After 5,700 miles, Ray delivered Jack to his airport hotel tonight (Saturday, June 12), and will drop off Jack’s Subaru at a storage facility near Ontario Airport (California) on Monday the 14th, when Ray flies out of Los Angeles (LAX). Ray still scheduled to arrive Rutland Airport via Cape Air flight #55 at 11:22 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15th.

(That’s a CORRECTION from our last post, when we said Jack would be flying out on the 14th, and that Ray would be flying out on Tuesday, the 15th and arriving Boston/Rutland on Wed. Just checked the tickets)

We had a wonderful dinner with Sue Ault and Wes Pecsock at Pappadaeux’s Seafood Restaurant in Phoenix Thursday evening, the 10th, followed by a great meeting with Ray’s cousin, Jean Berry and her husband Dick, at their home in Tempe, AZ. Ray failed to take any photos with either couple. Sorry!

Friday, June 11th, we drove the 304 miles to the home of Jack’s friends, Spencer and Lisa Ensign, in Yucca Valley just north of Palm Springs. They were most gracious hosts, and Spencer made us a delicious southwestern goulash for dinner. They have an amazing home on 11 acres, and an eclectic collection of, well, collectables from all over. Their resident road runner entertained us in the yard, and Spencer showed us the 1929 Model T Ford he is restoring (including fabricating the woodwork used in framing of the upper parts of the body).
To cap off their hospitality, Spencer offered to ship back our “surplus” gear for us via UPS, allowing us to depart rather briskly Saturday morning for Laguna Niguel.

In Laguna Niguel, Ray’s Aunt Joy Wentsel, and husband, Bill, hosted a family lunch for us (a great visit with Ray’s cousins Ruth Ann, Carol and Laura, Ruth’s friend Stuart and Ray’s Aunt Mary Lou). Bill and Joy took us for a stroll on beautiful Strand Beach after lunch, and Jack dipped his hand in the Pacific to seal the extreme western terminus of this Road Trip.

The Grand Canyon is, of course, just Grand! One spectacular view after another, and another,…and spectacular becomes commonplace. It seems that to fully appreciate this wonder is to visit in different seasons, or at least different weather patterns. While scattered thunderstorms may be the most interesting to observe, especially around sunset, the Ranger pointed out the 8 lightning rods on and around the Yavapai Geology Overlook bldg, announcing that this was the most lighting-struck developed site in North America.

After 2 nights camping at the Grand Canyon, during which we had no wi-fi and almost no cell phone service, we’re sitting in a cafe in the Park, catching up. (Ray has 79 new non-spam eMails to which to reply). And Jack is catching up on phone calls.

Our first night at Grand Canyon was very windy, and neither of us got much sleep.
So we moved last nite to the Mather Campground near the center of the Park, and both got a good night’s sleep after a full day sightseeing on Park Shuttle Buses. Dinner both nights at the Arizona Restaurant, being too spent to cook at the campsite. (Such Wimps!). Besides, Beefeater Martini’s don’t taste as good made with partially melted ice chest ice and camp cups.

Woke up to a beautiful 68 degree-sunny day this morning! Found out we were just 8 tent-sites away from the Furman’s, a former Ferrisburgh, VT, family that we met yesterday at one of the Canyon view sites, when we took turns taking each other’s pictures. They now live near Prescott, Arizona, and were touring the Park with their 20-yr-old son (sorry, forgot his first name). Jack had coffee with them early this morning while Ray was running an errand to the market. Jack had made a trip to the restrooms, got disoriented returning to our site (had forgotten our site number), when someone called out his name,…”Is that you, Jack?” He still couldn’t remember our site number, so settled in for a cup of coffee, while Tammy Furman jogged to the registration office to identify our site. But Ray returned with the car, and young master Furman jogged after the car as Ray drove by, and told him Jack was at their site. We thanked the Furman’s and exchanged business cards. (Bruce Furman is a custom cabinet maker).

We drive today to Phoenix and Tempe. Dinner with Sue Ault and Wes Pecsock, then dessert with Dick and Jean Berry in Tempe, where we’ll stay the night. Then on to Jack’s friend Buzz Ensign’s place in Palm Springs Friday, June 11th.

Ray will travel on to Laguna Niguel for 3 nights: Saturday the 12th through Tuesday evening, heading to LAX Tuesday the 15th around 8 p.m. for the red-eye flight to Rutland, via Boston, departing LAX around midnight. Jack will stay 2 nights in Palm Springs then join Ray in Laguna Niguel for the night of the 13th, Ray will take Jack to Ontario Airport on the evening of the 14th, as he is presently scheduled to fly out of Ontario Airport 8 a.m. on the 15th.

Ray plans on picking up Mary Lou in his rental car en route to Laguna Niguel Saturday, unless plans change.

Jack will be storing his car for the next 4 months or so either in Palm Springs or near Ontario Airport. Jack flies back home from that airport on Tuesday the 15th at 8 a.m.

Today, Tuesday, June 8th, we drive from Gallup, NM, to the Grand Canyon, where the forecast looks favorable for camping (provided we can find a camp site).

Update: Since our last post on June 6th, we toured Carlsbad Caverns, in Carlsbad, NM. Quite impressive. Spent 4 hours there. Then we drove about 160 miles to Lone Tree Bible Ranch, where Ray’s neice, Heather and husband Ken, roled out the red carpet, serving us a tastey chicken BBQ, and providing us with a Guest Cabin. We had fun with their young children, Joah and Leah Ruth, and witnessed a spectacular night sky with a fully charged electrical storm. We could hear thunder in the distance. A light rain fell that night. Due to their 6,800 ft elevation, it was very comfortable in the 70′s and 80′s!

Monday morning, June 7th, we drove the 90 miles to Santa Fe, had a great lunch on the Plaza, took a quick self-guided tour, and then drove west to Gallup, racking up 390 miles for the day!

Yesterday, June 5th, Ray hiked the 1.4 miles in 111 degree heat to the best view up the Boquillas Canyon. Jack was smarter and stayed in the air conditioned car. Then we drove from Big Bend National Park to Carlsbad, NM, about 285 miles. Temperature in Carlsbad was cooler: 105 degrees!

Today, June 6th, we will tour Carlsbad Caverns, then drive 150 miles to Lone Tree Bible Ranch, where Ray’s neice, Heather and husband Ken, reside with their young children, Joah and Leah Ruth. Ken is Camp Director there. Plan to have dinner with them and stay overnight in a small cabin they generously offered. Should be 15 to 20 degrees cooler!

We are learning that a daily posting to a Travel Blog is more difficult than we thought. Five whole days have passed since our last entry last Monday, May 31st.

We dined that evening at the Saltgrass Steak House in Katy, TX. A REAL Texas beef dinner!

June 1st and 2nd, We enjoyed two wonderful days in Houston, courtesy of Jack’s good friends Carole and David Southwick (and 2 delightful toy poodles ShiShi and Babette), Mim Kiebach and Carole’s brother Bill Kiebach.  We stayed at Carole and David’s, out to dinner both nights in Texas style, with Mim, Jack’s college-mate from Temple University in Philadelphia. June 1st we toured the Johnson Space Center (“Houston,…the Eagle has landed! [on the moon]“,…then spent the rest of the day in Galveston, taking the ferry over to Bolivar Island, where we photographed a lot of homes on stilts, as well as a brick school on stilts! Old Galveston was interesting with its metal guilded street fronts. But we were taken aback by the number of lots left vacant by Ike, the last big hurricane to hit Galveston (2008).

As we left Houston, Bill Kiebach invited us to his and Libby’s “Ranch” in the hill country about 60 miles NW of Houston. Bill BBQ’d us the most delicious pork chops and sweet corn ever!…a fitting send-off from south Texas.

Drove through U-Texas at Austin, a distinctive campus, and had a couple of beers at the Iron

Spent the night of June 2nd in San Marcos, TX, just south of Austin, where a severe storm cut power to our Inn.  We just pulled out our camping lanterns and a bottle of wine and cheered on the storm from our open window.

June 3rd, we

Hi everybody!

We’ve updated our Trip Itinerary, and added it as a separate page. (Hope that works).

We are in Alexandria, Louisiana, today, Sunday, May 30th.  Ate dinner last night at Fant’s Seafood (get it?…Fancy Food?) in Tioga, LA.  Ray had frogs legs and hush puppies (fried round cornmeal balls with flecks of fried pickles in them,…actually very tasty), Jack had soft-shell crabs.  A very busy place!

Cooling our heels right now in the Pineville, LA, Country Inn & Suites, (we gave up on Motel 6 and Super 8, as the quality of those discount chains has slipped badly), while Jack does his laundry.