take it as long as it's under 10,000 lbs. but don't tell them I told you that they told me haha). PackRat charged us more for a second smaller unit to break up the load, but at least we talked them down on the price. Mitch is very talented with that sort of thing...I guess 11th grade Mitch wasn't lying when he entered "hustler" as his occupation on a some standardized personality test we found while going through ancient paperwork (yes, he really is that silly and I really do find it hilarious). Cross your fingers that all goes well tomorrow morning when PackRat comes to pick up both storage containers, because we really need to hit the road if Mitch is going to start his new job on time!

I will do my darndest to keep posting while we're on the road and living in nature--we don't exactly have satellite wifi in our trailer. I can't wait to see the Grand Canyon! Wish us luck and safety!