Greetings from Texas, USA
GREETINGS FROM ... are short field notes from the road. Directly from travelers on location.
Big Bend, Chihuahua Desert. For many, Texas is synonymous with cowboys, oil and politics. But in the far west of the state, a different reality opens up: canyons, desert mountains, endless horizons. Christopher Many is traveling right there - in a place that is bigger than many people think and rougher than pictures suggest.
Hello everyone!
When Laura and I told our friends that we were shipping our motorhome to North America for three years to explore Canada, the USA and Mexico, some were horrified. Why on earth would we want to visit the USA, given the recent political developments? I understand their concerns. Emotionally, it's not always easy to separate the actions of a government from the people. I have often had to grapple with this distinction in the past when traveling through Iran, Saudi Arabia, China or even Germany.
But while Washington withdraws from important human rights and climate change organizations, sanctions the International Criminal Court, attacks civil liberties, suppresses political opposition and threatens a military invasion of Greenland ... the population is generally extremely friendly (if often ill-informed about global affairs). Plus, the landscapes are magnificent! Not everywhere ... on our drive from the Canadian border through the Midwest, all we saw was flat farmland and uniform towns. But here in Texas, we finally found what we were looking for: vast skies, dramatic canyons and a sense of freedom.
The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico. On our drive west, we reached Big Bend National Park and the Chihuahua Desert. No, there are no teacup-sized dogs here. Only wolves, pronghorns, bears, cougars, foxes and coyotes live here - and of course rattlesnakes.
💡 Did you know that the Chihuahua Desert is the largest desert in North America? It stretches across northern Mexico deep into Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and covers around 502,000 km², almost the size of Spain.
The national park itself offers countless opportunities for hiking, climbing and off-road driving. At least in winter; a visit in summer would be torture. There is hardly any shade and daytime temperatures can reach 45 °C. While most of the USA is currently under a blanket of snow, Laura and I are enjoying pleasantly warm weather and endless blue skies ... as you can see on the postcard.
Best wishes and always have a good trip!
Christopher
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