Gear Check

In just over two weeks we leave the comfort of our posturepedic deluxe sleep system encased in four walls, a roof and en suite bath for a tent and "She Whee."  Getting ready for 100 days on the road means testing out our gear.  First up - sleeping bag and pad.  In the time it took me to get the camera the Good Doctor passed out so I am taking that as big thumbs up for the bedding!  (Or his long night of call got the better of him.)  Chewbacca has been contributing to the effort by burying toys and dog kibble in our bedding.  You never know - long nights in the wilds of Uzbekistan could have us in dire need of a squeaky worm.

A man's best friend - a thick thermarest!

Meanwhile, I tested the pillow.  Good head support is essential when I travel so it was important to me that my pillow be soft, supportive and able to whisper sweet nothings into my ear.  The Thermarest compressible pillow did all that and more.  Here I am relaxing into an amazing spine stretch and embracing my inner sloth:

I give the Thermarest pillow a 9 out of 10.  (I had to deduct one point because it would not whisper the entire works of Aristotle and Simone Beauvoir - only the Cole's Notes Versions). Of course, we have no idea how this is going to work in the field.  I am not planning on passing out in a seedy Soviet bar for the night but it is good to know I have a pillow that can accommodate that.  Failing that, there is always the squeaky worm...