Mission Accomplished

There’s nothing wrong with the declaration that the mission has been accomplished- if in fact it has. No jumping the gun. No putting the cart before the horse. No landing your jet on the deck before the carrier has smooth sailing. More aptly, in light of where we are headed right now: No counting your chickens before they have hatched!

There is a reason why you don’t unfurl your banner until it’s time to do so. This, evidently, IS the meaning of the universe for which I sought counsel just yesterday. A mere couple hours before the crossing of the border to North Dakota (The Final Mission Marker), THIS happened to us in flood ravaged (and incredibly SOFT) South Dakota. Where? Why in the center of the universe of course. So the true lesson of finding the center of the universe is HUMILITY!


Getting stuck in the mud for the very first time? Zero dollars. Loosing 4 hours of much needed travel time trying to get unstuck? Zero dollars. Having an insurance company that will send someone to winch you out “of the center of the universe" for free? Priceless!


But, NOW, for us: the gun is ready to fire, the horse is out in front of the cart where it should be, the ship has pulled into the destination port, and the eggs, all dozen of ‘em, done hatched today as we pulled into magical # 49, North Dakota. How fitting! Another 49-er for the records!

As of today, May 4, 2009:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Quatro de Mayo! Ship no “sinko” de Mayo! (Unless of course there is that "sinko in the mud" thing!!!) The same state I just missed (by poor planning on my part) earlier in this venture is now reclaimed. Last night, sitting in Belle Fourche in a campground that is still drying out from the great Dakota floods of 2009, we had to wonder whether we could get in to North Dakota at all….or not. It’s still very wet. Very soft, Very iffy. But this time we are not to be denied!

Camping, traveling, touring sports fans, here are the stats, the tale of the tape:

Number of days to reach all 49 available RV-able states: 968 days (2.65 years)

Number of miles traveled (by coach): 41, 623.6 miles

Number of campgrounds stayed in to accomplish goal: 214 different campground stops

Number of gallons of diesel sacrificed to the gods of travel: 5,946.23

Fuel price range during trip: 1.98 per gal. to 6.00 per gal. (3.15 a gallon on our first fill up in Fort Myers, FL on September 6, 2006

One never knows for sure at the outset whether the dreams and plans and aspirations of a lifetime that have been set will ever materialize as envisioned. For some, the joy in life is about the destination. For some the reward is in the journey itself. We relish both. Whether life will be short or life will be long, we are not permitted to know. But that we appreciate every breath and every step and every mile and every friend and every love- that is a matter of our choosing, if we are fortunate. Vive la journey!