We crossed into Nevada at Hoover dam which supplies both water and electricity to Vegas. The top of the dam wall actually forms the highway. Around this area there were numerous Indian settlements. Most were desolate groups of houses with old car bodies abandoned and no gardens. Soon after the dam we had our first taste of casino glitz in Boulder City but did not stop as we wanted to make Vegas.We hit Vegas as night was starting to claim Nevada, but not Vegas. It...

 The entrance fee to the Grand Canyon National Park was $10 for a 7 day pass. We happily paid and went looking for a camp site. We had brought a tent all the way from home for the occasion. unfortunately we did not factor in how busy the Grand Canyon was, after being turned away from 4 camp sites we resolved to drive out of the park to get accommodation. This was not so easy either and we ended up at the Seven Mile Lodge at $80 for the night.We were up early the...

Phoenix is definitely the centre of the Wild West, with Tucson to the south, Silver City to the SE, Fort Apache to the east and Flagstaff to the North. And if that hasn't convinced you then this is also home of the tall two armed cactus of western movies fame and the beep beep roadrunner. Arizona is hot and dry and the locals have an equally dry sense of humour. On passing the huge prison when approaching Phoenix there is a sign advising motorists not to pick...

Close Shave, a very close shave. As mentioned we were heading south from San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico for a day trip. Motoring along with the flow of the traffic (fast) in a far left lane of 8 on a highway which was very busy, we spotted a sign proclaiming 'last car park before the border' and here is the rub, our hire agreement strictly prevents taking the vehicle out of the good old US of A!!! This produces a series of mad and highly dangerous lane chan...

After leaving Los Angeles and driving out into the country everything including the driving was easier. It was scary to look towards Los Angeles from many kilometres out and still be able to see the smog build up and start to billow out through the valleys. We stayed in several country parks on our way to San Diego. We mostly found the people to be friendly but very insular in their knowledge and opinions on world affairs. On arrival in San Diego we were in awe o...