Day 3: Capitol Reef

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We lazed around our campsite this morning, just taking in the views and drinking coffee. Then we decided we should get out for a walk. There was a short 1 hour walk along a river to a waterfall in the Capitol reef national park , so we did this. By this time it was already getting hot. We have to remember we’re at altitude here and to drink lots of water.

It was an easy but incredibly scenic walk along the river, with big red cliffs towering over us. Apart from one other family, there was nobody else on the walk which was surprising and at the end was a little waterfall.

Then we took a scenic drive through the national park. We did this last year, but only drove half of the road as it was closed. So, this year, we drove to the far end and it was an incredible drive through tall cliffs of so many colours, and stripes. 

At the end was a walk through a canyon where there were some historic markings on the rocks where people had signed their names as a register back in the 1800s.  It’s funny how graffiti is illegal now, but old graffiti is celebrated. It was a really nice walk through the canyon, but it was hot and we were probably a bit silly. We are still jet-lagged, and not used to the heat or the altitude. At the end of the walk we were so heat stressed that we drove until we found some shade and just flopped out for the rest of the afternoon.

We cooked our dinner there and about four friendly deer were grazing in the paddock right next to us. One of them had huge antlers and looked a bit scary. But they didn’t even look twice at us. 

After our bacon and eggs, we returned to the same place we camped last night, as it was less than ten minutes away. Knackered.

Day 2: USA Road trip

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Our first night in Rodger was a success, but he smells very dusty. So we spent the morning at the campground, cleaning him and then doing more laundry. There’s a place down the road that we used to hoover him last year when I was sick with covid. I remember it was cheap, only $2 to vacuum for as long as you like. But when we arrived to vacuum him, the guy said it was free. I still don’t quite understand why. But we were happy and gave Rodger a really good hoovering, and he smells much better now.

And then we were on our way. As usual we have only a vague plan; to head towards Colorado avoiding freeways. As we left Cedar City, the scenery instantly changed to incredible. Dramatic rocks and hoodoos and all the things I love about America. We climbed up into the mountains and stopped at a lookout. There was a lady at the top walking around with a TV aerial. It seemed an odd place to want to watch TV, but who am I to judge. Mike was more curious and went over to see what see was doing. 

It turned out she wasn’t desperate for a TV signal, but was actually tracking rare North American condors which had transmitters attached. There were about 3 of them flying around. So the moral of the story is, don’t judge until you know the full story.

We kept on climbing into the mountains, and it got much cooler. At over 10,000 feet we came to Cedar Breaks national monument. We had no idea what this was, or that it was even here. Mike was going to keep driving, but I said we should stop, see what it was. And WOW!. It was a viewpoint over the top of the grand staircase which spans 150 miles. I’m hopeless at describing but it was like looking into a mini grand canyon. I’ll post a photo on facebook, or you can wait for the video. We continued driving and stopping at these incredible overlooks. America really knows how to show off its stuff with little effort from the viewer. Sure, we could have taken a walk, and we probably will at some stage, but for now, still jet-lagged and acclimatising to the altitude, this way of sightseeing is fine.

We continued on, up and up to almost 11,000 feet, before we started our descent. It’s a long weekend here and we were a bit worried about finding somewhere to camp, but then I remembered this isn’t Europe. There’s a lot more space, and less people. We stopped at a gorgeous boondocking site just outside of Capitol reef national park. We actually stayed here last year, and it’s still just as nice. And there were only two others camping here which was a surprise. We might do some walks in the park today, and camp here another night. We’ll see how we feel.

Day 1: USA. Collecting Rodger

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I awoke at 5am in our Las Vegas hotel room with a splitting headache, except it wasn’t a hangover. I took a couple of painkillers and tried to go back to sleep, but it didn’t go away. Then I realised I had missed an entire day with no coffee. I didn’t have one on the plane at all. Rookie mistake. And the US don’t have tea and coffee making facilities in hotels.

I googled somewhere that might be open at that time of morning, and Starbucks (gag) was the only place open. But I needed caffeine. Bad. So we wandered downstairs, surprised to see a few people already queuing for coffee. And then I saw the price. $10 USD for a flat white which will probably taste disgusting! So we wandered around the casino looking for somewhere cheaper. There were a few early morning (probably still out from last night) gamblers on the floor, but it was eerily quiet. 

Our mission to find anywhere else open failed, so we decided to suck it up.  Back at the Starbucks counter I noticed they had filter coffee for half the price. This is something Americans know how to do. And I’d much rather have a good filter coffee than an piss-weak espresso.

Sometimes I wish I’d never started drinking coffee, it is quite a severe addiction, but the filter coffee hit the spot, and the headache faded. It was a nice time of morning to be up and about before the crowds. We headed out onto the strip, and were instantly knocked back by the heat. At 6am! But it was still cooler than it was at 10pm the previous night.

We picked up some supplies from CVS. Two snickers bars, a sandwich and some pretzel crisps. Oh, and two cokes, emergency caffeine if we get stuck again. (We could have had breakfast out for $40 usd per person. Yikes. Las Vegas is ridiculously expensive these days)

And then it was time to pick up Rodger. We ordered an uber, and it was only a 20 minute trip to the storage unit, no traffic thankfully. The storage unit has shrunk. They’ve sold off a big chunk of it, and Rodger was crammed in with a few other vans. I just hope they don’t get rid of it completely, otherwise we’ll be stuffed!

It was nice to see Rodger again, but he was absolutely filthy. We hadn’t seen anywhere to wash him before we stored him which was a shame. We opened the doors and dumped our backpacks inside. Rodger had been locked up for about a year, and he smelled quite musty and needs a good clean. And he was really hot inside which makes me wonder if the warehouse is climate controlled. I think not. Either that, or they are keeping him outside without us knowing. But I guess the important question is, did he start?

Mike got into the drivers seat, I got the GoPro out to film the moment. And first time, he roared into life, rearing to get out on the road again. So we climbed onboard, and off we went, into the desert heat, no air-conditioning. Even with the windows down, it was like a furnace was blowing in. We just wanted to get out of Vegas, and into the mountains.So we took the motorways and got out as quickly as we could.

It was weird being back in Rodger after Bertie. Bertie is modern and smooth and doesn’t smell like damp, whereas Rodger likes to bounce all over the road, but the seats are like armchairs.

In the drive I got a bit peckish so I reached for my snickers bar. But guess what? Yes that’s right. It was a sticky liquid gooey mess. I drank it down as best I could making a mental note not to make that mistake again!

It took us about 3 hours to get to the mountains, and even though it was still about 33 degrees, we noticed the drop in temperature. We stopped at Cedar city, at the same campground where we spent a week last year with covid! But it seemed like a good place to stop and get things done. Rodger badly needed a clean, we needed food, and we also needed to do laundry. So that’s what we did for the afternoon. 

Tomorrow? No idea, but we’re heading towards Colorado.

Uk and Flight to USA

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We had a great time in the UK and the weather was perfect. We set up camp in Bertie outside Nick and Ems house, and spent time catching up with family, swims at the beach and visiting an aeroplane museum.  We had both been putting off booking our flights, both a bit nervous about visiting to US due to nightmare stories I had heard about the border. But we decided to push paranoia to the side and go for it anyway.

I decided to book a flight directly to Las Vegas, just to make it less stress. And it was actually considerably cheaper to book return, so we also have a return flight to use at some stage if we choose. We’d been given a chance to order our meals in advance and we both ordered the chicken tikka masala.

We’d only been able to book middle seats though, so I was keeping an eye on our booking for any window seats coming up. Every time I did this, it offered me an upgrade to upper class, but it was quite expensive, so I ignored it. But then, with less than 24 hours before our flight, they offered us an upgrade for a very small amount. We did um and ah, but eventually decided, fuck it, let’s do it! That’s what credit cards are for! 

The next day we left Bournemouth at around 8am and had an easy drive to London, virtually no traffic. We arrived at the airport 6 hours early for our flight, but no surprise there.  This is where the upper class upgrade comes into its own. We went through the upper class security, no queues! Then straight to the Virgin clubhouse lounge. This is also pretty cool. Everything is table service. You order through an app and they bring you food, drinks, anything you like. I had a terrible headache, so I went and had a lay down in the chill out area. Calm music and aromatherapy soothed my headache away.

Then we boarded the 787 dreamliner. The seats are at an angle like on AirNZ. We sat down and prepared for take-off, only to be told there were storms, and we’d be an hour late taking off. When we finally took off, there was a little turbulence, but it soon died down and was calm. 

I looked at my menu and was very disappointed to see there was no chicken tikka masala on there. There was only a choice of haddock, and two other dishes with lots of cheese which didn’t sound appealing. So we both opted for the haddock. I had a fish dish in the lounge and it was really yummy, so I figured this would be nice too. After all we were in “Upper” class.

Anyway, our fish arrived and it was disgusting. I couldn’t eat it. Mike forced his down. I told the cabin crew I had ordered a Chicken tikka when I was in economy, and asked if they still had any. She went and had a look, and sure enough, there was one left. So here I am eating an economy meal in “upper” class, and it was infinitely better! Even Mike agreed. I think sometimes they try to be too fancy.

It was a smooth flight, and we both watched the Bob Dylan movie which was good.

We landed in Las Vegas, and there was nobody there! The queues were empty, a start contrast to LAX. So we got straight through, no wait. We arrived at our hotel about 8.30pm. It was still really hot in Vegas but we went for a short walk anyway. There are way less people here this year from last year. 

Day 87 – Family Trip to Swanage

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I’d written this blog and forgotten to put it up!

Today we went on a family trip Swanage, a classic British seaside town.

We started off by catching the open-top bus, which sounded innocent enough when we planned it. In reality? More like a theme park ride disguised as public transport. With the wind in our hair, we held onto the railings as the driver swerved along narrow country lanes, low branches swiping at us like health and safety hadn’t made it to this part of the world.

Swanage itself was exactly what you’d expect in a seaside town. Beach, pubs, and fish and chip shops. We wandered around, ducking in and out of shops, before wandering along the sea front. People were swimming and kayaking and it was an overall relaxed vibe.

Some of the family decided to pay to walk along the old wooden pier. But, we didn’t. Instead, we headed off on a walk out to the headland, where nature was putting on a free show. The view from up there was incredible.  The sheer white cliffs of Old Harry Rocks stretched out to the left, while to the right, the chalky cliffs of the Isle of Wight in the distance. It’s weird to think the two were once joined, but now separated by time and tides.

By then, our stomachs were rumbling, so we made our way back to the beach for fish and chips. I’d been craving them for weeks, and they didn’t disappoint, golden, crispy and salty. 

But the adventure wasn’t over yet. The return bus ride turned everything up a notch. Our driver, apparently in a hurry or simply out for thrills, took the winding roads at full speed. Every bump launched us off our seats, and the branches didn’t just swipe us, they came for us. Ducking and diving, with bursts of laughter and the occasional yelp from Jessie, it was like a theme park ride with no seat belts and better views. It was hilarious and terrifying at the same time!

But we made it back, unscathed (except maybe a little traumatised). All in all, a proper British seaside day out. Slightly wild, full of charm, and just the right amount of fun.

Day 85 – Something Happened

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Today we woke up and thought, let’s go home! Home as in the UK, not NZ. We’re not ready for that yet, we’ve already had our winter in Norway. The ferry from Cherbourg leaves at 6.15pm, so that gave us plenty of time to get there. We didn’t have a booking, and no idea if there was availability, but we’d deal with that when we got there.

I navigated my fancy waypoints to take us there on the back roads. But after a while even that became laborious, so we sucked it up and took the main roads. It was a Sunday so it wasn’t too busy.

We arrived at the ferry port at around 3pm, and thankfully there was space, so we booked it. It was quite a bit more expensive to travel on a Sunday than a Tuesday, but we just wanted to get back now.

The ferry crossing was a little bit wobbly and I felt a little sick at times, but it wasn’t too bad. I had chicken and chips and Mike had beef bourginon. Since we’ve been living on stale baguette and pasta for the last few days, it tasted pretty good.

It was almost 10pm when we arrived into Poole harbour and the smell of smoke from strong. There had been a series of fires in studland and swanage, and these are mostly caused by stupid humans.

We arrived in Poole and it was dark. We tried to camp at our usual place at the ferry port, but they wanted 15 pounds. Crazy! We haven’t even paid that much for a campground in Europe with showers and toilets included. So we declined and headed for Westbourne.

We tried to get a park on Nick and Ems’s street, but it was full. So Mike tried to do a 200 point turn to turn around, but failed. So he ended up reversing down the entire street. Thankfully there was a nice flat park at the street opposite. There were blocks of flats on one side and the trains on the other. We were so tired we didn’t care. We fell asleep listening to the trains moving around.

Day 84 – A Day of Driving

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This morning I managed to get my video uploaded using our starlink. It took a while, but it got there in the end. It’s neat editing videos that seem a lifetime ago. It’s like stepping back in time and reliving it.

It seems like we’re just driving now, making progress in the most indirect route possible as we make our way to Cherbourg and the ferry. Even the chocolate ripple houses fly by in a state of indifference. It’s like this part of our holiday is over, and we just want to get back to civilisation, where I can have a shower, wash some clothes and have a nice roast dinner. And catch up with family of course.

We finally found some shops today and stocked up on a few supplies. Still no restaurant, so I may not be able to do my mini food tour.

We stopped the night at an Aire de camping car, and it seemed like a nice spot, but there was a gypsy camp set up next door, and they were playing loud music. Being a Saturday night, we wondered if it might get noisy. We were both really tired, but we decided to move on. I’d seen another spot about 40 minutes away.

This was a much nicer spot. We parked overlooking a forest, and despite there being another motorhome here, it was so quiet. Almost too quiet!

Day 83 – The Puddle

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Today it rained. And it was no ordinary rain. It was torrential, a river falling from the sky. And we had to drive in it. But at least it cooled it down a bit. 

We’re struggling to find a shop in France. It’s probably our own fault for sticking to the back roads,  and even a bakery is hard to come by. We’ve spotted a couple of pizza vending machines and a few baguette vending machines, but no actual shops. On the bright side, we’re not spending much, and with some luck we might lose some weight. Except that whenever we do find a shop, the first thing that goes in the bag is chocolate.

We did eventually find a bakery and bought a long, curved baguette. Naturally, I made Mike pose with it. He was mortified, but like a good boy, he reluctantly did what he was told. The locals avoided eye contact. One woman definitely smirked. I, on the other hand, was laughing head off. The photo is on Facebook. Viewer discretion advised.

Our first stop today was to look at a free camping car place near a lake. What I’ve noticed in Europe is that no matter whether it’s a lake, a pond or a puddle, motor-homers seem to flock towards it like a herd of thirsty sheep! And this place was no different. There must have been hundreds of motorhomes, crammed in next to each other, just to be near an over-commercialised lake. Not even overlooking it, just a big crowded carpark nearby.

It’s hard to describe the feeling I get when I see this kind of mass hysteria, and it’s not pleasant. It’s like everyone has suddenly become a sheep, with no mind of their own. Why on earth anyone would want to park and sleep in such a place is beyond me.

When I was researching places to visit in Norway, I noticed that everyone seemed to head to the same spots, so they ended up enjoying a stunning view alongside hundreds of others. We made a point of avoiding those places. I think Instagram is partly to blame. People see a photo and decide they want to go there, without realising they might have to queue just to get “The Shot.”

Anyway, that’s my little rant over. Not much happened today, so this seemed like a good time to have a moan.  I’m also struggling to find somewhere to upload my latest video. I love France, yet I hate it!

I’ve also got a mini French food tour in mind. There are three things I want to eat before we leave: confit de canard, moules frites (if we get close to the sea), and a proper plat du jour in one of those little villages where there’s just one meal on offer – no menu, no choice. So far, no luck on any of them! Maybe tomorrow.

France makes things so easy for campervaning, I think because they have a big camping culture themselves. The Aire de camping car spots are everywhere, and most of the time they are free and include a dump point for black and grey waste. Sometimes they even have water and electricity for an extra cost.

Anyway, we drove through storms for most of today before arriving at a small Aire de camping car. I was expecting it to be busy as it’s Friday night and the first day of the French holidays, and we’re only 150km from Paris. But there was only one van here, so that made us happy. All the other campervans are probably either stuck in Paris traffic, or trying to find a suitable puddle.

There is a little epicerie (grocery) store here, so we popped in and bought some chocolate and biscoff, but completely forgot the milk. Oh well. Diet starts tomorrow!

Day 82 – Joan was Here

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Today we drove all day. I nailed it, picking up the windiest twistiest roads i could find. As a result, it took us 8 hours to drive about 200 kms. We’re basically cycle touring in a van.

Along the way we saw an impressive church, the Basilique du Bois-Chenu, which was built to honour Joan of Arc, who was born nearby. It’s also the place where the voices came to her, where she first heard the saints urging her to take up arms and lead France. Out in the nearby fields, surrounded by the same hills and trees that still stand today, she began a journey that would change the course of history.

Out front, there’s a striking statue of her, sword raised, looking glorious in battle in her gold-plated armour.

The basilica was also impressive, sitting on the hill, towering over the land. Inside the church on the lower level was a crypt. Then we had to climb a marble staircase to the actual church. I’d never seen this before. The walls are lined with detailed paintings that tell the story of Joan’s life. 

I think its crazy to think that in some places today, women still aren’t allowed drive, meanwhile, back in the 1400s, they handed Joan of Arc a sword and said, “Go lead an army!” Whatever happened to progress?

Not much else happened today. We drove, admired the little villages, drove some ridiculously narrow roads, and ended up in an Aire de Camping Car spot in a little village. And it turns out to be a neat little town, so we took a stroll.

We’re in Soulaines-Dhuys, a village, with narrow streets weaving between half-timbered houses and stone cottages. Streams wind through the town, lined by old stone bridges that give the place a Venice kind of vibe. In fact, its often referred to as the Green Venice of the Aube. The greenery is everywhere. Trees, gardens, and riverside plants spill over into the streets, softening the edges of the buildings. 

There are restored original communal bath houses here. I wondered if we were allowed to bathe in them, but Mike thinks not. So we continued on our smelly way. We stopped and snapped a few photos of a 16th century gothic church, then made our way back to the van, where we settled down to eat a stale baguette for dinner.

Day 81 – From Germany to Frankreich

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What a drive today! We wound our way through the heart of the Black Forest, and it was every bit as enchanting as the name suggests with towering evergreens, and winding roads that climbed forever.

The higher we went, the more the world faded into the mist. For the first time, there were plenty of places to pull over and soak in the view… only the view had vanished! Thick white fog wrapped around us, hiding the valleys below and any other traffic on the road!

Then, just like that, we crossed the Rhine and drove into Frankreich??? Where the hell is Frankreich, I thought we were heading to France? But the sign said Frankreich 1 km ahead. It turns out Frankreich is German for France. Yes, I should have known this, and no, I didn’t. But panic over.

It was exciting though, especially when we recognised the bridge… the very same one we cycled over back in 2022! We had no idea we were retracing our steps. And it feels crazy to think we pedalled all this way back then.

And France is just so beautiful. Not only does it have chocolate ripple houses, they are also wonky and misshapen in the best possible way. The little villages we drove through were adorable, and some of the best we have ever seen.

It was very exciting being back in France, it kinda feels like home as we’ve spent so much time here. They also have free park up places for campervans called Aire de camping car. We found one of these, but all the spots were taken. The vans were crammed in tight, all huddled around a small pond that didn’t exactly scream “idyllic.” So we moved on in search of something a little more our style.

About 30 minutes down the road we found another place. And this was much better. There were four individual spots separated by bushes. So very private. And so far, only one other camper is here. 

We saw them attempting to take their cat for a walk on a leash. The cat, however, had other plans and zero interest in being part of this outdoor adventure. It put its foot down and refused to go any furtner.  Then it slipped out of its collar like a miniature Houdini (no full harness, rookie move).

What followed was 30 minutes of entertainment watching two humans chasing an unimpressed cat around. It makes me wonder, who would want to travel with pets?

802 kms to go according to Google and its main roads.

Oh, and Steve is back and he’s got an annoying inflection he picked up in Germany. He now buzzes when he talks.