A Northwest chauvinist in the Southwest

The Continental Divide at Interstate 40, New Mexico: The line that determines whether precipitation flows east or west in North America cuts through a souvenir shop along westbound Interstate 40 in the unincorporated community of Continental Divide, New Mexico, elevation 7,228 feet. The goods in the souvenir shop — cups, shawls, scarfs, pots, plates — feature Navajo Indian patterns and colors. The white woman working behind the counter looked to be in her 80s, and I asked her how she came to be in this place. She said she moved here with her husband in the early 1970s because he was a miner an...