In terms of United States history, the Borderlands are the territories, from "Alta California" to "La Florida," that formed the northern frontier of Spain's New World empire. Conquering the Borderlands relates their histories, landscapes, and cultures as they unfolded during the author's Southern Tier bicycle journey from San Diego to St. Augustine.The Southern Tier route intersects the paths of Spanish conquistadors, stagecoach routes, and cattle drives, all of which come alive in the pages of this book. A ferry across the Mississippi evokes Mark Twain's account of life on the river; Louisiana's bayous recall Evangeline, Longfellow's poem about the Acadian exile from Canada. Curious javelinas emerge on West Texas roads, carnivorous plants alongside Deep South highways.On a personal level, the author describes the rigors of the trip and the anxieties that spring from attempting a cross-country ride nearly forty years after the goal first captured her imagination. The author coined the term "chronological borderlands" for that stage in life when professional and family responsibilities have been met, and deferred dreams spring to life with a renewed sense of possibility, coupled with apprehension that physical limits may be closing the door. The books is not intended to replace travel guides and maps, but to serve as a valuable companion piece that can further enrich the experience of Southern Tier travel - by bicycle, car or armchair. CONQUERING THE BORDERLANDS A Southern Tier Journal: San Diego to St. Augustine by Bicycle By Lorraine Veisz AuthorHouse Copyright © 2009 Lorraine Veisz All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4389-8531-2 Contents List of Maps and Illustrations....................................xiIntroduction The Entrada..........................................1PART ONE CALIFORNIAPoint Loma Prologue...............................................8Day 1: Father Junpero Serra......................................17Day 2: Queen Califa...............................................24Day 3: The Anza Trail.............................................29Day 4: Riding Every Mile..........................................38Day 5: The Blythe Intaglios.......................................44PART TWO ARIZONADay 6: Dick Wick Hall.............................................52Day 7: Happy Trails to You........................................60Day 8: The Camelbak...............................................67Day 9: Indian Dogs................................................76Day 10: Queen Creek Tunnel........................................81Day 11: San Carlos Apache Reservation.............................87PART THREE NEW MEXICODay 12: Seven Cities of Cbola....................................98Day 13: The Continental Divide....................................105Day 14: State Flag Bicycle Socks..................................108Day 15: Black Range Lodge.........................................112Day 16: Gadsden Purchase..........................................116Day 17: Pancho Villa..............................................126PART FOUR WEST TEXASDay 18: Mission Trail.............................................134Day 19: Desert Women..............................................141Day 20: McDonald Observatory......................................147Day 21: Javelinas and Cabeza de Vaca..............................153Day 22: Wallace Stegner's "Geography of Hope".....................159Day 23: The Herpetologist.........................................165Day 24: Judge Roy Bean............................................169Day 25: Dr Brinkley's Goats.......................................175PART FIVE HILL COUNTRYDay 26: Mohair Shawl..............................................182Day 27: Lost Maples & Lost Bolts..................................187Day 28: Lady Bird Johnson's Bluebonnets...........................190Day 29: Kinky Friedman's "Texas Hold 'Em".........................196Day 30: Hypothermia...............................................200Day 31: The Chisholm Trail........................................207Day 32: Marquis de Lafayette......................................217Day 33: Texas Independence Trail..................................223PART SIX DEEP SOUTHDay 34: La Salle and La Belle.....................................234Day 35: Survival of the Fittest...................................241Day 36: The Big Thicket...........................................246Day 37: Songwriting...............................................250Day 38: Cajun Country.............................................256Day 39: Hurricane Katrina.........................................261Day 40: Mark Twain's Mississippi..................................265PART SEVEN WEST FLORIDADay 41: West Feliciana Historical Society.........................276Day 42: Rugged Individual.........................................282Day 43: The Physiology of Hope....................................285Day 44: Pitcher Plants..