With a multitude of last minute items completed here in McAllen, I'm ready! The truck is ready! I've assigned her the moniker "Baby Blue" in reference and homage to "Big Red", my father's hunting and camping vehicle when I was a kid. She carried us safely across the Mexican border many a time on our way to campouts at the beach. Happy times and great memories. I look forward to the same with Baby Blue.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my pal, Jeff Short for his help preparing Baby Blue for the journey. I'd probably be 30 more days behind schedule if it weren't for him. Jeff is a fine artist who does pin-up style drawings of women, very striking and colorful. See his web site here, at www.toddbenson.com. More importantly, he is one bad-ass auto mechanic. He took a clunker of an '86 Toyota pick-up and up-graded it dozens of ways to give it the security, comfort and reliability that I'll need on my trek.

I chose this particular vehicle for several reasons. There are many Toyotas in Latin America so repairs and parts will be accessible.

The exterior is thrashed so as to blend with the third world landscape and not attract any unwanted attention from the bandititos. Reliability, gas mileage and resale value in South America were also considerations.