Voyager Africa

Voyager America

These are a few of our favorite things.... Part II

We arrived back in Philadelphia last Sunday (12/13), just in time for a good Nor-easter snow storm! We travelled just over 10,000 miles in our trusty VW Golf and visited 16 states. We crossed over the Mississippi River twice and went back-and-forth over the Continental Divide. We remained healthy throughout the trip and feel quite lucky for that and for the chance to make this journey. We travelled during our Presidential election and as COVID surged almost everywhere in America. On the road in the pandemic we managed our lives much like we do at home: keeping almost exclusively to ourselves, always wearing masks and keeping proper distance to others, being outdoors most of the time, and not eating in restaurants. What a place America is. While America's contradictions and the pain they cause are brutally clear, there is much goodness and the land we call our country is beautiful beyond measure. When possible, get out and experience as much of it as you are able----and keep working to make our country a place that can be legitimately good for all of us.

Thanks so much to all of you who followed us and wished us well. We are going to end our blog posts by sharing a few of our favorite moments and/or places. Of course, we will always be ready to share more photos and adventures whenever asked. Peace be with you....

A FEW OF DAVID'S FAVORITE EXPERIENCES AND PLACES:

I love rivers and following watersheds. This trip took us over the James River, the Rio Brazos, and the Pecos, but the most exciting for me was crossing the Mississippi twice and following the Rio Grande from Big Bend up north of Sante Fe. The Rio Grande helped forge the Rio Grande Rift Valley in New Mexico, which was formed 70 million years ago by two separating faults. It was at the center of most of the life and history of the region and it is why the Cranes return each year. It was a thrill to move with these rivers.

The Rio Grande in Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend

The Rio Grande in the Rift Valley, NM

Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds. Notice the Northern Harrier hunting in their midst.

Life in the Bosque del Apache was another highlight of our trip for me. I came to see the Sandhill Cranes and never knew that Snow Geese (including Ross's Geese) and Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds all migrate together. This tri-fold migration is like the migration of the wildebeests, zebras, and Thomson's Gazelles that takes place annually in Tanzania on the Serengeti. Certain parts of the Bosque even reminded us of the Serengeti. And with this teaming life comes predators, local life that stays all year, and other migrants. To stand in the midst of such life in full and constant motion is a dream come true.

Snow and Ross's Geese and Sandhill Cranes

The movement of humanity is another "river" I like to follow. The Rio Grande Rift region saw humans arrive at least 10,000 years before Christ. Over time, these native peoples created the Camino Real, a major trade route that spanned from present Mexico City to Santa Fe. The idea of actually walking from Mexico City to Santa Fe is mind-boggling to me. The Spanish, and later Mexicans, used this route to colonize the region. They have left a Mission culture that has fallen into ruin in some places, but is still quite vital in others. The Spaniards forged a second trail to the Pacific and white settlers added the Santa Fe Trail from Santa Fe to Kansas/Missouri. These trails, like the Rio Grande River, are the actual movers of the region's history.

The first peoples' marking their way....

Chimayo: A Mission and pilgrimage site in much use today.
We were here late in the afternoon all by ourselves.

The place of worship in Chimayo Mission

Salinas Pueblo Mission at Quarai built in the 1620's. Regional natives had returned to pueblo life by 1600 and the Spanish military and clergy built three very large churches (the central nave was 100 feet long and the structure was 4 stories high) in the pueblo stone-style using native labor. 6,000 natives were living in Quarai when the Spanish arrived. Spanish control over these pueblos lasted only until the 1670's. We did not know these structures and this history existed before we came here. It adds a major piece for us in understanding the region's pueblo history that exploded beginning in 1100 AD.

Staying in Magdalena, NM, for 3 weeks was also a highlight for me. Because the Santa Fe railroad came here in 1885, this was a wild-west town that was a major steer and sheep transport hub well into the 1930's. Several of the buildings from its heyday, like the Magdalena Hotel, still exist. It was said that 2,000 people lived here and there were at least four houses of prostitution.