Greenwich, England, Prime Meridian
From the time I was young and followed the progress of our family road trips on the map as I sat in the back seat of the car, I have always been fascinated with geography–both the actual places that we passed and the lines imposed on the map marking arbitrary divisions between towns, states and countries. I love reading atlases and finding geographic markers on the globe. In celebration of the third anniversary of The Intrepid Tourist I would like to share a few photos that mark some of the geographic points I have personally visited.
My parents and three brothers at the Continental Divide, 1958
The oldest is a family photo at the Continental Divide I took with my Brownie camera on our trip in 1958 from Minneapolis to California. That trip was the first time any of us had seen mountains–Minnesota, by comparison, being a relatively flat state. We were all suitably impressed. At Monarch pass, elevation 11,312 feet, we read that water flowing to the east ended up in the Gulf of Mexico and water flowing to the west, in the Pacific.
Standing on Four States at once at the Four Corners, 1990
On that same trip our family camped for several days at Mesa Verde in Colorado. As we headed south we drove through the four corners area where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. Many years later I was in southwestern Colorado again researching my book, The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, with Richard Hewett, the photographer of the book. On our way back to Los Angeles, we stopped at the Four Corners marker and took pictures.
Caroline in the Northern Hemisphere, Jennifer in the Southern Hemisphere
Another historic photo is the picture of me and my daughter Jennifer taken on the Equator in Uganda in 1971. Two things impressed me about being on the Equator. I had expected it to be hot, but, in fact, due to the elevation, the climate in Uganda was quite comfortable even in summer. As expected, the sun was almost directly overhead at noon. What surprised me was how quickly it became dark when the sun set. Conversely, at dawn the sun just seemed to pop over the horizon, and suddenly it was day.When I was in Turkey two years ago, I crossed the bridge that links Asia and Europe in Istanbul. On our return, we passed a similar sign welcoming us to Europe.
Welcome sign on the Asian side of the Bosporus
In 1999, while spending three months in Australia when Art was on sabbatical, we traveled to Alice Springs where we made a point to visit the marker for the Tropic of Capricorn. Visiting the Tropic of Cancer is still on my bucket list. We were relatively close last summer while vacationing in the Yucatan, but not close enough to make it a destination.
At the Tropic of Capricorn, near Alice Springs, Australia 1999
I still have many geographic points I would like to visit. Who knows, perhaps they will become subjects for The Intrepid Tourist someday. As I begin this fourth year of the blog, I thank all of my friends and family who have contributed to The Intrepid Tourist and all of you who have been my faithful readers.To another year of Happy Traveling!
