After six decades of traveling the globe, a New Mexico woman has been inducted into the prestigious Explorers Club.
The 89-year-old Helen Schreider told KRQE-TV that she "never, ever thought it would happen."
Her husband Frank became a member of the club in 1956, after the couple devoted 2.5 years to traveling the unfished Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. But Schreider could not join because women were not allowed to be members.
The Schreiders worked for National Geographic for 15 years and explored at least 100 countries. Their sometimes dangerous journeys brought them in contact with pirates, perilous seas and extreme weather.
Schrieder has been named not only a member of the Explorers Club but a national fellow.
Her husband died in 1994.
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Information from: KRQE-TV.
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