Well, we're packed up and ready to go. Shooting for an early departure tomorrow to try to beat some of the heat. 

So it turned into a three day delay from my original departure date. Considering that the car was completely disassembled not too long ago, I supposed that's not too bad. The mistake with throwout bearing was part of that, but since I was crossing my Ts and dotting my Is anyway, I figured I'd get it aligned too, which was another day, and a small adventure in itself. None of the shops near me wanted to try to touch the alignment on the car...apparently, if you're not in a new car with a new-ish suspension system, there are very few people left in Las Vegas who know how to hook you up. I got a lead at the last shop I visited, where the mechanic told me that there used to be a hot rod shop downtown called "Chick's", but Chick had died a few years back, but the old guys still worked there and they had a floor height alignment rack and all the right tools and know-how. So, off to the 'hood in search of The Garage Formerly Known as Chick's, which I finally did locate at 10th and Ogden. It's quite the neighborhood...meth addicts wandering in and out of the shop, the whole bit. "Zombie apocalypse every damn day down here" said the guy behind the counter. 

After a brief intermission for me to go get some longer bolts for the camber adjustment and a couple of hours on the rack getting worked on by a guy who looked like "Old Hot Rod Guy" from central casting, the car was aligned. I took it out on about a hundred mile shakedown run out to the desert in the mid-day heat, and only stopped to make a couple of steering adjustments. All systems appear to be "Go"; all the fluids are staying on the inside of the machinery, it's staying cool even in 105 degree weather (the motor is anyway, not so much for the driver), and it tracks and handles well after the alignment. I think we're ready to go.

It's a tight pack in the car, and I'm pretty certain that I've packed too much stuff. I figure it's easier to get rid of things later than to try to get something from home, but who knows. It'll quickly become apparent what stuff I need and what stuff I don't need. The next couple of days are also probably the most likely days to have mechanical issues if I'm going to have them--we're in that post-assembly "crib death" time period for parts and repairs, plus this part of the trip is mostly cruising at speed in 100+ degree heat, so if we make it through this, it's probably mostly OK.