The setting was sparkling with it’s lush and colourful gardens, the adobe-style architecture of the historic lodge set as a background and a couple hundred well-appointed guests gathered under a cool blue sky.  The beautiful bride and our nephew-turned-groom looked absolutely magnificent and we were surrounded by close family.  The moment couldn’t have been more perfect. 

And in this grand way Julie and I started a three month trip where we hope to explore the American southwest and spend extended time with our American family.

We knew from the start that this would be a different type of trip.  Our long Follow the Sun journey was completed late last year and we knew nothing would ever top that as a travel experience. But there were many special places in North America we wanted to visit so Brad and Laurel’s wedding near San Diego in southern California was a perfect way to start our new journey.

But backpedaling for a moment, first we needed to recover Tramp who had been resting for five months while he basked in the glory of having drove across 70 countries.  We had sent him to Nimbl Vehicles in northern California where he had been getting a couple of things fixed.  It turns out that travelling around the world for 755 days takes a toll on your vehicle and camper (not to mention it’s two occupants!). 

So when I arrived to pick him up we were both buzzed to be reunited.  Then it was down to my California home town of Salinas where Tramp got some new tyres, a new windscreen and a bit of TLC that he had been missing since we left him last November.  Within days we were down in San Diego, reuniting with family who had travelled from near and far, and celebrated another beautiful family wedding.  Congratulations again to beautiful Laurel and Brad.

While everyone else headed home Julie and I headed into the handsome stone-scattered mountains which rise to the east of San Diego and after scratching around a bit found a quiet little place to camp in Cleveland National Forest.  It was great to be reunited with Tramp, get back on the road and start exploring again.

Ah, not so fast.  Tramp had been showing signs of serious problems in his steering and front-end suspension which we had to sort out before hitting the road.  We found a good specialist place in the San Diego suburbs that gave Tramp a full diagnosis and delivered the bad news – he was seriously injured and needed substantial repairs. 

Definitely not what we wanted to hear but we headed back up to the mountains for another night while parts were ordered and bank managers were warned.  The next morning we dropped Tramp off and spent the day wandering aimlessly around a typical huge American shopping centre with all the mega stores offering everything a cashed-up shopper could desire. 

By 4.30 in the afternoon Tramp had been released from his surgery and we headed to the hills, lighter in the wallet but confident our mighty beast was match fit for what we plan to throw at him over the next couple of months.  Thanks to Jesus, Danny and Jennifer who helped us out at short notice and made our overall experience as good as possible.

Our target for the next couple of days was the inland desert region of southern California, starting with the expansive Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the largest park in the state.  We left the San Diego suburbs and crossed over the mountains, following a series of beautiful winding roads that reminded us yet again that when you leave American suburban sprawl you are almost always met with beautiful wild rural scenery and a warm comforting feeling of the great outdoors.

We camped that night on the edge of the desert, tall rocky mountains all around us, a cool breeze keeping us company.  We had left the cities behind and we were in bliss. 

As we soaked in the desert mountain terrain we were conscious of a famous walking trail that passed just behind our camp.  The Pacific Crest Trail runs 2,650 miles (about 4,300 kilometres) from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, largely following the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain of California, Oregon and Washington.  And so it was that we saw intrepid walkers following the desert ridgeline above us, perhaps attempting to walk the entire trail from end to end, as many keen walkers do.  What a trek!

But we turned our attention to the desert and enjoyed that wonderful feeling of being in a place we are fascinated with and love to explore.  And as it happens, the American southwest absolutely specializes in desert which is why we chose to come here and why we were so keen to explore the region.