Although there are many places on this planet I have not yet gone to, I consider myself quite fortunate to have been to quite a few and hope in the days and years ahead to visit many more. High on my wish list is a cross-country drive through the United States, possibly including parts of Alaska and Mexico.

This trip is still very much in the planning stages, but I do get excited thinking about it and have started jotting down things I would like to do and places I would like to go. I will write about this journey along the way and take gads of photos, but this is not going to be a trip where I become slave to pen or lens. I will meet lots of people, visit out-of-the way locales and, weather permitting, sleep out under the stars alongside a crackling campfire.

The list of destinations begins now, but please note that at this point, they are in no particular order.

I bet Rugby, North Dakota, is not high on the travel wish list for many people. Well, it is on mine. Here’s why.

Rugby just happens to be at the geographic center of North America. Founded in 1886 at a junction of the Great Northern Railway, a 15-foot rock obelisk flanked by United States and Canadian flags marks the spot, although you might just miss it if you’re driving a little too fast along US 2 and your eyes are drifting away to take in the other sights of Rugby.

Mine won’t be, even though the town’s “center” claim is in some dispute. One question that provokes the debate is why Central America isn’t considered part of North America. Well, maybe because Central America is central and not northern. I’m not getting involved in such disputes, however. Rugby is on my list.

And then there’s the house made out of corn cobs in Mitchell, South Dakota. Not sure about that one, but I’m going to include it as a possible.

This plan, as you can readily tell, is very much in its beginning stages, but as is so often the case there’s a lot of fun to be had in the planning. More to come down the road.