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Published: December 25th 2006
Monument Valley
Camping in the snow on Indian Res.
Auckland, New Zealand We fly out today for the start of our big adventure, my daugter Fran is home with her step sis Kate (heres hoping the house is still standing) my mate Jane is on red alert for any unauthorised partying... Meanwhile my old mate Helen will transfer from Paula's house sitting to Hel's house sitting around then too.
Well this time next week I may be in LA... or somewhere around there.
From: fran the man
To: Hel & Scott
Subject: you’re gone
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000
Good to see that you got on your plane ok .Kate and I have been watching the news for any reports of plane crashes-just in case . I’m listening to tom Jones and missing you.
Yes the house is still standing .
Love you Fran 26 Jan 2000
Ventura, California We are in Ventura, just outside of LA, sleeping in the back of a truck on the edge of the pacific ocean. How the hell did we get here. Well I guess it started because were just sick of work and Scott’s itchy feet finally got the
Cement Pond
Scott checking out one of the pools at Hearst Castle better of him so we chucked in our jobs sent the dog off to the farm to be looked after, found a mate who didn’t mind looking after my 16 year old daughter for 6 months or so and then hit the road… Home the house is still standing when I come home, and that the daughter and dog still recognise me.
The plan (such as it is) is to pick up a vehicle of some sort in LA and then drive through Central America to Panama before catching a flight to Cuba. We have done some bookings, flight out and flight to Cuba (largely so we can pass through US border control) but the trip is pretty much free form, no bookings, no safety net, no problems.
My role in this trip appears to be navigation, Scott having commandeered the wheel (despite having left his driving licence at home) no problem I am sure directing Scott around the LA freeway systems will be good practice for the wilds of Guatemala.
Our vehicle of choice for the trip is an old Isuzu Trooper (86, dark blue) and we have spent some time trying to get it smog
OK Coral
Oaky, enough cowboys and indians... certified before hitting the road. All going well we will follow the Pacific Coast Highway up to San Simmon and Hearst Castle before heading inland for a diversion of following old cowboy trails (guess whose idea that is).
It's funny looking at the calm grey Pacific and thinking of Fran all the way on the other side of that great ocean... strange camping with Scott to. I'm associate road trips and tents more with my little Franny! We tend to stay in State Parks with our trusty blue Mac Pac tent, it's winter here so not many campers. Although we do look a little insignificant next to the grunty RVs the locals use.
The other day we visited the Getty Centre and sent lots of post cards. Fran would have loved the Getty, a great collection of ancient Roman and Greek stuff.
Kate would have loved the stalls along Venice Beach, where Scott bought the worst taste sun hat you will have seen - and I had to walk along this trendy beach holding his hand while he wore the bloody thing!
Paula would have loved the cactus garden at the Getty, they had flax and
White Sands
Missles and Rowellian things for Franny hebes on show in the main gardens so we weren't the only kiwis there that day.
01 Feb 2000
Las Vegas, Arizona We are currently in Las Vegas, having driven over 1000miles in southern California! Car is going well and we are both fine. Drove through 76 miles of almonds on our trip across country, no shelter belts, just row upon row of bare almonds trees as far as the eye can see!
Got some shots of Union Pacific trains coming across the Mojave desert, including one where the train was doing a loop around itself in order to make it up a steep grade, and another of over 80 box cars long!!!
Scott thinks I’m mad, he never realized he'd taken up with a train spotter. Heard a few coyotes, but have only seen one (run over on a motorway exit!). Heading to the Hoover Dam next. Followed by the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley (damn those cowboy films).
08 Feb 2000
Holbrook, Arizona We are in Holbrook Arizona heading for Santa Fe and New Mexico on the Trail of Billy the Kid. Then we'll cross over into Mex proper probably El Paso in a week.
I had a lonely sounding email from Fran the other day, she is apparently missing my voice and maternal advice, she says her aunt Paula does her best to give mothering lectures but she’s nowhere near as good as the real thing. She wants me to capture her a chinchilla when we are in southern America so she can have the pelt for gloves /sofa cover.
Just as well that my good mate Jane has been around baking for her, ah yes the key to my daughter’s heart!
13 Feb 2000
Santa Fe, New Mexico We are in Santa Fe, bloody cold, especially tenting just down from the Ski fields!!! But a nice place, have pigged out at the local hippy cafes and spent most of yesterday in the Sauna and Hot tub at the local Spa.... Ahhh this is the life!!!
Scott has been a bit traumatised by the locals in the sauna who went into great detail about juicing grass, poor Thames boy he though you just smoked it!
15 Feb 2000
Greetings earthlings from Roswell New Mexico Spent last night camping by the Bottomless Lakes just out of Roswell, they are really strange big round holes cut into the sides of a red rock ridge, full of water. The locals fish there for rainbow trout.
We stopped by Fort Sumner (after driving down the old Santa Fe Trail) on the way across New Mex to visit Billy the kids grave, next stop on this cowboy trail will be Lincoln the site of the Lincoln County wars where Billy made his name. Then on down to El Paso Texas, Gee hah and the site of another gunslingers grave (or two). The across the border into Mexico on the Trail of Panco Villa. We make back track a couple of times into the US as Scott wants to go to Tombstone which is back on the Arizona / Mexico Border.
Our little trouper is going great... if you need to track us its is a Dark Blue Isuzu four door 1986 Trooper, California plates 1XUR176 (I think) anyway it's licensed in my name and you can get them to out an interstate search if you need to - Just preparing for the next crisis!!!
We've heard poor old Kate has crashed her car and lost her liberty - poor kid, just as long as she is well - See Franny we mothers do learn every thing eventually!!!!!
Good to hear that the house is settling down Helen - spread yourselves out and make yourselves at home, you are going to be there a while and no point feeling like campers! Speaking of campers Scott and I have got quiet experienced at putting up and down our little Mac Pac tent, and those extra comfy 2/3 sleeping mats are getting well used! I have a big bruise on my knee from slipping on the ice at the Santa Fe camp... tried a little free style ice skating in Paula's Lady Utah Boots - only semi successful! At least we should have left the snow behind us now as we are farley well south. May camp tonight at Smokey the Bears birthplace - but as it's up in the mountains and that means more snow I may leave it!!!
16 Feb 2000
Las Cruies, New Mexico Spent a good chunk today in a seedy Las Cruies Laundromat (three quarters for a wash and 2 for the dryer). I was there with various truckers, pimps and prostitutes who were busy washing their intimate apparel and moaning about the wringers catching on lace and under wires. Bizzzarrre!!!
We will mooch around here and visit the old town today and then head south to El Paso which is on the Mexican border. Will probably spend a week too-ing and fro-ing across the border while we check out internet access and ATMs etc. I don't want to suddenly disappear of the map!
On our way over we visited the Space Centre in Alamogordo and White Sands Missile Range - had to get a special visiting aliens pass to get onto the missile range. Rockets everywhere! Photos will follow.
We also got buzzed by a Stealth Fighter flying out of Holloman AFB, but I was too slow in getting the camera out to get a shot for Fran!!!
Visited Pat Garrett’s grave, took some finding as it was in an old dilapidated cemetery, and will visit some other gun slingers grave in El Paso, forgot his name, the only story I remember was when he got his guns caught up in his braces!!!
May backtrack to tombstone... may not...
Still not rattlers, bears or scorpions. But in the Lincoln Forest we had timber wolves howling outside the tent.... I much prefer the chorus of coyotes.
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