Gizmos

Besides getting familiar with all the knobs and buttons of the camper, preparing for this cycling adventure has brought an array of new devices into our lives. These are the things designed to make campers more comfortable, clean and in touch.

Who knew that there were such things!: A wind up lantern...no batteries needed. Just crank for two minutes and voila! Light to read by.

A sun shower...a sturdy black plastic bag with a little shower head attached. You just fill it with four gallons of water and leave out in the sun for three hours, hang it up somewhere, and give yourself a shower.

A power converter that plugs into Big Red's outlet and has three outlets to plug stuff like the laptop into.

And most amazing of all, just by forking over some money to Verizon, I can sign up to have my Droid become a WiFi hotspot for a month, hopefully eliminating the need to drive around in Big Red the Truck looking for a library with WiFi in rural Iowa.

Then there are the great gadgets which my wonderful colleagues at Judith Blei Government Relations contributed to this and other adventures: a compass, a first aid kit, amazing camping towel and soap, a nifty pin-up flashlight, and even a bear bell with optional silencer! (Not sure that there are bears in Iowa, but you never know.)

Just a few days now before we roll west, gizmos and all!