Have I ever really seen America?

I’ve traveled in and through several States, yet as I read the accounts of early explorers and travelers in America, I’ve come to this conclusion: I’ve never really seen America.

What???

You see, I have traveled by car. On paved roads. With heat and air. Hills and mountains have been blasted to make the way smooth and level. There are bridges over every waterway, no matter how small. The only wildlife I see: horses and cows. Behind a fence.

I’ve traveled over the land. Been close to it, but never really seen it.

Early travelers and explorers walked every where they went. Maybe they rode a horse. Or canoed the rivers. They came into intimate contact with every hill, mountain, river, stream, marsh, prairie, forest, desert. If it was hot, or cold, or rainy, or snowy, or windy, or stormy, they were in it. They were up close and personal with the wildlife: deer, buffalo, bears, mosquitoes, flies. They slept under the stars. They saw America. They experienced it.

Maybe that’s what I mean. I’ve seen America. From my car and house and hotel room. But never really experienced it.

I suppose that is what I like about these journals and accounts. These men experienced something amazing and wonderful that I have not.