Stationery on the Road
Alternate title: What I took on the 4000+ mile road trip.
At Kintla Lake in Glacier National Park.
The route: Wisconsin to Badlands National Park. Badlands to Devil’s Tower National Monument. Devil’s Tower to Bozeman, MT. Bozeman to Canmore, Alberta. Spent several days exploring the Banff National Park area. Drive to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan to Grand Forks, North Dakota. Back home again. Thirteen days, fourteen nights. Six nights on a couch (family’s house, then in a condo) and eight days in a tent. It was long, but it was so grand to see so much of North America, some I was familiar with and other spaces that I’d never been before.
And therefore there was much writing to be had and my stationery tools got a lot of use. I mulled over what to bring on this journey in my last post. But what did I actually bring?
The final stationery packing list:
My TN filled with an A6 Stalogy, an A6 Oasis Note, and an A6 Penguin Paper Co. insert as a backup. Three washi cards tucked into the back pocket. A selection of stickers. Some loose pocket-sized Plotter pages, and blotting paper.
A Kaweco tin filled with a tape runner, white out, and Diamine Steel Blue (3), Diamine Syrah (1), Diamine Sherwood Forest (an accidental addition - 1), and Montblanc Mystery Black (3) cartridges.
The above all kept together in a Tools to Liveby small dust bag inside of my Frost River rucksack when on the trail and a Peg and Awl small hunter satchel (TN only) while exploring civilization or making pit stops.
A small lap desk.
Pens: Kaweco x Galen Leather Carmine Sport with 14K BB journaler nib inked with Ferris Wheel Press Unfettered Flight (this was hooked to the pen loop on my TN where it usually is), Kaweco liliput copper with M stub and inked with Diamine Steel Blue, and Kaweco liliput fireblue with 14K M journaler inked with Diamine Syrah initially, later Montblanc Mystery Black (these were in their usual Rickshaw case).
Overall, this is pretty much what I thought I would take. For once in my life I think I actually packed the perfect amount of stuff, both stationery-wise and camping gear wise. I pretty much made use of everything that I brought with me. A few bits of my EDC was left behind at home, namely my Kaweco Art Sports that are usually in tow and then my A6 Sterling Ink Common Planner.
Campfire time at Fish Creek Campground in Glacier National Park near Lake McDonald.
The planner was a hard decision because I like to keep a log throughout the day of what I’m doing so when I sit down to journal or do a reflection I can remember what I did. It’s also a good mental health check-in for when I feel like I’m not getting anything done or can’t understand why I’m tired. I wanted to do this on the trip and I puzzled how I could utilize the Stalogy or Oasis Note. Then I remembered, I had a partially used Hobonichi weekly insert that I bought at the beginning of the year and then traded in for the Common Planner. A few strokes with a paper cutter and I had some portable pages. I taped them into my Stalogy so they wouldn’t go astray from my writings during the trip. This turned out to be a great idea as it was very easy to copy the log over to my Common Planner when I returned. It gave me an opportunity to revisit the days of the trip again.
Getting stamps at visitor’s centers is a non-negotiable activity.
Three pens in tow turned out to be perfect. There were a few times I wished I had a different nib or ink color, but once I started any sort of writing I completely forgot about that and just enjoyed scribbling across pages that are slightly stained with prairie dirt and maybe a bug or two that accidentally got squished when I turned a page. I was on fire as far as writing went. I wrote 60 pages (30 sheets) in the Oasis Note between fiction and some blog drafting. I also wrote 60 pages (30 sheets) of travel journalling and reflections in the Stalogy. It’s total coincidence that they ended up being the same amount.
Hanging out in Canmore, Alberta having a London Fog Latte at Beamer’s Coffee.
Car writing set up.
Where did I write? That was probably the biggest challenge of taking stationery camping. Ever since I was a young kid I was a notebook hauler. I would get a fresh college ruled notebook, a pack of Bic pens (bonus points if they were the colorful pack) or a Bic multi-pen, and scribble half-finished ideas and musings throughout the whole trip. I did pretty much the same here (except I actually finished some of the fiction this time). When we got off the trail for the day I would sit by the campfire or at the picnic table and write. My travel partners were usually tired too and we all enjoyed the quiet evenings until it got too dark. Writing by headlamp was only possible inside the tent since the light would attract every manner of bug. It took me a few days, but eventually I started writing in the car as well during the long stretches between destinations. Those pages don’t always have the tidiest handwriting, but it gave me a chance to scribble to my heart’s content. The lap desk was so insanely useful to have along.
It was so worthwhile to have my stationery with me on the trip while I traveled. That running log and those entries are really letting me revisit those moments as I was in them. It lets me get some perspective if I revisit those ideas to do some nonfiction or even fiction writing (I love taking historical notes and sensory notes about places).
It was a completely amazing trip. I brought home a lot of stickers from each of the places I visited. That is one of my favorite souvenirs while traveling. They are small, don’t take up much room and I can stick them to things and summon up the memories whenever I look at them.
Currently Inked
Montblanc Mystery Black - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - I replaced Diamine Syrah with this ink after I finished up that first cartridge. I realize as I write this I actually picked this package of ink cartridges at the Montblanc store in Las Vegas, NV on a different trip, so a little extra travel memory fun. Mystery Black is a pretty standard black and it had good flow. It made for a nice contrast with Diamine Steel Blue on my pages.
Diamine Steel Blue - Kaweco liliput copper M stub - This was a winning combo that I wrote through two cartridges during the trip. Steel Blue was one of my early acquisition bottles (since rehomed), but I kept the cartridges for trips like these. I really appreciate Diamine’s cartridge multi-packs that have several colors in them to choose from. This is a classic turquoise-leaning blue with some great shading. It also flowed well even when I was writing on uneven surfaces in a variety of temperatures.