In the lead up to this week-long challenge, I joked that when it came to Park Quest 24/7, there was only "I" in this team.
Really, I reasoned, who else could I convince to come along? Visiting 24 state parks across Maryland in seven days, completing the puzzle or word scramble or geocache at each site, getting a Park Quest passport stamped and dashing off to the next site hardly seems like fun to most folks.
So, unlike other Questers — 750 teams of families and friends — I figured I would be flying solo.
Only I haven't been.
Riding shotgun the whole way has been Sacagawea.
The stuffed black bear was given to me for good luck last Tuesday night by park staffers in Western Maryland the night before my Quest began.
I named it Sacagawea after the Indian interpreter and guide who helped explorers Lewis and Clark become Lewis and Clark. And for her trouble, she had a crummy-looking $1 coin minted in her honor.
Like Tom Hanks' beloved soccer ball, Wilson, in the movie "Cast Away," Sacagawea has been everywhere I've been, listening to my complaints and anxieties without judgment. And you should hear us sing old Tom Petty tunes: Take it Saca!
I've also been carrying a ceramic Buddha to remind me to be patient, a St. Jude medal because, let's face it, this started out as a lost cause, and a medal of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists.
And then there are the people along the way who have become members of Team Sacagawea:
Park rangers, naturalists and interpreters, who promised to wait as long as it took for me to get to their park and complete the Quest;
Readers who emailed me suggestions for places to eat and stay along the way (and speed traps to watch for);
Fellow Questers, who also urged me on with notes of encouragement;
The guys at Base Camp Baltimore, who kept me on their radar screens, edited my blog and did that electronic wizardry that attaches the photos to the posts;
My friends who fed me and cheered me up when I thought this project was unraveling;
Dr. Gridlock, the Washington Post's transportation columnist, who tried his best to get me out of traffic jams that threatened to run out the 24/7 clock. Yes, we're married. But the Sun and Post share content, and his advice counted.
Will I finish this Quest? For the first time, I'm starting to think about standing on the beach at Assateague on Tuesday, happy for it to be over but a little bit empty, too.
Saca and I appreciate our extended team. Really, we do.