It's summer, OK, for a couple days it felt like summer, the time of year that even nerds like me long to fling aside their copies of "The Economist" and hit the open road. Truth be told, I'd do just about anything to be summiting Avalanche Peak right now.

I do a fair amount of driving on these escapades (24 hour jags are not unusual) and am constantly amazed at the wonder of our modern highway system that snakes into the remotest