USA

Having visited several continents, some of which could be described as having a limited infrastructure, we decided to ease ourselves back into the UK by crossing West to East across the USA in our own little mini home ..... an RV !!!! We have travelled through a lot of America on previous holidays but have never done the full coast to coast route.

The photos below show our home and the entries that follow will track our progress across the USA.......

LOS ANGELES CA TO TWENTY NINE PALMS CA

Arrived after a long flight from Hong Kong not feeling like doing very much at all except sleep! Checked into an hotel near the airport, went to the local Liquor Store and ordered in room pizza (Ham, Canadian Bacon, Cheese, Pineapple and Cherries). Both fell asleep watching very cheesy American TV!!!!

Next day picked up the RV which felt HUGE (although in reality was only 28ft but boy was it wide)! Double bed , shower room, toilet, microwave oven, gas hob, fridge, freezer … actually put our kitchen at home to shame…..

Took a drive through Los Angeles ( which is mind numbingly vast) to get to a sea side RV spot in Dockweiler. We were told that they were full but whilst we were deciding where to try next they got a cancellation … yippee!!!! Felt a little intimidated by the hardcore Rv’ers with their trailer trash kids ……

We were going to spend a few days in LA but we came to the conclusion that it was not exactly an RV kind of town and also that we would probably be hitting here again as a transport hub so headed off to see the desert ……

TWENTY NINE PALMS CA TO SELIGMAN AZ

Spent the night in Twenty Nine Palms next to a permanent RV occupied by the most p*****d person I have ever seen. He received a visitor bearing a twelve pack of beer and literally crawled out of his RV and into a chair, 12 cans later they discover the beer has gone so his visitor goes off in his monster 4x4 and comes back with another 12 pack …… ahhhh, the joys of small town America……


En-route to Seligman we passed a great vacation spot for water sport enthusiasts on Parker Dam .. all in stages of mid-development but beautifully presented ….. future 2nd home spot?
Our main reason for detouring was to visit Lake Havasu, home of the famed London Bridge which was bought by a US businessman for some unknown reason (legend has it that he thought it was Tower Bridge). Have to say that it looks a lot better here than it probably did in London … so clean!!!!!!!


Moved on East to Seligman

SELIGMAN AZ TO GALLUP NM

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Arrived in Seligman (which we had passed though a few years ago) and stayed in a campsite that was, well, just open in a vast space of openness!!! We were much amused by the sight of a gentleman dressed in military desert combat gear pulling up in a huge RV with quad bikes towed behind. After unhitching and setting up the site he decided to visit the toilet block 20 metres away … so, of course, he jumped on his quad bike and motored on over!!!!!!
From Seligman we headed further east to Gallup NM passing through a few places that we had visited before on a previous road trip (we got to Williams and thought, hmmmmm this seems REALLY familiar .. not surprising given the fact that we had spent the night here 4 years earlier).
Continued on to Flagstaff where we visited the Lowell Observatory (which discovered Pluto in the 1930’s). Great museum and very interesting even for a non-astronomer like me. Again, the elevation caught us out as we were in T-shirts when we arrived for the tour of the observatory during which it snowed!!!!!
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From Flagstaff we continued along parts of the old route 66 to Gallup through reservation lands where all manner of Indian mementoes were being sold in Indian Trade shops. The scenery along this stretch is typical plains country …. Wide open and on a vast scale.

Arrived at Gallup New Mexico

GALLUP NM TO CEDAR CREST NM

Took the back roads from Gallup to El Moro State Monument where we admired the carvings in the wall made by the Spanish Conquistadors dating back to 1627. The whole area is fascinating and gives an insight into the history of the US that appears to be neglected. We walked up into the mountains to enjoy the view and went from baking hot to freezing cold in the space of a couple of hours.

From El Moro we continued to Alburquque which could appear to be a rather dull city but for the quaint old town area. Whilst this area has several old buildings which have been lovingly restored it still maintained a rather Disneyesque feel ….. nice though!

Headed out of Albuquerque to Cedar Crest in the mountains 20 miles East of the city. Glad we did but boy, was it cold in the mornings! The owner of the RV site told us that water pipes were still freezing there ….. weird given that it is so hot during the day.

Arrived at Cedar Crest New Mexico

CEDAR CREST NM TO PALO DURO STATE PARK TX

Once again headed off the Interstate to visit a few landmarks and admire the scenery. This time we went to see Billy The Kid’s (William Bonneys) grave and spent a few hours in the Museum in Fort Sumner.

Went on to visit the Fort Sumner National Monument which details the enforced containment of nearly 10,000 Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indians in intolerable conditions. Very interesting to see how America has changed it’s viewpoint and documented history of this period. Look at descriptions of the period from the 1960’s and you get a very different feel.

From Fort Sumner we drove up into the panhandle of Texas where we witnessed the sheer scale of slaughter of beef cattle …………. literally cattle in pens as far as the eye can see awaiting the abattoir, as you can imagine the smell was pretty bad……

Passed lots of road kill and dozens of crucifixes marking the spot where people had died … we could not work out what had happened as the roads are so straight and there are no trees to crash into!

Arrived at Palo Duro State Park Texas

PALO DURO TX TO OKLAHOMA CITY OK

We spent the next 3 days here in Palo Duran Canyon which is the second largest canyon in the USA (Grand Canyon being the first which we visited 3 years ago as part of another road trip). Sooooooooooo glad we did as it is stunningly beautiful …. Far more accessible in size than the Grand Canyon, we stayed at the furthest most campsite which was replete with howling coyotes, wild turkeys and completely insane Red Cardinal Birds ( who tried to peck their way into our RV).

It was here that we had our first encounter with Texas Law Enforcement …. have to say that it was by far the most pleasant run in with the law that we have ever had. There was a question as to whether we were in the right spot but he was SO polite … thank you sir, thank you for your patience sir, appreciated sir, etc ….. having said that, Emma and I were ever so slightly mellow having celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary so we weren’t looking for an argument (especially with someone carrying a gun and wearing mirror sunglasses).

We did the signature Lighthouse trail which was lovely ….. very different landscape in the canyon to that on the plains but you need plenty of water …. the park recommends at least 1 gallon per person and we have to say that we would agree with that (usually we find park recommendations excessive)…..

Headed off from Palo Duro quite early (well … ish) to drive through Amarillo ( but got side tracked by a major shop at Walmart ). Did not stop at Amarillo as it appeared to be an unexciting and uninteresting city. Headed on through the panhandle of Texas into Oklahoma passing some pretty but depressed Route 66 towns.

On the Interstate, however, we saw loads of road kill …. Coyote, Elk (we think) and, rather bizarrely .. loads of Armadillos.

The best of the Route 66 towns was El Reno which was completely deserted and full of closed down businesses which was a shame as they had loads of lovely building dating back to 1902. Weirdly, when we got to Oklahoma City they seemed to be promoting El Reno as a tourist destination ….. obviously not working as well as it could..

OKLAHOMA CITY TO GREENLEAF OK

Oklahoma City itself is wonderful …. Clean, wide open spaces, no traffic, no people!!!, no graffiti …. We took the free shuttle from the RV site (to anywhere within around 5 miles of the city to order, from your RV) and went to the State Capital Building …. Spent 15 mins trying to get inside as the whole place seemed to be deserted. Eventually found our way in through what seemed to me to be very lax security (although people were apparently complaining how tight it was). Once inside we got lost as there were no guide signs so we just wandered around on our own before returning to the entrance to ask for directions! Unfortunately we seemed to get attached to 3 extras from the movie ’Deliverance’ …… bit scary really. The buidling itself, however, is beautiful, especially so since the ‘lost’ dome was added in 2004. The paintings inside are also magnificent.

From here we walked through some pretty dodgy housing areas (signs reading ‘trespassers will be shot’ to the site of the Federal building that was bombed in April 1995 where 168 people lost their lives. The site now houses a museum and a very poignant memorial, not only to those who died, but also the survivors as well. Just a simple idea - using 168 bronze chairs - but at different heights depending on their age. (19 children in the day care centre also died).
The downtown business area was eerily deserted … literally saw less than 10 people outside of their cars. It was lovely to walk around whilst it was so quiet and the architecture was great!

Made our way to the Brickyard area and followed the canal …. done really nicely. Here we had our first fast food since hitting the US …… Double cheeseburger with tater tots and a chilli cheese hotdog with rootbeer from Sonic ……. Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!
Made the pilgramage to Bass Sports world which is simply a VAST complex / store selling EVERYTHING one could ever need for the outdoors from semi automatic rifles to camping ready deep fat turkey fryers!



To top the day off we got to see a free Baseball game ….. Guy on the door just invited us in as it was halfway through the game. Oklahoma Red Hawks were playing against a team from Fresno …… definitely my personal highlight of the trip and a great experience.
Dow, the owner of the campsite then picked us up from town …………… all part of the free shuttle service …… pick up / drop off within 4 miles (ish) at any time …. how cool is that!

Arrived at Greenleak State Park OK.

GREENLEAF OK TO MEMPHIS TN

Greenleaf is one of Oklahoma’s most popular parks for waters-port enthusiasts and it is easy to see why … the place is a fisherman’s / paddlers paradise. We picked a spot next to the / lake but surrounded by trees and enjoyed a leisurely and quiet dat here …. One of the rare state parks that allows you to gather firewood from the tree falls around you ……..
Set off before 9am to head for Little Rock / Memphis ……… we were not sure as to how far we would get .....…….

We quickly got to Fort Smith which was full of old buildings but we pushed 5 miles further to a place called Van Buren which is frequently used a s the backdrop to Western movies. It was easy to see why as the whole road (that is essentially Van Buren) is full of ‘wild west’ buildings. Interestingly we came across an artist from Hue (Vietnam) exhibiting his work here (he sought asylum here after the Vietnam War).

A couple of hours later we reached Little Rock Arkansas (where Clinton launched his career) and decided to spend the afternoon …… quite a relaxed vibe about the place but with a slightly gritty feel (if that makes sense). Had a great lunch of meatball/cheese sub and a pizza ….. Mmmmmmmm. Went on to visit the riverfront / downtown area and also the old state house which was where Clinton delivered his speech of intention to run for President and also where he held his acceptance speech (it may look familiar to those of you old enough to remember).
We then pushed on to Memphis which we were both keen to see ……..

MEMPHIS TN TO DAVID CROCKETT STATE PARK TN VIA SHILOH

Wow, how good is the RV site for Graceland Memphis? Literally a 1 minute walk (if that) from the entrance to Graceland. Outrageous price for a campsite (more than some hotel rooms) but well worth the money so booked for 3 nights.

Guess what we did the next day …. Yes, we visited Graceland. Although we are not Elvis fans we both really enjoyed the tour and found it moving. He really did appear to be a genuinely nice person who was keen to help others. We both found it a little distressing that there seemed to be nobody in his life who could keep him pointing in the right direction ….. the Graceland mansion (covering 14 acres) itself is surprisingly modest. Bought in 1957 for 100,000 dollars Elvis kept it until his death. The fact that he moved his parents here gives an indication of the kind of son he was. Both Emma and I were surprised by the conflict evident in his spending …. the swimming pool is around 8ft by 6ft and yet the seat buckles of his jet aircraft are 24ct gold …. weird!!!! What came through more than anything was a sense of sadness as to what was lost when so much more could have been gained.

We set out the next day to explore downtown Memphis….. First hit Sun Studios and then walked to the main business district (this actually reminded us that we were in a place where once again, we needed to be careful). The streets here are deserted and the few people that we came across were, well, just a little (read that as quite a lot), scary!

Memphis itself seems like an average wealthy/scary kind of place. I’m sure that if you were on a tour you would love the place but just wandering around the non-touristy places it feels a little intimidating.

Having said that, once we got to Downtown Memphis we did all the touristy things starting with going to the Peabody Hotel to witness the daily procession of the Peabody ducks into the hotels fountain … great fun and VERY touristy!!!!!

Next we came across the Memphis BBQ Championships by the river. Great fun but we were a little bewildered by the fact that they had chosen Turkey as their sponsored country. Lots of info on Turkey and lots of pictures of pigs wearing BBQ aprons wearing Fezzes or sporting the Turkish flag. Given the fact that Turkey is a Muslim country (whose Religion prohibits the consumption of pork and who banned the Fez in the 1920‘s(?)) we both found this to be ever so slightly weird/distasteful!

We went on to visit the Lorraine Hotel, sight of Dr Martin Luther Kings assassination in 1968 and now combined site of the Civil Rights Movement Museum. We spent 4 hours here before weariness and hunger (and the last bus) forced us to leave (oh, how weak we are). The museum itself is very comprehensive and through it’s detail of the minutia is very moving. Without reading about the struggles of the time it is difficult to gain an understanding of sacrifices that have been made in the USA by both black and white activists (the deaths of white activists have been well documented, the deaths of their black counterparts somewhat less so).
If one listens to Dr Kings last recorded speech ( the night before his murder), one can feel an almost palpable premonition of the fate that befell him. Throughout the museum tour I did not him hear / read of him once refer to impending death either literally or orally yet the night before his death his speech was full of references to his ‘departure’ and that fact that he may not be with "them" when ‘‘they reached the promised land".

THIS MUSEUM IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO VISITORS TO MEMPHIS BY EMMA AND MYSELF.

We detoured off our route to visit Shiloh which was one of the first major conflicts of the American Civil war leading to large losses of lives ( over 20,000 ). The site itself is huge and the driving tour covers 9.5 miles. To truly appreciate the site I think you need at least a week but our measly ½ day gave us an insight into the battle that took place here. Each battalion has commissioned an ediface in memoriam to their dead and the sculptures are truly beautiful … indeed, the whole area works not only as an historical testimonial to the struggles of a fledgling nation but also as an artwork park (my apologies to any Americans who may be offended by this remark) ….

Reached the once home of David Crockett in David Crockett State Park TN

DAVID CROCKETT STATE PARK TN TO FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK TN

We reached David Crockets State Park (which is where he lived before moving to Western Tennessee and then onto the Alamo where he died) around 5:30ish and set up camp … yet another great park where one is permitted to gather firewood and build a fire. This we did as soon as the RV was set up. Something really comforting in a good campfire. Had to disguise our alcohol consumption though as we are now in a dry county … no alcohol !!!!! Enjoyed the evening sitting by the fire ……….. The State Parks in Tennessee are great as they allow you to gather firewood and build a fire pretty much anywhere you like as long as you are sensible about it.

It was here that I heard my best Southern accent so far which came from a boy of around 7 years of age in response to his father asking him what he was doing …….. “ I ain’t no doin notin Pa, just waitin on you is alls I is doin” …. fantastic!

It appears that we off the tourist trail here more than anywhere else …. Rough Guide and Jamie Jensens don’t even cover the whole area and people seem genuinely excited to be ‘talkin to a Brit’!

Had a breakfast of sausage patty, bacon, southern fried chicken, white gravy, biscuit, chocolate gravy, hash potatoes, pancakes and fruit (I kid you not .. we ate it all) in the State Park Restaurant before heading to Pulaski (birthplace of the KKK) .....

Pulaski seemed like any other Southern USA town .... did not see any people wearing bedclothes over their heads but it would not suprise me at all if they did so in the privacy of their homes .......

Actually, probably the main reason why we did not linger in Pulaski was my overwhelming desire to visit Lynchburg which is the home of Jack Daniels Whisky!

However, before we got to Lynchburg we stopped at Fayetteville where I had my haircut and where we got a true feeling that 'The South' had not yet surrended to the North!

Once we got to Lynchburg we did, of course, have to do the tour which was excellently done (if a little trite) ...... VERY dissappointingly, Lynchburg is in a dry county so we did not get to taste any .... or even buy the normal stuff (there appears to be a dispensation for 3 special varieties but I'm not that much of a fan).

Headed on to Fall Creek Falls State Park TN

FALL CREEK FALLS STATE PARK TN TO THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS STATE PARK TN

Arrived here around 5pm and set up camp (well, parked the RV and hooked up the water etc etc.). once this was done we set about scavenging for wood in the hollow and prepared the fire in readiness for nightfall. Just as dusk was approaching 5 deer came silently through the hollow which made for a magical sight and reminded us why we chose the more expensive option of renting an RV to travel across America.

Fire took a while to get going as the wood was damp but the challenge made it all the more enjoyable once it did catch!

Took a little while to see the namesake falls before moving on to our next destination .....

The Great Smoky Mountains ..........

THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK TN/NC TO ......

After our initial shock at arriving at the Smoky Mountain area via the horror movie set that is Pigeon Forge we found a ludicrously expensive campsite whose office was not open at 4:30pm and whose water tap leaked (which I had to repair) … yeah I know … grumpy old man syndrome ……. we realised that we were lucky enough to be in yet another beautiful National Park.

Next morning we headed into the mountains themselves which were stunningly beautiful (if a little crowded).. It was worth following the crowds though as we saw some amazing views as we crossed through the mountains and travelled accoss the state border into North Carolina. Stayed in the park for one night - our first night of ‘wild camping’ - well not really, we just didn’t have a water or electric hookup - so had to use our generator instead!

We have really enjoyed having a campfire in the evening though - Tony especially loves having to go gather the firewood - especially since he brought a new saw! (For any state park rangers reading this - all wood was dead and on the ground before Tony attacked with the saw!).

Drove through / over the Chattooga River (North Georgia) which was where the film ‘Deliverance’ was filmed …. again the scenery here is truly beautiful but my enjoyment was slightly marred by what I thought I could hear as the faint strumming of a banjo played by a toothless white man wearing dungarees! Given the fact that the majority of men here do indeed wear blue dungarees I feel my reservations were entirely justified!

The drive down to South Carolina took us through Cherokee Reservations which seem a lot more prosperous than their counterparts throughout the rest of the US which is more than can be said for the mountain communities which we drove by. A lot of these, whilst having beautiful but run-down properties seem to have suffered greatly in a shift of economics over the last few decades……….

Arrived Hickory Knob State Park SC

HICKORY KNOB STATE PARK SC TO SKIDAWAY ISLAND STATE PARK - SAVANNAH GA

We’ve been hunting down the state parks to overnight in and this gem in South Carolina didn’t fail. Hickory Knob is only a small park but absolutely beautiful. We were lucky to get the best site in the campground - with our own personal ‘spit’ of land that went down to the lake and wasn’t overlooked - our personal green sanctuary! For anyone passing by - site 13 is the one to go for!

Usual firepit is provided with an abundance of fallen, seasoned hardwood to collect …. built a fire but unfortunately it was too damn hot to light it!!!!!
This place really is a sanctuary and it really does feel as if we are alone here (there are only 4 other campers here at the moment) ………….. beautiful but in a very different way to the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas ………

After 2 nights here we headed onto Savannah in Georgia. En route we passed through Augusta which once again eerily deserted for a major city … started to feel truly in the deep South when we noticed the moss hanging from the tree, the wrinkled old African American people sitting rocking on their porches and the magnificent but derelict stately homes ……..
Arrived Skidaway State Park in Savannah.

SAVANNAH SKIDAWAY STATE PARK GA TO CHARLESTON SC

They really do know how to do state parks in the USA, it’s getting a little repetitive writing of how great they are but, well, they REALLY are great!

First impressions of Savannah did not disappoint …… all the old adjectives sprang to mind. Seeing a lot more rebel Confederate flags now too.



Spent the next day exploring the old historical quarter of Savannah which is surprisingly large. The number of plaques commemorating the establishment of the colony, the defeat of the tyrannical oppressors (ie the British) or the acts of bravery of their Confederate sons in fighting their tyrannical oppressors (ie the rest of North America) is overwhelming. We took a detour to sit in the square where the ‘life is like a box of chocolates scene’ in Forrest Gump was filmed before doing a lot more serious strolling to a great waterfront eatery called Hueys ….. Beef and provolone sandwich with southern fries and beans and rice with sausage ………. followed by pecan pie and accompanied by a really great Savannah beer whose I cannot remember ….. really, really good food and a great waitress …….

The architecture here is probably the best that we have seen in the USA ….. a great mix of styles but all based loosely on a classic theme be it from 18th C or 20th.
Wandered off to get some taffee and pecan brittle!

Next day we headed to one of the re-enactments which took place at the Wormslowe State Park plantation. Little remains of the original buildings but we had a some great conversations with the re-enactors, especially the museums director who was so obviously passionate about the subject that he stirred us up too!