We arrived at Addison Airport Monday night after a fun-filled trip that included a night with Brooks & Dunn, a tour of Hoover Dam, the South Point arena, shopping at the Las Vegas Convention Center and a day at the spa.

Now, back to the real world and back to work.

Billy and I boarded a Challenger jet at the Addison Airport Tuesday morning and flew to Brownwood to pick up our friends, Patty and Woody and Jerry and Shirley. It took us only 25 minutes to get to Brownwood but the fog was too thick for us to land. The Brownwood Airport has no control tower so we had to fly in a 30-minute holding pattern in hopes that the fog would lift. We came back to try it again, and still we couldn’t land so back in the sky we went to hold for another 30 minutes.

Wednesday began the trek into the Big Bend National Park. The first picture is of Billy helping Frances out of the truck at our first stop. We carried a stool that Billy took out religiously every time Frances was to emerge from our ride.

We stopped at a viewing point to look out over the Homer Wilson Ranch which is said to look the same as it did before it was abandonded in 1945.

We stopped in several other overlooks and drove into Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail where we got a close-up look of the rock wall that formed it.

Looking for a place to stretch our legs, we came upon a store and museum close to Santa Elena Canyon and had a good time talking with the rangers and other park employees who were there. We found it interesting that many of the employees live in the park.

After a snack and soft drink, we loaded up again and continued on our way.

We were awestruck to get a close look at the Santa Elena Canyon and read about its history.

Then we found a road that took us right down to the Rio Grande River.

The scenery was beautiful everywhere we looked.

One more stop came on the way out of the park when we stopped at a park store and information center.

After lunch in Marathon, we headed for San Angelo. Wednesday was our longest day of driving and we watched the sun set from the truck.

Frances and I worked at getting the sunset picture by opening the sliding back window and shooting through the opening.

Tuesday began early with Billy and Joyce preparing a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, toast and coffee. Then we took off for more adventures on the roads of the Big Bend area.

We stopped at the first paved road for a photo op with the Chinati Hot Springs sign before traveling around 15 miles to Candelaria.

We met Sergio who manages a ranch owned by several of Billy’s high school friends. Sergio showed us some pictures taken of him by a Dallas Morning News reporter. They were downloaded and printed from a Dallas Morning News Web site. Apparently there is a story about him on DallasNews.com titled “Two Towns, One Border.” Sergio is quite the horse trainer, and apparently, that’s what the story was about. I haven’t had a chance to look for the story so I’m not sure. Also, Sergio doesn’t speak much English so I couldn’t ask him for more details.

Sergio was warm and welcoming and we all enjoyed him. He stayed with us for most of the time Billy was showing us through the houses in the compound of the ranch at Candelaria called El Rancho Pensado. There is a picture of Jessie and Frances looking at Sergio’s pictures. Also see the picture of Frances in the compound of the ranch. Some of the horses are in the background.

From Candelaria, we went a short distance to Presidio. Frances lived there for about a year in the 1940s but not much was familiar for her today. Just outside Presidio we stopped at Ft. Leaton and that’s where we took the picture of Jessie and Frances by a huge cart. We tried to keep the walking to a minimum but Jessie had a little trouble before we were finished. He enjoyed the museum area, though, and spent quite a lot of time reading the exhibits on display.

From Ft. Leaton, we lined up with the Rio Grand River and followed it to Lajitas along River Road. Jesse remarked he was surprised we don’t hear more about the Big Bend area and said he thinks it’s prettier than the Grand Canyon. He and Frances were both surprised to see such beauty and “big country” right here in our own state.

There is a picture of Frances and Jessie sitting on a rock that overlooks the Rio Grand. This particular point was way above the river and you can see the river winding behind them. The next picture shows Billy pretending to give Jessie a shove over the cliff. After the picture was snapped, Jessie pretended to resist and the two clowned around together.

We ate a late lunch in Terlingua and then drove through the ghost town before settling into the Easter Egg Motel. The bungalows in the back are painted Easter-egg colors like lavender and yellow. Billy and Jessie said the colors are ugly but I like them,

The four of us sat outside our two rooms and just enjoyed being there. Finally, there’s a picture of Tuesday’s sunset sky.

Frances and Jessie began their big adventure in Midland Sunday night watching the Cowboy game at the home of Dennis Grubb, otherwise known as Wemus. The adventuresome couple toured the Wemus museum of entertainers and were greatly impressed by the vast array of experiences fostered through Wemus Entertainment which is run by Grubb and his wife Cynthia.

The president’s (George W. Bush) minister of music showed everyone (including Joyce and Billy Wayne Godwin) a good time at LaBodega Restaurant.

The first stop on Monday was at Balmorhea State Park where Jessie and Frances saw a large, spring-fed swimming pool and were amazed at the mountainous backdrop and the clear, crisp water.

Back in the truck and down the highway the foursome continued and landed once more at Ft. Davis where a good lunch at the Ft. Davis Drugstore gave strength enough to continue the trek down State Highway 17 on the way to Marfa..

The travelers marveled at the beauty of the Marfa Courthouse and toured the streets of Marfa before resuming their journey south to Pinto Canyon where the pavement ends,

Not to be dissuaded, the King Ranch 150 (the travelers’ chariot) continued on the unpaved road to their destination — Chinati Hot Springs (www.chinatihotsprings.com). The arrangements may have been a little more rustic than Frances and Jessie expected but the night still turned out to be great fun for all. First, a lengthy soak in the restoring mineral waters of the hot springs, while a beautiful sunset painted the evening sky. Then Billy Wayne furnished a meal for the four of them at the common kitchen building.

After a few cocktails and lots of shared stories, Joyce showed the others a slide show of pictures taken up to that moment. Jessie exclaimed a few times, “Well, that was just a little while ago and you haven’t been anywhere to develop the pictures.”

Everyone turned in around 9:30 p.m. to get ready for another day of travel.