BY MOTORHOME THROUGH THE AMERICAN WEST

The Log of a 5,000 mile Journey

Part One: September 2005

Margaret and Barry Williamson

The log can be read in conjunction with our: Travel Notes USA.

A full sequence of photographs of the journey can be seen at: Photos of USA.

This daily log gives an account of a 51-day motorhome journey through the American West by hired motorhome, leaving Los Angeles on 15 September 2005. It is our fourth visit to this beautiful country.

During our summer holiday of 1992, we cycled 3,500 miles in 46 days from Vancouver in the west  to Niagara Falls and Toronto in the east, but mainly on the American side of  the border with Canada. This is the northernmost of the 3 classic cycling routes which cross the USA. With its wide broad-shouldered roads, light traffic away from the freeways, great distances, mountains, high plains, deserts, prairies, rivers, lakes and forests, friendly people, inexpensive motels on the old and now deserted US Highways and a culture that supports feeding, watering and sheltering travellers 24/7, America is ideal for both the cyclist and the motorhomer!

In February 2001 we returned to the USA, after crossing Australia by bicycle and riding 4,500 miles up and down the full length of New Zealand. On this occasion, we rode the southernmost route: 3,500 miles from Los Angeles to Key West via San Diego, the Mexican border, the Gulf coast and down the east coast of Florida through Miami and along the Keys.

In January 2003, after a New Year in Los Angeles, we paid a brief visit to friends Dick and Audrey Valentzas (first met motorhoming in Sicily) who live in San Rafael in Marin County, a few miles north of San Francisco. We cycled a little with Dick in the Marin County hills, where the mountain bike was born, and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge to explore the hills of San Francisco with their daughter, Paget Valentzas.   

The proposed route for this fourth visit to the USA will take us inland (east) from Los Angeles to explore Arizona and its well-catalogued attractions, heading north and east to Denver, returning west to meet the Pacific Ocean north of San Francisco. The coast road south will then take us back to Los Angeles, having used up most of our motorhome allowance of 6,000 miles.

We highly recommend the family firm from whom we have hired our 'RV' (Recreational Vehicle). Klaus and Gabi Hollerith run an excellent small business – Happy Travel Campers (campervan and motorhome rental and sales) - located very near Los Angeles International Airport (or LAX). They employ other German-speaking workers, who all have an excellent command of English and a very competent and friendly approach to their work. See their fleet and get a quote from www.camperusa.com.

We found them through a helpful agent, Michael Preller, who has other contacts throughout the US. Visit him at www.destinationusa.net.  

This log of what actually happened on our journey should be read in conjunction with Travel Notes USA,  which gives a lot of background information on travelling and motorhoming in this glorious country, as well as details of the motorhome we used.

The distance driven is given in miles, along with the cost in US $ of a powered site for 2 adults at the named Campground, RV Park or State Park, taking account of any available discount.. The hire company supplied a card giving 10% members' discount for KOA ( = Kampgrounds of America), saving us the $14 annual fee. We could have used an Australian 'Big 4' or New Zealand 'Top 10' membership card for reciprocal benefits. There are other group discount schemes, and some parks have a rate for 'Seniors', so always check.

Exchange rate at the time of travel is $1.75 to the pound sterling, the US $ having decreased in value since our last visit when it was $1.4.

Map of the 5,000-mile Motorhome Journey

September 13                LOS ANGELES, Super8 Motel, LAX     ($67.00 inc bkfst)

A flight from Spring to Autumn, to gain a day and revisit our favourite Super8

This was the third time we had made the transition across the International Date Line and across the Equator, all in one flight. Today, our ageing Air New Zealand 747 (400-series) took off from Auckland, full, just before 8 in the evening. About 12 hours later it landed in Los Angeles at around 1 in the afternoon – on the same day.

Rows of heavy looking immigration officials waited for us, crouched behind their desks,  their computers, their electronic fingerprint-takers with their digital cameras lined up for a mug-and-iris-shot. We felt slightly intimidated until the whole airport, including our immigration line, was plunged into complete darkness, just as it was coming up to our turn! 30 seconds later, emergency lighting cut in, but it was nearly 30 minutes before the computers, fingerprinters, cameras and immigration officials recovered! Suddenly they looked very human and very vulnerable! When we approached the desk, our man was even ready for a joke. Are you married? Yes. To each other? Yes! And we got our 90 days visa-waiver – more than enough on this occasion.

After collecting our bags and passing the scrutiny of Customs, we found the line of free-phones and rang our favourite motel, the Super8 on Airport Boulevard. We stayed there in 2001 to reassemble our bicycles before starting the ride to Key West and we spent New Year there in 2003. The courtesy van appeared in 5 minutes and in another 10 we had a room with the usual comforts (and 24-hr tea or coffee from Reception).  Planes landing at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) use our bathroom window as a marker on their final approach which, since there are planes about every minute, gives the whole occasion a real feeling of being 'on the road'. See www.the.super8.com for details of the motel chain.  

After a few hours recovery time, we ambled down Airport Boulevard to the Burger King (the only place to eat within walking distance) and were reminded how much better such food tastes on its home territory. Try the Mushroom and Swiss Cheese Burger followed by Hershey's chocolate pie, then start healthy eating tomorrow!

September 14     LOS ANGELES, DOCKWEILER RV PARK     ($28.00)     10 miles

We collect our home for the next 7 weeks and camp between Airport and Ocean

Waking uncertain as to what day it was, let alone what time, we collected the complimentary 'continental breakfast'. Unsure which continent breaks the fast with orange juice and sweet sticky buns, but it was welcome nevertheless.

'Happy Travel Campers' sent their courtesy van to collect us from the motel, driven by a charming Austrian student who is soon due back at Salzburg University. She whisked us expertly through the frenetic LA traffic for 15 minutes, back to the Hollerith family's home and business in the Hawthorne area. Gabi and Klaus talked us through the finer points of the 22-ft Jamboree motorhome, which looks remarkably familiar! Built on a Ford E350 chassis, it is a newer and shorter relative of our own 27-ft 'Rosie'.

Gabi encourages hirers to leave any unused non-perishable groceries behind when they leave, and invited us to help ourselves from her campers' cupboard to a few items to start our store cupboard off. What a nice idea!

Our next stop was at the nearby supermarket, 'Food4Less', to fill the cupboards and make lunch in the car park. No height barriers or size limits here (large vehicles for large people!) Then we drove a short distance north on highway 405 and east on 105 (straight past LAX) to the Pacific Ocean. Barry is of course very familiar with driving the Ford E350, complete with a big V10 engine, left-hand-drive, automatic transmission and cruise control, but the LA freeways (5 lanes of busy traffic in each direction) demand all his attention (and that of the co-pilot/navigator, using the GPS to get us to the Pacific Ocean!)   

The Dockweiler RV Park, between the wide Playa del Rey beach and Vista del Mar esplanade, is an enormous parking lot set in 3 rows parallel with the shore. Each site has a full hook-up (water, power and sullage). The facilities are minimal, the showers unusable, but with ocean view and absolute beach frontage we had plenty of neighbours.

Being a State Park (Dept of Beaches and Harbors), there is a list of 32 Regulations.  We liked rule 6: 'All RVs, camping vehicles and trailers must remain on wheels at all times. Size limit is 37 ft. NO EXCEPTIONS.' The price is $32 on the front row, $30 in the middle and $28 at the back (with an equally good view of the sea!)

It was wonderful to face the ocean, backs to the airport, and watch the rival attractions of pelicans landing and jumbo-jets taking to the skies to cross the Pacific Ocean! Once unpacked, we crossed the cycle-path to the beach (the very one we had cycled towards San Diego at the start of the ride to Florida). Today we simply walked and photographed the sunset, flooding the sky at about 7 pm. 

The 'Jamboree' RV is very comfortably equipped, with a long settee opposite the dinette, large fridge/freezer, gas oven with 3 rings, microwave, air-con, gas heating and hot water and a superb washroom across the back with generous toilet and shower space. However, losing 6 feet of motorhome means losing the fixed double bed at the rear. In this 22-ft model, the main bed is up above the cab – comfortable enough when lying down (in fact, the ceiling is too close to allow sitting up). Guess we'll get used to it!

September 15    109 miles  VICTORVILLE, KOA 'SHADY OASIS'     ($25.00)    

We hit the Freeways and climb into the desert, finding ourselves on Route 66

First we returned to Happy Travel Campers with a couple of minor problems, quickly sorted with good humour. (Always a good idea to camp near base the first night and try everything out!)  Then our journey north and east really began.

We drove on busy freeways (Interstate highways: no bicycles, no pedestrians, no tolls and no service stations or parking areas – you have to turn off for these). Our route was east on the 105, north on 605, then east on 10, which we exited briefly in West Covina to make lunch and shop at K-Mart: a vast array of mostly non-food items at low prices. Then towards San Bernadino onto Interstate 15, finally leaving greater Los Angeles. Traffic flowed thick and fast, generally with good grace and no use of the horn.

I-15 skirted Mt Baldy, then turned north through the San Bernardino National Forest. It climbed to 4,190 ft at Cajon Summit, where the historic Summit Inn reminded us that we were following the classic Route 66. Over the next 15 miles, we descended gradually to 2,800 ft at VICTORVILLE, pop 88,378 – sprawling across the next 7 exits from the freeway!

We took the first exit, highway 18, to check out 'Kampers Korner' RV Sales and Accessories. What a treasure trove of American RV spares, what a pity about the weight limit on the flight back to London! Barry got the essential plumbing bits needed to mend Rosie's boiler leak, which had proved impossible to find in Greece or even England.

Along I-15 again, over the Mojave River to the Stoddard Wells Road exit, leading straight to 'Peggy-Sue's 50's Diner' and our first KOA Campground: 'A shady getaway in the high desert, just 3 miles from the Route 66 Museum' (and within sight and sound of I-15.) The price categories were for a 'dry site' (no hookups), power and water, or full-hookup (including sullage). We chose power and water: $26 less 10% discount plus state taxes = $25.03. Prices in the US are always quoted without taxes, which are then added – even in a fast food queue you can't get the right money ready! Taxes vary from state to state, and even within the state.

Details of over 460 campgrounds on www.koa.com. On this KOA campground, pitches (called 'sites') are generous in size and well-lit. There are surprisingly few toilets and showers (suggesting most campers use their own), no kind of kitchen at all, and a laundry with washers and driers (but no hot water or sinks for hand-washing). Reception has a well-stocked shop, a shelf for book-swaps and a modem in the corner for those with their own computer and internet provider. We were advised to try the Library in Victorville or Apple Valley for internet access. 

September 16     78 miles     NEWBERRY, Mountain RV Park     ($22.00)    

Route 66 Museum and bicycles from Wal-mart for a ride to the Bagdad Cafι

First to the nearest Walmart, about 6 miles away in Apple Valley, for a few essentials like a teapot, microwave dishes – and a pair of bicycles! Seeing the 15-gear 'Mountain Fury Roadmaster' (the cheapest model at under $58 each = about £33), we bought bikes for much less than the cost of hiring – in fact, less than we normally spend on 4 good tyres! The short Spanish attendant in the 'Toys' section was dismayed that we wanted two, as the second one was hanging from the ceiling high above: 'I'll fetch a ladder'. The ladder came with an extremely helpful and tall black guy, by the name of Jerome, who came out to the motorhome with us. He insisted that no grease or oil was needed for the bicycles – wouldn't even let us buy any! The bikes were quickly attached to the cycle rack – our attachment to them may take longer! Wouldn't like to go far on them, but they will be ideal for short trips to get back into shape.

Back into Victorville for an hour's internet/email at the Library (free of charge, including printing a few pages, but no USB port access for the memory stick). The 2 librarians adored Barry's accent. In return, Barry admired theirs.

Then to the nearby Route 66 Museum on D Street, on the very route itself. This was a delightful place, run by volunteers (Bill and his mate will tell you all you want to know),  with no entry fee and excellent displays. Following wagon and railroad tracks to provide an early all-weather route from Chicago to Los Angeles, route 66 saw the dust-bowl refugees heading west in the 1930's. Immortalised by Steinbeck ('The Mother Road' in 'Grapes of Wrath') and Nat King Cole ('Get your kicks on route 66'), it was finally bypassed by the more direct interstate highways. Now it's being rediscovered as a tourist route – we once met a French couple who'd joined a group riding it on Harley Davidsons.

Visit the museum at www.califrt66museum.org or the Preservation Foundation at www.cart66pf.org.  There is even a fan club at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/route66.  The gift shop sold us postcards, a tee-shirt and a sticker for Rosie – and an idea for a future long-distance cycle route. We were also interviewed by a journalist visiting the museum for a story for Lifestyle magazine!

After lunch we hit the road again, continuing north to Barstow. Instead of taking I-15, we followed a 36-mile stretch of Route 66, spotting the relics listed on a museum leaflet. Over the Mojave River on a 1930 steel truss bridge, past the Iron Hogg Saloon, the abandoned stone relics of Potapov's service station and auto court (an early motel), the Sagebrush Inn roadhouse, old filling stations and the Do-Drop Inn (once the site of a drive-in movie theatre). Sadly, all bypassed and out of business. Click here to view the images.

In Barstow there is another Mother Road Museum, but we just stopped for a fill of fuel (petrol, currently costing about $3 per gallon, or 49 pence per litre). We had to deposit our credit card with the office before filling. Another 24 miles on highway 40, into the Mojave Desert, turning off at the tiny settlement of Newberry, at 1,769 ft. Here a simple RV park lies alongside the 40, on the National Trails Highway (Route 66 again), by a small lake for fishing (catfish).

As the sun began to set, we took the bikes off their rack, made a few adjustments to the saddle and handlebar heights and fixed a rear brake problem and set off for a trial ride in the Mojave Desert, just a few hot dusty miles along Route 66 to the isolated and eponymous Bagdad Cafι (built in the 1950's, starring in a film in 1988 and still open). Not least, we admired the collection of completely ruined Airstream caravanse outside. For more information, visit www.lppublishing.com/bagdadcafe.html. The cold beer was very welcome, though we passed on the buffalo-burgers! A full moon shone over the desert as we returned.

September 17     164 miles     LAUGHLIN, Riverside RV Park     ($23.54)

East on Route 66 to the Colorado River, then north into Nevada 

We followed Route 66, running east across the Mojave Desert, parallel with the much busier highway 40. After 26 miles we paused at Ludlow, where a packed 'Dairy Queen', fuel station and motel serve both roads. Then the 66 swung south, its surface getting rougher, past Pisgah Crater, a black extinct volcano, and through near deserted-Amboy 29 miles further on (its school closed; Roy's Cafι and Motel clinging on to life). The road closely followed the railway line, very busy with long freight trains carrying containers in both directions. Pausing for a photo opportunity, we counted 106 wagons hauled past by a Santa Fe diesel engine.

We lunched in a Route 66 memorial layby, in the company of one spiny lizard and an elderly couple going the other way, heading home to Palm Springs. They'd been in Nevada and were gleefully letting off fire-crackers they'd bought there (illegal here in California)! We were all surprised to see a fully loaded tandem go by, ridden by 2 young men who waved without stopping. The first cyclists we'd seen this visit.

102 miles from Newberry, we rejoined highway 40 at 2,700 ft. At South Pass, 10 miles further on, the GPS registered 2,603 ft before a 16 mile descent to Needles, on the Colorado River. A plain of green irrigation spread below us, a welcome sight after the scrub and yucca plants of the desert. To the east, across the river, lies Arizona, but we turned north, following the Colorado Valley up a minor road. After 21 miles we crossed the state line from California into Nevada, the Silver State. Now we may gamble and let off fireworks.

Another 10 miles or so to the casino city of Laughlin. Driving through on the Needles Highway, we almost missed the city, tucked along a bend in the Colorado to our east. We noticed the Library (luckily open on a Saturday afternoon) and stopped for a map and an hour's free internet. On to the huge RV Park opposite the Riverside Casino, with over 500 places on 5 levels. Minimal facilities but full hook-ups, and with the oppressive heat  down at 590 ft, electricity is essential to run the air-con.

Before dinner we took a walk along the riverside, amazed at the crowds, the pleasure boats on the river and the resort casinos (including the 'Colorado Belle' built like a paddlesteamer, complete with moat). We do prefer Blackpool's Golden Mile for taste and variety, though!

September 18/19     104 miles     LAS VEGAS, KOA 'Circus Circus'     ($30.41)

To the Casino Capital of Las Vegas, celebrating its centenary as Sin City

A rapid ascent out of the Colorado valley, from 590 ft climbing 1,000 ft in 5 miles. Through a scrubby desert of bare hills, resembling spoil heaps, we eventually crossed a pass at 2,255 ft, then another at 2,945 ft. The vertical profile on the GPS displayed a smooth wedge shape, very different from the saw-tooth peaks of New Zealand. Joining the narrow highway 95, we continued north across a dry plateau at about 2,500 ft. There was no sign of wildlife (or roadkill) to feed the odd eagle soaring overhead, but plenty of RV's and motorbikes out in the sunshine. The sense of wide open spaces and empty wilderness experienced in Australia is strangely lacking here, due to the constant traffic.

After 38 miles at a crossroads is the old silver mining settlement of Searchlight at 3,539 ft. Here is a casino, fuel station and store, McDonalds, RV Park and motel – what more does a traveller need? The onward road to Las Vegas became a 4-lane highway, with wide shoulders and central reservation. It met road 93 from Boulder City at the Railroad Pass (2,350 ft), marked by a casino, then turned west onto the busy 215 freeway, dropping down to 2,000 ft and into Las Vegas.

We took the exit signed 'Las Vegas Boulevard', seeking the KOA on Circus Circus Drive, just off the stretch of Las Vegas Bvd known as 'The Strip'. This turned out to be about 2 miles south of the Downtown, at the northern end of the Strip and truly within walking distance of the famous casinos. With over 400 places, a swimming pool, 4 well-equipped 'Comfort Stations' and wireless internet connection, we checked in for 2 expensive nights and made a late lunch.

The wireless internet was having problems and access to it was sporadic, though we were assured that the 'Hotspotzz' technicians were onto the case! We were able to write postcards of Route 66 and catch up with the laundry (with automatic washers and driers - no hand-washing or outdoor drying allowed, even in this hot dry climate!) Also rang Virgin Atlantic Airways to confirm our LAX-Heathrow flight in early November: how slowly the year has gone, yet how suddenly it draws to an end!

'The Strip' was best seen after dark, when the millions of lightbulbs and digital screens powered by the Hoover Dam's generators burned bright, making the night air even hotter. The first evening, we walked about 4 miles, just taking in the scene with a break for fish & chips at Denny's. Next night we went out later, after eating, and walked 6 miles return, to the southern end. We were astonished by the crowds (actually walking the pavements – very un-American) and by the size and grandeur of the themed casino/hotels we passed.

Opposite the campground is the Sahara, built like a Sheik's palace with its Casbar Lounge and Moroccan banquets. (Suspend your disbelief!) Progressing south, we passed Circus Circus, a huge concrete and glass big top, which tempts customers with 'Free continuous circus performances'. Of course, there's no such thing as a free …! We were gullible enough to investigate and take our seats for the 'Next performance 8 pm' – it was a 5-minute stint by a young male acrobat, impressively double-jointed – then a promise of a trapeze artiste at 8.30 pm!

In between, of course, the audience scatters to buy drinks and play the gaming machines. The stairs and exits took some finding, with no windows and deliberate disorientation techniques! But dress and atmosphere were very casual and no-one appeared to object to inelegant tourists wandering into the casinos to look, take photos, buy a meal or drink, use the rest-room, watch the cabaret, or whatever. Try that in Monte Carlo!

The casino themes got more ambitious as we proceeded. In front of Treasure Island sailed a full size galleon, floating against a back-drop of cliffs with a crew of 'sirens' (scantily clad rock-singing girls) who performed 4 times a night, culminating in a firework display (weather permitting – which it did). A second boat under full sail appeared, sank, was raised and sailed off again.

The Venetian came with a replica of St Mark's Square, complete with singing gondoliers punting their punters round a mini-canal! Mirage was also fronted with water and fountains, plus a volcano which erupted every 30 minutes into rings of light and fire. Inside was a zoo and dolphinarium – even the hotel reception desk had a background of fish trying to get out of their aquarium! Caesar's Palace would have impressed any Emperor, with statues, a steaming Trevi Fountain, Cleopatra's Barge inside … all in the best possible taste. Paris had French cuisine – and its own Eiffel Tower for the best view of the Strip, next to a two-thirds replica of the Arc de Triomphe! And so it went on, as far as New York, New York resembling Times Square.

The grandiose casinos were interspersed with smaller ones, restaurants of all kinds, Madame Tussaud's waxworks, wedding chapels, the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana, the Liberace Museum etc. All this entertainment for free! Of course, you pay for shows starring names like Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, the Cirque du Soleil … Tribute shows are also popular, with impersonators of Elvis, Sinatra and the Rat Pack – a poster at the Riviera claimed 'Jay's Tribute (to Neil Diamond) is my favourite: (signed) Neil Diamond'. Wonder if they get royalties?

What was at the heart of all this splendour? 'Slots' and 'Craps'! 'Slots' are the slot machines, present in their thousands in each of scores of casinos. 'Craps' require the slightly more sophisticated arts of card games. One sign read 'The Only Bingo in Town', so the competition isn't making much progress!

It did feel safe to mingle with the crowd along Las Vegas Blvd - we saw no fights or drunks, and security patrols rode bicycles! Maybe the side and back streets, which we didn't explore, housed a sleazier clientele?  Later, in a supermarket queue, idly thumbing through (but not buying) the 'National Enquirer', we did read that Tom Cruise had been noticed in a Las Vegas brothel, so there obviously is more going on than meets the eye!

Two evenings of this satisfied our curiosity, the sights both attracting and repelling at the same time! And we didn't place a single bet. Those who were playing with Lady Luck looked far from lucky – vacant silent faces stared through empty eyes at the machines, hunched, overweight, cigarettes and drink to hand, alone in a crowd. Off-season as it was, 

September 20/21      122 miles     KINGMAN KOA: ARIZONA     ($26.68)

Across the Hoover Dam into the Arizona Desert

Farewelling Vegas, we retraced our route on the 95 to Railroad Pass, then took the 93 to Boulder City which lies at 2,500 ft, 16 miles from Las Vegas and 11 miles before the Hoover Dam. It has a Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum (and we'd just missed the September Wurstfest)! See www.bouldercitychamber.com. Their motto is 'Best City by a Dam Site'!

Leaving Boulder we soon entered the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and got our first view of Lake Mead below – a huge artifical lake created where the Hoover Dam (named after the 31st US President) holds back the Colorado River. 

We continued on the narrow 2-lane Road 93, alongside which a new highway is being built. Down at 1,588 ft we crossed the security checkpoint where smartly-uniformed black guards inspected the motorhome, inside and out. Then we passed the statuesque Visitor Centre and multi-storey car park. Highway 93 actually crosses the dam, over the Nevada/Arizona border, with spectacular views on both sides. Built between 1931 and 1935 (to create employment and provide the country's major electricity generating plant – for Las Vegas and California), Hoover Dam is one of the world's greatest engineering and construction feats, which cost many men their lives. Oddly, the monument is inscribed 'They died to make the desert bloom'. Another proclaims 'They laboured that millions might see a brighter day' - and night!

The dam can be viewed from a helicopter or scenic flight, from a Lake Mead cruise, or as we did – by parking in number 13 of the 14 car parks and walking back. (The nearest ones charge $5, the later ones are free). Ours was at 1,343 ft with 2 long staircases down to the dam. A plaque gave all the vital statistics, including: Dam roadway elevation 1,232 ft. Dam foundations at 506 ft. Height of dam wall 726 ft. Crest of dam 1,244 ft long. Thickness at top 45 ft, at bottom 660 ft. The architecture was very solid 1930's, very Third Reich.

After lunch with a dam good view, we continued across Arizona's Mohave Desert – no casinos, no settlements, nothing but stones and rocks. Road 93, now 4 broad lanes, swung south-east climbing to 3,600 ft before dropping over the last 4 miles to 3,367 ft at  Kingman, a mining town where we met both I-40 and Route 66 again.

We shopped at the Super Walmart (a massive selection of food and goods), then on to the KOA campground, about 3 miles from the town centre. This is an excellent campground, with a Games/TV Room, pool, hot water for laundry and dishes, complimentary breakfast coffee and – best of all - wireless internet (WiFi) which works inside the motorhome. Their brochure even gives Satellite Co-ordinates and Cable TV channels, though of no use to us.

With the temperature in the mid-80's, we cycled from campground to town in search of the US Post (cards 50 cents worldwide, letters 70 cents - except Canada or Mexico which cost less). We also enjoyed the reliable WiFi to catch up with emails, internetting and on-line chatting. 

September 22      144 miles     WILLIAMS, KOA Grand Canyon    ($26.86)

After enough time on the WiFi to ake us up to check-out time at 11 am, we left Kingman on Route 66, heading NE and following the railroad. The road was well-surfaced and very quiet – more freight trains than traffic, which had taken the more direct I-40 eastwards. We climbed gradually, the Grand Wash Cliffs defining the horizon ahead, levelling out at about 4,300 ft on a dry grassy plain with a few cattle.

After 29 miles, at the tiny settlement of Valentine, we passed a new building marked by the Stars and Stripes flag: The US Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. We had entered the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Soon we passed a pair of young male touring cyclists coming towards us, and later a lone rider, as well as several motorbikers doing Route 66. The temperature was 79 degrees at noon, as we approach the autumn equinox.

10 miles further on, at Truxton, a motel and cafι were still in business. At Peach Springs, after another 8 miles at 4,800 ft, there was a defunct 'historic Route 66 gas station'. However, the new Hualapai Lodge motel and restaurant showed that tourists and travellers were rediscovering the route.

We left the Indian Reservation 3 miles before reaching the Grand Canyon Caverns, which are 65 miles from the centre of Kingman (we'd done 61) and half-way to Williams. Just a mile off the highway, up at 5,555 ft with a refreshing breeze, the Caverns made a good lunch stop. The complex had a 24-hr gas station, restaurant, gift shop, motel and simple RV park ($12.50 a night, with hook-ups for the lucky first 6). The caverns, open since 1927, are 35 million years old. Every half hour, you can take a 45-minute tour, descending 210 ft by elevator to walk three-quarters of a mile of paving through the caverns and see a mummified bobcat and a 15 foot sloth! Price $13.50 per person (which did not tempt us, even with the $1 discount for Seniors!) The caverns are dry (which is rare), with air drawn in from the distant Grand Canyon through 60 miles of limestone caves and crevasses. More on www.grandcanyoncaverns.com.

The road now descended slightly for 25 miles to Seligman (5,263 ft), which claims to be the birthplace of Route 66 and is also on Interstate 40. Selig is German for lucky or blessed and there is some German connection, with a restaurant bidding Willkommen and promising German cuisine (if that's not a paradox!) The mood is nostalgic, with vintage motor courts, 1950's bars and a Wild West faηade to  photograph, with its replica 1860 Arizona Territorial Jail.

Continuing on Route 66, still following the railroad, we climbed up to 5,800 ft – watching out for animals and falling rocks, as instructed (total: 3 horses, no rocks falling). Then, down at 5,000 ft just before Ash Fork, the 66 came to an abrupt end, joing I-40 eastwards. We took the Ash Fork exit to see the small town, 27 miles after Seligman, now bypassed by interstate and railroad, still clinging onto life. 

Back on I-40, the cab radio was tuned to 'Route 66 – Golden Oldies of the 60's', which did make us feel old! The news flash was ominous: Hurricane Rita is heading for the Texas coast near Galveston, and being taken very seriously after the recent devastation of New Orleans and Biloxi by Hurricane Katrina. August/September is the hurricane season, but these are exceptional phenomena.

The highway climbed slowly to 6,700 ft, into cool pine forest with signs warning: 'Elk Country – Be Alert next 65 miles'.  We took exit 161 for Williams, another town whose main street was on Route 66, founded in 1874 and claiming elevation 6,762 ft (about 135 miles from Kingman). The Grand Canyon Railway (serving the Grand Canyon since 1901, closed in 1968, then back in service since 1989) runs daily services from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park. See www.thetrain.com for details of fares and tours.

The GC Railway Hotel, next to the station, has been refurbished in grand 19th century style but the adjacent GC Railway RV Park, due to open in summer 2005, is not quite finished! The nearby Good Sam's RV Park was neither friendly nor attractive, so we continued 2 miles east, then turned north up highway 64 towards the Grand Canyon, a narrow road demanding daytime headlights and watching out for deer. After 5 miles we came to the KOA campground and turned in for another warm welcome (and free WiFi internet). Sadly, the heated indoor swimming pool was freezing (problems with the boiler), but the showers were hot. At 6,635 ft, it was noticeably cooler after dark (about 7 pm). It was amazing to chat on-line with Australia (Bec) and New Zealand (Charley) in such a remote place – no mobile phone signal; water trucked in!

September 23     106 miles     WILLIAMS, KOA Grand Canyon    ($26.86)

Views of the Grand Canyon, from IMAX film to walking the South Rim Trail

We 'fuelled up' at the Shell station by the KOA, while the manager was busy raising the displayed prices. You always have to pay in advance (as drive-away theft is on the increase), and this particular station gave 10 cents per gallon discount for cash sales.

The guy on the next pump, No 6, paid for $20 of petrol but said that he was on No 5, our pump. We swiped our credit card and started pumping but the machine stopped at $20. Giving up and thinking that we had paid for it on the credit card, we drove off. The manager came running after us saying that we owed him $20, cash! Barry explained that we were English and we were confused. The manager explained that he was American and he was confused. Barry said that, at last, we had something in common!

The Grand Canyon ('GC') is about 50 miles due north on highway 64, across a barren plateau at about 6,000 ft. After 23 miles, at the junction with the 180 from Flagstaff, lies Valle, comprising the GC Inn Motel, an air force museum, fuel, the Double Eagle Trading Co (authentic Indian Crafts), and Flintstones Restaurant and RV Park ($17 a night) – Yabba Dabba Doo!

10 miles further on, we entered the Kaibab National Forest, with fir trees and old Smokey Bear asking us to prevent fires (danger today: moderate). Roadworks slowed progress on the narrow road, with threats of Double Fines for exceeding 35 mph (normal limit 65).

Another 12 miles to Tusayan, the settlement just before the Grand Canyon National Park's border, at 6,611 ft. It is home to the airport (scenic flights and helicopter rides), every kind of fast and slow food, motels, a Campers Village RV Park (nearly $40 a night!) and the IMAX cinema in the National Geographic Visitor Centre. We were lucky to walk straight in and catch the next performance, with 2 minutes to spare. The Centre is open from 8 am-10 pm in March-October and 10 am-8 pm in winter, November-February. The 34-minute film 'showing the splendor (sic) and history of the Grand Canyon' was simply brilliant. IMAX at its best, every hour from 8.30 am-8.30 pm. For $10 each, we had the experience of flying over and rowing through the canyon, without any fear or travel sickness! Visit www.explorethecanyon.com for more on the film.

The GC NP entrance is 3 miles north, but we met the queue of coaches, RVs and cars waiting to buy tickets long before that! The fee of $20 per vehicle (good for 7 days) compared with a $50 fee for a National Parks Pass valid everywhere in the USA for one year. Hoping to visit more parks, we bought the annual pass (see www.nationalparks.org or www.nps.gov/grca). Equipped with a bewildering handout of leaflets and sketch maps, we proceeded to the first parking area at Mather Point (7,136 ft), a short walk from the Canyon View Information Plaza (visitor centre and bookshop). We found ourselves perched on the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, the river 4,600 ft below our feet, which had cut this 277 mile cleft in the Colorado Plateau! More statistics: the canyon varies in width from 4 to 8 miles and is up to a mile deep - the world's deepest gorge.

The Rim Trail footpath (no bicycles allowed) runs for about 12 miles along the southern edge, with many fenced viewpoints extending over the canyon (and many unfenced opportunities for suicide, murder or just plain carelessness!) We walked westwards, 5 miles return, past the Yavapai Observation Station (visibility very clear, no haze). The temperature was about 80 degrees at the rim and 96 at the bottom of the canyon, where there is tent camping for hikers who make the descent (on foot or on mules). After drinks and ices at the Bright Angel Fountain, we turned back at Bright Angel Lodge (terminus of the trains from Williams and so the site of early accommodation).

The views were simply overwhelming, the rock layers surprisingly colourful. Over a billion and more years, they had been laid down by volcanoes, pushed up by faults, ground down again by seas and fissured by earthquakes to create this magnificent terrain. As sunset cast its glow on the scene, we tried to capture the scale of the topography. To see the complete photo gallery of our visit to the Grand Canyon, click here. To complete the magic, four Californian Condors soared overhead, exciting much attention. Last seen in Arizona skies in 1924 and almost extinct in the 1980's (as few as 22), they were the subject of a captive breeding and release programme starting in 1997, with a population of about 50 now in northern Arizona.

These vultures have a wingspan of 10 feet, just 2 feet short of the Andes Condor (earth's largest land-bird) and we could clearly see a white-painted number on each soaring black wing. As we watched the aerobatics of number 19, we wondered how the keepers manage to mark the birds before release? Other wildlife spotted: grey squirrels and small lizards (but no chipmunks or coyotes, perhaps the source of carrion for the condors).

Half a mile back from the rim, at 'Market Plaza', are 2 camping options. The Mather Campground (no hook-ups) is for tents and motorhomes up to 30 ft at $15 a night, on a first come first served basis. The Trailer Village is $22 with hook-up, reservations made well in advance. Being Friday, both were full for the weekend. More info on a variety of websites, including www.americanparknetwork.com and www.grandcanyon.org.

Against a backdrop of a setting sun over the Arizona high desert, we drove back to last night's excellent KOA, as Tusayan's RV Park was way over-priced and Flintstones at Valle looked – well – stone age! (No WiFi, for sure)

September 24     114 miles     CAMERON, RV Park ($17.00)

A 20-mile cycle ride on Grand Canyon South Rim and a drive along the Little Colorado

After driving back to the South Rim, we left the motorhome in the free RV day-park by the railway station in Grand Canyon Village. Both campgrounds were still full.

From there, we cycled the 10 mile road west, which ends at Hermit's Rest. The road, which parallels the rim trail, is closed to private vehicles from May to October but bicycles can share it with the natural gas-powered shuttle buses which run every 15 minutes, stopping at 7 viewpoints on the way out but only 2 on the return run – exactly as we did! Hermit's Rest (at 6,650 ft) has a small snack bar, for a welcome bite and drink. The highest point was at 7,125 ft, the temperature in the high 80's, visibility across the canyon again excellent, with glimpses of the river far below. Ravens and squirrels begged for scraps, though signs threatened fines for feeding wildlife. We met only one other cyclist, most tourists taking the bus and perhaps walking a short stretch. We enjoyed breathing the pure air, though not dodging the unforgiving shuttles on the narrow road.

A woman shuttle bus driver shouted at Barry 'Do you know you should leave the road when you hear a bus coming?' Barry replied that we thought the bus was going to leave the road when it heard us coming. Giving the typical American reaction to irony, let alone sarcasm, the driver replied that that was not possible!

Back in the motorhome by 4 pm, we drove east on Desert View Drive (highway 64), pausing at Grand View (7,500 ft) to watch the Condors circling, at Lipan Point for good views of the river and at Desert View, by the watch tower, for another sunset. Here, just before the GC National Park's eastern entrance (25 miles from GC Village), is another simple self-registration campground ($10, closes October, full).

As we continued through the pine forest at dusk we saw a magnificent stag waiting (thankfully) by the road, and later a fox ran across in our headlights. The road descended through 3,000 ft, following the Little Colorado River, and lined with scenic lookouts and stalls selling Indian souvenirs (pottery, rugs, beef or buffalo jerky). All were deserted now, after 7 pm and dark, so we missed the views of the Little Colorado Canyon.

We met highway 89 (from Flagstaff) at the small Indian settlement of Cameron. Down at 4,200 ft it was a warm night, spent on a simple Indian-run RV Park behind the store (pay at the Chevron fuel station – the cheapest yet at less than £10). We had a safe night with electric hook-up, using our own bathroom. We were literally glowing from our 20-mile ride in the sun.

September 25/27     115 miles     PAGE, Lake Powell Campground ($20.03)

Across the Navajo Indian Reservation to Marble Canyon and on to Page

A mile north on US.89 we came to the historic Cameron Trading Post and Lodge, just before crossing the Little Colorado River. The first bridge across the gorge here was built in 1911 and Cameron was soon established as a trading post for the Hopi and Navajo people to barter their wool, blankets and livestock for food. The Trading Post has grown into a large complex of shops, motel, restaurant and RV Park, but is still run by a descendant of the original founders and owned by its employees. See www.camerontradingpost.com.

We continued north under a clear blue sky, across empty gravel desert at about 4,350 ft – part of the Navajo Reservation (the USA's largest). We passed roadside rug and souvenir stalls: some bare, some open with signs like 'Yellow Horse Loves You' and 'Genuine Tribal Art: MC and Visa Taken'. At Hidden Springs Mission there is a modern church and school for the Navajo.

The road climbed to 5,333 ft at the Gap (a trading post) and on to a maximum of almost 6,000 ft. Navajo shacks and old cars were clustered in isolated pockets across the high desert, with a few cattle, the odd horse, even one area where corn was planted. The coloured strata of flat-topped cliffs always rimmed our horizon, reminiscent of many a Wild West movie with 'Let's head 'em off at the canyon' ambushes.

After 60 miles, at Bitter Springs, we turned off for 13 miles to Marble Canyon on the Colorado River, down at 3,560 ft. Here, just below the Arizona-Utah border, a pair of steel arch bridges span the river, complete with visitor centre, Navajo trinket stalls and ample parking. An ideal place for lunch and photography.

Early pioneers had forded the Colorado hereabouts, until the Lees Ferry started in 1871. The narrow Navajo Bridge, built in 1929 and now a footbridge, replaced the ferry. At the time, it was the highest steel arch bridge in the world, 467 ft above the narrow emerald-green river. The parallel second bridge, wider and stronger, was built in 1994 in the same style. The ford, ferry and steel bridges, the first crossing upstream of the Hoover Dam, opened the way from Utah to the whole of northern Arizona.

Returning to Bitter Springs, we continued on US.89 for a final 23 miles to the USA's most remote and newest community (official), set on a desert mesa at 4,231 ft. Page was built in the 1950's to house the construction workers, who took 7 years to build the country's second largest dam at Glen Canyon, where the Colorado is held back to form Lake Powell. Two miles north of town, the lake is 186 miles long and has nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline.

'Camp Page' as the town was first called developed on land acquired from the Navajo Nation. Its reservoir, generating station and tourism now support a population of 8,000, plus nearly 2 million visitors a year. Page/Lake Powell is known as the Hub of the Grand Circle, being ringed by several national parks and recreation areas – Grand Canyon, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Canyon Lands NP and Monument Valley, to mention but a few. See www.pagelakepowellchamber.org for more. 

There is a visitor centre at the dam, boat tours and house-boats on Lake Powell and a museum for its namesake, John Wesley Powell (who we first encountered in the IMAX film – the first man to lead an expedition by boat through the Grand Canyon).

We found a good campground on Coppermine Road, with a variety of prices and a 10% discount for membership of just about anything: AAA (the American Automobile Association), the KOA or Good Sam's Campgrounds, a US Senior Citizen or Military Card, etc) – being none of these, we somehow still qualified! Top price sites have cable TV and full hook-up, followed by sewer/electric/water, then electric/water only (that's us) and finally tent sites. Complicated! Indoor swimming pool and showers are free, but using the central dump costs $4 extra. We told the motorhome to hang on!

The temperature is 82 degrees now, in late September, and annual rainfall is around 12”, although snow falls in winter.

We found Page a good centre for shopping (Safeway or Wal-mart Supermarkets), for getting bicycle bits at the Lakeside Bikes store (a good range of spares and repairs at www.lakesidebikes.net) and for email/internet access. The Library charged $5 per hour, with similar rates at 2 computer shops opposite Safeway, both of which let us plug the laptop into a broadband connection. Our Wal-mart bikes are now equipped with water-bottles and the first puncture (Barry's rear wheel) is fixed with a new thorn-proof tube!

Most interesting of all, Page is now the home of Michael Preller, the energetic young German we had found on the internet, who arranges motorhome hire and much else for Europeans. Michael had fixed us up with our motorhome from Happy Travel Campers in Los Angeles and we had exchanged a number of very interesting and informed emails. We met Michael for a 4-hour morning of intense conversation, subjects ranging from American politics, through German history to the Navajo culture and problems - even touching on local tourism. eHe HHHH He arrived in his 'Toy': a converted 37 ft School Bus, painted red, white and blue, with a Longhorn skull and horns mounted on the radiator! It certainly attracted attention from passing tourists, with his website prominent on the sides: www.destination.net.

A former teacher of maths and geography and then an entrepreneur in German mobile phone development, Michael had moved to the USA 9 years ago and set up business with his wife. He represents the best of the young European on the world stage: sensitive to history, cultural issues, politics and able to move freely between cultures – American, German, European, Navajo. His 2 young children will grow up to move with equal ease in a world increasingly demanding such skills.

September 28     185 miles     BLUFF, Cottonwood RV Park     ($20.90)

Into Utah through Monument Valley

Leaving Page on highway 98, we paused after 5 miles at Antelope Canyon, a slot in the copper-coloured sandstone where it is possible to walk through a narrow passageway and wide chambers – popular with photographers when the midday sun is overhead. Sadly, the canyon is Navajo-owned and operated and access is only possible with an expensive guide. At a fee of $15 per person for the Upper Canyon, or $12.50 pp for the Lower Canyon, plus $6 pp 'Navajo Nation Fee' (good for one or both), we smelt a rip-off and continued on our way! But you can visit www.antelopecanyon.com (should be .con) for more.

The narrow, arrow-straight road led south-east, climbing gradually through flat scrubby desert dotted with red sandstone outcrops, like mini-Ayers Rocks. At 6,000 ft, 36 miles from Page, we passed the Navajo settlement of Kaibito with a clinic, school, fuel, shop and a group of new 2-storey houses. There was no sign of the wooden hogans which the local people used to build (of which Michael Preller's house is a 1970's copy).

Another 21 miles to the Crossroads Trading Post, then 12 miles to the junction with US.160 from Flagstaff, where we turned north for Monument Valley, following the railway. Signs demanded that we 'Watch for Water on the Road' through the driest of landscapes. We passed the mine-railroad conveyor of the Peabody Western Coal Co at the day's maximum height of 6,700 ft. s

After another 12 miles, a minor road turned left for the Navajo National Monument (18 miles return, to see Puebloan Cliff Dwellings, info centre and camping with a 25-ft limit on RV's). We decided against the detour and continued, passing the Anasazi Inn (motel and cafι) at 6,175 ft, 9 miles further. The approach to Kayenta (gateway to Monument Valley), about 100 miles from Page, is heralded by hoardings for the usual fast food joints, stores and motels. The Burger King has a display about the WWII Navajo Code Talkers, who were engaged to foil the Japanese with a code they never cracked (for example, a bomber plane = a pregnant bird, in Navajo language).

We turned left at Kayenta (traffic lights even) onto US.163 for the 25-mile scenic drive through the Navajo Tribal Park to Monument Valley, right on the Arizona-Utah border. There are very few opportunities to pull off the road to view and photograph the amazing rocks. This is where the 'Marlboro Man' commercials were filmed and John Wayne saved the West.

After 23 miles, flags flew round a place offering jeep tours, horse riding and B&B, just before crossing the state line. Half a mile into Utah, a road led to the settlement of Monument Valley, with school, church and Gouldings Resort, 2 miles west of the highway at 5,300 ft. The Resort, surrounded by rose-coloured sandstone piles rising 1,000 ft above the plain, advertised a trading post, Good Sam's RV Park, John Wayne's Cabin and film locations, scenic flights and tours in uncomfortable jeeps.

Returning to the main road, another side road ran east for 3 miles (crossing back into Arizona). It led to the Navajo-run Visitor Centre ($5 per person just to park and enter), the simple Mitten

View campground ($10 per unit), and the opportunity to take a guided jeep ride round a very rough 17-mile drive to see the rocks up closer (as we didn't go in, we didn't discover the cost of that!).

Back to the main road and into Utah again, with another 6 miles of Monument Valley views. The verges were lined with barbed wire fences – no public access at all. The route crossed a harsher, barer landscape, dropping to 4,120 ft. After 22 miles, the road crossed the muddy brown San Juan River which flows into Lake Powell, and arrived at Mexican Hat. The cluster of motels, fuel and simple RV Parks is (as we'd guessed) named after a distinctive sombrero-shaped rock nearby.

The road now switchbacked, down and up through red-rock country, becoming ever drier and changing to paler sandy boulders. At times, the landscape was horizontal rock, the huge cloud formations against the blue sky added their own atmosphere. The next settlement, Bluff, a small community on the San Juan River at 4,200 ft, has a choice of RV parks. There is a historic fort site, free to visit (built 1880-83 by Mormon pioneers), with a cottonwood log cabin replica of the meeting house.

September 29/30   134 miles   CORTEZ, Mesa Verde KOA: COLORADO   ($26.59)

From Utah to Arizona to New Mexico to Colorado, around the Four Corners Monument

After a thundery rainy night, the sky was overcast. We walked round Bluff's historic and partially-restored fort, where the co-operative store was blown up in the early 20th century by a safe-breaker using too much explosive (and that was the end of him as well!)

Turning east on US.162, we followed the San Juan River for 14 miles to Montezuma Creek. There were cottonwood-trees among the red rocks, a few sheep near the water, then empty scrub-desert above 4,500 ft. Montezuma Creek, a Navajo community, has the White Horse High School (served by the familiar yellow school buses), fuel station and health centre. From here until Aneth, 8 miles along, we saw several 'nodding donkey' oil-well pumps working, on both sides of the river, and storage tanks labelled Exon-Mobil.

After 37 miles from Bluff, at 4,875 ft, a sign welcomed us to 'Colourful Colorado', with another oil well. 10 miles on, we met US.160 and turned right (south-west) for 5 miles, to the only point where 4 US State borders meet, in a + sign, the 'Four Corners' - clockwise from the top left: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. These happen to be the 4 states across which the Navajo Nation (the country's largest Indian reservation) is spread. This, of course, means that parking at the Navajo-controlled Four Corners Monument and Visitor Centre (only a couple of hundred yards off the road) costs $3 per person, so we stopped just before the pay-booth for our lunch (it's not the money, it's the principle of the thing!)

Continuing, we entered New Mexico very briefly, crossed back into Arizona (confusingly) for 6 miles, then met the US.64 and turned east, re-entering New Mexico, 'Land of Enchantment', at Teec Nos Pos (the strangely named historic trading post at the junction). The road rolled at around 5,000 ft through the bleak grey-brown rocks. Sometimes, the land was no more than horizontal rock.

It was 26 miles from the border to Shiprock, the main Navajo city, with hospital, library, shopping centre and schools. At about 2 pm, temperature 72 degrees, we stopped to refuel and shop at the 'City Market' – the only Pale Faces among a smiling throng of Native Americans. They were happy because the oldest annual Navajo Fair happened to be in full swing and a free barbecue was open to all. We were invited (twice) to join the long queue in the sunshine and join in – the natives were indeed friendly, though we didn't take advantage of the offer.

We turned north, on US.491, across flat grassland with a few cattle and horses, leaving New Mexico after 14 miles - Hasta La Vista. Back in Colorado, we continued north on the 'Trail of the Ancients', past the magnificent pillar of Chimney Rock. 16 miles from the border, at Towaoc below the black silhouette of Ute Mountain, is the Ute Mountain Casino and RV Park (gambling being legal in Colorado, as in Nevada – unlike Arizona and Utah). We are now crossing the much smaller reservation of the Ute Mountain Ute Indians.

Over the next 11 miles the road climbed through increasingly green fields and woods to a height of 6,140 ft at the city of Cortez. Back in what passes for civilisation in this part of America, there are dozens of motels, businesses, restaurants, shops and a couple of RV Parks. See www.cortezchamber.org.

We drove 2 miles east on US.160 to the KOA campground, beautifully quiet with views of Ute Mountain, the tableland of Mesa Verde National Park (8 miles to the east) and the distant snow-dusted peaks of the Rockies. Eagles circle overhead, rabbits hop around,  the nights are cool!

The camp has reliable WiFi internet (though not free – it's $6.95 for 24 hours) and the usual KOA orderliness.