After our amazing-race-style marathon to leave for a winter of reed collecting in Vermont, we've finally hit the road. Armed with a gigantic ice-cream bucket of taco salad from Tyler's dad, an episode of Radiolab queued up for entertainment, and a dashing, laminated Ewan McGregor looking on from the rearview mirror, we're ready for a road trip! Sort of...

While I should feel excited that we're finally on our way, the reality is that I'm worried, preoccupied, and emotionally drained. Not only am I still coming to terms with the fact that we're moving across the country, I'm deeply concerned because I pulled a muscle in my back while packing this morning. Every time I move, even a little, it feels like someone is hitting me with a baseball bat. The pain takes my breath away, and I can't see how I'll be able to do any physical activity in the near future, much less a month of reed collecting.

What the hell are we doing? It would be so much easier if we forgot all about our land, and just got a regular house and lived in it like normal people!

I'm also worried about our camper. After finding out about the roof problems, we're not-so-secretly wishing we'd never purchased it. We had rationalized the cost by saying that we'd paint it up nicely and keep it on our land as place for guests to stay, once the house was complete. Now, we have no idea if that will be possible. Will it last one year? Two? Five? Ten? It's anyone's guess. On the upside, we love the interior now that the makeover is complete.

As the wintery and withered fields of rural Minnesota roll by, we're both silent and weary, almost in shock. The last week has been an exhausting and exhilarating blur. I don't know how we're going to make this work, but for now, it doesn't matter. I'll just focus on the fact that it feels amazing to simply sit still and do nothing.