We wanted to spend our last week at the beach, so we made our way to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, that meant entering California, with stupendous traffic, extortionate prices and pretentious people. Our arrival at the Newport Dunes RV Resort was spoilt by an egoistic camper parking his truck on our site, and security took half an hour to appear, only to say that they don’t have computer access. We are not California fans…

Still, we had visitors so we tried to make the most of it. We spent an afternoon walking on the beach, discussing the virtues of RVing. Dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack was delightful, but unfortunately, our guests did not have the most restful night in our motorhome. Camping is about a change of frame of mind and if you fall asleep with your Blackberry on your chest, you are just not ready to be a Happy Camper!

The next morning, however, we went on a boat trip, had Bloody Marys and Bagels and spotted a Sea Lion amongst the Yachts.

Left to our own devices again, we explored Balboa Island and enjoyed the bike friendly roads and beaches.

We finished our time with Sue in Las Vegas, where we went for the obligatory stroll down the strip and visited the most famous hotel casinos. We also just happened to be in the Mandalay Bay when the contestants of the Miss Universe pageant arrived, all with a lot of publicity and cheering for Miss USA. The next day we had breakfast at the New York, New York and a lucky spin at the penny slots won us $89.21, which paid for a few cab fares.

Other highlights were the insanity rides on top of the Stratosphere, which we DID NOT go on; a Burrito eating contest where you get it free if you can finish this 6 pound, 24″ monster, again, we did not enter; and a dinner in a Churrascaria at the Planet Hollywood Resort, OK, here, we DID pig out.

The highlight, however, was the Norah Jones concert which was opened by Corinne Bailey Rae and both performances where absolute outstanding!

On the way to Bryce Canyon NP, we stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument, where we went on a tour of the old Mormon Hideaway, complete with wagons, black smith shop and long horn cattle. This was presented by a native Paiute Indian who became a ranger to study the history of the place.

Once settled in at the NP campground, our friend Sue got to experience “dry camping”, i.e. with no hook-ups and the RV supporting all our essential needs. We roasted marshmallows at the campfire and it was a perfect night, no wind, cool temperatures and the moon as bright as a street light.

Bryce Canyon itself is one of these places that cannot be described in words or pictures! To stand at the rim and look into the grand amphitheatre, to hike among the hoodoos (skinny spires of rock) or to walk through “Wall Street” canyon is something you just have to experience yourself.

Some of the rock formations are named to entertain the tourists and the resemblance is actually quite striking.

We met up with our friend Sue in Las Vegas and headed for St George, UT where we introduced her to RV life. She settled in nicely and was comfortable on the sofa bed.

St. George, just as most of Utah, has a Mormon history and we visited the sites and strolled through town.

Our next stop, Zion National Park, greeted us with spectacular vistas and the charming town of Springdale, UT which offers all the amenities of a gateway to a NP.

We hiked up to the Emerald Pools and went to see the Narrows, where you can walk in the river to explore Wall Street, one of the many slot canyons in Utah. (We left that to a future visit)

The highlight of this location was a tubing experience taking us two miles down the Virgin River. We floated on our tires, got stuck and beached on rocks, fell into the water and had our arms pulled, trying to stay together. The girls got the giggles and everybody had more fun than might be legal…

We arrive in Las Vegas, where we have to find a storage facility for our RV, we will be leaving the States from here in September.

We are also meeting up with our friend Sue, who will be the first to join us on our travels for 10 days!

Hope she knows what she let herself in for

We are in Nevada and Casino Resorts pop up out of the desert like a fata morgana.

You can stay at their campground for next to nothing, since most people spend a few Bucks at the tables. We are high rollers at the Penny Slots and finish the evening with a win of $ 4.16!

Another stop in a Utah State Park and more colourful and picturesque than ever.

The campground is a pain to get in, there are no hookups and it took 12 levelling blocks to get the rig somewhat flat so we wouldn’t fall out of bed. But the view, right from your windscreen is worth all the trouble!

The deserts of Utah are a good opportunity to practice your RV driving. Not a lot of traffic and the roads are wide and straight as a narrow. The evening we spent in a well groomed State Park.

Green River town itself could come out of a Road Movie with classic cars, abandoned gas stations and green fire engines.

We are heading further West and stop at this RV Resort in a spectacular location, right on the Colorado River. In the evening we went to Juicy Lucy’s, a steak restaurant in Glenwood Springs, for one of the best meals we have enjoyed during the trip! The proximity of Aspen, CO probably rubs of on this small town…

We are here!

After three days of driving, we are in Colorado at the foothills of the Rockies!

The Rockies provide some of the most spectacular scenery we have seen so far on our trip. Even though you have to get used to the altitude (NP campgrounds are at 8500ft [2590m]), it is stunning to wake up to glorious sunshine, green forests (not quite, more later) and rugged rock faces.

The main activity is obviously hiking, which is made particularly convenient by the free hiker’s shuttle, taking you to the best trail heads. The route up to Bear Lake, Nymph Lake and Emerald Lake is particularly scenic and not too strenuous. On the West side of the Park we got a little more ambitious and went on a 11.5 miles (18.5km) hike and were rewarded with seeing not a single person during the entire walk, except a ranger on her 4×4 Polaris delivering supplies to the ranger station.

The crossing from East to West side leads over the 10758ft (3279m) high Milner Pass, which was no problem for our RV, even though Simone braced herself against the dash a few times going round the hairpins.

We also stopped in Winter Park, a lovely resort, were the slower Summer season is complemented with mountain biking and alpine slides. Due to the emphasis on Winter sports there are no campgrounds, so we had to boondock for a night, which allowed us to visit the 2010 Colorado Jazz Festival.

Wildlife in the Rocky Mountains is also abundant, with Elk, Moose, Marmots and countless smaller rodents being easily spotted. One very sad problem is the current devastation of the pine forests, caused by the native Pine Beatle, whose population has exploded due to climate change.

After spending quite a while in the East of the US, we are heading West to the largest concentration of National Parks on the continent.

This was quite a difficult stop with hardly any campgrounds on the way. We tried three different places before stopping at this lake.

Arkansas is a hilly, green State with only one National Park but many State Parks. Petit Jean is the most popular, being the first State Park ever to be created, outside the National Park Service.

The main attraction is Cedar Falls, which was not too spectacular at the time of our visit. Still, the hike down to the gorge and the basin at the falls was quite a sight.

There are also interesting rock formations, created by iron and a rustic lodge with delicious food and great views.

On the way to the excellent campground, we stopped at Blakely Mountain Dam to collect some firewood for our beloved campfires…

Hot Springs National Park is the 16th protected region we visited, a third of our goal to visit all 46 of the continental USA. This park is unique because it consists of the land around the actual town and Hot Springs itself, famous for Bath House Row and it’s glamorous history.

With the invention of Penicillin, hot springs had lost their appeal as a remedy and all bath houses fell into disrepair. In the 70ies the National Park Services started the process of renovating the most famous baths and lease others to private organisations, all under strict control.

These days the bath houses are museums, galleries and still spas. One provides the complete packages of water treatments and one other, the one we went to, has several pools with different temperatures.

The surrounding hills are excellent hiking country and fat caterpillars and “Blue Tailed Skink” lizards are good wildlife sightings…

After 16 days we finally left Red Bay, AL during which our RV received some TLC and pampering.

First stop was Memphis, TN, home of Graceland. There is a campground directly on site , so you can stay close to the former home and resting place of the King! A nearby restaurant provides a shuttle service in a pink limo, adding to the authentic atmosphere.

We visited Sun Studios, took a cruise on the Mississippi and wandered the streets of downtown Memphis.

We also stayed for the 4th July celebrations, which were marked with a Blues concert on Beale Street and the obligatory fireworks.

Amicalola Falls in the North Georgia Mountains is the highest cascade West of the Mississippi and located in spectacular surroundings with the most unusual bugs. The road to the campground and lodge has a 25% gradient and the RV climbed it with no problems.

After that we arranged to get together with some friends who we met at the Spring Rally. They have a membership at a resort near Dahlonega a former Gold Mining Town and we also visited Helen, a make believe Bavarian Village. The locals get together for a Bluegrass session, people enjoy tubing down the creek and we were drinking Paulaner Hefeweizen, perfect for a hot day!

This is the most visited Park in the States with 9 Million people per year! One reason is the proximity to many cities and population concentrations, another is it’s outstanding beauty, breathtaking scenery and varied leisure activities.

There is plenty to see by car, but to really appreciate the outdoors you should bike or hike. Some roads are closed to motorised traffic on some days and there are over 800 Miles of trails; fishing is allowed and “Hay Rides” are on offer.

Just outside is the Cherokee Indian Reservation with the Indian Village and inside the park are countless historic buildings, some still working, from the pioneer days.

The most amazing aspect of this park, however, is it’s diverse and abundant wildlife:

There is everybody’s favourite the Black Bear, on one day we saw 8 or 9, grouped in several families strolling through the meadows and forests. There is Elk, Beaver and other large mammals. Snakes, amphibians, including the rare Salamanders and countless insects, 1500 different blooming flowers and 160 types of trees can be found only a few steps into the wilderness.

This park is an absolute MUST!!!

This recent addition to the National Park Service has no campgrounds and not even RV parking, so we had to hire a car, which was a nice treat for us since we are always relying on our bicycles.

Being a swamp, we saw many snakes and amphibians and we also signed up for an Owl Prowl, but unusually, it was completely quiet in the forest that night. However, we were rewarded by another display which is much rarer and much more spectacular – Synchronous Fireflies! It is pretty neat to see the little sparks here and there, but this phenomenon is absolutely amazing. Several dozens of the little insects line up and flash in perfect synchronisation, making the woods look like road works in the city. This magical show is as difficult to explain by science as it is to photograph…

We also spent a day in Charleston, SC which has nice beaches, quirky shops & restaurants and charming Southern architecture.

St. Augustine is the oldest town in the USA and architecture, culture and history reflect it’s varied past.

There are French Residences, Spanish Palaces, a college that reminds of Oxford or Cambridge amongst some British influences.

RVers can stay in near by Anastasia State Park and enjoy the dune backed beach, which is several miles long and the sites are shaded and nestled in a mature woodland.

For us, it was a little touristy, which is reflected in higher prices and lower food quality. Nevertheless, worth a visit!

We stayed at the Town & Country RV Park on Merritt Island, which is very close to Kennedy Space Centre. At the park we asked around if anybody knew a good location for a launch viewing and we got talking to Lou a former NASA employee who was in charge of the team putting the ceramic tiles on the Orbiter. His wife, Sue, by the way, is the daughter of one of the designers of the Crawler, the vehicle that takes the Space Shuttle to the launch platform.

Anyway, Lou suggested KARS Park!

KARS Park (Kennedy Area Recreational Site) is NASA property and usually reserved for their employees. However, they are open on Shuttle Launch days and the public can get in for $5.00 a head.

It is an excellent place to view the shuttle and it is less crowded than most other viewing sites in the area. If you go out on the pier, you can see both Shuttle Launch Platforms 39A and 39B. We were lucky and got a site directly on the water and we had our own little dock, from were we saw the tip of the shuttle just peeking out behind some trees.

The launch was spectacular, even though the sound is not quite as bone shaking since you are still about 9 miles away.

Four theme parks, two water parks, a downtown area, an upmarket boardwalk, one arcade venue, countless bus, trolley, boat and monorail rides, a Hoop Dee Doo experience and more interpretations of Mickey than anybody could possible imagine… Disney overload…

We stayed at the Fort Wilderness Campground, so everything was within easy reach and a 10 day pass gives access to everything on offer.

The water parks are great to cool down and the 6ft wave pool and 120ft slide are not bad either. Magic Kingdom is for smaller kids, even though the loudest “LOOK! MICKEY!” screams come from the grown ups. Animal Kingdom was interesting, not least because we were lucky to see a Cheetah on the operating table. Epcot and Disney Studios are more suitable for adults, offering international food, i.e. Bratwurst and Steins at the German pavilion, and great shows like an American Idol competition, which offers the daily winner a golden ticket to the front of the auditions at the real event!

We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary at the foot tapping, thigh slapping Hoop Dee Doo show and we enjoyed it more than any posh dinner in a stuck-up restaurant.

Daytona is the birthplace of NASCAR racing, the US version of Formula 1. Bigger, heavier cars, same horsepower and a racetrack that is oval make for not so exciting watching, until someone crashes. Still, with 75 Mio. spectators, it’s the biggest sport in the US and once you stood next to one of these machines being fired up, you get the thrill…

We visited the track on a racing experience day, where you can ride along in one of the cars for $ 143.00, and even though we did not do that, it was nice to see some cars go round.

The exhibition at the track, “Daytona 500 Experience”, is a great display with lots of information, history and driving simulators. The best part is the IMAX 3D movie, showing all the sounds and sights of the main race, held every year in July!

Back at the campground we met Mark, Jan and Jack, who were celebrating Jan’s birthday, so we went along for a night on the town in Daytona Beach!

Glad we didn’t have to stand next to a running engine on the next day…

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is on the East Coast of Florida and contains one of the largest expanses of Sand Pine Scrubs left in the USA. This unique eco-system, combined with the Loxahatchee River, many bike routes, nature trails and a brand new campground, make it an extremely varied and attractive destination. There are fire rings and BBQs at every site, an observation tower for the sunsets and wildlife of any kind and size, including Armadillos, baby Alligators, Turtles and much more.

We stayed 7 days and saw most, but not all of it. The river tour in a small rented motorboat was one of the highlights of the trip so far!

Biscayne National Park is 95% under water and protects the only living coral reef in North America. We went on one of the boat trips which are organised by the so called Concessions, a third party organisation which has an agreement with the National Park Service. The trip was about an hour out across the bay, then an hour snorkelling and back. We were meant to go to the reef, but because of high sees we went to a wreck diving site, which was very disappointing. Still, the weather was great (the sea in the bay was calm) and the view of Miami across the water was impressive.