The Lone Star State Entering Texas was big. Having previously lived with Texans and having also lived in Europe, I had some small notion of what “Texan” means to the Texans themselves and also to foreigners, or other “non-Texans.” Large not only in territory, Texas is also large in personality and reputation. It is larger […]

Stephane receives his green card! Stephane’s immigration appointment was set for mid-November in the Philadelphia office, and although we were happy that the process was moving along quickly, we had hoped it would be in December or January so that we could spend the holidays with the family. We were enjoying the biking and the […]

Canyon Country: Glen Canyon and the magnificent Grand Canyon with Klaus Lake Powell forms the heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which is more than 1 million acres of incredibly beautiful and diverse land that extends into desert and canyon country. The very blue lake, with its 96 named side canyons, is considered one […]

Canyon Country: Zion and Angel’s Landing and Slot Canyons with Cowgirl Patti We spent the month of October and the first week of November in Canyon Country, part of the Southwest’s 1400-mile Grand Circle of stunning parks, national monuments, and scenic byways. From Bryce Canyon, we headed southwest to Zion National Park, enjoying the warm […]

Towards Canyon Country After Grammy’s memorial service and a short stay at home in Pennsylvania, we flew back out to Leila’s house in Phoenix. She and Mark had just married a couple of days before and were now in the midst of packing up to move out to California. There was still a bed for […]

The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, and the Pow-wows and Rodeos of the Navajo Nation Fair The 28-mile long road that cut through the Petrified Forest National Park required an entrance fee, and since we had a National Parks pass that could accommodate up to four people, we asked Nathan and Lynn if they […]

Arizona: The Wild Wild West and Route 66 We had crossed the border into Arizona at the town of Parker, where the brilliant blue Colorado River made a welcome appearance at the edge of the Mojave Desert. This was where Mike and Joy lived and where we experienced our first taste of Arizonan hospitality. After […]

A Scorching 121 degrees in the Mojave Desert We knew when we woke up in 29 Palms, just outside the perimeter of Joshua Tree National Park, that we were headed for several days of hell. We knew that we would be facing some of the most physically and mentally challenging days of our lives. We […]

Wacky and Weird Joshua Tree National Park, a psychedlic experience We spent one more week in Venice Beach with Aaron and Chris, but this time around, we were primarily occupied with making sure that Stephane’s immigration papers were in order. Now that we’re here in the U.S., he is applying for legal permanent residence. We […]

San Francisco and the Pacific Coast Highway From Yosemite, we headed west towards San Francisco. We passed hundreds of windmills by the highway, miles upon miles of stuck traffic trying to leave the city, and the city of Oakland, before negotiating the hilly streets of the Bay City. We arrived late Friday afternoon at Jeremy […]