This Google map (updated by Derrick Kikuchi) is tracking where Julie is currently located on her trip across America. Julie loves reading your comments. The best place to leave a comment is on her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@jbkmcd
Day Seven – Revisit and Repeat
It was not until 2020 that I made my first outreach to the native tribes in Arizona and New Mexico. My interviews that year were exclusively with native women living on the reservation and working in Navaho owned Outposts. Their covid stories were straightforward, heartbreaking and completely without grievance. Remote multigenerational living, limited medical resources and political complications between Navaho Nation, the State, and public health officials combined to create interventions were brutal in their execution. What struck me most was the complete humility and grace with which the shared their stories.
In 2022 I met Elouise. As a manager of an Indian Outpost owned by Bowlin Travel Centers, her story has stayed with me ever since. In search of an update, I went back to their store in Bluewater New Mexico. Bowlin is a 100 year old company with 10 locations between Arizona and New Mexico. Because their outposts are remote, they offer on-premise housing to key staff members. While I worried that this arrangement might be rife for a power imbalance at best, the workers that I have talked with seemed thankful and genuinely happy.
Here is the 2022 interview. Her story is so difficult, but her resilience is profound.
Update – Elouise moved on last year to a new job, but I got to speak with Joseph and Noah. They both knew Elouise and they shared her spirit and dedication to their work and to their employer. Interestingly, when I asked them what they needed, they both gave me the exact same answer that Elouise did. In that way, things have not changed in Bluewater.
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Day Six – A Hero in Gallup
In 2008 as I passed through this very stretch of New Mexico I wrote the following,
Contrast (kən-trāst’, kŏn’trāst’) To set in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences
Visually, New Mexico geography defines contrast. From the rich color stratifications to the jutting rock formations, you experience it but it is hard to feel a part of it.
My first post debate interaction this morning was at the hotel elevator where I met two women from Oklahoma, both dressed head to toe in red, white and blue. They seemed more subdued than their attire and within moments they were sharing just how disappointed they were with the debate. They felt that Kamala Harris was unpresidential, did not answer any of the questions, and that the moderators clearly favored her. Trump was strong and the only candidate that world leaders respected. They were clearly terrified of a Harris presidency.
My contrast came two hours later at the Route 66 diner. Sitting at the counter where three good friends discussing the debate. While I suspected they were Trump supporters, they were kind and funny. They signed my flag and slid into a booth to have breakfast. After I finished I noticed that only one of the three remained. Please meet Fred. Born and raised in New Mexico, Fred served for 30 years in the Air Force as a civil engineer. He built Air Force bases in Vietnam and Germany. Fred shared stories of working double shifts when he was deployed just because he loved the work. Off base, he would gain approval to use equipment and materials to aid the local people, schools and orphanages. From clearing fields for rice paddies to building school soccer fields, he was proud of his work and service. I am too.
I asked Fred if he would answer one last question on tape for me and he agreed. In the end, he had one last surprise for me.
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Day Five – Debate Night
Everything changed tonight. I had hoped, I had prayed, and I will confess, I even bargained a little with my God. But I never imagined anyone could lay out the case so eloquently, confidently and completely. She found the words that we have all been searching for and delivered them in a performance worthy of Aaron Sorkin’s Westwing. She rope-a-doped the bully.
My intention was to watch the debate here in Gallup, New Mexico. I arrived early and tried to find a restaurant or pub that would be tuning into the debate. Sadly, every single proprietor I asked firmly stated they would not be showing the debate. Hmmmm
Please check back tomorrow and I will attempt to share some local reactions. For now, I am just letting this wash over me. God Bless America (oh, and God, I will make good on my promise)
Day Four – Arizona’s gift to all of us
Ash Fork, AZ Part 3 to follow soon… Today was a recharge and a reflection. Have a listen and let me know what you think (and how you are!) XOXXO
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Day Three – Ash Fork, AZ Part Two
Geography is everything. Especially in this corner of America. Ash Fork is an unincorporated town and as such, it has no police or municipal support. Most critical, as this is ‘high desert’ early residents could not simply dig wells to get water. For many years, water was brought in from miles away and pumped into water towers. It was not until 1970 that a grant was written (by Floyd Martin’s sister!) and approved by the state to dig the first of 3 wells. While it is listed to have a population of over 500 people, there is reason to believe, and locals will confirm, that there are a few thousand people in the surrounding area who would claim Ash Fork as home. In the past few years those numbers have grown. So here is what struck me… other than a few hundred people who live in town, there is no system to distribute the water. Every day you can find people lined up at the central well in the middle of Ash Fork with large reservoirs in the back of their trucks to take home and pump into a cistern. Thought experiment – how does this level of self-reliance change a person’s view of their state?
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Day Three – Ash Fork, AZ Part One
Over these years of solo road trips I realized that there were places and people that not only resonate deeply but inspire me to learn more. Ash Fork AZ is just such a place and its unofficial mayor Floyd Martin is just such a person. This video is my introduction to both. In the next few days I hope to introduce you to more of the incredible people and the remarkable highs and historic blows that have shaped it. (Note – Floyds radio is always on and YouTube may not upload it – here goes!)..
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Day Two – Climbing the Colorado Plateau
The geography that exists between Bakersfield California east to the Arizona border sets the stage for my favorite stretch of this trip. As you come down from the Tehachapi pass, you start the slow assent to the Colorado plateau that makes possible the Grand Canyon and the next 900 miles of your experience. I noted in 2008 that you have to ‘disavow yourself of everything you think a desert should be’. This is high desert and everything is bigger. The winds are stronger, the air is both hotter and colder than seems possible. But the best are the thunderstorms and the desert did not disappoint today.
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Day One – Delano, CA
Today marks the start of my 4th presidential election year cross country wandering. When combined with 2 midterm excursions, it should all be pretty familiar at this point. Hmmm, no. So unexpected this combination of anticipation, acceptance and belief. Remarkable. Today was hot driving toward Delano to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe. Like 109 hot. But the heat and the engine light that went off just as I rolled my first 200 miles could not dent this feeling. Maybe it was Derrick working around the clock to get my webpage up, David and Jessica helping me with my flag, Steve stashing a bag of road treats in the rental car made everything feel (exhale) OK. And right now, OK is lovely.
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