Thanks for taking time to read and respond, Herb! I don't find it impossible to believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, although I agree it must have been an arduous and dangerous journey, about 90 miles. But I don't think a ruler such as Augustus would have cared if people were forced to travel long distances to pay their taxes.

With Mary being pregnant, she probably couldn't have gone more than 10 miles a day, even though she was most likely used to a very hard life with a lot of work.

Dangerous wild animals and bandits, as you pointed out, increased the perils of travel, but people paid a little to join caravans of traders, which afforded them some protection.

Perhaps Mary and Joseph joined such a caravan. I guess we'll never know for sure, but as you implied, the lessons Jesus taught were more important than the historical details that can't be easily verified.