We arrived in San Francisco and immersed ourselves in this fantastic and cosmopolitan city. The next few days were spent enjoying this vibrant and diverse city as well as indulging in the culinary delights on offer. We took in the sights on the hop on and off tour bus and tried four times, but the red shimmering beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge did not want to reveal itself to us. Instead, we were greeted with a thick wall of cold wet fog.

Days 1-2 San Francisco/Yosemite National Park

Our road trip began at the Vertigo hotel in San Francisco where we met Ryan our tour leader, a Californian surfer dude type of guy as well as the rest of our travel companions. Full of excitement and anticipation we drove north through the Central Valley to Yosemite National Park. It is one of the most famous parks in the USA, with colossal granite cliffs, cascading waterfalls and redwood trees. We chose to stroll leisurely on the valley floor and spent a few hours relaxing on a beach along the Merced River. We all wanted to encounter a bear at some point but instead we were treated to a visit from inquisitive ducks and cheeky over weight squirrels. Nevertheless, we loved our tranquil take on Yosemite, allowing the glorious sunshine and impressive beauty of this national park to fill us with a new found contentness. In the evening we all met up for dinner where the others regaled us with their stories and adventures of the day. This would soon become the trend for the rest of the trip.

Day 3 Nevada Desert

We leave Yosemite behind and begin the long drive over Tioga Pass and into the Nevada desert area. The route offers spectacular mountain scenery, crystal clear lakes and breathtaking vistas. We stopped at Mono Lake with it's eery landscape and shrimp filled waters. The water's edge is ribboned with a moving layer of black larvae flies and seems to be a 'fast food' buffet for the hungry seagulls. We stopped for the night in Tonopah, which is a bit of a one horse town in Nevada. We had dinner at a casino and much to his shock, Steve aka "Adelaide" was even propositioned by a lady of the night. Before bed a few of us stopped off at a saloon for a few night caps, where we mixed with the locals and where the bar lady's skintight silver pants will surely leave a lasting impression in our minds.

Days 4-5 Zion National Park

The day began along the Nevada State Highway 375, officially named the Extraterrestrial Highway and known for many UFO sightings. The highway is close to the mysterious Area 51, a super-secret Air Force test facility where there have been many sightings of unidentified objects near the base. In keeping with the alien nature of our surroundings we all got our creative juices flowing and styled our outfits with tin foil accessories. Ahh, the many uses of tin foil. We stopped at the Little A'Le'Inn cafe in Rachel for a look at all the alien paraphernalia, and to be gawped at by other tourists. Well, we must have looked a sight. As if the day couldn't be more surreal, we stopped at the "shoe tree" where passersby have randomly left shoes hanging from a lone tree on the side of the road. In the late afternoon we finally arrived at Zion National Park with it's desert terrain and huge sculpted rock formations that coexist with waterfalls and hanging gardens. We were blown away by the beauty of Zion with it's huge white, pink and red rocks that make this park so visually stunning. Hiking through Zion and taking in this strangely-coloured land we were left speechless and in awe. It is a spectacular place to hike with breathtaking views, one of our top highlights so far.

Day 6 Bryce Canyon National Park

We say goodbye to Zion and drive through the rust-coloured steeples and pinnacles that pierce the terrain of the Red Canyon before continuing to Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon is indescribably beautiful and is noted for its eroded sculpture-like formations called hoodoos. The red, orange and white colours of the rocks provide spectacular views and bathe the national park in a gold and red light. We hiked the Navajo and Queens Garden loop, which apparently is the worlds best three mile hike. As hard as we tried, it was difficult to convey Bryce's beauty in a photograph. It is otherworldly and unique and once again we were mesmerised by mother nature. After watching the sunset over the canyon, Ryan treated us to an impromptu fireworks display.

Day 7 Lake Powell

Today we drove through the unspoiled landscapes in the Navajo Indian Reservation to Glen Canyon/Lake Powell. It is an enormous, incredibly beautiful paradise for water-sports with warm, crystal-clear water. At the Glen Canyon Dam we climbed onto a rubber boat and bobbed down the Colorado River towards Horseshoe Bend with the red canyon rocks towering above us on either side of the river. It was so peaceful and tranquil and so unlike the hardships that Major John Wesley Powell and his men experienced when they navigated this river with it's dangerous rapids.

Day 8 Monument Valley

The next day took us on another scenic route across the northern Arizona desert plateau to Monument Valley. It is part of the biggest Indian reservation in the US and home to more than 200,000 Indians of the Navajo Tribe. It is so-named for the giant sandstone formations scattered across the desert. The angle of the sun constantly changes the colour of the landscape and as the sun hits the terrain, the freestanding rock formations glow flaming-red in colour. At sunrise we jumped in the back of a jeep with our Navajo guide called Willy to see all the magnificent sites Monument Valley has to offer and gaze up at spectacular rock formations. It is a truly special place unlike anything we've ever seen and it's no wonder that it has been used as the backdrop for countless Hollywood westerns.

Days 9-10 Grand Canyon

Today we drove to the Grand Canyon, one of the world's seven wonders. It is 450km long, up to 30km wide and 1.6km deep. It is an immense and breathtaking landscape and it is difficult to put into words how awesome it felt to stand on the edge and survey it's vastness. The next morning we went back to the canyon to watch the sunrise. We arrived, submerged in complete darkness to find a ledge to perch on in anticipation of a new, glorious and spectacular day. We felt an overwhelming sense of emotion, each one of us caught in the moment as we watched the rising sun. It was a moment of appreciation and gratitude, one that will stay with us forever. With a new found vigour we decided that we had to do a hike to get a better perspective of this is awe-inspiring canyon. This led us to "ooh ahh" point, which admittedly is only 600 meters deep but we felt a sense of achievement and satisfaction at our small accomplishment. The views were amazing but the steep gradient up the switch backs left us breathless. We then decided to tackle the easy rim walk and found ourselves five hours later feeling mentally exhilarated and physically exhausted.

Days 11-12 Las Vegas

Today we drove on from the Grand Canyon and crossed the western deserts of Arizona to Las Vegas. Along the way, we drove a section of the famous Route 66 and stopped in the nostalgic township of Seligman to get a taste of life in an era gone by. We also stopped off at the impressive and man made Hoover Dam, where the heat of the desert left us gasping for water and fleeing into the shade. After a long and tiring drive we finally arrived, hot and sweaty in Vegas. We all needed a well deserved shower and much need reprieve from the baking sun before our night of fun in Sin City. Before making our way to the Bellagio, we all met up in Ryan's room for a drink and we introduced the gang to our much loved Lemon Drops. Unbelievably, almost everyone joined in and enjoyed our shot of Dutch courage. We had dinner at the 'all you can eat' buffet at the Bellagio and it was incredible. The quality of the food and sheer quantity of the selection was outstanding however, the amount of food that certain individuals hoovered up was unbelievable. We certainly are spoilt for choice in the western world and although we enjoyed our meal, the greed on display left us with a questionable impression. Once we were all fed and watered, Ryan surprised us with a Limo ride along the Las Vegas strip. We also made a stop at the Freemont Experience, which is the Old Vegas where it all began before the city expanded into the sprawling, hedonistic, gambling capital it is today. As Tanya and I arranged to see 'Avici' play at Encore at the Wynn, we made our way there with Bianca and Claudia to enjoy a fantastic night of great music and a lot of dancing until the wee hours of the morning. It was so much fun, topped off with an early breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe and followed by the sunrise before we collapsed into bed at six a clock in the morning. After only a few hours of sleep, we peeled off the covers and ventured out into the fun and chaos that is Vegas. There was a lot to see and do and wasting time in bed was not an option. We walked up and down the strip until our feet hurt, we bought pearls at the the Venetian, we even danced with 'Lady Luck' and in the evening when we were completely exhausted, we met up with Bianca and enjoyed a refreshing and much needed frozen margarita. We toasted to fun and frolics in Las Vegas and an assurance that we would come back one day.

Day 13 Los Angeles

We travelled through the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles, the 'City of Angels'. World-renowned for the streets of Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and the shopping on Rodeo Drive. We were at the end of a fantastic and awesome road trip. One that was filled with adventure, excitement and wonder. We spent many hours on the road, visiting some amazing national parks, hiking up majestic mountains and through luscious valleys while sharing the experience with like minded travellers, who like us never tire of seeing mother nature at her best. We bid farewell to our new friends and headed off to downtown LA to spend some quality time with Lincoln, Antonio and Andy. We had sundowners on the roof terrace of Lincoln and Antonio's loft, watching the sunset and enjoying the company of fabulous friends. It was absolute bliss. The next few days Antonio took us around LA, visiting some of their favourite haunts and sharing with us a slice of their American pie. On our last evening we had dinner at Katsuya in Studio City and as Andy aptly put it, had a truly religious experience. The sushi was to die for and if it is good enough for Zach Braff and Ashley Tisdale, who we rubbed shoulders with whilst dining, then it certainly is good enough for us mere mortals. Saying goodbye was hard as it meant that the reality of the rat race was eagerly knocking on the door. The only thing left to do was to enjoy the last moments of freedom and file it all to memory bank until our next adventure.