9/11/17, “5 Years, 17 Goals”
Fagatogo, American Samoa
And then there was one. Of the 300-some data points required to
complete this five-year quest, to complete all 17 Goals I set for myself, only
one remains: Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
It is my last National Park and my last US World Heritage Site. By visiting National Park of American Samoa
this morning, I am down to just one last data point before I can say, “Mission
Accomplished.” It has been a grueling
five years, and, when I set out to see the world that fateful July night in
Kentucky five years ago, I did not realize what it would entail. When I set my first 4 Goals that night, I did
not know that 13 more would follow.
When
I tried to visit every Olympic Stadium, I did not realize how challenging that
would be, and, once I did, I did not think I could possibly succeed. That is true twice as much for visiting every
North American WHS, all 109 of them, including places in Central America that I
was only able to visit with the help of some tour guides whom I was very
fortunate to find, along with a new friend that I made from Mexico in the
process, someone whose mission was to visit every WHS in his home country. Together, we did it, we did what he thought
was impossible, and I agreed, though I would never admit it. We made the impossible possible. I am thankful to everyone who has helped me
along the way, in every way, shape, and form.
This was not something I could have done alone, and the people who
helped me made all the difference in the world.
I have had bad fortune and good fortune in this quest, and if it were
not for some random streaks of good fortune, this mission would have been a
failure. I have arrived at sites minutes
before they closed, or after they closed and still been allowed to enter. I have entered sites that were not supposed
to be open to the public, thanks to an unlocked gate or door at an Olympic
Stadium. I have had my share of run-ins
with security officers and government officials. I have had flat tires and other car troubles
that were far worse. I have chartered
planes and boats and hired private tour guides who lived with me for multiple
days. I have done it all. I have always put the mission first. Now, only one last data point remains.
I have been asked what the 17 Goals are,
since I have never publicly enumerated them before. This will be my last chance to write about
them before I complete my mission. In
fact, this is my penultimate entry. I
will publish as soon as I finish writing, and then I will write one more entry
at HVNP, which will be the last entry I write in this Travelogue. Once my mission has been accomplished, this
Travelogue will be deemed closed.
Here
are the 17 Goals in order of priority: US States (50), US WHS (22/23), CAN
Provinces (10), CAN WHS (18), Continents (7), NA Countries (24), Olympic
Stadiums (27), US Territories (5), CAN Territories (3), US National Parks
(58/59), US Winter Stadiums (4), Wonders of the Ancient World (6), Natural
Wonders of the World (7), New7 Wonders of the World (7), NA WHS (109), CAN
Winter Stadiums (2), US National Memorials (32). None of those 17 Goals have been easy.
Visiting all 50 States was a slow churn, but I
am glad to say that I completed it at the beginning of this trip with my first
Official meal in Hawaii. US WHS has been
a lifelong mission for me, and some are easier than others, Taos Pueblo
providing a unique challenge, but I have methodically been working my way
through them, and I will finish that Goal tomorrow at HVNP. CAN Provinces was another slow churn, and the
drive across the prairie was no easy task, but I visited my 10th and
final province of Newfoundland and Labrador this summer. All CAN WHS was very challenging, in no small
part due to the remoteness of some of them.
Most of them can easily be visited by car, and Wood Buffalo NP can be
visited by car, but not easily. Nahanni
NPR is another story. That requires a
chartered flight and luck with the weather.
We got lucky. With Gros Morne NP
this summer, I completed that Goal.
Visiting all 7 Continents was both easy and hard, easy because there are
only 7 data points, but hard because one of them is hard to visit and other
very hard. 5 of the 7 continents have
direct flights from Kennedy, Australia is a long two-leg flight, but Antarctica
is another story. You need to take two
flights to Ushuaia and then a cruise ship to the continent and a Zodiac ashore,
if you have luck with the weather. I was
lucky again, and I was able to set foot on the continent. In Australia, last Christmas, I finished that
Goal.
All NA Countries was also a challenge, the island nations in the Caribbean being no easy task, especially figuring out how to get to Cuba. That was a slow grind, but it was one of the more enjoyable grinds. This summer, in Iceland, I completed that Goal. Olympic Stadiums were one of the
two hardest. Some of them offer tours to
the public. Others have been demolished
and the site of the Stadium is easily accessible. Others are just simply open to walk in any
time. The rest, not so much. For some, you can see a sports match at the
Stadium, which is easy if you plan it right.
Others are not open to the public at all, and you have to sneak or find
an accommodating security guard. It was
not easy, but I had a string of good luck.
I set foot inside all 27, completing that Goal in Sydney at the end of
last year.
US Territories was by no
means easy, getting here or to the Marianas was no easy task, but it was only 5
data points, and I marked America Samoa as my 5th Territory a few
days ago. CAN Territories was only 3
data points, but all three were hard.
For Northwest Territories, I had to fly to Edmonton then drive all day
(16 hours) to Fort Smith. That was the
easiest one. Nunavut required three
flights to get to the capital of Iqaluit and some intense questioning from a
CBSA officer about why I was going to Iqaluit.
Yukon was another long drive from Juneau by way of Haines, but, three
years ago, that was where I completed that Goal. US NP was a challenge, another lifelong
quest, and the hardest ones were the ones in Alaska, which were only accessible
by charter flight or long drives, but we did it and visited all 8 in
Alaska. Tomorrow, HVNP will mark my last
one of the 59. US Winter Stadiums might
have been the easiest, as it only required 4 data points, none of them particularly
hard. Squaw Valley and the two in Lake
Placid were easy enough, the hardest challenge being finding the right spot as
the stadiums themselves had been demolished.
Salt Lake City was just a matter of finding when a football game was
going on and buying a ticket, which was where I completed that goal three years
ago.
Wonders of the Ancient World was
very hard. Everyone says, “The Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World,” and I was prepared to go to Iraq in search of
the mystical Hanging Gardens of Babylon before I learned that they probably
never actually existed. Only the
Pyramids are still standing, and the other five have been well-documented and
the archaeological evidence well-preserved.
Trips to Greece, Turkey, and Egypt allowed for a relatively easy
completion of that Goal, which I did in Rhodes last year. The Natural Wonders of the World were
harder. I had already been to the Grand
Canyon and most of the others were easy enough to visit, the Northern Lights
requiring some luck and Everest being, by far, the most challenging, involving multiple
flights and a helicopter. At the end of
last year, I marked this Goal complete at the Great Barrier Reef in
Australia. The New7 Wonders were also
challenging, but I had already visited Petra before I added that Goal to the
list. Delhi, Beijing, Cancun, Rio, and
Rome all have direct flights from Kennedy, but Machu Picchu was not easy by any
stretch. I managed it, though, and I
marked this Goal complete at the Colosseum a year ago.
NA WHS was, by far, the hardest, with 109
data points, many of them in remote places.
I needed tour guides for Central America, a private tour package for
Kujataa, which I preemptively visited, and private boats for Revillagigedo and
Surtsey, in addition to the charter flights I previously mentioned. This was the biggest drain on resources, both
time and money, of all 17. This summer,
at Gros Morne NP in Newfoundland and Labrador, I marked that Goal complete, the
two in Hawaii being Oceania, rather than North America. CAN Winter Stadiums was easy enough, only two
data points. I got a ticket for a soccer
game in Vancouver so that I could take my ceremonial picture, then, two years
ago, I went to Calgary during my trip to the Canadian Prairie. I lucked out in that they were having some
kind of football camp, so I was able to mark that Goal complete. The lowest priority was US National
Memorials, and a fair number of them were in DC, which I had already visited in
large part. The biggest challenge was
Port Chicago Naval Magazine, as that could only be done at one time on a
Saturday and had to be arranged in advance.
A week ago I marked that Goal as Complete at American Memorial Park in
Saipan. That’s all 17 of them. Tomorrow, I will visit HVNP and end this
mission with my final entry. Who knows
what my 30s will hold?
After I closed last
night, I published my photos and passed out.
I woke up around 7 AM and got ready for my morning at the National
Park. I wasn’t that hungry, so a fiber
bar was more than enough. I packed
everything I needed for the next few hours and left my laundry out. I went to McDonald’s for some coffee but
couldn’t resist getting a hash brown. I
continued to the VC for the NP and took care of my business there. The best idea for a ceremonial picture was to
drive to the northern tip of the park and take the trail to the ocean there,
where I could see Pola Island
I did
exactly that and lit up a Punch once I entered the NP. I was rewarded with a stunning vista once I
finished the short trail and took my ceremonial picture. My sunburn had quickly become tolerable with
proper management, and I was able to enjoy myself. It was a pristine vista with not a single
sign of human interference anywhere.
That was 58 out of 59 National Parks, “American Samoa Complete,” and “All
US Territories Complete.” I went to
another trail, which was described as a hike up a switchback path and then a
climb down a rope ladder, sounded fun.
The hike up was grueling, and when I got to the rope ladder, it was a
hard no. I looked down and thought of
all the things that could risk the mission if I went down. I could twist an ankle or lose something
mission-critical out of my pocket. I
ditched my cigar and walked back to my car. I then lit up a Graycliff and went to a third trail, which was a nice
walk in the woods. I had done three
trails, and I was spent. I went back to
my car, and my idea was to go to a restaurant called Tisa’s Barefoot Bar. When I got there, it looked closed, which was
just as well, as I wasn’t really hungry.
I drove back to the hotel, ditching my cigar outside, and went to my
room.
My laundry was in a pile in the
room, and I heated up my Chinese food leftovers from last night. The five sweet and sour prawns was the
perfect amount of food, in addition to replenishing my salt and sugar levels. I then went out to the balcony and sat down
in my usual spot, where I lit up an OpusX and proceeded to write this entry,
which I will now close so that I can publish early and make some final
preparations before I head to the airport tonight. Only one entry remains. One Day more.
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