Look at the post I put on here under GPS and Trip Planning about the Spot Messenger
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1414
You can usually find these things on sale for about $100 (reg price $149) with a yearly service contract that ranges $50-100 depending on what services you want.
You can buy them in a place like West Marine (a boat store) and many other places on online. Check it out, you and your wife and friends may love it to follow your progress.
When one of my friends a year or so ago took one of his trips to Sturgis and his wife and I and and friends could track him every day. I was kidding his wife that she knows where his Spot Messenger is, but she really had no clue where he was (could have given it to his friend he met early along the way).