Last known location: London, England
24
Jun

Route 50: Million Dollar Highway

We left Grand Junction on the Wednesday, which was probably for the best given our fondness for one particular bar and taking photos with policemen! We were all feeling a little bit delicate after the previous days birthday celebrations so an early stop was required! Delta, about 30 miles from Grand Junction, is a pretty little town known as the City of Murals thanks to the multiple walls covered in interesting murals. We popped into a diner in town to rehydrate – the boys in particular were feeling rough. Dan even had to resort to a bowl of soup to settle his stomach! After a quick walk up and down Main Street we got back in the car to continue on our way. Read the rest of this post by clicking here…

21
Jun

Grand Birthday at The Junction

We arrived in the large town of Grand Junction, just over the state line in Colorado, in the early evening and checked into our hotel. At reception we met a slightly shifty looking English bloke (aka my uncle, David, recently arrived by train from Denver) who was keen to hitch a lift with us around the Rockies for a week or so! We sampled some of the local wine and beer at the hotel’s ‘social hour’ (it seemed to cater to long term residents), then the three of us thought we should see what Grand Junction had to offer, and headed out to have a look around. Read the rest of this post by clicking here…

19
Jun

Route 50: Utah Saints

From Ely we continued east, passing a lot of pretty lush green open range. Before long we were in view of Wheeler Peak which, at 13,063 feet is the second-highest and most impressive mountain in the state. Soon we were approaching the remote Nevada/Utah border. We stayed on Route 50, avoiding the I-70 freeway, and were rewarded with some lovely scenery throughout the west of the state. As well as the dusty rolling hills there was a huge dry salt lake and a stream of MGs passing in the other direction – apparently competing in the Rally to Reno. They were beautiful old cars and must have been fairly reliable as they were nearing the end of their journey! A lot of the towns we passed through were really tiny, with a handful of houses and maybe one local store. We spent most of the day driving, stopping occasionally for gas and a leg stretch.

We had no idea where we were going to stay that evening, and we didn’t see a motel for hours until we reached the town of Springville, an hour or so south of Salt Lake City. Read the rest of this post by clicking here…

17
Jun

Route 50: The Loneliest Road

Upon leaving San Francisco we began our slightly epic journey across America from coast to coast. Our plan was to follow the old Route 50, through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia before finally arriving in Washington DC. It’s a journey of over 3,000 miles and we had about 3 weeks to do it! Although Route 50 was replaced by multi-lane interstates in most places during the 1970’s, the majority of the single lane road is still intact, so it shouldn’t be too hard to follow. Read the rest of this post by clicking here…

13
Jun

Garlic and the Golden Gate!

Our brief but very pleasant stop in San Francisco began with some more of my erratic city driving. We almost crossed the Golden Gate Bridge after some roadwork’s closed the exit we wanted to take off the Pacific Coast Highway. But thankfully we managed not to leave the city before we’d even arrived and stopped at the Golden Gate viewing area to check out the famous red landmark. It’s an impressive sight; a soaring art deco design opened in 1937 but still managing to fit in with oh-so contemporary San Fran. Read the rest of this post by clicking here…

11
Jun

Pacific Coast Highway

After our short stay in L.A. we were soon back on the road – once again navigating the maze of highways and the tempers of the impatient Angelino drivers. We were headed to the coast, and the beach town of Santa Monica.

Parking on the promenade we went for a quick wander along the wide, white-sand beach, lined with towering palm trees. It was mainly deserted but for a few joggers and dog-walkers! We then went to the pier, with it’s slightly quaint fun fair. Gem insisted that we went on a ride, so I selected the rollercoaster. It wasn’t the most terrifying looking contraption, but it was enough to make me slightly edgy, and Gem laughed her head off the whole way round – partly at the ride, and partly at my reaction! Read the rest of this post by clicking here…