On Friday May 16, 2008 six of us set out on a road trip to the Dakotas. What had started out in the planning stages as the annual ladies weekend for Bev, Win, & Tracy to get the daughters to North Dakota, their 50th state, had grown into a five day, husbands-included, 2500 mile trek through both of the Dakotas—complete with free ice water, ginormous sculptures, and daredevil prairie dogs.

While only Win and Tracy achieved visiting their 50th state (Bev having already achieved that), the rest of us each found ourselves at least in the respectable high 30s.