See America: Yes, I Can!

Well, I'll have to have this playing when I arrive: Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque.


After taking journeys each year to destinations like Paris, Switzerland, Mexico, Italy and Spain, Steve and I are off to, at last, see America for just over two weeks.

It's really humbling when you travel in Europe and people are more well-traveled in your own country than you are. Do places across an ocean seem more exotic?

I can't wait to see Sante Fe, and I'm really excited to be visiting the national parks. I haven't been to any. Have you seen any of Ken Burns' series on the National Parks? I just started watching some videos online, and could spend hours doing so.

"Parks represent the wildness inside us. They're the place where we can be lonely, where we can experience solitude. They're a place we go to as refuge, as sanctuary. It's the place we go out to, to come back in. It's the only place in many people's lives where that's possible," said writer Gretel Ehrlich in a clip on the Petrified Forest in Arizona, which I'll be visiting.

I've already started my book for the journey, which I found for 50 cents at the C.A.T.S. Resale Shop, "These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Arizona Territories," by Nancy E. Turner, which was inspired by the author's great-grandmother, Sarah Prine. It is set in Territorial Arizona. Pioneer women keep calling out to me, telling me to learn and share their stories, and seek our own frontiers.

We're ending our Southwest journey in Vegas where, of course, I hope to see the King! Lawdy Miss Clawdy from the '68 Comeback Special.

While unlike Elvis I can't say "I won't be coming no more," I will say for now, "Down the road I go." Let's meet here again for the ongoing journey exploring history, the beauty of the land, continuing education and embracing a life of discovery.