37 Stermer move to Albuquerque, New Mexico

     Spring of 1952 I graduated from High School. Dad's book was being published and Mary was graduating from Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir.  It was time to move.  For the entire time we lived in Detroit we had no car.  We would take the bus or hire a cab to get us were we wanted to go.  But with the decision to move out west we purchased a car.  We drove east to see Mom’s brother, Bill and then south through Washington, DC. Traffic seemed hectic then as it does today. We drove south.  We followed what is now I-40.
     We stayed in little hotels along the way. When we got to Cherokee we found a small motel with a cabin next to a creek. We could hear the water flowing all night. It was a pleasant experience after being traffic noise for years in the big town. The "Unto these Hills" was performed in an open bowl under a starry sky. It was a memorable experience.  We enjoyed traveling through the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains.
     After a day of sightseeing, we reloaded the car and continued our drive west. We came upon Ducktown, Tennessee.
     It was as if we were on a red moon.  The land was all dead.  It was a scary sight.  There was NO VEGETATION.  Nothing.  Red angry earth verses the green we had just seen in North Carolina.  Man had done all of this. It left a deep impression on us. Dad assured us this was not the way the desert would look when we got to New Mexico.  The method of removing copper from the earth, killed all living plants.  What effect would it have on human beings? 
     Traveling through that same area in 2000 the land appears to be recovering slowly.  The mental scars are still there.  Life is precious. We must protect it.