In July we took a road trip through some of the South Western states of America - Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California - in an RV. And what a trip it was. Much of the time, my prejudices were confirmed.
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| Our RV was frankly pathetic compared to others... |
At 25 feet, our RV from Cruise America seemed huge to us; power steering, air con, fridge freezer, shower, you name it, it had it. But at almost every place we parked up, ours was the smallest van...by a country mile. Most other RVs seemed to be the size of coaches, with multiple levels,flat screen TVs and rooms that expanded out to the side, pulled by huge pickups and possibly with a Harley Davidson strapped to the back.
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| Short....but quite broad! |
Food portions were similarly large. In most diners, the short stack of breakfast pancakes, was only small in comparison to the tall one.
My daughters like pancakes as much as the next person, but not once could they finish even three of those bad boys.
So far so obvious. But what I hadn't expected was how damn polite everyone was. Almost every person we met was attentive, helpful and considerate. The salesman at AT&T was helpful, polite and knowledgeable. The fact that I am still owed $60 by them, because my phone couldn't actually work with the SIM I bought, is more do with their truly terrible online customer services experience. But no matter.
The Rangers at all three Parks we stayed at, were uniformly (geddit) pleasant. Talking about what makes a good carnivore (eyes in front, kill and hunt - since you ask) or explaining what we should do in the event of a thunderstorm while on the trail down the Grand Canyon (squat down away from a tree and pray I think), all of them were a credit to Rangerdom (?).
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| Why can't we have these in the UK? |
And the parks themselves were just fantastic. The ability to book a specific pitch in advances just amazing (but book early - the window is open 6 months in advance) at Recreation.gov was just amazing. You could even look at a photo of your pitch. And when you arrive, the label is already in place.
And what pitches. At just $20 or $30, they are incredibly good value. OK, there's no hook up or even line-in water. But there is a sturdy, ready made fire pit. And as for the views...
I think that Arches was our favourite. Right in the middle of the Park (in Devils Playground), just a few spaces (pull-through luckily given my driving skills). Just park and scramble up the nearest block of sandstone to reveal jaw-dropping views. Particularly at sunset or sunrise. |
| You don't get this in the New Forest. |
As you might expect, cooking was quite a big part of the trip for me. And using the afore-mentioned fire pitsI applied myself to the task in hand. This being America ribs and burgers featured heavily. Bizarrely I couldn't seem to find ribs with any actual ribs in them anymore - they all seemed de-boned. But on the upside there were a number of rubs and sauces to try
out.
We also managed to squeeze in a few vegetables on the journey.Nothing too crazy - peppers, corn, that kind of stuff.
And mostly washed down with beer. Really delicious, properly crafted, beer. That was another surprise for me. My last recollection of US beer was the insipid and bland, mass produced stuff like Rolling Rock or Coors. But these days it seems that every town in every state, no matter how teeny has a micro-brewery, putting out small-run, highly-tasty brews. A particular fave was Fat Tire - not just the name, but also the taste. So often these brews are a little heavy on the hops - making them so floral that you'd think you'd been drinking the water from out of a vase.It's quite easy to take the mickey out of America (or do I mean Americans?). But I can honestly say that when it comes to camping - friendly people, great value campsites and tasty beer, come high on my list of must haves.
And they aren't always that easy to find in the UK.
Just a thought...
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