Jeff Emerson missed his flight from Minneapolis to Washington last month. He didn’t make his connection to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and didn’t arrive as scheduled in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, where he was supposed to start work as a summer volunteer.

Gallup, Mew Mexico, is a city of throwbacks. Route 66 runs right through the town, with its left-over flickering neon lit motels. About a hundred trains still rumble through town every day. The El Rancho Hotel stands open for business as it did in the days of John Wayne. Richardson's Trading Post flogs authentic Navajo rugs and jewelry, guns and clothing, and acts as the pawn shop for locals as it has for about 100 years.