The CB radio arrived today, so if nothing else, it should make for some light entertainment along the way. We’ll have to brush up on our CB etiquette and come up with some cool handles before we set off. Maybe we should watch Smokey and the Bandit to get us up to speed on the lingo too.

Of course, the Bronco doesn’t have a metal roof, so I think I’m going to have to stick the magnetic antenna on the hood, hopefully far enough over on the passenger side that it doesn’t distract the driver too much. Almost all the other Bronco antenna mounts require some sort of screwing or drilling into the car body itself and since it’s not my car, it would seem rude to even ask, so magnetic mount is the way to go. It also recommends the radio is connected directly to the battery rather than via the 12 cigarette lighter socket to avoid excessive signal noise, but we’ll see how practical that is once we arrive. I do have a couple of battery clips to attach to the terminals and also a 12v socket adapter if we don’t have the time or inclination to wire it directly.

I also ordered quite a bit of other stuff that hopefully won’t be needed, but makes me feel better about having on hand:

• Tire inflator
• Tire repair kit
• Spare fuses
• First aid kit
• Pocket knife
• Multi tool
• Camp stove and cooking utensils
• Dash cam w/ 256 GB SD card

Most of the other stuff is either already in the car (bear spray, ice chest etc.) or we can pick it up in Anchorage when we get there (water, lithium battery booster, gas for the stove etc.), because we can’t take it on the plane. We’re going to pick up some freeze-dried camping dinners too, because they don’t require refrigerating, they’re really easy to prepare (just add boiling water), don’t require any cutlery (other than a spork) and are fairly nutritionally dense since they’re designed for backpackers.

Hopefully we won’t need any of this stuff, but if my leisurely RV trips to various California wineries are any indication, I always pack more than I need. There’s nothing worse than running out of food at camp – or maybe driving hundreds of miles only to find all the restaurants and shops closed…

We’ve also managed to book lodgings for every night of our trip, so that’s a huge relief. I’m still taking my camp stove though, just because.

We’re going to be staying in an eclectic group of hotels, motels and cabins, so it will certainly be interesting. The only night we haven’t booked is our overnight in Portland, as we’re hoping to be able to meet up with one of Scott’s friends who lives there, but even if that doesn’t work out it should be easy to find a dog-friendly motel there at short notice.

According to the road plan, we will be driving about 8 hours a day, except for the first and last days, where we will be up to about eleven hours.