The Rhodesian civil war had ended over five years earlier. We had a map and a borrowed Peugot 504. Nothing could go wrong.<\/p>\r\n
When David and I drive into the national park, surprisingly few people are camping. The campground varies little from those back in the States\u2014gravel roads, marked camping spaces among the trees with spots for tents, a picnic table, campfire rings, and boulders to sit on. There\u2019s even a showerhouse with hot water. David and I pitch our tent under tall evergreens old enough to have been planted by the British colonialists. The Brits started the Boy Scouts, and our tent is an old green boyscoutish thing we borrowed along with the car. Zimbabwe may now be independent, but we\u2019ll likely have a cup of tea later. Very civilized, in a British sort of way.<\/p>\r\n
David and I are not great friends, but we are both young 20-somethings teaching math in Kenya, a fact that has brought us into the same orbit. And we both like to travel and see new sights, soon hiking to an overlook on a granite dome so steep and high that Cecil Rhodes called it \u201cWorld\u2019s View.\u201d He chose to be buried there.<\/p>\r\n
Because of its durability, granite is the preferred option for<\/i> countertops and tombstones. Little Johnny may forget the cutting<\/i> board when chopping his carrots, but granite is tougher than his<\/i> knife. That pretty white alternative, marble, is softer. It\u2019s easier<\/i> to carve and shape, but a tombstone of pure marble doesn\u2019t last like<\/i> granite. It dissolves away with the rain, leaving a marker of lost<\/i> significance. <\/i><\/p>\r\n
That night we meet white Rhodesians in the campground. A brother and sister, faces well-worn, seem much older than us\u2014maybe even in their 40s. They invite us to their campfire.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been in Zimbabwe all your life?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cYes. I loved growing up here. But the last 20 years have been pretty tough,\u201d the brother replies.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cBad times,\u201d the sister adds. \u201cThe war lasted fifteen years. Brutal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
\u201cWe formed convoys to get the kids to school. The Rhodesian military trucks had V-shaped bottoms so that landmines would blast outward instead of killing the people inside,\u201d the brother says. \u201cOur military was among the best in the world for its size. Very creative.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
He pauses.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cStill, sanctions, a cut-off of supplies from Europe. . . We were too outnumbered,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re staying,\u201d the sister says. \u201cThis is home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
Robert Mugabe, the first and only president of the newly independent Zimbabwe, has welcomed whites to stay.<\/p>\r\n
The brother picks up his guitar, the firelight upon his face, and begins singing Neil Diamond\u2019s \u201cSolitary Man,\u201d the Eiseley Brothers, and pre-Graceland Paul Simon.<\/p>\r\n
David and I sing along. \u201cSo far away from home, so far away from home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
Granite is one of the most durable of rocks, made predominantly<\/i> of large crystals of harder-than-steel quartz and feldspar. But the<\/i> pull of the moon and the shifting of huge tectonic plates produce<\/i> cracks, weak spots where warm and cold air and a little moisture<\/i> enter, and the granite slowly disintegrates over billions of years. <\/i>Some of the blocks of granite gradually become spheres, producing<\/i> what look like the gods\u2019 enormous marbles for some inscrutable<\/i> game of chance.<\/i><\/p>\r\n
On another morning in another part of Zimbabwe, David and I decide to drive around a bit, soon realizing we are low on fuel. My trusty map shows a station down a nearby road. As we draw close, no BP\/Exxon\/Mobil appears. Instead, we unexpectedly approach a dusty military compound. David and I heard that some tourists went missing in this area dominated by Mugabe\u2019s 5th Army Brigade, a division trained by the North Koreans.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cGet us out of here,\u201d I whisper to David.<\/p>\r\n
But we are too late. An armed guard runs out from the gate, shouting, \u201cStop the car. Out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
As I open the door, I hold the map in my hand.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cSee,\u201d I say, pointing. \u201cThere\u2019s a gas station on the map. That\u2019s what we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
\u201cStand over there,\u201d the guard says. Then he begins searching our car.<\/p>\r\n
David and I watch nervously. We\u2019re young and ignorant of colonial history, just out to do good\u2014both teaching at mission schools such as the one Mugabe attended when young.<\/p>\r\n
As the guard continues to rummage through the meager belongings, an officer drives up in a Peugot 504, the upper-class car of choice. He rolls down the window, and speaks to the guard in a language I don\u2019t know. I point to the map again, holding it up toward the car, 10 feet away. Though I can\u2019t understand the officer\u2019s words, I read his expression, \u201cStupid tourists.\u201d He orders the guard to dismiss us, rolls up his window, and enters the gated compound.<\/p>\r\n
Inside old thermostats is a sandwich of two different metals<\/i> fused together, like granite\u2019s quartz and feldspar. They shrink and<\/i> expand at different rates, causing the sandwich to deform and bend,<\/i> touching contacts that turn on or off the heat. Inside the granite,<\/i> the tiny differences are magnified by expansive time. The bonds<\/i> sever, and the granite disintegrates. <\/i><\/p>\r\n \r\n
Notes on Weathering:<\/b><\/p>\r\n
Weathering is the natural process of altering rocks and minerals into different forms:<\/p>\r\n
mechanical weathering: <\/b>the breaking apart of a rock into smaller pieces through processes such as the expansion fo freezing water.<\/p>\r\n
chemical weathering: <\/b>the alteration of a rock through processes such as the dissolving <\/i> of minerals, hydrolysis <\/i> of feldspar into clays, and oxidation <\/i> of metals, like the rusting of iron.)<\/p>\r\n
biological weathering: <\/b>the alteration of rocks and minerals due to the action of living organisms, including tree roots but particularly the activity of microorganisms in soil.<\/p>\r\n
Think about the difference between how limestone and granite weather. Limestone is formed mainly from calcite, a mineral that dissolves (chemical weathering). Karst, <\/i> the landscape formed when lots of limestone dissolves, is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and disappearing streams. But when granite weathers, mechanical weather separates the quartz and feldspar than form it. The quartz is tough and weathers slowly into sand. The feldspar weather chemically through hydrolysis into clays. A mixture of sand, silt, and clay forms a soil called loam<\/i>, the kind of good soil that much of Iowa is known for.<\/p>","rendered":"
The Rhodesian civil war had ended over five years earlier. We had a map and a borrowed Peugot 504. Nothing could go wrong.<\/p>\n
When David and I drive into the national park, surprisingly few people are camping. The campground varies little from those back in the States\u2014gravel roads, marked camping spaces among the trees with spots for tents, a picnic table, campfire rings, and boulders to sit on. There\u2019s even a showerhouse with hot water. David and I pitch our tent under tall evergreens old enough to have been planted by the British colonialists. The Brits started the Boy Scouts, and our tent is an old green boyscoutish thing we borrowed along with the car. Zimbabwe may now be independent, but we\u2019ll likely have a cup of tea later. Very civilized, in a British sort of way.<\/p>\n
David and I are not great friends, but we are both young 20-somethings teaching math in Kenya, a fact that has brought us into the same orbit. And we both like to travel and see new sights, soon hiking to an overlook on a granite dome so steep and high that Cecil Rhodes called it \u201cWorld\u2019s View.\u201d He chose to be buried there.<\/p>\n
Because of its durability, granite is the preferred option for<\/i> countertops and tombstones. Little Johnny may forget the cutting<\/i> board when chopping his carrots, but granite is tougher than his<\/i> knife. That pretty white alternative, marble, is softer. It\u2019s easier<\/i> to carve and shape, but a tombstone of pure marble doesn\u2019t last like<\/i> granite. It dissolves away with the rain, leaving a marker of lost<\/i> significance. <\/i><\/p>\n
That night we meet white Rhodesians in the campground. A brother and sister, faces well-worn, seem much older than us\u2014maybe even in their 40s. They invite us to their campfire.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been in Zimbabwe all your life?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. I loved growing up here. But the last 20 years have been pretty tough,\u201d the brother replies.<\/p>\n
\u201cBad times,\u201d the sister adds. \u201cThe war lasted fifteen years. Brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe formed convoys to get the kids to school. The Rhodesian military trucks had V-shaped bottoms so that landmines would blast outward instead of killing the people inside,\u201d the brother says. \u201cOur military was among the best in the world for its size. Very creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pauses.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, sanctions, a cut-off of supplies from Europe. . . We were too outnumbered,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re staying,\u201d the sister says. \u201cThis is home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Mugabe, the first and only president of the newly independent Zimbabwe, has welcomed whites to stay.<\/p>\n
The brother picks up his guitar, the firelight upon his face, and begins singing Neil Diamond\u2019s \u201cSolitary Man,\u201d the Eiseley Brothers, and pre-Graceland Paul Simon.<\/p>\n
David and I sing along. \u201cSo far away from home, so far away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Granite is one of the most durable of rocks, made predominantly<\/i> of large crystals of harder-than-steel quartz and feldspar. But the<\/i> pull of the moon and the shifting of huge tectonic plates produce<\/i> cracks, weak spots where warm and cold air and a little moisture<\/i> enter, and the granite slowly disintegrates over billions of years. <\/i>Some of the blocks of granite gradually become spheres, producing<\/i> what look like the gods\u2019 enormous marbles for some inscrutable<\/i> game of chance.<\/i><\/p>\n
On another morning in another part of Zimbabwe, David and I decide to drive around a bit, soon realizing we are low on fuel. My trusty map shows a station down a nearby road. As we draw close, no BP\/Exxon\/Mobil appears. Instead, we unexpectedly approach a dusty military compound. David and I heard that some tourists went missing in this area dominated by Mugabe\u2019s 5th Army Brigade, a division trained by the North Koreans.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet us out of here,\u201d I whisper to David.<\/p>\n
But we are too late. An armed guard runs out from the gate, shouting, \u201cStop the car. Out.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I open the door, I hold the map in my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee,\u201d I say, pointing. \u201cThere\u2019s a gas station on the map. That\u2019s what we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStand over there,\u201d the guard says. Then he begins searching our car.<\/p>\n
David and I watch nervously. We\u2019re young and ignorant of colonial history, just out to do good\u2014both teaching at mission schools such as the one Mugabe attended when young.<\/p>\n
As the guard continues to rummage through the meager belongings, an officer drives up in a Peugot 504, the upper-class car of choice. He rolls down the window, and speaks to the guard in a language I don\u2019t know. I point to the map again, holding it up toward the car, 10 feet away. Though I can\u2019t understand the officer\u2019s words, I read his expression, \u201cStupid tourists.\u201d He orders the guard to dismiss us, rolls up his window, and enters the gated compound.<\/p>\n
Inside old thermostats is a sandwich of two different metals<\/i> fused together, like granite\u2019s quartz and feldspar. They shrink and<\/i> expand at different rates, causing the sandwich to deform and bend,<\/i> touching contacts that turn on or off the heat. Inside the granite,<\/i> the tiny differences are magnified by expansive time. The bonds<\/i> sever, and the granite disintegrates. <\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Notes on Weathering:<\/b><\/p>\n
Weathering is the natural process of altering rocks and minerals into different forms:<\/p>\n
mechanical weathering: <\/b>the breaking apart of a rock into smaller pieces through processes such as the expansion fo freezing water.<\/p>\n
chemical weathering: <\/b>the alteration of a rock through processes such as the dissolving <\/i> of minerals, hydrolysis <\/i> of feldspar into clays, and oxidation <\/i> of metals, like the rusting of iron.)<\/p>\n
biological weathering: <\/b>the alteration of rocks and minerals due to the action of living organisms, including tree roots but particularly the activity of microorganisms in soil.<\/p>\n
Think about the difference between how limestone and granite weather. Limestone is formed mainly from calcite, a mineral that dissolves (chemical weathering). Karst, <\/i> the landscape formed when lots of limestone dissolves, is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and disappearing streams. But when granite weathers, mechanical weather separates the quartz and feldspar than form it. The quartz is tough and weathers slowly into sand. The feldspar weather chemically through hydrolysis into clays. A mixture of sand, silt, and clay forms a soil called loam<\/i>, the kind of good soil that much of Iowa is known for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":113,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/127"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/127\/revisions\/128"}],"part":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/113"}],"metadata":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/127\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}