Uzbekistan!

I received my Letter of Invitation from the Uzbekistan government today.  My visa is in process. Now I only have one challenge left and my documentation will be complete!  Turkmenistan is the challenge.  I was asked this week to submit some additional data.  It's a waiting game.

I've been researching travel guides for a few weeks.  Even though the overland truck comes equipped with a library of books and maps, I really want to have some of my own with me.  The challenge is in keeping my load as light as possible.  With just the necessities for the trip, I'm pushing my weight limit.  Books weigh a lot...so I've decided to copy text from websites I've discovered and drop it into PDF files that I can save and store on my iPhone.  By the time I'm done, I'll have an organized pocket library that covers geography, history and culture without the endless and useless lists of hotels and restaurants.

I'm now also fully packed.  My bags are full of the gear I will need.  I've even got all of my clothing selected and added.  The weight at this point is sitting at 42 pounds.  I've got to get it down to 35.  So over the next five weeks I'll be making some decisions.  Ugh!