1993
NOVEMBER 17, we flew from Manchester to Los Angeles, California.
NOVEMBER 19, bought a 1985 26-foot Winnebago motorhome.
NOVEMBER 22, established a first base-camp at San Dimas on the northern edge of Greater Los Angeles.
DECEMBER 3, climbed into the high deserts at Twenty-nine Palms.
DECEMBER 5, our first 'primitive' site, at JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL MONUMENT exploring foot trails and viewing-roads.
DECEMBER 9, run south between the Salton Sea (altitude minus 70 feet, an environmental disaster) and Chocolate Mountains.
DECEMBER 10, decided on a base for Christmas and the New Year at Winterhaven in the extreme SE of California, across the Colorado River bridge from Yuma, Arizona. We later enjoyed day-trips to Imperial Dam and briefly into Mexico on foot.
1994
JANUARY 14, Imperial Dam Park, where Colorado water is diverted to Los Angeles.
JANUARY 16, nearby Squaw Lake reservoir and recreation area. (The 17th of January Los Angeles earthquake did not affect our area.)
JANUARY 18, a longer trip east, to Gila Bend, Arizona.
JANUARY 19, ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT on the Mexican border.
JANUARY 22, 'wild' camping in the open edge of the Why desert.
JANUARY 24, Tucson reached in a slight dust-storm.
JANUARY 29, SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT and the (so-called) Colossal Cave.
JANUARY 30, in Catalina State Park, north of Tucson.
JANUARY 31, Biosphere 2 to see the mega-experiment there, and Mammoth village.
FEBRUARY 1, Apache Junction on east edge of Phoenix : skirting round Phoenix.
FEBRUARY 2 to 23, three weeks at Wickenburg, enjoying their Gold Rush Days (and waiting for post!).
FEBRUARY 24, Hope, a camp site and gas station in the middle of the desert.
FEBRUARY 26, back to the Colorado River at Earp near Parker.
MARCH 4, Big River, a new town across the river in California.
MARCH 8, north to Five Mile Landing on the eastern, Arizona, bank of Lake Havasu.
MARCH 9, back to California at Needles.
MARCH 10, Barstow & Calico (2,000 miles so far).
MARCH 11, Boron, on the unfashionable edge of the Edwards Air Force BASE.
MARCH 13, via Mojave and Tehachapi Pass, seeing our first natural grass and real trees, to Terra Bella near Porterville.
MARCH 14 to 27, another postal base, in the heart of citrus country at Lemon Cove.
MARCH 28 between snow-banks to the hugely magnificent trees of SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK (the adjoining Kings Canyon National Park was still snowed-in).
MARCH 30, Lemon Cove again.
APRIL 4, northwards on minor roads to Millerton Lake State Park.
APRIL 6, Bass Lake.
APRIL 7, Oakhurst.
APRIL 12, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK of which only the breathtaking central valley was accessible so early in the year.
APRIL 15, diversion north to find an open way over the Sierra Nevada via Groveland.
APRIL 16, Pinecrest at 5,600 feet.
APRIL 17, via the Sonora Pass 9,526 feet opened two days earlier, to Mammoth Lakes 7,550 feet.
APRIL 18, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL MONUMENT below sea level, 103°F (39.4°C) at 5pm.
APRIL 19, along and then out of the Valley to Pahrump, Nevada.
APRIL 22 to 24, Las Vegas weekend, to get our permits extended from 6 to 12 months at the international airport.
APRIL 25, Boulder City.
APRIL 28, Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Hoover Dam.
MAY 4, Kingman, Arizona.
MAY 5, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK at its amazing South Rim.
MAY 7 to 13, Page and wild camping at Lake Powell with one-night Monument Valley trip (cumulative 4,000 miles, and needed to use the windscreen wipers for the first time!).
MAY 14, Lees Ferry, early crossing point of the Colorado and its canyons.
MAY 15, climbing back up to forested Jacob Lake.
MAY 16, a there-and-back trip to the GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK's North Rim, and then to Fredonia.
MAY 18, a big-vehicle surcharge to get through the tunnels at the east entrance to ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah, but worth every cent.
MAY 20, CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT exposing the snowy edge of the Colorado Plateau, and down into Panguitch.
MAY 21, BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK 28°F (-2°C) to 64°F (18°C), up to 8,820 feet, the most colourful of the geological wonders.
MAY 22 to 30, Chuck Wagon Motel, Torrey with May 26 CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK day trip.
MAY 31 to JUNE 7, Moab with ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, and CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK and Dead Horse Point State Park day trips.
JUNE 8, Fruita, Colorado, with COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT day trip.
JUNE 10, Eagle.
JUNE 11, via Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel at 11,158 feet to cross the Rockies and the continental divide to Empire.
JUNE 12, Grand Lake.
JUNE 15, via ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK Trail Ridge Road up to 12,183 feet to Estes Park.
JUNE 16, via Laramie, Wyoming, and the Snowy Range to Saratoga.
JUNE 18, Rawlins.
JUNE 22, Lander (6,000 miles to date).
JUNE 23, Moran Junction.
JUNE 24, GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK magnificent scenery.
JUNE 25, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: three amazing days of wildlife and geothermals.
JUNE 27, Gallatin Gateway, Montana.
JUNE 28 to JULY 6, Bozeman.
JULY 7, Townsend on the Missouri headwaters.
JULY 8, Choteau.
JULY 9, St Mary with GLACIER NATIONAL PARK day trip.
JULY 11, WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, Alberta, CANADA.
JULY 12, Wasa, British Columbia.
JULY 13, into KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK and BANFF NATIONAL PARK, Alberta.
JULY 14, via the Icefields Parkway to JASPER NATIONAL PARK.
JULY 15, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, British Columbia, and Golden.
JULY 16, GLACIER (Canadian) and MOUNT REVELSTOKE NATIONAL PARKS and Sicamous.
JULY 17, Oliver (8,000 miles).
JULY 18, crossed to Washington state, U.S.A., then NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK to Rockport.
JULY 20, round east Seattle to Kanaskat-Palmer Recreation Area.
JULY 21, MOUNT RAINIER [ray-near'] NATIONAL PARK.
JULY 22, Shelton.
JULY 23, Port Angeles and the mountains of the OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK lowland temperate rain forest, and Hoh River.
JULY 25, Cosmopolis.
JULY 28, down the coastal road to Tilamook, Oregon.
JULY 29, Reedsport.
JULY 30, spectacular CRATER LAKE in its NATIONAL PARK.
AUGUST 1, Grants Pass.
AUGUST 2 to 8, a week at coastal Crescent City, California with REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS day trip.
A final four-day run south to AUGUST 9, Myers Flat; AUGUST 10, Vacaville; AUGUST 11, Coalinga; and AUGUST 12, return to Los Angeles at San Dimas.
AUGUST 26, sold our motorhome.
SEPTEMBER 1, delivered it after 10,572 miles.
SEPTEMBER 5/6, flew back, Los Angeles to London.
NOVEMBER 17, we flew from Manchester to Los Angeles, California.
NOVEMBER 19, bought a 1985 26-foot Winnebago motorhome.
NOVEMBER 22, established a first base-camp at San Dimas on the northern edge of Greater Los Angeles.
DECEMBER 3, climbed into the high deserts at Twenty-nine Palms.
DECEMBER 5, our first 'primitive' site, at JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL MONUMENT exploring foot trails and viewing-roads.
DECEMBER 9, run south between the Salton Sea (altitude minus 70 feet, an environmental disaster) and Chocolate Mountains.
DECEMBER 10, decided on a base for Christmas and the New Year at Winterhaven in the extreme SE of California, across the Colorado River bridge from Yuma, Arizona. We later enjoyed day-trips to Imperial Dam and briefly into Mexico on foot.
1994
JANUARY 14, Imperial Dam Park, where Colorado water is diverted to Los Angeles.
JANUARY 16, nearby Squaw Lake reservoir and recreation area. (The 17th of January Los Angeles earthquake did not affect our area.)
JANUARY 18, a longer trip east, to Gila Bend, Arizona.
JANUARY 19, ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT on the Mexican border.
JANUARY 22, 'wild' camping in the open edge of the Why desert.
JANUARY 24, Tucson reached in a slight dust-storm.
JANUARY 29, SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT and the (so-called) Colossal Cave.
JANUARY 30, in Catalina State Park, north of Tucson.
JANUARY 31, Biosphere 2 to see the mega-experiment there, and Mammoth village.
FEBRUARY 1, Apache Junction on east edge of Phoenix : skirting round Phoenix.
FEBRUARY 2 to 23, three weeks at Wickenburg, enjoying their Gold Rush Days (and waiting for post!).
FEBRUARY 24, Hope, a camp site and gas station in the middle of the desert.
FEBRUARY 26, back to the Colorado River at Earp near Parker.
MARCH 4, Big River, a new town across the river in California.
MARCH 8, north to Five Mile Landing on the eastern, Arizona, bank of Lake Havasu.
MARCH 9, back to California at Needles.
MARCH 10, Barstow & Calico (2,000 miles so far).
MARCH 11, Boron, on the unfashionable edge of the Edwards Air Force BASE.
MARCH 13, via Mojave and Tehachapi Pass, seeing our first natural grass and real trees, to Terra Bella near Porterville.
MARCH 14 to 27, another postal base, in the heart of citrus country at Lemon Cove.
MARCH 28 between snow-banks to the hugely magnificent trees of SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK (the adjoining Kings Canyon National Park was still snowed-in).
MARCH 30, Lemon Cove again.
APRIL 4, northwards on minor roads to Millerton Lake State Park.
APRIL 6, Bass Lake.
APRIL 7, Oakhurst.
APRIL 12, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK of which only the breathtaking central valley was accessible so early in the year.
APRIL 15, diversion north to find an open way over the Sierra Nevada via Groveland.
APRIL 16, Pinecrest at 5,600 feet.
APRIL 17, via the Sonora Pass 9,526 feet opened two days earlier, to Mammoth Lakes 7,550 feet.
APRIL 18, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL MONUMENT below sea level, 103°F (39.4°C) at 5pm.
APRIL 19, along and then out of the Valley to Pahrump, Nevada.
APRIL 22 to 24, Las Vegas weekend, to get our permits extended from 6 to 12 months at the international airport.
APRIL 25, Boulder City.
APRIL 28, Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Hoover Dam.
MAY 4, Kingman, Arizona.
MAY 5, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK at its amazing South Rim.
MAY 7 to 13, Page and wild camping at Lake Powell with one-night Monument Valley trip (cumulative 4,000 miles, and needed to use the windscreen wipers for the first time!).
MAY 14, Lees Ferry, early crossing point of the Colorado and its canyons.
MAY 15, climbing back up to forested Jacob Lake.
MAY 16, a there-and-back trip to the GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK's North Rim, and then to Fredonia.
MAY 18, a big-vehicle surcharge to get through the tunnels at the east entrance to ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah, but worth every cent.
MAY 20, CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT exposing the snowy edge of the Colorado Plateau, and down into Panguitch.
MAY 21, BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK 28°F (-2°C) to 64°F (18°C), up to 8,820 feet, the most colourful of the geological wonders.
MAY 22 to 30, Chuck Wagon Motel, Torrey with May 26 CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK day trip.
MAY 31 to JUNE 7, Moab with ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, and CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK and Dead Horse Point State Park day trips.
JUNE 8, Fruita, Colorado, with COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT day trip.
JUNE 10, Eagle.
JUNE 11, via Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel at 11,158 feet to cross the Rockies and the continental divide to Empire.
JUNE 12, Grand Lake.
JUNE 15, via ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK Trail Ridge Road up to 12,183 feet to Estes Park.
JUNE 16, via Laramie, Wyoming, and the Snowy Range to Saratoga.
JUNE 18, Rawlins.
JUNE 22, Lander (6,000 miles to date).
JUNE 23, Moran Junction.
JUNE 24, GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK magnificent scenery.
JUNE 25, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: three amazing days of wildlife and geothermals.
JUNE 27, Gallatin Gateway, Montana.
JUNE 28 to JULY 6, Bozeman.
JULY 7, Townsend on the Missouri headwaters.
JULY 8, Choteau.
JULY 9, St Mary with GLACIER NATIONAL PARK day trip.
JULY 11, WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, Alberta, CANADA.
JULY 12, Wasa, British Columbia.
JULY 13, into KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK and BANFF NATIONAL PARK, Alberta.
JULY 14, via the Icefields Parkway to JASPER NATIONAL PARK.
JULY 15, YOHO NATIONAL PARK, British Columbia, and Golden.
JULY 16, GLACIER (Canadian) and MOUNT REVELSTOKE NATIONAL PARKS and Sicamous.
JULY 17, Oliver (8,000 miles).
JULY 18, crossed to Washington state, U.S.A., then NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK to Rockport.
JULY 20, round east Seattle to Kanaskat-Palmer Recreation Area.
JULY 21, MOUNT RAINIER [ray-near'] NATIONAL PARK.
JULY 22, Shelton.
JULY 23, Port Angeles and the mountains of the OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK lowland temperate rain forest, and Hoh River.
JULY 25, Cosmopolis.
JULY 28, down the coastal road to Tilamook, Oregon.
JULY 29, Reedsport.
JULY 30, spectacular CRATER LAKE in its NATIONAL PARK.
AUGUST 1, Grants Pass.
AUGUST 2 to 8, a week at coastal Crescent City, California with REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS day trip.
A final four-day run south to AUGUST 9, Myers Flat; AUGUST 10, Vacaville; AUGUST 11, Coalinga; and AUGUST 12, return to Los Angeles at San Dimas.
AUGUST 26, sold our motorhome.
SEPTEMBER 1, delivered it after 10,572 miles.
SEPTEMBER 5/6, flew back, Los Angeles to London.
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