Day 15: Curry Village, Yosemite to Davis, CA.
We wake at 7am, having slept for twelve hours straight, and head up to Glacier point. The air is crisp and sweet at this height and the view is breathtaking. We’ve seen many of America’s natural wonders on this trip, from the Mammoth Caves to the Grand Canyon. [...]

Day 14: Somewhere on Route 178, CA to Yosemite National Park, CA
07.00amThe petrol station attendant arrives, we fill up, and off we go.
11.00amSleep deprived, I dozed most of the drive this morning. I don’t know how Courtney has managed to stay awake. Now it’s my turn to drive while she dozes. This is our penultimate [...]

Lake Havasu City, AZ to Red Rock Canyon, CA
11.15amLake Havasu is waiting for a population explosion. We entered the town last night on a fresh new four lane road studded with junctions to avenues that are yet to be built. In the distance the lake shimmered, oasis-like.
Lake Havasu City is famous for being the home [...]

Grand Canyon Village, AZ to Lake Havasu, AZ
12.32pmMy sleep was interrupted twice last night by the deranged “yip yip-yip waaoohh!” cries of coyotes. Courtney woke me this morning with the question “Do you think that family ever got out of the canyon?”“Nah,” I reply, “the turkey vultures are picking their bones clean as we speak.”
We [...]

Grand Canyon Village, AZ
We have the whole day at the canyon today so we sleep in a little later than normal. Most tourists restrain themselves to walking along the rim of the canyon, while some will dip into it using the popular Bright Angel trail. More experienced hikers use the more challenging routes. I decide [...]

Holbrook, AZ to Grand Canyon Village, AZ
09.30am

After catching a few snaps of the wigwams and the classic cars beside them we get back on the road.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park, NM to Holbrook, AZ
06.15am

Courtney wakes up early, desperate for the bathroom. She returns to the tent urging me to get up. The sun is about to rise over Santa Rosa lake. New Mexico bills itself as the “State of Enchantment” and I’m starting to see why.

Day Eight, Palo Duro Canyon, TX to Santa Rosa Lake State Park, NM
08.00amCourtney finds a gobble of eleven wild turkeys outside the bathrooms. They’re pecking about in the half-light because although the sun has risen, we’re sheltered from it by the sandstone walls around us.
As I shower in the bug-ridden bathrooms I notice a [...]

Day Seven, Dallas, TX to Palo Duro Canyon, TX
10.00amDee’s place – her Dad’s place really – is addictively calm and quiet, but it’s time to get back on the road. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, possibly the longest of the trip, and very little reason to stop until we get to tonight’s [...]

Day Six, Dallas, TX
Dee takes us on the commuter light railway to downtown Dallas. Like many American cities, downtown is a collection of tall office buildings and little else. We’re headed for the sixth floor of the book depository on Dealey Plaza.
We pay our admission, $10 each, and take the elevator up. We spend the [...]