route maps

One of the last things I do before I leave a motel is make one of these route maps.  The idea did not occur to me until Day 2, so there is no route map for Day 1 (though I am tossing around the idea of making one; I can remember the roads I drove).  The route maps are mainly practical—they help me know when I need to change roads; the pencil marks note any changes in the route.  The route maps also serve a kind of aesthetic purpose.  Making them pumps me up for the day's travel, and I treat them like little art objects.  I'm hoping to turn the best couple route maps into postcards.  I'm dreaming of letter pressing them.  Three colors: red blue and black.  I would love to send them in the mail to the people who have made this trip possible.  Here they are, arranged on my desk in this Memphis Super 8.  

So yeah...if you take a look at Day 5, you'll see that I am due in Jackson, Mississippi by the end of the day.  See ya later.