Over the last decade, the world has witnessed remarkable shifts in the development and use of high performance computing technologies. The successful application of industry standard clusters and significant improvements in software functionality and usability have enabled more users in an increasingly broad range of disciplines to take advantage of HPC. These shifts and conditions have also influenced and shaped the path toward the next milestone in capability computing-petaFLOPS systems.Successful PetaFLOPS computing requires a true systems approach. Chip technology, systems, software, interconnect fabric, system management, usability, reliability, interoperability, security are just some of the key elements requiring innovation and integration. As important as getting there is, the routes and detours we take and the bumps along the road are also of interest and importance. This presentation will explore the driving factors giving us headlights on this journey, the routes available to us, as well as potential "potholes and pitfalls" along the way.