13 thousand miles traveled and more to go!
by Garrick Moritz, editor
Our Nation’s greatest holiday, Independence Day, is upon us. So it is fitting that the nation that helped us win our independency and gifted us the Statue of Liberty should have its sons and daughters come to America for a great odyssey.
French Republic citizens Nicolas and Karine Follelete, with their two sons Thomas and Hugo, are following in the footsteps of the great French explorers of yesteryear, and have embarked on a great American adventure. This adventure took them here to Garretson, camping in our very own Splitrock Park. The Gazette caught up to them on Monday, June 24th, just before they left for Minnesota and parts east on their way to Michigan.
“We came to the United States this past October,” said Nicolas Follelete. “We arrived in New York City on Oct. 16, we stayed a week in the city and then we drove to Baltimore, Maryland to pick up our RV. We shipped our RV from Belgium to Baltimore.”
“That is certainly something that has impressed us since coming to America,” said Karine Follelete. “The parks, the parks are amazing. Both the National, State and City parks like this one have all been very beautiful. We are a family that loves nature, and loves to hike everywhere we go, and everywhere we have gone we’ve been both surprised and pleased that natural beauty has been preserved in these parks, and were happily surprised to see that America has a very positive mindset to natural conservation.”
“Our plan was to go where the road takes us. We average about 100 miles a day, we drive a little bit every day and then we stop to hike, explore, and camp,” said Nicolas Follelete. “This gave us the flexibility to make new stops and change direction as we saw fit. We have a general outline of where we need to go and by when, but how we get there has been up to us. It’s been a wonderful trip so far, and we’ve made many friends along the way.”
“Many people we’ve met who were on vacation themselves, we’ve since visited them in their home states or plan to visit them along the way,” said Karine Follelete.
Here is a brief outline of their tour so far, and it’s pretty incredible. Starting in New York, then to Baltimore, and taking the wheel of their RV, they explored the Southern States, through Virginia and the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. Then west along the Coast, spending their Christmas in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then, into Texas, and across the Southern border down into Mexico. Exploring Mexico for several months, they crossed back into the US from Baha into California. From Los Angeles they went east, exploring Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and
Colorado, doubling back to Northern California, then up the coast through Oregon and Washington. From there, it was east again, into Montana and Wyoming, and then to our fair State of South Dakota.
From here in Garretson, they planned to make a wandering way to Michigan, and then up into Canada to explore our neighbors to the north.
“We’ve traveled about 13 thousand miles so far,” said Nicolas Follelete. “It’s been a great journey.”
“You can look at a map and understand how large it is, but you can’t really understand how big it really is until you’ve seen it for yourself,” said Karine Follelete. “It’s a great opportunity for us and our boys, something we’ll always remember. We can’t possibly see it all of course, but we want to see as much as we can, take in as much as we possibly can.”
“It’s a great opportunity for us and our boys, something we’ll remember our whole lives,” said Nicolas Follelete.
Thankfully, they reported having no trouble crossing the US border during their sojourn. Both Follelete parents said that they had no problems at any border crossings, and were sent through as quickly and efficiently as possible. Nicolas Follelete said that as a family that was clearly on vacation, they didn’t require a visa, and the border officers were courteous and efficient getting them through. With all the news of trouble along the Mexican border, it’s nice to hear that international tourism isn’t being harassed or delayed.
As the Follelete family prepared to depart, this newspaper editor was envious of their great adventure and told them so. On behalf of Garretson and the people of South Dakota we wish them the very best. Bon voyage, vive la France! L'Amérique vous aime, chers frères.
