PROVO, Utah - Norio Sasaki is a man on a mission. Traveling through the streets of Provo, Sasaki sometimes walks, other times he runs, but he is always with his 175-pound cart behind him.
It's a trip that he started in Alaska roughly eight months ago, and a trip that will take him to Argentina, he says, by 2019.
"People think I'm crazy," Sasaki laughs from the side of the road.
He says his family supports his dream to travel nearly 20,000 miles to the tip of South America.
The motivation behind the trip started about three years ago in his native city of Kyoto, Japan. Sasaki was a former life guard, and former member of the ski patrol.
He decided that he needed to be strong not only in mind, but body. That's most of the reason for this mission.
"It's so beautiful, I want to see the sights," Sasaki notes.
Next up, he plans on traveling to Price, then Moab, and then to St. George before making his way to Las Vegas.
He said the trip will cost him six wheels, 10 pairs of shoes, and three years of his life, and the journey comes with its fair share of dangers.
"I had a bear outside my tent one night," Sasaki said. "I woke up the next morning and saw his prints outside."
Sasaki sleeps in a tent every night, some nights with temperatures well below zero. The only thing he carries for protection is bear spray, something he hasn't needed to use yet.
As he travels the streets of Provo Friday, people at gas stations, and others driving by, stopped to take notice.
"He's crazy," one passerby said, adding: "I love it!"
Norio posted several photos from his time in Utah County to his Facebook page.
