March 1 — The Departure The night before, after a predictable game of backgammon, we bet on what time we'd leave the next day. We were DEFINITELY leaving the next day, come Hell or high water. We each got two guesses. "Four p.m." "I say seven." "Then midnight." "Dawn." The third guess took the cake. We pulled out of the driveway at midnight on March 1st, fueled by adrenaline and anticipation, diesel (the preferred power source), and a little bit of impatience. We were finished with the To-Do list. We had moved the last remaining items to be done on the road. We were packed. We were anxious. We were ready. In spite of the highest fuel prices the state had ever seen, in spite of the quiet of night, in spite of the fact that our bon-voyage crew had all left to catch the freshies at Mammoth Lakes, we began The Extreme Road Trip. On the cusp of a new day of a new month in the new millennium, we crept out of town in the middle of the night and began the most epic adventure. Let's see where the road takes us now.