Category: Friends

Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well, if you grew up near the coast, it is! A continental Pole of Inaccessibility is the point on land farthest from any ocean. On earth, this point lays on the Eurasian continent, a couple of hundred of miles north of Ürümqi, China. While Ürümqi has its own draws (a stop on the ancient silk road), North America’s Pole of Inaccessibility does not pull me so. It lies between Kyle and Allen, South Dakota. I picture it as something like this:I suppose the plains will have their own sort of beauty, but something about traveling for miles and miles and hours and hours and days and days, and never seeing nary a hill, makes me feel very claustrophobic, and, frankly, scared out of my wits! It actually makes my stomach turn – what a strange reaction to a piece of geography!

But, this trepidation is lessened by the joy of the trip I will be taking. I’ll be meeting Jenna in Minneapolis, about half-way through her drive out west from New York. From there, we’ll make various stops, eventually making our way to Portland in about a week’s time. Highlights: The Badlands, South Dakota; Thermopolis, Wyoming; Grand Tetons, Wyoming; Bonneville Hot Springs, Idaho. Most of our planned stops will presumably not put flips in my belly. And as we near Portland, we will be happier and happier!

If you have any suggestions for our journey please leave them in the comments!