The Challenge

"It is true, we are but faint hearted crusaders, even the walkers, now-a-days, who undertake no persevering never ending enterprises. Our expeditions are but tours and come round again at evening to the old hearth side from which we set out. Half the walk is but retracing our steps. We should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure, never to return; prepared to send back our embalmed hearts only, as relics to our desolate kingdoms."
--Henry David Thoreau, "Walking"

So I'm not walking, but it doesn't mean I've lost the use of my feet, as Thoreau would have it. It's just that walking to St. Louis doesn't seem all that fun to me. Driving, though, does give me a chance to see and do; perhaps now Thoreau would say flying--as convenient and quick as it is--diminishes our ability to connect. Then again, I'm being a bit too romantic.
Even though Thoreau only traipsed about his little corner of the world, he certainly bothered to become well acquainted with it--an expert in fact. This kind of living deliberately ensures he is not a "faint hearted crusader." I do not aim to be Thoreau, but there is an aspect of this active digging, diving in that appeals.
We'll see, by the end of this trip, whether I've come close...