The upland Redwoods in Lady Bird Johnson’s Grove, just north of Orick, California. ❧
Image #243 – The Redwoods
Image #235 – Wyoming Hills
My westward journey continues. After a wonderful week in Denver, Colorado, Tango and I are once again in route to Portland, Oregon. I chose to go around the Rockies rather than over them. There is still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations. One route that I hoped to take in Wyoming — the Snowy Range Rd. — was closed because there is still 6 feet of snow at the peak. Flurries are forecast for Wednesday in Green River, where we stopped for the night.
But today was a good travel day. Things were very mild for the first part of the trip. As we headed further north into Colorado the terrain became more rugged and we stopped for a brief excursion. Tango had great fun on the rocks.
Once we got past the northern most point of the Snowy Mountain range the winds began to pick up and soon the warning signs were advising drivers with light trailers to seek alternative routes. I’m not sure there are alternative routes. The signs warned of 35mph+ winds but, honestly, after my experience in Kansas last Monday it all seemed rather tame. What doesn’t kill us does make us stronger. ❧
Image #232 – Kentucky Splendor
I’ve completed the first leg of my cross-country trip and I am safely arrived in Columbia, Missouri. This morning I awoke in Oak Grove, KY, just outside of Ft. Campbell. During the night a storm had passed through and everything was wet and gray. Fortunately the storm was moving east and I was headed west. The gray skies disappeared after about an hour of driving and the rest of the day was splendid. The spring colors are everywhere, an endless paraded of pinks, mauves, and whites with backgrounds of soft green or coral colored buds.
Yellow mustard plants are everywhere but nowhere as exquisite as this field that I passed not long after entering Interstate 24West. Farmers plant mustard for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is harvested, other times it is plowed back into the earth, a sort of green manure. I do not know the intent of this farmer but I am grateful to have seen his crop in full bloom. It reminded me of another spring, 24 years ago, when Robert and I were in Italy. We traveled from Rome to Florence by train and along the way there was acre after acre of mustard plant in full bloom, painting the hills in broad swarths of happy yellow. All the world celebrates spring. ❧
Image #202 – Holiday Inn, circa 1950
There was once a time in America when no two motels were the same. As the great day of the automobile blossomed so did accommodations for weary travelers. There were many “Mom & Pop” motels that consisted of small cabins, like this one that I found abandoned in north Georgia. Even though there were many styles the colors of green and white seemed a common thread. ❧
Image #134 – So Many Children …
Part of our team was charged with entertaining and educating the children while their mothers waited for medical care. It was not an easy task. Just lining them up for the walk to the playground was a chore. But the team always approached their work with love and the children seemed to respond. ☙
Image #133 – The Ugandan Children
There were so many children in Uganda. As I mentioned is a previous blog (A Tear for Uganda), half of the population was under the age of 15. Everywhere you turned there were young eyes focused on you. Most were desperate to have their picture taken and all seemed to know that pictures could be retrieved instantly on the digital camera’s LCD screen. But some, like this young girl, were more shy and introspective. Whatever was she thinking? ☙
Image #132 – Ugandan Woman
One of the many beautiful women of Uganda. ☙
Image #130 – A Tear for Uganda
One of the beautiful children we cared for during our medical mission. You can’t help but notice how many young people there are in Uganda. In 2008, 50% of the population was 15 years of age or younger. The nearly two decades of war took a terrible toll on the country, destroying the broad swarth of middle-age, middle-class citizens that a country depends upon for economic growth. What war didn’t take, HIV did. The virus claimed many lives before the government initiated an aggressive anti-HIV program that proved very successful, slashing infection rates from 15% to 6%. While these statistics have been challenged the infected Ugandans whom we saw were greatly compliant patients. Each had a small notebook with their complete medical history including current medications and opportunistic diseases. Sadly the HIV infection rate is again on the rise in Uganda. ☙
Image #129 – A Regal Family
Often when I describe the people of Uganda whom we treated during our 2008 medical mission I will use the term “regal” and it this picture that personifies that description. This beautiful family is almost royal in their carriage and their confidence. The mother is proud, and rightly so. Her children are clean, polite, seemingly intelligent. All of them have a gentleness that seems surreal in a country so ravaged by war and disease.☙
Image #128 – Uganda Medical Mission – 2008
Recently I saw an acquaintance whom I had not seen in more than a decade. He had heard about my medical missions from mutual friends and was particularly interested in my trip to Uganda. When I told him how much I loved Uganda he asked why and the answer was quick in coming. “The people. They are noble and good.” Ugandans have a regal bearing that is hard to explain but I feel that several of my pictures captured their spirit. So, for this week of Alice’s WanderLand blogs we will travel to Uganda. Our mission was in Gulu, which is the largest city in Northern Uganda. We saw mainly women and children, most of whom were HIV+ or had AIDS. In four days the fifteen member team would see close to 2,000 individuals. For most it was a routine visit to a medical clinic. Pills were provided to fight intestinal parasites, vitamins were given for the children. But for some this trip to see Western doctors was an opportunity for help. In some cases the result was successful…in others it was far too late. It was a experience I will never forget. ☙
Alice's WanderLand 