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Journeying West in the Time of Covid Fall 2020 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Dallas, Texas

Hello Dear Friends and Family,

In mid-October we hit the road for our Journey West in the Time of Covid. This trip was in part prompted by the great desire to see the thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate to their wintering grounds in Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico in November, to visit Gatesville, Texas where David's mother was born, and to experience Big Bend National Park in Texas. The second impetus for this trip was a need to get out and really see America in the wake of this unprecedented and terrible pandemic. Thirdly, rest and relaxation were sorely needed. So we packed our car and headed west in Pennsylvania, then south into a corner of Maryland, and finally to our first stop....

West Virginia: Life is old there, older than the trees, Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze....take me home, country roads.

Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia

The Grand View of the New River in the national forest.

Ever since I read Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam years ago, I have been intrigued with the "Mountain State", the beauty of its mountains and rivers I'd only seen in photos, juxtaposed against its coal mining history and the tough life of coal mining families depicted in Hickam's book. It is an uplifting story about childhood wonder and curiosity, resilience, and following one's dreams, especially since Homer went on from his hometown of Coalwood to a career with NASA.

While in Coalwood, in one of those magical road trip moments, we happened to meet Don Davis, a childhood friend of Homer and the rocket boys, who after years away from Coalwood, was revisiting for the weekend. He shared stories about Homer and the boys, showed us important buildings in the town including Homer's house and the Company Store, and shared his own story about growing up in Coalwood and leaving the town to pursue his dreams.

A plaque in Coalwood honoring The Rocket Boys.

Don Davis by historic markers in Coalwood.

Abandoned house outside of Coalwood.
Signs express some of the struggles of the region.

Text of the signs above:

Speculators hog by birth, hog by nature and hogs by acts of the legislature.

Clean Coal Tech....$100 billion to develope PINN. Indian and Elkhorn Creek dry feed by pond and ditches.

Drinking water, fish, crawdads and minnows gone. Chemicals glowing.

We the People.

From West Virginia we rolled through Virginia, Tennessee, and were thrilled to cross the Mississippi from Memphis into Arkansas. We found great country music on the radio around Nashville, and sweet soul music in Memphis. We crossed Arkansas and made our way to Dallas, Texas.

Rolling over the Big Muddy (Mississippi River) at Memphis.

Cypress trees in the Wapanocca Wildlife Refuge in the Arkansas delta of the Mississippi.

Cotton fields in Arkansas.

In Dallas we visited SMU (David's sister Karen's alma mater), Maggie Parry, David's mentee in the Penn Leadership Program, and Enrica and Aldo, my cousins. We visited Maggie at the Greenhill School where she currently teaches second grade. Her grandfather founded the school in the 1950's and it remains one of the leading progressive K-12 schools in Dallas. We were fascinated to learn that Maggie's grandfather grew up in West Virginia and as a teenager spent time working in the coal mines to help support his family. It was a true gift to see Enrica and Aldo and catch up on all the family news. The graciousness of others while on the road, like a Tex Mex dinner with Maggie and her husband, Mike, and Enrica's homemade almond cookies, make for wonderful days.