I’m currently driving. Where am I now? Still in Texas? No, finally in New Mexico! There’s expanse of planes with mountains in the distance. I just drove through some rain and some sleet. SLEET! I thought I was getting away from winter by going south but it’s 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Also I just passed the “continental divide” marker in the middle of all this flatness. None of this makes any sense! (Can you tell I’ve been in the car by myself for too long? :-P)
Dinner break in el paso 
El paso’s el jeep 
Near the “continental divide” 
F*ck this road in particular
As a child, the movie “Fievel Goes West” was one of my favorites. Now as I’m driving through southern New Mexico, it finally feels like I am experiencing “the West”. It’s it’s broad expanse of plains around Highway 10. The lonely sign for the continental divide announces an elevation of approximately 4500 feet but this announcement is supported only by comically flat lands. The sage-brush covered plain as far as the eye can see is ringed with mountains far in the distance. Today, those mountains are shrouded in places by falling torrents of precipitation. I say precipitation because while it looks like rain from afar there is sleet hitting my windshield! Having left New England on a mission to escape winter, I began to wonder if I made a wrong turn! Even though I was driving through one of the most southern regions of the country, I guess it is the end of December and far inland. In addition, my driving southern traverse encountered very extremely strong winds nearly the whole way. Not only was every flag flying straight, but also gusts buffeted the van and sent tumbleweeds on careening one-way trips to get crunched under oncoming tires.
To get to this point, I have had a fun and relaxed Journey from Nashville. My way points so far have been the houses of MIT friends. First I visited Eva and Jerome in St.Louis. It was great to spend time with both of them and to see their new house. The evening crumbled into some very entertaining cookie batter making, mixing in discussions of life, my crazy travels, and their ambitious medical residencies here at Wash U.
After St. Louis, I started the long drive south to Texas. Driving a few hours after dinner. I slept at a truck stop and then continued driving the whole day to reach the town of Anna Texas where Amber was visiting her family for the holidays. Thanks Amber for letting me crash your Christmas Eve with your family!
On Christmas Day I continued south from Dallas to Austin and had a delicous asian-fusion christmas dinner with Julie. After catching up on some life details, we filled the rest of the evening with some excellent and thought-provoking conversations about climate change efforts, Julie’s experiences with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and some ways that anyone can help make a difference.
While in Austin, I also got to reconnect with Jared. We had a fun day exploring the some juniper forest where a park trail winds through these dense cedar-like trees. Afterward, Jared showed me a delicious local brewery and pizza place. We finished off the night with some Red Handed bourbon.
There are several folks I missed being able to see while I was in Texas. Hopefully I can catch you next time!
After what felt like a very long time in Texas, my next stop was Tucson, AZ! I met Sondy at a taco place (warm-up for Mexico!) and then we had a fun evening baking a crazy layered torte involving toasted and ground poppy seeds. She suggested I stop on my way out of town at an epic hike up Picacho Peak, a lone volcanic monadnock just off the highway. With poles in hand, I speed climbed and ran down this fun scramble for a 1.5 hour round trip.
Impressive view from afar 
Sentinel 
At the summit 
The cacti were everywhere!
Finally arriving in San Diego, I met up with Sarah and Scott. It was super cool of them to take time off from packing to move and come to dinner and a movie with me!
Through all of this visits it was amazing and powerful to reconnect with these friends. Even if we hadn’t spoken much, in each visit the time between quickly melted away.
This part of the trip went by too quickly. I covered much terrain I would have liked to stay and explore longer! This part of my trip is on a timeline to reach San Diego, but I will have plenty of time in the future to retrace my steps and explore with more leisure and spontaneity. From San Diego, I catch a Tijuana flight to Mexico where I will be in Valle the Bravo for a paragliding trip in January!
