Sunday, July 26, 2009

US Highway 2 -- "End-to-End" -- Complete!

My last day's drive on my US Highway 2 -- "End-to-End" -- road trip took me across the middle of Maine, all the way to the Canadian border at Houlton. The road was astonishingly similar to what it has been for the past 3,000 miles. The vegetation is a little thicker and taller, the tiny towns a bit closer together, but overall it's been the exact same road: straight, flat and utilitarian.


Looking back at my posts over the last month and a half, I'm afraid I may have given you the impression that -- at least at times -- I didn't enjoy the road or the drive. Nothing could be farther from the truth. US Hwy 2 has become like an old friend to me, a bit stuck in its ways perhaps, but lovable none the less.

As I looked at my road rig parked in front of the "End 2" sign, I had a profound sense not only of accomplishment, but of privilege. Traversing the entire country -- the entire continent, in fact -- at almost precisely the same latitude throughout has been amazing. To see so many small towns and villages, many so remote from each other, and to realize how many people live there, how they live... It's given me a sense of my country that I could not have gotten any other way. This road trip has been a profound experience and success.

I'm going to hang out here for a couple of days, to catch up with myself, to decompress a bit, and to figure out where to go next and how to get there. Thanks for joining me and... Stay tuned!

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