Traveling America

It is December here by the river. Snow has come this week and the cold has settled in. We had plans to spend Christmas in Florida with some children and grandchildren, and so have set off to drive there and that brought us to this river. The Mississippi at Natchez Mississippi. At this point on the Mississippi, the Arkansas that flows past our house has already become part of this flow. It is amazing

to think of water that flows past our house is now flowing here. We have been driving for two days and this morning will see us drive across Mississippi down to Mobile Alabama to Tallahassee to stay with friends. It is nice to drive across America when you can give yourself permission to wander as you want, to pause and look. I find myself always drawn to the water and the Mississippi is such a line for east and west of America. There are stories in the west, about our rivers. Those of us who raft the Arkansas here in Colorado, know stories, the Colorado River is certainly well loved with many tales, John Wesley Powell and such. But the Mississippi, is any river in America more written about? Can one stand by the Mississippi and not think of Mark Twain? It is especially impressive when you drive to it. I have flown a plane that far east and it is neat to turn circles over the Mississippi, but to stand next to it is the only way I can feel the immensity. We drove down a piece of the Natchez Trace to Natchez and I really felt the history of the Indians and the pioneers in the settlement of this part of the country. To then arrive at this river is to feel like you know what they saw.
  We are staying two days at the Miccosukee Land Co-op just east of Tallahassee Florida with friends.  This place is 300 acres of individual homes in the fecund forest and swamp of central Florida near the St Mark River. It is an intentional living community started by young people from an FSU course in the 70's and seems to be a success. Modest homes in the woods and a community center and pool. Our friends have a lovely garden and this time of year is when they do a lot of their gardening, the lemons and oranges are ripening, they just had a big Okra harvest that we enjoyed in gumbo last night.
    Tomorrow we move on down to below Clearwater for our Christmas week with my son Bill and his family from Denver and his Sister in law and family from Chicago.
    It is exciting to be seeing parts of America more intimately than just flying over them or even just driving by on the interstate. To drive America and see America gives hope to our future. It is not as bad as the news would have us believe. A smile will always be returned. A road curtesy acknowledged. A common purpose of life in America felt. I look forward to new experiences as we wander for the next few weeks before we are back and I return to being Will by the River.