grace & gratitude

A great people traveled from the north and west. For many, many years they moved across the land, leaving settlements in rich river valleys as others moved on. Reaching the eastern edge of the country, some of these people settled on the river later renamed the Delaware. 

Others moved north and settled in the valley of a river where the waters, like those in their original homeland, were never still. They named this river Mahicannituck and called themselves the muh-he-con-neok, the people of the waters that are never still…

Henrik Hudson Entering New York Harbor by Edward Moran

Chronicled by late-1700s Mohican historian Hendrick Aupaumut, tells the story of the people who truly discovered America, including the river valley in which we now live. 

The names of the river and valley were usurped by a man named Hudson, whose people came from the east and nearly obliterated a history that stretches back perhaps 13,000 years.

Today, about 1,500 men, women, and children - most of whom live in Wisconsin and trace their ancestry back to these people who traveled from the north and west as the Ice Age glaciers receded and humans first populated our land. 

North-South Lake Campground

That the descendants of these original settlers are doing well, after 400 years of disease, degradation, and dislocation, is miraculous and a true testament to their enduring spirit. 

We are honored to know their story in full, to appreciate their history, and respect their pride of place as the first people of the Hudson Valley.

The US half of wonder | wander | women have made our home along the Hudson River - from Hoboken New Jersey to Weehawken, Edgewater, and Hudson New York. The river and valley's moving history and enduring beauty have deeply impacted and enriched our life. 

Hudson River at Bear Mountain

Thanksgiving celebrations hold an even more profound impact this year as we gather as family together in this new home. Fresh perspectives and deeper roots are put down and expanded in our ever-growing exploration. A glorious holiday to all from our home to yours! 

“When old habitual modes of interpretation become dysfunctional, it is often painful, a dark night of the soul, but that kind of confusion can be fruitful.

“It motivates the system to self-organize in more inclusive ways, embracing and integrating data of which it had been previously unconscious.” ~ Joanna Macy from World as Lover, World as Self

November's full beaver moon