Where there's smoke (Nathan)

Day one down, and I'm glad I was on four wheels. Beautiful but cold drive across the Rockies to Green Lake, where my wife's family has a little interior B.C. haven that I was lucky enough to marry into. I'm here for a few days with Mo, who I'm not seeing much of these days, between work travel and the looming motorcycle trip.

Almost got stopped on my way out of Calgary by a massive grass fire. I told they closed the highway soon after I passed by, madly swerving as I tried to take pictures. I think it's safer to text and drive than to snap and drive.

Mo came up from Vancouver by Greyhound. She made it head intact, but proved that public transit is probably a more reliable source of adventure than anything a couple of guys on motorbikes can dream up. Between various bus swaps, delays and all-around administrative stupidity, she completed her five-hour trip in seven hours, including one spent outside with small children in the cold, unprotected from the elements. I slept in the Kamloops Wal-Mart parking lot while I waited. We finally made it to the cabin at 4 a.m.

Only a couple more days left before I leave for Baja. My pre-trip jitters, which you'll find painfully documented below, rubbed off on Brett, who made some calls and booked us a cargo van. We're hoping to duck out of the Pacific Northwest rain on the way down, with hopes of sunny skies so we can return up the coast in a week or so. It's going to add a fair bit to the cost of the trip. Then again, pneumonia probably isn't cheap to fix in the U.S., either.

For now, though, it's wine by the gas fireplace and that amazing view of the frozen lake, which is now a brilliant white after a heavy snowfall earlier today. It looks like a white sandstorm on the other side right now as the wind scours off the fresh stuff. Any trip that starts at Green Lake can't be all bad.