“Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway”

said the small sign along the Freeway in Santa Monica. We thought, we’re finally driving on the Panamericana Highway, but Wikipedia knew better - the Interstate 10 crosses the US from Florida to California. O.k., we had just crossed the US of A from East to West as well.

The story started mid-September, when we drove to Hamburg to the ferry terminal to ship our camper across the Atlantic Ocean.

Stefan and I flew to Boston, looking forward to meet friends and a visit from Pascale from Toronto and enjoy the Indian Summer in New England.

On October 14, 2014 our agent Mr. Müller retrieved the car from the harbour in Baltimore in less than one hour. After a “quick” stop in the groceries section of Walmart and at the propane gas station we were ready for our trip from East to West across the US.

2 days in Washington DC to revisit all the important sites after 30 years and a peak at the highlights inside some of the Smithsonian Museums were a good start. It was 26 C and humid - it should be different pretty soon. We loved the fall colours in the Appalachian Mountains and the relaxed atmosphere in Asheville, NC. a (student) city full of fine art and music. We decided to cross the Middle West rather quickly: it took three days with strong headwinds until we arrived in New Mexico. Without much planning we drove parts of the Historic Route 66, so much fun to look out for old gas stations and nostalgic motel signs! In the Midway Café near Adrian, Texas we enjoyed a chat and some ice cream while looking at an original Coca-Cola Ice chest and a Wurlitzer Juke Box.

Our days around Santa Fe and Taos were certainly a highlight for me. The sun was shining from a very blue sky, the aspen trees were golden yellow and the arts scene of Santa Fe is very colourful and charming. We learned a lot in the Museum for Indian Arts and Cultures and looked at the arts and crafts along the road with a sharpened eye. A small hand-woven rug decorates our apartment in Frankfurt now.

Arches and Canyonlands Nationalparks kept us busy hiking and taking photographs of absolutely stunning landscapes in the afternoon sunlight. It was the time between high season and the closures of some State Parks and National Park campgrounds and we had no trouble finding a campsite, although the water was switched off already; Utah’s national parks offer “dry campgrounds” only, meaning w/o water, but BYO beer and wine ;). We were above 2500 m, so the days were sunny and warm, but the nights already chilly. Bryce Canyon NP and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon showed a dusting of snow - enough for the official visitor centre to be closed. We met friends from Switzerland and enjoyed the rise of the full moon above the Canyon and a joined dinner. We had been at the Grand Canyon South Rim in 1982 - what a different look in 2014! Everything is well organised to cope with more than 4 Mio visitors p.a. with bus shuttles and lots of lodging and camping. But we enjoyed the scenery off-season with hardly any people along the Rim trails and a clear view into the deep canyons.

After all those rocks we were ready for a change of scenery - Las Vegas was calling! This city is so crazy and out of this world and fascinating at the same time. I liked the photo opportunities in the old downtown more than the strip with its artificial malls and casinos, where people forget the world around them - but isn’t that the purpose of this place?

After a day of driving through a very dry and empty landscape we stopped in the small community of Idyllwild (a mouth full to pronounce) in the San Joaquin Mountains between the coast and the desert of Southern California - it was another chilly night at 1600m altitude! What a difference to Palm Springs at 25 C, where we relaxed and enjoyed the art scene and yet another fantastic Mexican dinner. (Although the waiter claimed, real Mexican food tastes very different - we’ll know better soon.) We’d been to Palm Springs 30 years ago and where stunned by the dimensions of the wind park, which uses the thermal winds crossing the Banning Pass.

A last day-trip into the desert, into Joshua Tree NP and we knew, we need more time for the deserts of Arizona, etc.  (it is planned for January 2015)

In Anaheim, CA, Stefan had found a storage facility for our camper and so we spent a day with household duties on a not so charming city “RV-Resort” near Disneyland and saw two fantastic fireworks, courtesy of Mickey Mouse et al.

A visit to Huntington Beach, LA downtown on a lazy Sunday morning and to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Santa Monica was our cool-down program after 5 weeks of driving. Our friends Evi and David from years back in Heidelberg were our hosts for the last day, but now we are ready for Xmas in Good Old Germany with family and friends.