While the broad plazas of Teotihuacán in central Mexico are justifiably crowded with visitors, there you can only look up at the pyramids. Here in the remote Yucatán jungle where I saw more monkeys than tourists, climbing pyramids is delightful. The scale of the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul is difficult to comprehend, and only a small fraction of the ruins have been excavated. I thought the pyramid in the tall trees on the left was big, until I climbed this one, which has both the lower top in front and the higher one from where I took the photo. But the third was even higher with 360° views including tops of both other pyramids.
Above the trees you get commanding views of the jungle into neighboring Guatemala, where rival city Tikal also sits on the Mayan Meridian. Since many Mayan hieroglyphics have been translated at Calakmul, we learned about the changing alliances, wars and fortunes of these related jungle empires. Our knowledgeable guide explained the beautiful carvings near the base and answered many questions, although a knee injury kept him on the forest floor.
Up there we saw an Ornate Hawk-Eagle, which is a magnificent bird, the largest here, with a spiky blue crest, orangish plumage, black and white stripes and more stunning designs. Near the ruins we saw both howler and spider monkeys, including two juveniles play-fighting below. This is the jungle ruins of my dreams, with stunning steep-stepped temples rising out of a great forest with dense foliage and hidden jaguars. I recommend taking a guided tour for the long drive into the biosphere reserve and to interpret the stylized carvings around the temples.
Palenque is both photogenic and filled with important hieroglyphics, describing the rulers who lived and were buried here, especially Pakal the Great, who ruled the city for most of the 600s. Even arriving at 8 am, the popular archaeological site already had a few bus loads of tourists, especially Europeans who are currently avoiding Mexico’s northern neighbor. Part of the jungle loop trail was blocked, so I didn’t see any monkeys or toucans, but I did see an agouti, which is a fairly big, long-legged rodent that’s critically endangered. I spent most of my time appreciating the various carved stone monuments on top of the palace above. The tower is an observatory, and beside it there’s a sunken courtyard memorializing defeated rivals.
It’s wonderful to see many important artifacts still on site, although many of the finest are in museums now. The ancient Mayan builders were skilled at vaulted ceilings, and I admired the stonework in the tomb of the Red Queen, whose sarcophagus is indeed colored red inside. Being able to step inside the pyramid at all is a rare treat, and, although Pakal’s tomb is closed, there’s a large replica at the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. Many of the inscriptions—which reveal the royal history—are partially covered or off limits to preserve them, and considering the age and jungle atmosphere, the ones I saw were in remarkably good condition due to higher quality stone and innovative carving techniques. Most of the site is still covered by jungle, where new discoveries await.
Overall, Palenque is an excellent site, a mix of well-tended atmospheric grounds, grand architecture, historical importance, intricately detailed art, jungle ruins and active digs.
Californians will be familiar with Father Junípero Serra, who built the mission above in Jalpan as well as four others nearby in the mid 1700s, before moving on to California after the Jesuits were expelled from New Spain. The military had ‘pacified’ most of the tribes, to make the roads safe to extract silver dug by enslaved natives. The tribes in this remote mountainous region were relatively cooperative and the fusion of cultures is reflected in the art on the facade.
Serra took St Francis of Assisi’s simple life of charity and poverty and enhanced it with productivity and abuse. Serra brought ‘civilization’ here, replacing native beliefs, burning villages and increasing yields. He flagellated himself regularly and publicly, and he volunteered to lead the Spanish Inquisition in the area, accusing a dark-skinned local woman of witchcraft, of flying around caves at night and of worshipping goat-like demons. The missions are beautiful though. Despite protests, Serra became a saint in 2015.
The Mexican Revolution was unkind to such churches, but due to the rugged terrain, these five were more forgotten than destroyed. Rediscovered in the 1980s, in 2003 UNESCO recognized their facades as among the best examples of Spanish colonial baroque architecture, making these a world heritage site. Much of the region has been preserved by national park and preserves, with Sierra Gorda also being a UNESCO biosphere. There are waterfalls, beautiful rivers, and many places to hike. I drove up the steep dry mountains on one side and along a green river valley on another. But I missed the descent through jungle towards the coast.
All the publicity has made the center of Jalpan—where the first mission above is—quite crowded and touristy, but the other missions are in more traditional, smaller communities nearby. This is a fascinating area to explore, with miles of winding mountain roads, scenic views and more.
This tentative world heritage site in Saskatoon Saskatchewan offers a broad view of northern plains indigenous culture. While there are other sites that focus more on specific cultural aspects, like Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump or Writing-On-Stone, this site includes these elements and more all together. The exhibits here cover art, celebrations, ecosystems, language, and oral traditions, from ancient to contemporary, history and current creativity. I saw an original treaty #6 on loan here, one of the land agreements signed by the Canadian Crown and many First Nations in 1876. And the place serves as a community center, holding regular events, private and public, helping the culture continue to thrive. Walking the trails in the peaceful valley along opimihāw Creek, I felt connected to the place, the people who have lived here since pre-history, and their traditional way of life. Looking up at the sharp bluffs where bison were hunted, seeing the clearings, canoe launches, medicine trail, and out over the reintroduced bison paddock, you learn more from the experience than from reading. And the bison stew was delicious too!
Ontario is Canada’s most populous and prosperous province, with over 1/3 of the population. Both the country’s capital, Ottawa, and its largest city, Toronto, are here. 1/2 the residents of Toronto were born abroad, making it one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Ontario borders Great Lakes Erie, Huron, Ontario, and Superior, plus Hudson Bay to the North.
Ontario has a World Heritage Site that is fascinating to explore. The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operating canal system in North America, and its quaint villages along the route connecting Lake Ontario to Ottawa are delightful, with treat shops, friendly restaurants and charming historic hotels.
Four UNESCO Biospheres protect the unique ecosystems defined by the Great Lakes ice age landscape.
Frontenac Arch is the geologic bridge to the Adirondacks that holds back Lake Ontario, best seen where the St Lawrence River cuts through the Thousand Islands area. Bitterns, Eagles, Heron, Loons and Osprey live here.
Georgian Bay, off Lake Huron, is almost as big as Lake Ontario, and it protects many rare birds, reptiles, butterflies and other species amidst First Nations land.
Long Point is on the north shore of Lake Erie, and it has birding, boating, hiking and more to enjoy.
Niagara Escarpment is a massive geologic formation that forms the northeast shore of Lake Huron, stretching from Buffalo NY on Lake Erie to Green Bay WI on Lake Michigan. Its forests and coastlines contain more species than any other Biosphere in Canada.
If you visit Fort Raleigh, you’ll see a monument to the first English child born in America, but there’s no monument at Castillo de San Marco about the first Spanish American child born 20 years earlier in Florida. In any case, some 600 years before those colonies began, the Norse established this base camp on the north coast of Newfoundland, and here they recorded the birth of Snorri Thorrfinnsson around 1000 CE. And of course the first people here were Native Americans whose ancestors left their mark on the land thousands of years ago, long before history began in the Americas.
The fine film in the visitor center explains the even greater significance of this Norse settlement. Here the circle of humanity’s exploration of the world completed the circle. Modern humans began in Africa roughly 1/4 of a million years ago, populating Eurasia next, the Polynesians spread humanity into the Pacific, and humans crossed the ice to North America some 25,000 years ago. The Vikings, meaning the seafaring raiders of the Norse people, explored the North Atlantic a thousand years ago. Although they did not settle permanently, the Norse left their foundations here. They traded cloth and milk with natives for furs, and they explored at least as far as New Brunswick on the border of what is now the US. That meeting reintroduced two distant branches of humanity for the first time since our common ancestors left Africa 100,000 years ago.
Apparently the meeting did not go well enough for the Norse to remain. The expeditionary camp was established primarily to provide wood for the colony in Greenland, but it was a long way away from Scandinavia. Outnumbered and without significantly superior weaponry, the Norse eventually packed up the sporadically used camp after a single generation. Then they mostly forgot about Vinland, leaving it for scholars to speculate without evidence about the Norse having visited North America centuries before Columbus. Until a Norwegian researcher started digging around some square foundations here with his family in the summer in the 1960s. And they found proof.
L’Anse aux Meadows, or Meadows Cove, is now a UNESCO world heritage site with living history interpreters, and the reconstructed longhouse village is an excellent place to visit, photograph and ask questions. There is a statue of Leif Ericsson at the small harbor and various Viking themed tourist attractions nearby.
I dropped off the Tesla supercharger network in Nova Scotia, and PlugShare has poor coverage up here. So I switched to ChargeHub to find CCS chargers and made good use of my CCS adapter in Newfoundland. Some road construction unfortunately had cut off power for most of the day both to the park and to a crucial fast charger on the way, but since I often plan to skip a charger if needed, I made it anyway. By the time I arrived at the visitor center, the power had been restored, and while chatting with docents in the wood framed peat-sod house above, I charged at the free Tesla destination chargers (at the second entrance). Canada has a reliable EV charging network coast to coast, including helpful chargers at sites like these, and they’re stretching it northwards too.
While my maternal grandfather directly inspired my wanderlust, my cousin asked “what about Aunt Marjorie?” Determined that she get proper respect, he handed me a dossier about her, and another great road trip inspiration came back to life.
In 1925, my paternal great great Aunt Marjorie Scattergood went down to the corner of Broad & Market in Philadelphia, saw a sign pointing west with ‘San Francisco, 3000 miles’, and she thought, why not? Her college friend Gladys was driving a used Model T on the first transcontinental road (golden spike was 1869) and thought it would be fun. The car may have been the town car version, same year as the one above with a thin roof.
Aunt Marge was no shrinking violet. She held a world record in the hammer throw, college record in javelin, and was captain of her water polo, swim, and hockey teams.
She held degrees in History, Economics and Politics, and she had studied abroad in Edinburgh by then. She volunteered in France during WWI. And she was involved in social work connected to reformers like Jane Addams and Frances Perkins.
Her family, my father’s side, were Abolitionist Quakers, and Thomas Garrett was her great uncle and my great great great great uncle. In any case, Aunt Marjorie was not one to shy away from a challenging adventure.
The Lincoln Highway ran from Times Square NYC, past Edison’s labs, to Philadelphia, through Gettysburg, through rural Pennsylvania, through Lincoln country, joining what became Route 66 somewhere near Dixon Illinois, then switching to the old pioneer trails, through Iowa, to Salt Lake City and ending at Lincoln Park in San Francisco, about 2 1/2 blocks from where I raised my kids.
My cousin’s records revealed clues about Marjorie’s route, and they chose the longer Colorado Loop. She went to explore the west, picked apples for two months in Utah to pay for 3 tires, looked through the Keyhole on Longs Peak—a ‘high commitment/ considerable rockfall trail around 14,250 feet’ in Rocky—, and spent a month on a sheep dude ranch up in Granby Colorado. She must have passed by the Colorado NM on her way to Utah. Most of the roads out there still follow the old Spanish trails, really Native American trails for centuries.
Our country is still starkly and dramatically beautiful, the high mountains, the prairies, and the salt flats. In an interview, she showed photos of prairie schooners that were still traveling by wagon in 1925. Much of her trip followed the route my maternal grandfather had taken just a few years earlier. And my route too, 100 years later in an EV, to historic sites, heritage areas and scenic spots has crisscrossed theirs.
History is a funny riddle, too often forgotten or ignored. My dad didn’t tell me enough about his side of the family, so I’m grateful to learn this chapter of Aunt Marjorie’s story. If it weren’t for my cousin, I might never have realized that we traveled the same road a century apart, exactly how my family is related to Harriett Tubman’s close friend and partner in crime you may know as Simeon Halliday, why a building at the CIA is named after Aunt Marjorie and her partner Florence Thorne (they met in 1926), how she wrote Dr Martin Luther King Jr, how she protested wars, hosted refugees and fought for workers’ rights. If we only try to remember, then once again, we will realize that we walk in the footsteps of giants.
“Hi there, neighbor. Going my way? East or west on the Lincoln Highway.”
— From God’s Country starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
“I’ve been walking that Lincoln Highway, I thought you knowed. I’ve been hittin’ that 66, way down the road.”
UNESCO recognized Lunenburg Nova Scotia for being a well-preserved example of a British planned town, including many lovely, colorful historic buildings. I think that’s missing the point. The town was a success due to its natural harbor, grew quickly and earned its fine buildings by fishing and trade during the age of sail. Plenty of other towns have grid streets and colorful Victorian architecture. But the beauty of the place is its harbor, where two large sailing ships were docked when I arrived. One, the Picton Castle, is a training ship (in background above), and the other is the Bluenose II (foreground), a replica of one of the fastest fishing sailboats in the world. The Bluenose won 5 consecutive world fishing ship races during the 1920s and 30s, before being lost in the Caribbean in the 40s.
If landlubbers come here to see an old church and some other old buildings, then they’re missing the best of Lunenburg. Sit by the harbor and watch the boats. Eat some locally caught seafood in one of the many harborside restaurants. Go to the maritime museum and learn about fishing during the age of sail. My hotel room had a view of tall ship masts to help me dream of adventures, and I caught the Bluenose II on its way out to sea early in the morning, below. This is one of my favorite places to visit.
Here are my visits to all UN sites in the Maritimes.
UNESCO chose to emphasize the land reclaimed by the Acadians, but the emotional power of the place is conveyed in Longfellow’s epic poem, Evangeline. The British, often at war with their rivals the French, gathered up thousands of neutral Acadian civilians, many whose families had lived in Nova Scotia (and nearby areas) for a hundred years, loaded them on ships and forcibly deported them to France and various colonies. The Grand Dérangement began in 1755, lasted 9 years, deported over 80% of the 14,000 Acadians, and 5,000 of those died due to shipwrecks, disease and starvation. A cross marks the spot where families were loaded into small boats, often separated, and taken on the dramatic tides out to ships in the bay.
The land is important too. The British certainly wanted control of the productive farming land that the Acadians had reclaimed from the sea using a remarkable system of dykes and aboiteaux or sluice gates. Tens of thousands of acres of farmland lies below high tide here, drained by one way gates in massive 17th century dykes. The replacement English speaking settlers, many from New England, maintained the dykes, and today’s warming climate allows vineyards on the surrounding hills. My cousin kindly showed me a working sluice gate, now operated remotely, and we walked along one of the dykes, appreciating the innovation and contemplating the rich red mud cut in deep channels.
Through our inaction on carbon pollution, we cause the sea to rise and claim our productive land. We cause hundreds of millions to be displaced, forcing refugees to move inland. We cause huge economic costs and more deaths due to disease, heat, pollution, starvation and storms.
It is easy today to say that the British were wrong to deport the Acadians. Yes we must admit that we’re committing a far worse global atrocity through our indifference to our carbon emissions.
Here are my visits to all UN sites in the Maritimes.
Late this year, I visited my 395th park site, earning a rare park stamps award for all official NPS sites in the 48 contiguous states (see map). Plus I drove my EV to 29 NPS affiliates, 60 heritage areas, and 24 national trails (not on map). Read about my favorite sites below.
‘Best’ is subjective, as it depends so much on your individual taste and experience. If you are lucky enough to have great weather, a lucky wildlife sighting, or an inspiring ranger-led tour, that day will be one of your favorites. Click on the links to read my past favorites from 100, 200, and 300 park units visited, and here are favorites from 400 park sites, including affiliates, heritage areas and trails. I have no changes to my previous favorite park units, but I have a few additions.
