To Stephen, from Walter:

8/12/10

Stephen taking us on his Magical Mystery Tour in Joshua Tree National Park - his old stomping grounds. The cape has a story that deserves a blog of its own...

Linny donning the infamous cape.

"We need to resume the Magical Mystery Tour. The Wonderland of Rocks is calling us, and by 4:36 and 15 seconds the sunlight hits just right, setting the stage for a wonderful photo. We can remain at the Wonderland for one minute and 57 seconds, after which we will travel to Cactus #13. The van has 14.3 gallons of gas remaining, and my SD card is 74% full. Perfect, but we need to move now." This is why the Magical Mystery Tour was perfect.

Stephen,

It never ceases to amaze me, the ability you have to make sure our trip goes as smoothly as possible. You make and receive phone call after phone call, and our contacts generally know you well enough that they think of us as extended family by the time we arrive. Linny said yesterday that most of our stops feel like we're staying at an aunt or uncle's house, and I feel the same way. Now, to get two people who aren't blood-related to feel like they are with family, that's an accomplishment.

On top of that, you set up our rest days and give us things to look forward to. The Magical Mystery tour through Joshua Tree National Park (my personal favorite), The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, space station and asteroid fly-bys, The Very Large Array, The Abernathy boys and a ticker tape parade, and countless others. There are dinners waiting for us, and breakfasts that get covered by the fire department, or the chamber of commerce. Sometimes we don't have the time or the energy to make it out to a place that you've recommended, but this is rare. Your genuine excitement for these places make it easy for us to be infused with your energy and make the most out of our surroundings.

Bluebells in Texas. When we weren't looking forward to Texas, you gave us something pretty to look at.

And sometimes you even find us a motel room. Oh so many thank yous. This should go without saying. I don't know how you go and find us these comped rooms, but they always come at the perfect time. Just when we're about to crash and literally burn from the day's heat, we have a cool air-conditioned room and comfortable bed to sleep in. Now, we understand that getting Sojourner his own room might be a tough sell, but maybe you could work on that occasionally yeah? Kidding. Soj always has great accommodations when we're staying at a motel. That must involve at least two phone calls. Linny and I try to avoid more than two phone calls a day. Combined.

Now you've gone and one-upped yourself. Our "vacation" at Big Springs has been wonderful. You were right on when you said that Dennis and JoAnn Pierce would be wonderful hosts, making us extremely comfortable from the first second. You set us up for a great float trip down the Current River, and a peaceful night's rest at a historic cabin nearby. (We ended up sleeping 16 hours at the cabin. That's how peaceful it was.) You told us how Big Springs blew you away when you were here 40 or so years ago, and it lived up to the hype. Very cool place.

Our cabin at Big Springs. Built in the 1930s and close to the banks of the Current River and the Big Spring.

Here is the mighty Big Spring, which pumps out 289 million gallons of water A DAY. It is one of the largest single outlet springs in the world.

Another shot of the spring. The water here is a glacial blue. The massively large limestone caverns that the spring water travels through and dissolves over time gives the water it's blueish tint.

So Stephen, aka Trip-Enabler aka Blog-God aka Talking Long Beard, this blog is for you. Without you, this trip would not be possible. You make our days more tolerable, our adventure more exciting, our nights more comfortable, and our horse happy. You also make our lives easier, and for that I thank you. Linny thanks you too of course. Lots.

Stephen's backyard friends.

Stephen's sunflowers out in the garden. Stephen has an amazing backyard garden, from which we try and procure as many fruits and veggies as possible along the way.

Linny's Sojourner

Stephen's "Sojourner" - Lola

("I Will Talk Anywhere With You. MeooooooooooooooOW")