The "Mojave" posts were done w/ pen and paper in the first journal that I ever used. That was a journal that I miss using -- a small, moleskin journal that could easily fit in my back pocket or the breast pocket of my shirt. It resisted damage from being dropped on rocks and sliding down sand dunes (not to mention the torment of being stuck in my back pocket). My first post in this journal was on the trip down to St. Louis on my way to Mojave. My last is the post prior to this blog post: the journey Epilogue. Now, it's retired, on a shelf, staring at me when I come home... asking for another trip.

Nowadays, I have a larger version of the Mojave journal for day-to-day use. It doesn't fit in any of my shirt pockets, and only in selected pants pockets. For excursions, such as my recent trip to Fukuoka, Japan, I carry smaller journals--the same size as the Mojave journal, but fewer pages and of less durability. They're only meant for one small trip and can be tucked into the larger journal when it is completed.

Why am I talking about writing materials? Just thinking about writing in an electronic format makes me nervous. Consider this a warmup.