This colorized photo was gifted to the Western Flyer Foundation by the Perpuli family on May 11, 2025. It’s one of only two known photographs of John and Ed together. The children pointed out that John and Ed are wearing the brothers’ chaparreras (chaps).
Some moments on this journey stopped us in our tracks—and this was one of them.
On Sunday, May 11 — which also happened to be the anniversary of Ed Ricketts’ death — we had the unforgettable honor of welcoming aboard the children and granddaughter of Leopoldo Pérpuli, the rancher who famously guided Steinbeck and Ricketts on a borrego (big-horn sheep) “hunt” in The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
If you’ve read Chapter 16, you’ll remember it well: the dry hills, the stubborn mules, and the stories that “nearly always began, ‘Once there was a school-teacher with large black eyes… muy simpática.’” And there, woven through it all, is Leopoldo.
His children — José, Fidencio, María, Rosa — and his granddaughter Avali stood aboard the Western Flyer on May 11, 85 years after their father shared those desert trails with Steinbeck and Ricketts. They remembered Leopoldo telling stories about the hunting trip, and they recalled that he was especially impressed by Ed Ricketts.
Of course, we couldn’t let a moment like this pass without a toast in the galley. Fidencio and Captain Paul shared a shot of rum— sipping from a barnacle-scarred glass we’d found tucked into a window frame below deck. Dating back to the 1930s, it very well may be the same glass once passed between Steinbeck, Ricketts — and maybe even Leopoldo himself. Check out Fidencio’s Toast on Instagram.
This was one of those days when it felt like the Western Flyer was steering the story — pulling people and moments together, just when they’re meant to cross paths.
