i also figured this one out after playing for a while. create a table in access. this table will have two fields and store one record, the begin and end date. next create a query in access that finds the records falling in between the two dates.
however, in order to use this query feature, i had to create a new form in infopath with the new table as the main data connection. but since i will not be submitting any data, its just for retrieval and viewing, it doesnt matter.