Bright Angel trail

Inside Grand Canyon. About 1.5 miles down the trail... And no where near the bottom.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Our arrival here at the majestic Grand Canyon after a fun two-night side trip through Sedona has been bitter sweet. We pulled in on the afternoon of April 23rd accompanied by our Phoenix friends, Terri, Fred and their kids, in their own camper trailer. All the kids began playing furiously while a shared dinner was prepared and then we assigned our van as the kids’ playhouse while the adults hung out in the camper trailer next door. Around 8:30pm we got a call from Denise’s brother, Jimmy. He had sad news to share. Their Mom, Helen Bevacqua, had just passed away in her group home in California. She had been under hospice care for some time now and we’d been expecting the news but it was a sad blow nonetheless. The news created some time of reflection, tears and sadness in our small van that evening. She was a greatly loved Grandmother to Rose and Ruth and will be sorely missed. Our time at Grand Canyon has been marked by windy days – gusts up to 30 mph – so we’ve not spent as much time outside as we’d hoped since the dust comes roaring across the campground making the air gritty and unpleasant. Today we’re going to hike part way down the Bright Angel trail into the Grand Canyon. It’s the 8-month anniversary of our journey and is also National Junior Ranger day so we’re hoping to stay active and busy today.

A Poem for Grandma Helen

In this tomb her body decays but her spirit will always live in the ones whom she loved and helped. Helen Bevacqua.

by Rose Bryers (age 9)

Longboat Key, Florida - A Vacation

Staying with Geri and John (and their dog, Abby) is always a treat. So, we decided to pull back from our road trip for a week and visit them at their vacation home rental in Longboat Key, Florida before continuing on our southwest adventure.

From Florida Vacation

In Florida, John has his boat and the vacation home they rent always has a pool so we get to do a lot of water activities.

From Florida Vacation

It’s only been a weeklong visit but each day has been packed with fishing, swimming or both. To mix it up we’ve also walked along the beach, kayaked, watched sunsets, played board games, caught up on some movies and just chatted. Each day is punctuated with wonderful, fresh meals that Geri organizes.

From Florida Vacation

With a pool right outside the dining room, it has been a chance for the girls to get better and even more confident with their swimming. To our delight, Ruth now splashes around the pool without the need for float assistance (or fins). She has even tried swimming the width of the pool using (her version of) freestyle. Meanwhile, Rose has been practicing her diving and gliding – using a smooth, powerful launch to send her down to the pool bottom or across its width in one fluid motion.

From Florida Vacation

Both girls prefer to use their goggles or masks in the water as both seem to spend an inordinate amount of time swimming underwater – exploring the bottom of the pool or diving for beads and coins that can be easily tossed in and recovered. It is oftentimes a battle to get them out to eat, drink or apply more sun block even though they’ve been frolicking in the pool for 2 hours or more. On the plus side, their tired little bodies sleep well at night. Fishing on this trip has been very rewarding. When we were last in the area – at Fort de Soto County Park, about 10 miles north of here – we discovered just how abundant the fishing could be in Florida. This time around we had expert guidance from John and his friends, as well as small boat to get us to the best fishing spots. Yesterday, Ruth and Rose were pulling fish up with almost every cast of their lines. Using live shrimp the girls were able to encourage Mangrove Snapper, Sheep Head, and Grouper (two different varieties) to bite down on the line. As adherents of catch-and-release every fish was returned to the sea though many were legally sized to keep. The other day, when Ruth and her fishing rod were on fire, we kept and ate 4 of the Mangrove Snapper she landed.

From Florida Vacation

From Florida Vacation

From Florida Vacation

Most all our activities here have been centered around the home or spending time with Geri and John since we don’t get to see them often enough. For Denise it has been a chance to catch up with her sister and discuss family matters. For Doug it has been a relaxing time of swimming and fishing and reflecting on the road trip so far and contemplating what may lie in store once we return to Seattle.

In Phoenix, AZ heading to Tampa, FL

It's been a relaxing week visiting with friends in their comfortable home in Phoenix. The girls have been in "kid heaven" since our friends have two children - a boy and girl - about the same age as Rose and Ruth. There has been dancing in the living room, swimming in the pool, playing Wii (Nintendo gaming console), watching TV, doing a fun birthday celebration and, of course, loving the egg hunt and sugar/chocolate indulgence that is Easter. Doug and Denise have mostly just "hung out". There has been plenty of time for conversation and catching up with our hosts, Terri and Fred. We've had time to get the van serviced as well as order some cabin lights that needed replacing (after eventually tracking down a supplier). Phoenix turned on some wonderfully warm weather. And just when we were starting to get a little overheated a storm rolled in. We got to watch the wind and rain pelt down on the surrounding mountains then make its away across the nearby golf course and toward the house. It was great to watch it from the comfort of a large living room and we were glad to not have been camping at the time. We're heading to Florida for one week and leaving the van here in Phoenix. When we return next week, we'll pick up the van then start heading for Grand Canyon and the start of our curve through northern Arizona, New Mexico (again), the corner of Colorado and into southern Utah before hitting Las Vegas. From Las Vegas we head into California. Reaching the west coast marks the beginning of the end of our journey as we'll spend 4-6 weeks in the West before heading home to Seattle.

Arrived in Phoenix, Arizona

We'll be here at a friends place in Phoenix for a few weeks (including leaving the van with them while we go back to Florida by air for a week - April 13-20). We had a very fun visit in Tucson. Details of our trip to the Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park will follow...

In the desert west of Tucson, Arizona

A long days drive from Truth or Consequences brought us to Chiricahua National Monument in southern Arizona. Here in the mountains, which are like islands amidst the sea of grass (the plains), some of the famous Apache leaders - Cochise and Geronimo - attempted to hold their ground against the increasing pressure of settlers moving onto their traditional lands. The Chiricahua mountains are part of this story - as a place where the Apache sometimes hid - though they were preserved as a National Monument not for their great historical significance but largely because of their beauty and uniqueness. We enjoyed a great 5 mile hike from the top of the mountain, past amazing rock formations (pictured above), down through the forests of Echo Canyon and along the dry water course back to the Visitors Center. The hike was made more appealing because of the park's free shuttle service that dropped us at the peak, allowing for a mostly downhill hike. We stayed two nights at the beautiful Bonita Campground nestled in a canyon near the Visitors Center which has only 22 sites - with no power or hook-ups. Leaving Chiricahua, we set our sites on Tucson since we'd arranged to visit, Kathy, a cousin of Denise's, for the weekend. To our amazement and delight, we had to drive through part of the Saguaro National Park to reach their place, which is located just on the outside of the National Park. Saguaro's are iconic cactus of Arizona and the southwest although their growing range is very limited. These lone men of the desert stand tall and proud in the dry desert conditions. They have appeared in more western movies than John Wayne. At around 75 years old the long central trunk sprouts it's first arms. Birds live in holes bored into the Saguaro creating a tough, fibrous boot inside the plant as the the Saguaro grows around the hole. Life for the bird is ideal as the nest is literally surrounded by water -- keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter -- as the Saguaro draws water in through capillary action during the wet season and stores that water for drier times. Kathy has a variety of cactus species growing around her place. At mealtimes we admire the huge Saguaro pair that grow just outside the back door. Ruth is pictured above next to this colossal pair. We'll be here in the desert outside of Tucson for the weekend. Next week we head for Phoenix to spend time with a high-school friend of Denise's while also tending to van maintenance and preparing for our brief trip back to Florida (by air).