Anyone in the Detroit: Become Human fandom who ships HankCon or Reed900 or in general just loves a good read, is reading Rivers and Roads by @spiderwebsitar.
WARNING!: SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! (mostly after the cut) (and it’s a long one, so saddle up partner)
This is an amazing read. The story really pulls you in and keeps you reading through the night. I should know, I’ve done it multiple times now. The writing is amazing and the story is even better. The stories are told through Hank and Gavin’s eyes, alternating each chapter. Gavin and Nine are travelling together along the western frontier down South, while Connor and Hank are doing the same along with the Jericrew heading West. Presumably somewhere between 1860 and 1890.
What i love most about it are the places they visit. See, I’m in a unique position regarding this because I have been to many of the places that Gavin and Nine have been or are currently in. This, alongside already being a very nostalgic person who is away from home, makes me nostalgic. So of course i got excited when seeing the names of towns I have been to.
Because of this, I decided to try and recreate the routes they are travelling on to give more context as to where exactly they are. Because of the amazing detail in this story, I feel I have been able to narrow it down quite a bit. So please bare with me on this long winded rant about this amazing story!
Please note that this post follows the story up to the most recent chapter (ch.26) and that the writer of Rivers and Roads has stated that they have taken liberties with geography, historical events and actual events. Please read their notes at the beginning of chapter one (1). I have also taken major liberties here, please be aware that i mean no disrespect and am not trying to discredit anything. This is for fun, let’s keep it that way.
WARNING: FROM HERE ON THERE ARE DEFINITE SPOILERS!!!!!!!
HANK, CONNOR AND THE JERICREW:
Hank and Connor start their journey in (1) Covington, Tennessee. They have a federal contract for the transportation of the Jericho Gang, consisting of Markus, North, Simon and Josh, to (3) Tuscon, Arizona. A ten month round trip according to Jeffrey Fowler. The gang is currently being held in (2) Newport, Arkansas and will have to be picked up on the way west.
On the map below you can see the USA. This is obviously a modern map, but after looking at some old ones of the territories, its basically the same, except they are called territories. New Mexico, Utah and Idaho were still territories and Oklahoma was more Indian territory, but that depends on what year it is...
This is their original plan to Tuscon, as far as i can tell. This seems to make sense in my head. Please forgive my lack of picture editing knowledge. It would also make sense if they dive into Texas then cut across (in black) into New Mexico, thus avoiding Shamrock,Texas, where Hank is from, and would preferably forget about. Shamrock is shown at the red ‘X’.
As of the most recent chapter, Hank, Connor and the rest have just crossed a river somewhere in Oklahoma. They decide to accompany Rose and her son Adam to Springfield. Here is where i hit a wall. There is no Springfield, Oklahoma. Now there is a Springfield District in Oklahoma City which does make the most sense. The others are way out of everyone’s way, Missouri, Colorado, Illinois.Rose and her son came from somewhere in Texas, heading North into Canada. It was mentioned by Hank or Connor that accompanying them wouldn’t be too far out of their way. Which suggests my theory of the Springfield District in Oklahoma City. Who knows, maybe is was it’s own town back then.
(Rose and Adam met the gang at an abandoned outpost after being robbed. i cannot really deduce where said outpost is, other than it is along the path that they are travelling)
As for the river they had to cross (shown in red) on their way to Springfield, i believe the best option is the Arkansas River. Just over the border between Oklahoma and Arkansas. I also believe that this is the river that Hank, Connor and the JeriCrew spend about two weeks(shown in blue) at before running into the Chapmans, while still in Arkansas. (CAN I GET SOME LOVE FOR BEE TAMER CONNOR?)
A good second option for the river crossing is the Canadian River (shown in black). It is a bit farther away from the river they stayed at, which is more consistent with miles traveled, but it is very wide, which brings up an issue with the crossing itself. Though i love just having a general are as to where they all even are!
So for Hank’s side of the story, as of right now they have traveled this (shown below) and are somewhere on the west side of a river, about to head to the mysterious Springfield (Oklahoma City?)
Gavin and Nine (and Tina, my baby):
Gavin and Tina are hunting for Nine somewhere in the woods of Idaho. Mind you most of the states west and south of Idaho were still only territories back then.
Now i honestly couldn’t figure this out to an exact location. Just somewhere in the great Idaho. From what i could tell in old maps, there was some civilization in the south-east of Idaho as well as for the north-west. But then again, i found them hard to read as they were railroad maps. So here’s a pic of Idaho...
i know, it’s amazing.
Anyways, shit goes down, leaving Gavin with a captured Nine and an injured Tina. They head into a town called Murrayville to have Tina treated by a doctor. Now it is said that it was only a half day’s ride from where Nine was captured to Murrayville, and before that while tracking him, i’d say they had been at it for almost a whole day. I can’t find a Murrayville Idaho on the map so i assume this is a town that either once existed or that the writer created for the story-line because Idaho wasn’t shit in the olden days. Gavin and Nine leave Tina behind in Idaho. Gavin then sets out to take Nine to Plainview, Texas for justice.
Now after Idaho, they cross down into Utah, they don’t spend much time here. They follow a river/canyon before the burst into the plains of Utah and continue into Colorado. There are many places to cross into Colorado, though I tried to narrow it down to somewhere near Grand Junction, CO as this area is where they will be spending a few days time later on. A few days after crossing they come upon a small outpost, where Gavin intends to write and send a letter to Kamski. When asked about when the mail comes through, the old woman manning the outpost responds saying that she will bring it all to Grand Junction within a couple of days. To me this means that she must live somewhere near Grand Junction if her job requires that an old lady such as herself needs to travel to another town just for mail. I’d like to make a note that Whitewater and other towns mentioned are just down the road from Grand Junction, but I’ll get into that later.
After Gavin encounters this old woman, he decides to take Nine to the cliff where his brother died. This cliff is is along the Colorado river, and it is mentioned many times that Connor died in Colorado. Now seeing as apparently they are near Grand Junction when Gavin decides to take him there, I have a feeling that this cliff is somewhere in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. Because almost all of the aforementioned locations are in modern times literally along the same highway, I’m assuming that this is where everything happens. Where they cross, where they run into sketchy old lady outpost, and where Connor’s death cliff is. They also continue along this “path” towards Whitewater. Down below a map of the area:
Red = Whitewater Blue = Grand Junction Black = Connor Death Cliff Area
After Gavin sadistically takes Nine to the cliff, they head on down to Whitewater and meet Chloe, the local doctor. They hear that Lou Burns, one of Nine’s old “associates”, has been operating in the area. Nine has the bright idea for Gavin to capture him and bring him in to solve some financial troubles as well as give Nine some satisfaction at seeing his associate caught.
Places mentioned that Lou has terrorized are Kannah, Orchard Mesa and an outpost fifteen miles down the Gunnison River. (I would like to mention that these are places I have been to, worked in, lived in. As well as Grand Junction and many other places in Colorado. So reading about them is like coming home.)
Gavin and Nine head into town to get more info on Lou. Through some kids they find out the quickest way south and out of town, which is also the way Lou had most likely left town according to the kids. South towards Kannah. They spend one more night in Whitewater and then head out into the woods, following the trail heading south, in hopes of finding Lou or alerting them to Nine’s presents so they can lure him in. I believe that they indeed head south, into the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, and follow the Dominguez-Escalante Trail that runs parallel to the Gunnison River and Leads to Kannah.
Of course, somewhere in between towns they manage to capture Lou. They take him to Kannah to collect the bounty. Later they are at the post office to sell of Lou’s horse. The old lady finally mentions the best trail out of town is (again) the Escalante trail.
Later after they hole up in a cave for a few days because of a summer storm, they are heading down the San Luis Valley, heading East towards Monte Vista. Here i would like to mention that i have also lived and worked in Monte Vista.
Red = San Luis Valley Blue = Area they are travelling from towards the valley Black = Places I personally have been/lived/worked/traveled in this region of CO
In this chapter (Ch. 22) They pass through Monte Vista, and it is mentioned that they will ride to Kenton which according to the sign is 300 miles away. I’m assuming Kenton, Oklahoma. Gavin also mentions that from Kenton, it is only a week’s ride down to Plainview, Texas. Endgame.
Red = Where they are and where they are heading Black = Where I’ve been
As of right now (Ch. 26) Gavin and Nine are somewhere between Monte Vista and Kenton. They ran into yet another old associate of Nine’s and got into a bit of a pickle!
Here is where Plainview is:
Comparison:
Blue = Gavin and Nine current Red = Hank & Connor current Black = what was left to travel
Now i know that as of the last chapter Hank and Connor have decided to let the Jericho Gang go and that they are most definitely not heading to Tuscon anymore. I just wanted to show what both full original trips would look like side by side. I believe that maybe at some point, should they/had they keep/kept traveling, they could have crossed paths in Plainview... possible foreshadowing??? (omg pls dont hate me but i love foreshadowing)
My Own Travels:
I decided to just focus on Colorado for my own travels. Mostly because it’s almost three a.m. and i finally get to go back to work tomorrow! Also because besides Texas, this is where i spent a third of my life. Probably, I suck at math.
Plainview is yet another place that i have been, along with Kenton and surrounding area. I’ve been many places and traveled pretty far. I’m originally from Texas, though i was born in Colorado while my family was working there. Currently I’m living in The Netherlands. I love reading this fic because it gives me a sense of home. I’ve been all over Colorado and Texas, even Minnesota, though I don’t remember much of that. Wyoming is nice though Cheyenne is probably the farthest I’ve been. I’m a true country girl at heart and felt compelled to share this. I’m sorry if it’s not entirely accurate or hard to read. I’ll gladly explain my way of thinking if there’s any confusion. Also if you’re just curious as to why we traveled so much feel free to ask. It’s not something i feel comfortable sharing openly on the internet in a post.
Also, if @spiderwebsitar would prefer me to take this down, please message me and it will be deleted immediately.
