The Great Continental Divide of the Americas - Thoreau, New Mexico

DATE:  July 6, 2015

SITE:  The Great Continental Divide of the Americas

LOCATION:  Thoreau, McKinley Co., New Mexico

"Continental Divide   Elevation 7245 ft.

Rainfall divides at this point. To the west it drains into the Pacific Ocean, to the east, into the Atlantic"

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

Every time we'd cross the U.S. with our parents, they always pointed out the Continental Divide. As a little girl, it passed by without notice.

As I got older, I wondered what it was. I, incorrectly, thought it was where the continental plates met. Dirk and I were just about to go by and I swerved the car off the freeway to look at the sign.

Ohhhh...THAT's what it is.

The Divide extends from the Bering Straight to the Strait of Magellan, on the tip of South America. Although there are other Divides in the America's, the "Great Divide" is the one that follows the line of high peaks along the Rockies and Andes.

It is where water on the west side of the sign flows to the Pacific and to the east, water flows to the Atlantic.

 

Dirk stood there and contemplated...what if he...well...never mind.

Although I have often wondered about the Continental Divide and am glad we stopped, I actually had another reason for this blog.

Dirk isn't one to sit still for long. This was the first long drive we've been on together and I got a bit of glimpse into the workings of this guy's head. Scary place!

I probably laughed from Missouri to California. Dirk made a series of SnapChats where he was commenting on things going by and lip-syncing to songs on the radio and then putting them out on FaceBook.

I told him maybe someday I'll be brave enough to be his backup singer, but for now, it was wonderful watching how he passes time.

Because the snippets made me laugh so hard, I wanted to make sure they were saved for posterity to enjoy for years to come. I was going to mention blackmail but I guess I lose that advantage by putting them out there...