I have wanted to spend some time in Maine for many, many years. It all started with a report on the state of Maine that I wrote while in Junior High School, or maybe even in 6^th grade. I don’t remember what I discovered while researching the state, but it ignited a desire to go there. I remember considering going to college in Maine, and I also looked for jobs in Maine once I graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Of course, this was before widespread personal computers and the internet, so finding a job was not easy—considering I had not yet been there!

There’s no doubt about it. Exploring and experiencing new places is the main reason why we decided to travel full-time with our Airstream. Our eyes feast on the natural beauty we seek. Our hands feel the life flowing through rivers and lakes and breezing through the trees. Our feet propel us toward tucked-away sites across deserts and in forests. Yet, it is the people we meet and the friends we make that keep us drawn to this grand adventure.

It was mid-August. Since leaving Glacier National Park at the end of June, we were moving east at a faster-than-normal pace. Seventeen camping spots in seven weeks. Our stay at Horseshoe Lakes RV Campground in Clinton, Indiana—just outside of Terre Haute and in the middle of a cornfield—was for two and a half weeks in one place.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, we discovered three “bucket list” destinations in Wisconsin—Door County, Pilot Island, and Lambeau Field.

To be frank, the main reason we traveled through North Dakota this summer (2021) was to be able to put the sticker on our travel map. We didn’t really consider North Dakota a “destination” state, but we found one place—the International Peace Garden—that we thought made it worth putting on our route. Surprisingly, however, we had an incredible amount of fun as we traveled through the state!