South of the Border and Back Home

Hi Adeline,
I am writing from Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México. That is a long name: Pátzcuaro is the name of the city; Michoacán is the state, and México is the country. It took two more days of driving to get here from Texas.This part of the trip was 1,058 miles. Here's a map to show you the rest of the route:

The first thing we had to do on Thursday morning was cross the border from the United States to México. We got up nice and early, had a breakfast of some fruit we had brought with us -- you can't take fruits or vegetables across the border, you know -- and headed for the International Bridge.

The border between the state of Texas and the country of México is a river called the Rio Grande, which in Spanish means "Big River." It is a long river, but it is not very wide, and it is possible to walk across the bridge over the river. Some people take a bus to the border, walk across and then take another bus in the other country. But we had a car, so we drove across.

Leaving a country is pretty easy. You just go across the border. Getting permission to enter another country is harder. To visit México, we had to get a permission form called a visa. That tells the government of México who we are, where we live and where we plan to stay in México. It lets us stay for six months. We also had to get a special sticker for our car.

Visitors get their visas and car stickers in one big building under the International Bridge after crossing into México. Usually this takes about half an hour, or maybe a little longer, depending on the crowd. We crossed on Thanksgiving Day. We did not think it would make any difference since México does not celebrate Thanksgiving. Were we ever wrong! Thousands of Méxican families who live in the United States had four days off work and school, and they decided to return to México for the long weekend. The line stretched out the door and into the parking lot. It took us three hours to get all the way through the line, but finally we had all our papers and were on our way. 

Flat Stanley waits in the car while Larry and Geni stand in line for visas and a car permit.

We drove south for five hours, passing through the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas and into the state of San Luis Potosí, where we spent the night in the city of Matehuala. The next morning, we resumed our journey south. About lunchtime, we turned west at the city of Queretaro in the state of Queretaro. (As in the United States, some states have cities of the same name. Can you think of any?)

Doesn't this fruit look good? It sure was!

We were getting hungry, and we were really happy when we spotted a fruit stand beside the road. The stand had cups and bags full of cut-up fresh fruits and juices. I saw bags of sugar cane and coconut, but we took a cup of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, mango and papaya. It was great! And the man who ran the stand posed with me and Geni for a picture.

The man who sold us our fruit lunch
didn't speak any English.

The fruit stand was next to a big highway called a "cuota." We had to pay a toll to drive on it.

 Another three hours brought us to Pátzcuaro, where I spent the next month. Pátzcuaro is a very old city. It is as Spanish Colonial city, which means that people moved there from Spain and built the city. This was around the year 1538; however, the Spanish were not the first to settle there. At least three indigenous groups already lived there, and had been there since about 1324. 

Pátzcuaro lies at the south end of a large lake called Lake Pátzcuaro. On the east side of the lake are two other towns, Ihuatzio and Tzintzuntzan, and all three cities have relics and ruins of the indigenous civilizations, as well as buildings that date back to the first Spanish settlers.

Ruins called Yacatas at Tzintzuntzan.

The pattern was engraved into a stone
at the Yakatas over 700 years ago.

Spanish Colonial buildings in Pátzcuaro

Lake Pátzcuaro

Pátzcuaro is high in the mountains of southern México in the state of Michoacán. From the lake, mountains rise on all sides. These are mostly extinct volcanoes. They are all volcanoes, but they don't erupt anymore — at least, they haven't erupted for a long time. But with volcanoes, you never know when one might wake up. 

I thought it would be hot in Mexico, and it was hot as we drove through the desert. But once we got into the mountains, the temperature dropped a lot. Winter and summer don't mean the same in Mexico as they do in Ohio or even in Alabama. The days in Pátzcuaro are never very cold or very hot, usually around 75 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and up to about 85 degrees in summer. It never snows. Winter is the dry season and summer is the wet season. Rain falls every afternoon in summer, but may not fall for six months from November to May.

Because it gets so much rainfall during the summer months, the state of Michoacán is sometimes called México's "green state," The state produces much of the food that México eats, and plenty more to export to other countries, including the United States. I'll bet some of the fresh foods in your grocery store right now come from Michoacán.

Monarchs on flowers at El Rosario butterfly reserve in eastern Michoacán.

Maybe the most special thing about Michoacán is the butterflies. You have probably seen Monarch butterflies in Ohio in the summer. Have you ever wondered where they go in winter? They go to Michoacán! Millions and millions of Monarchs fly from Canada and the United States deep into México every fall. They gather in fir forests on the mountaintops in eastern Michoacán and stay there until March. They like only one kind of tree, Oyamel firs, which grow on mountains that are 12,000 feet tall. So many Monarchs cling to the Oyamels that they weigh down the branches and can even break them. They alight on the trees when clouds cover the sun, but when the sun breaks through, the butterflies lift off the trees in whispering orange clouds and head for the flowers. Monarchs have not been doing too well in the past few years. They need for people to plant milkweed in their flower gardens. If your class would like some seeds, Geni will send you some.

After I spent a few weeks in Pátzcuaro, I caught a ride back to the U.S. with a new friend, Marlene. Marlene took me with her on a plane to New York. New York is one of those cities that has the same name as its state. It is the largest city in the United States. New York is so big that it is divided into five sections, called burroughs, which arethemselves bigger than most other cities. Marlene lives in the burrough of Brooklyn, which has the largest population of the five burroughs, 2.6 million people. Brooklyn is more than 350 years old. It began as a Dutch settlement called "Breuckelen." It joined with New York City in 1898. Brooklyn sits on an island across the East River from Manhattan. They are connected by the famous Brooklyn  Bridge, which was finished in 1883.

Marlene took me for a little tour of New York, and then sent me home. I think that by the time you get back to school after the Christmas and New Year's break, I will be waiting for you. 

Flat Stanley in Union Square, New York.

Flat Stanley in 6th Avenue, New York.

It has been a fun trip. I have seen a lot of new places and learned a lot about how other people live, but I am very happy to be going home.

XXOO
Flat Stan

On the Road to Mexico

Hi Adeline,

This letter will cover almost a thousand miles of travel, over four states: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. I made a map to show you where we went.

The first part of the trip was 961 miles and took two days.

We left Gulf Shores around noon on November 24 and headed north, even though we would be going south and west. We had to drive north for almost an hour to get to I-10, the Interstate highway that crosses the United States from east to west, all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We got onto I-10 just east of Mobile, Ala.

Here comes the creepy tunnel.

We did not stop in Mobile, so my only picture from there shows me in the car as we started into a tunnel. I knew about tunnels that go through mountains, but this one went under part of the ocean at Mobile Bay. I didn't like the tunnel much. It is a big, round hole with straight lines of lights in the ceiling. It goes down and down and down until it finally starts back up and you can see out the other side.  I kept thinking about all that water over my head. I was happy when we were able to see the other end, and I was even happier when we were through it.

After Mobile, we crossed into Mississippi. We stopped in Gulfport and guess where we had lunch — Waffle House — then it was back on the road and before long we were in Louisiana. We decided not to stop in New Orleans  and drove straight on through to Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.

This part of Louisiana is called Bayou Country because the land has lots of bayous, places where the streams spread out into marshes and swamps as they join the ocean. The land is flat and just a few inches above the water. Alligators live in the swamps.

South Louisiana is also called Cajun Country, and is known for its delicious foods, friendly people and lively music. "Cajun" is a shortened form of "Acadian," a group of French-speaking people who moved from Canada to Louisiana about 250 years ago.

Crossing the mighty Mississippi at Baton Rouge

 In Baton Rouge, I had the thrill of crossing the great Mississippi River. The Mississippi is the largest river in the United States. It divides the country east and west, and all the smaller rivers in the middle of the country empty into the Mississippi. The Mississippi stretches 2,320 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico and collects water from 31 of the 50 states. At Baton Rouge, the river is almost a mile wide.

After crossing the bridge, we continued west to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where we spent the night. Lake Charles is the last city in Louisiana before I-10 crosses into Texas. It is at the beginning of oil country, where oil is pumped out of the ground, cleaned at refineries and turned into gasoline, heating oil, plastics and thousands of other products. I was impressed by the huge refineries that I could see from the road between Lake Charles and Houston, Texas, but I have to admit that I covered my nose while we traveled through there. Refineries don't smell good.

I get a close look at a pumpjack between Victoria and Laredo, Texas.

The next day, we traveled across Texas. Texas is so big that it took a whole day, and we only went across one corner of the state. We left the oil refineries behind as we passed Houston, the biggest city in Texas, but we continued to see oil wells during the whole trip. I was happy to get to take a close look at a pumpjack, a machine that draws the oil out of the ground. A pumpjack looks sort of like a dinosaur or an ostrich, with a head that bobs slowly up and down.

Hey! Is that a dinosaur about
 to bite my head?

I slept a lot during the drive through Texas. It was mile after mile of open country with cattle scattered across it and now and then a pumpjack. Texas is famous for its cattle ranches, and I passed a bunch of them, but the ranches are so big that you can travel a long time without seeing any cows.

We arrived in Laredo, Texas, in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday, Nov. 25. We spent a night there and prepared to cross the international border into Mexico the next day.

XOXO
Stan

Flat Stanley Hits the Beach

The beach at Gulf Shores

Hi Adeline,

I'm sorry it has been so long since I wrote to you. I have been traveling, and I did not have internet most of the time I was on the road. But I have a lot to tell you.

I spent a few weeks at Gulf Shores, Alabama, on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Shores has a wide, white beach that is lined with condominiums and hotels. When I was there, the beach was nearly empty and we could walk for miles along the water without seeing very many people.

Sometimes the beach fills up with people, especially during festivals like the National Shrimp Festival in October and the Hangout Music Festival in May. And, of course, the beach is jam-packed all summer with people tanning, swimming, boating, fishing and flying kites.

I saw a big fishing boat in Pensacola, Fla.

Lots of kinds of seafood are caught here — oysters, shrimp, crabs, crawfish and many kinds of fish. Sea turtles nest in protected areas on the beach. Sometimes you can see porpoises and sometimes sharks.

Many kinds of sea birds are here, too — seagulls, brown pelicans, terns, blue herons,white ibises and more. It is a popular place for birdwatchers.

I try my hand a picking cotton. 

The land leading down to the beach is flat and sandy, and it is very fertile. I was surprised how many crops are grown here. The beach is just a skinny line where the ocean meets the land, but farms spread out over miles and miles of south Alabama. I got to see peanuts, corn, soybeans, pecans, sweet potatoes, satsumas, azaleas and cotton.

The cotton was my favorite, even though you can't eat it. It is used to make cloth. T-shirts, blue jeans, sheets and handkerchiefs are some of the things you may have that are made of cotton.

Around the end of November, the weather began to be chilly and rainy, so we decided it was time to go farther south. I will tell you about the trip next time.

Hugs and Kisses,
Flat Stan

Flat Stanley Visits Some North Alabama Countryside.

Dear Avah,
I was traveling around North Alabama with Adeline's Stanley and we had a very good time. But in order to cover more ground & visit more interesting places, we have gone different directions and I'd like to share the next part of my journey with you.

  

 

  

 

 While my twin brother Stanley enjoyed some exciting adventures with our friend Geni, I took a trip to see where Geni grew up. The view is very pretty. It is 7 miles from the town of New Hope, Alabama and the Paintrock River runs nearby. There is a shallow & wide portion of the river there that is known as "Buckford" because it's good spot for wildlife to cross over. As I'm sure you know, a Buck is a male deer & Ford is another word for walking across a river. The home where Geni grew up was nicknamed Buckford by Geni's father. 

 

I helped Geni's sister Teri collect some pine cones &
pine needles. 

Then she built a nice warm campfire out of the pine cones & needles, it was a chilly day. But made sure I stayed a nice safe difference away from the fire because my body is somewhat flammable. Have you ever been around a campfire?

 After we returned to Huntsville, we went shopping for a flat suitcase for me to take to..... Montana!I'm so excited about my next adventures!
Take care,
Stanley

Flat Stanley Discovers Alabama Football

Hi Adeline,

I have discovered the most fun sport -- Watching Football! That's what everybody in Alabama does on Saturday afternoons in the fall.

I was at the beach in Gulf Shores, Ala., on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday, and like everybody else, I was watching the Alabama vs. Mississippi State game on TV.

At halftime, we walked two blocks to a store to buy ice cream, and nobody -- I mean NOBODY -- was outside. No one on the beach, no one else walking along the road, no one driving cars.

Stan points to the final score, Alabama 25, Mississippi State 20. How do you like his new shirt?

The game was amazing! I got a new shirt, too. It's important around here to wear appropriate colors on football day. It's OK to wear University of Alabama clothing any time, but it is required on game day.

I got so excited that I almost lost my head. Luckily, we had a Band-Aid.

Stan interviews Alabama Quarterback Black Sims after the game. Nah, not really. Stan is posing in front of the TV. 

The best part of today was that we won. "Roll Tide Roll." That's what we Alabama fans yell, win or lose. But we usually win.

That's all for now.
XOXO and RTR.
Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley Makes Friends at Waffle House

Hi Adeline,
Have you ever been to Waffle House? You should go. If they don't have Waffle House in Ohio, you should come to Alabama.

This Waffle House is in Oxford, Ala. Oxford is a city in east Alabama, about 30 miles from the boundary between Alabama and Georgia. Oxford has about 21,000 people. It used to be called "Lick Skillet." When I got there, I was ready to lick the skillet used to cook my breakfast.

Waffle House is very bright and friendly, and it is open all the time. You can get breakfast at 10 o'clock at night if you want to. Anytime you go into a Waffle House, everybody who works there looks up and says, "Hey," or "Hi," or "How ya doin'?" Those are all ways that people in Alabama greet each other.

I made some good friends at the Waffle House. The ladies really liked me, and even the cook came over to say hello. He was amazing. He could cook food for five people at once. He had six waffle irons cooking waffles all at the same time. He had all the plates lined up on the counter next to his grill, and he would put eggs, toast, hashbrowns, grits and bacon on the plates.

I tried the grits. At first, I didn't know what they were. They looked like lumpy mashed potatoes, but they were made of corn. They had butter and salt and pepper on them. Some people eat them with melted cheese mixed in, and some people like them with sugar or pancake syrup. I won't eat them every day, but it's good to try new things.

Stan studies the menu. It took him awhile to decide what he wanted.

He got a waffle, of course.

Stan gets a kiss from the ladies at Waffle House.

Everything was really good, but the waffle was my favorite. My belly was so stuffed that it stuck out like a watermelon. You couldn't call me Flat Stanley for the rest of the day.

XOXO
Love and waffle kisses,
Stanley

Stan Almost Gets Arrested at the Guntersville Dam

Hi Adeline,
It's just me now. My brother Stanley is off on his own adventures. I hope he's reading this blog so he'll know what I've been up to.

Here I am in front of the sign
that marks the road to the dam.

After I left Stan in Huntsville, I went to see a dam in Guntersville, Ala. A dam is a thick wall built across the path of a river to control the water. The dam has openings that let some water through, but it holds back most of the water in a big lake.

The Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam. That means the water that flows through the dam generates electricity.

The lake behind the dam is pretty.

The Guntersville Dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority -- TVA for short -- and is owned by the United States government. Many years ago, the Tennessee River flooded farms and homes in north Alabama every year after heavy rains. The government created the TVA to build dams all along the river to collect all that rainwater into lakes. Now, people living there can fish, boat and swim in the lakes. Their homes do not get flooded every time it rains. And they have electricity to run their lights, refrigerators, TVs and computers. Pretty good deal, huh?

When I got to the dam, it was starting to get dark and the wind was blowing pretty hard. I thought the lake was pretty. The dam looked big and strong, but I couldn't see where the water came through.

The water is high behind the dam. It is lower on the other side.

I was caught red-handed trying to take a picture of the dam.

I tried to get a picture of the main part of the dam, but the sun was behind it, so I couldn't see it very well.

The guards in the dam saw me trying to take a picture and they yelled at me over the loudspeaker. It was far away, and I couldn't hear very well with the wind blowing, but this is what I think they said:

"Stop what you are doing. You may not photograph the dam!"

What did I do? What would you do? I ran away as fast as I could!

Run away!

Wow, that was scary. I hope my next adventure will be less adventurous. And maybe I can get something to eat. I'm hungry!