It's the time of year again when I start thinking about how Amos and I are going to spend our yearly summer roadtrip.

My initial thinking on the topic is one of these trips (in no ranked order) :

- a southward trip down through Nevada, to southern California (the eastern part, near Death Valley, not the cities), then across Arizona and New Mexico, through Texas to Austin, spending a long weekend there before heading home, camping our way through Colorado and Wyoming. Lots of miles on the blue highways, avoiding the interstate whenever possible.

- a quick drive to Minnesota, then do a week (ish) canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (http://www.bwca.com). I hear the mosquitos there are vicious mothers, though.

- a northward trip, going through northern Idaho (which I have not seen) straight into British Columbia, just wondering around camping in the national parks up there.
Then, time permitting, maybe up to Yukon territory and across to Anchorage. I'm confused about ferry service from Anchorage to Seattle, though (http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/).

- a nor'easter trip across the top states, all the way to Maine, maybe back across Canada.

- I'm again considering a mountain rental over in Oregon (http://www.vrbo.com/142607 ) for some gentrified relaxation.

- a really a fast southward jam across the flatlands of middle America, towards the East coast, see folks in North Carolina for a day or three then jam to Georgia and spend required family time for a day or two, then spend a few days on a quiet beach in Florida or one of Georgia's coastal islands before another quick cross-continent jam home.

- Screw all that driving, we should spend two straight weeks humping over the mountains here in Idaho. Get healthy and see some wilderness before it's all gone.

I was thinking late September-ish so it won't be so damn hot. I'm considering taking 3 weeks vacation (120 hours), rather than 2 (80 hours), which will give me 23 days rather than 16, but that depends on which trip I choose.

Any input?

Anyone interested in coming along with Amos and me as we take a long ride in a CRX, paddle a canoe or hump a pack?

Give it some thought and get back to me.