As we trundled s-l-o-w-l-y along the gravel road out of Sedona, leaving the Secret Mountain Wilderness behind, the sky was pregnant with precipitation. This had been forecast, the only real question was whether it would rain or snow. It held off, even brightened up as we headed north towards the Grand Canyon, but we expected no escape. Our priority was to avoid any dangerous driving conditions and get settled in early.

Along the south rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, there’s an unassuming road leading away from the canyon itself. As it turns into a forest service road, it exits the official national park boundary (with no bells, whistles or fee station). And there we have it, just a mile or so from the canyon itself, we were in the Kaibob National Forest and legally able to boondock.

After the crowds at the canyon edge, it was delightfully peaceful in the forest, a void of sound made even more intense by the tiny flakes of snow starting to float gently down around us, oh so gradually blanketing our surroundings in a white hug.

One of those afternoons perfect for slowly braising a stovetop casserole, the BaseCamp filling with delicious aromas as it bubbled merrily on the stove. Meanwhile, a break in the snowfall gave us an opportunity for a quick walk.

After a cozy night in the Basecamp and a slight delay while Darren defrosted the truck windscreen (quite a feat without de-icer!), we made our way back to the main road, destination Grand Viewpoint.

Our first thought was that the global pandemic had turned into a zombie apocalypse. After the mayhem we’d driven past at the rim the day before, this morning was a stark contrast. There was no need to maneuver into a tight parking spot or elbow our way through the crowds. The viewpoint was virtually deserted.

Turns out the main road into the park hadn’t yet been ploughed and was closed off to tourists. All tourists except those who were locked in, that is. Um, that’d be us. 😳

We shared our priceless view of the Grand Canyon at sunrise with just a few other hardened campers (of which one couple had slept in their car – how on earth they hadn’t died in the night, I have no idea).

The contours of the higher-elevation rock accentuated by the freshly fallen snow gave a real sense of perspective, with the more distant canyon layers bathed in the early morning light.

Truly, this was one to remember. The unique confluence of being in the right place at the right time.

With barely a few days of our trip left, we did a quick scouting mission to Zion National Park. Nice overnight camping spot but the park was way too busy for our liking. Much better was the hidden gem of a State Park, Snow Canyon. No snow there but never mind, just been there done that at the Grand Canyon.

Last stop for New Years Eve was boondocking near Lake Mead in Nevada. In an alternate non-global pandemic reality, we could have partied the night away in Vegas. But in 2020, we’ll pass thanks very much.

Which brings our FVCK COVID 2020 Part 2 Roadtrip to an end. Thanks for taking part virtually with us, we had a blast! We may be a few pounds heavier (I blame the donuts) but with 17 states and 8,000 miles under our belt, I can confidently say my US geography is getting better.

Talking of US geography, I happen to know that Hawaii is approximately 2,500 miles away. Just food for thought…..

It’s a long long way… not just to Tipperary but also from Austin Texas to Sedona Arizona. Just a smidgeon short of 1,200 miles actually, so one of those weekends with dawn to dusk driving.

Our route took us due west through Texas, past El Paso (one of the confirmed worst virus-infected places in the whole US – do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect COVID), skirted through New Mexico (which had strict quarantining rules, no stopping there either) and up through Arizona. We did call in at a Walmart en route though to jazz up our home on wheels with some festive lighting and decorations. This was our tree:

It is quite beyond me that somehow when someone was making areas of natural beauty into protected National Parks, they accidentally forgot to include Sedona on the list. Maybe they left it too late as someone else had already plonked a town into the midst of all that red rock loveliness. For our purposes, the town of Sedona worked out well to spend a few days in the run up to Christmas, camping, working and walking.

Bring on Christmas Eve and a big shout out to both our employers who generously gave us the day off, yay. It was time to Get Into Christmas… 🎶

The ceremonious wrapping of presents didn’t take long. There were but two, and with no wrapping paper to hand, I found aluminium* foil did the trick just perfectly.

* Sorry – I accept most US autocorrects. I’m over the zees and zeds and I forgive the loss of u’s where they should be included. But aluminium will forever be aluminium and I will not defer to the monstrosity that is aluminum.

But for Christmas itself, it was time to move on from Sedona town to Sedona middle of nowhereness. No kidding, it’s actually called Secret Mountain Wilderness. Slow going along washboard gravel roads with the Basecamp but if you want to get away from it all, no pain, no gain.

We bagged a remote plateau boondocking spot with a red rock backdrop that belonged on a film set. For us, Christmas perfection. A picture speaks a thousand words, a thousand pictures even more 😆. Peace & solitude, vistas & vortexes, champers & corn hole…

Of course, it wasn’t long before Darren got the drone out.

In case you’re wondering about those aluminium foil-wrapped Christmas presents…

In true Boxing Day style, you gotta work off those Christmas calories right? Off we went up Doe Mountain, for some of the best views around.

Time to up the ante with an off-road experience in a monster truck. We hired THIS:

Christmas Day is probably the only day in the year the pink jeep vortex tours don’t descend on our camping spot at sunset for their “spiritual awakening”. All other days, you can expect this:

Fortunately, they didn’t hang around for long and once again we had the place to ourselves to enjoy the last dying rays of the sun as it transformed our surroundings into a glowing red rock arena.

National Park or no National Park (WTF, it’s not even a National Monument?), Sedona is right up there for me with other NP hard hitters, winning the most underrated destination award. That said, next up, one of the biggest hitters of them all: Grand Canyon National Park.

After literally not seeing a soul from our secluded spot on the Texas Gulf Coast, we were thrust back into the global pandemic reality of Austin, Texas. In normal times, Austin is a thriving metropolis of contemporary hipster living, one of the fastest growing cities in the whole of the US, with breweries, restaurants and food trucks pushing the boundaries of uber-cool.

In 2020, it is not that. True, Elon Musk just announced he’s done with California and is moving his Tesla electric car business to Austin Texas. So up and coming, yes. It WILL be back up there and we WILL be back to enjoy it. But right now it’s December 2020, and with a new more contagious strain of the virus emerging in the UK and the US situation not getting any better, the main reason for us being in a city was to work.

The Impact Hub co-working space in Austin was busier than any other we’d been in, although still spacious, airy and actually not that busy at all compared to a normal office.

With Texas being one of the more liberal states, indoor bar and restaurant dining was generally still open, albeit with reduced capacity, masks, social distancing, etc. We tried to make the most of the hip Austin scene by going to quiet/outdoor venues or getting takeaway. Which makes it impossible to experience and comment on the vibe and atmosphere, but there was some pretty awesome food and drink…

Only made it to one brewery, Central District Brewing, which had an interesting selection. And just steps away from our very centrally located city campsite was Austin EastCiders. Did what it says on the tin but not just that. In addition to cider, it also did damn good pizza, bonus.

And you can’t do Texas without experiencing the Texas bbq. Melt in the mouth meat, fall off the bone ribs, and smoked jalapeño cheddar sausages. At Louie’s Craft BBQ truck in nearby Buda, pulled pork and juicy brisket made for delicious tacos.

Dare I say it and for sure our waistlines are acknowledging this, but yet another donut shop. This one run out of a converted airstream trailer, right outside the Impact Hub, called Fat Bastard Donuts. Oops sorry, my subconscious speaking, actually it was Big Fat Donuts.

I’m not sure I ever truly appreciated the American partnering of chicken and waffles. And so who would’ve ever thought chicken and donuts would be a thing. Therein lies the realization that diets are for tomorrow and this crazy abomination, served with honey butter (like it needs any excuse for extra unctuousness) was somehow to die for.

For sure we didn’t come close to walking off all those calories. But Austin has a great network of paths centered around the riverfront that served us well for our early morning walks, getting out and about to see the city.

We came across Barton Springs “pool” one morning, which did not make for an impressive photo. It was shortly after sunrise. One of those sunrises with no sun – chilly and windy. I just missed snapping a swimmer in the water and there were other brave souls who had recently emerged. It was maybe 5 degrees C, tops. Rather them than me. Maybe they were trying to make up for the donuts too.

A quick google search revealed this is how it looks in the summer. A non-COVID summer I presume.

I was mightily impressed to see three climbers scaling the sheer wall of one of the skyscraper buildings. I thought it must be one of those social media stunts, “Hey, look at me! So what did you achieve before breakfast this morning…?” and immediately felt woefully inadequate.

Moral of the story: don’t judge yourself against the achievement of others. Turns out perception is not always reality.