After more than two years of dreaming, scheming, planning, and preparation, the day has finally arrived.

Tomorrow morning, Dad and I will be loading up our five horses and one mule and heading for the US/Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona.

Before I say more, I want to thank those who have helped us make it this far, as well as those who are planning to help us as the trip progresses.

In particular, I want to thank my very special wife, who not only agreed to let me do this, but has been supportive and tolerant as I have prepared for the trip. I know she thinks I’m crazy, but she has supported me nonetheless. I also want to thank my mother, who has been supportive of my dad in letting him go with me, so that we could fulfill this father and son dream that we have held in our hearts for more than 40 years.

Thanks to Nathan, my oldest son, for his financial contribution, as well as Tena Snider for hers. Thanks also to Aaron LeSueur, my nephew, and Kelly and Tina LeSueur, my brother-in-law and sister, as well as Dick Goodman, who will be driving more than 12 hours to drop us off at the border and return our trailers to Eagar, Az. Kelly and Tina will also drive to the Grand Canyon when we reach it, to assist us there. Their enthusiastic support and encouragement has been invaluable.

Thanks to Gwen Kahler, who has offered her home as a stopover/re-supply point when we reach Flagstaff. She will ride with us for a few days as well.

Thanks to one particular US Border Patrol Agent, who will be our guide through the Chiricahua Mountains. He will ride with us several days and will also lend logistical support in re-supplying us with horse feed as we pass through the lower deserts of southeastern Arizona.

Thanks to Tyler Theobald for lending me a good horse for the trip.

Thanks also to Outfitter’s Pack Station and Outfitter’s Supply for their generous support and help.

Thanks to all the other unnamed folks who have encouraged and helped us along.

OK, now that all that’s said……

Tomorrow morning we will load up and haul out. We should arrive at the border in the late afternoon, after which we will set up an overnight camp. We plan to have the horses packed and be heading northward by about 10:00 am on Saturday. We have contacted the USBP office at Douglas, AZ and let them know who we are and what we are doing. They secured permission for us to cross a large private ranch as we head northward.

We expect to reach the destination of the first leg of our trip, Eagar, AZ, about the end of April. We will have at least four re-supply points along the way and two stopover points, where we may be able to get a nice, hot shower.

At Eagar we’ll evaluate our horses, gear, and ourselves, to see whether we are in shape to make the second leg of the trip, from Eagar to Panguitch, UT, which includes the crown jewel of our trip, the crossing of the Grand Canyon.

I have reserved a camp at Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon National Park, from June 5-12, in hopes that a Backcountry Permit, allowing us to camp within the park boundaries, will come available. The park officials have been very helpful to us, but their horse campgrounds in the canyon have been booked for some time. They are hopeful that once we arrive a cancellation may come up, allowing us one night’s camp in the canyon. We booked the Mather campsite as a place where we can wait to see if a permit comes available. If a permit does not come available for us, the plan is to have Kelly and Tina LeSueur haul two of our horses from the South Rim around to the North Rim. Dad and I will each ride one horse and tow another. We will ride to the bottom, switch horses and ride up the other side in one day. At the North Rim we will be met by Kelly and Tina, then haul out of the park to camp. Our fingers are crossed that a permit will come up. We could use all the positive thoughts you can muster.

We hope to reach the destination of our second leg, Panguitch, UT toward the end of June. As we have never attempted a pack trip of this magnitude, we have limited experience to go on as we try to estimate how much ground we will be able to cover each day. Additionally, there is no way for us to accurately determine the actual mileage of the trip. I look forward to watching the GPS as the miles unfold. I estimate the entirety of this year’s trip (the first two legs of our planned Mexico-to-Canada trip) to be approximately 1,000 miles, or a bit more.

l have gotten so tired of all the preparation as this day has approached, that both Dad and I are very excited to finally be done with the preparation and getting ready to actually start carrying out the plan.

We’ll be driving tomorrow and making tracks on Saturday!

Hallelujah!!!