100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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Another week gone. It is still getting into the low 80s in Duluth during the day. The leaves are just starting to change. I have been studying for my aviation tests (some I have to take again since they expired (sigh)).

I hiked the next segment on the Appalachian trail. Some of the trees are absolutely spectacular. Some of these areas are old growth and the areas have never been logged. I found this interesting "h" tree. It was quite unique (and close enough to the trail) to ponder others who have seen the tree. Sure enough a google got the following result: The "h" tree. This tree is a few miles from anywhere. However, the uniqueness of it has brought it notoriety. The views are getting better as the trail gets into the taller mountains. I was on the trail about 6 hours. It felt like an hour or two, max.

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