When I traveled down this third-longest river in the United States--1,885 miles long--I decided to mostly drive it so I could see the whole thing in less than a month. But I rafted various sections, too. I was amazed how this scrawny river can travel all that distance through deserts to the Gulf of Mexico, all the way from the Rocky Mountains! What history along the way, too. The Spanish conquistadors came north along the river; cowboys like Billy the Kidd traveled along its banks. And the pueblo people still live there, just as they have for hundreds of years.