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“Are you guys here for the Trek meeting?” asked a distinctly English voice from the sofa behind us. “Hi, I’m Squash from Derby”. It was 7pm on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday night in a rather ordinary hotel in downtown Los Angeles. It was the evening before the start of our Wild West Trek and enticed by the promise of free beer from our Trek Leader, here we were in the hotel lobby for our “welcome meeting”, along with the rest of the group from England, Australia, Japan, Turkey, Lithuania, South Korea and New Zealand. “Experience
cowboys and canyons, coyotes and casinos”, the brochure had boasted. And
it was right – we saw the lot. But a Trek America tour is so much more
than beautiful scenery (though you get to see plenty of that too). Sure,
it was amazing to ride through the desert on horseback; and ok, you don’t
get to camp under the starry cosmos every night of the year but what made
this trip even more memorable for us was our group. Thirteen people from
all over the world, together, sharing everything for ten days. We became
so much more than travelling companions – we were ‘The Best Group There’s
Ever Been’ – and no; of course every Trek Leader doesn’t say that!
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van that was to be our traveling home for the next week and a half pulled
up at precisely 7am. Mick, our Trek Leader (real name Shane – name changing
is a Trek thing to do, you’ll soon get the hang of it) was keen on these
early starts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite so many dawns in a row
– but don’t worry, a desert sunrise is worth seeing! Backpacks stowed,
and we were soon on our way. And there we were, en-route to San Diego chatting
away to 11 strangers as though we’d known them all our lives. Perhaps the
sun had gone to our heads already, but this was one thing if nothing else
– fun!!
Camping in the desert is an interesting experience. When the sun goes down, so does the temperature. And it’s dark. Really dark. If you don’t remember where you put your toothbrush, forget it. It’ll stay lost until the morning. One other piece of advice – don’t bother trying to find that smooth piece of ground – come bedtime they’ll be a stone right where your head’s going to be, guaranteed. But lets think positive – food, campfires, singing and laughing. There is surely nothing better than eating a meal around the campfire. And when your Group Leader has cooked salmon for you, well, that’s even better! Don’t expect to be waited on all the time though – Trek is all about getting involved – whether it’s cooking dinner, shopping for supplies or packing up the van. It’s all good fun though. Even washing-up isn’t really a chore when you’ve got the mountains for a backdrop – and a cactus is an ideal place to hang the tea towel to dry. Cowboys. Our Trek brochure had promised us, and Day 3 delivered - cowboy camp. This was real Arizona, and these were real cowboys. There we were, galloping up the winding canyon trail like John Wayne (ok, more accurately at a slow, saddle-sore trot – mere details though). The silence of the desert was enchanting (silence that is if you ignored the several “Ye ha’s” from Sid (real name Matt from Oz) as he threw his imaginary lassoes somewhere at the front of the line). ‘City Slickers’ had nothing on us. After a hard day trekking, what better way to relax than with a beer and a steak? And if the steak is anything to go by, it’s true – everything really is bigger in America! It’s amazing how quickly you become accustomed to sleeping under canvas, but even so, our hotel at the Grand Canyon (The Grand Hotel, what else would it be called?) felt even more luxurious than it’s four stars suggested – Bed linen! Hot water! Electricity! How strange though, after 4 nights in the desert eating, sleeping, laughing together, sharing everything, to be paired off into rooms. Masonry between us instead of canvas, electric heaters instead of campfires. It was just too warm and anyway, you couldn’t hear the sonorous bellows of Beef, the Ozzie paratrooper from Brisbane. This wasn’t right at all. No surprise, then, that after maybe 10 minutes, phones rang, room parties were arranged, plans made for the next day. So few days together, but already so difficult to be apart What’s
all the fuss about the Grand Canyon? We’ve all seen pictures on the TV,
heard about it in Geography perhaps, maybe even got a postcard. Nothing
special? Overrated? Are you crazy? What a fantastic sight! It was the only
time on the entire Trek when the group was totally quiet (seriously – must
have been for at least 10 seconds too). Everyone was awe-struck as we approached
the rim. The amazing beauty and sheer size and scale of the Grand Canyon
shocked everybody. Amazing to think that a simple ditch causes so much
wonder. All right. Granted. It is a HUGE ditch as ditches go…
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| “It’s Vegas, baby”, shouted
Sid. No-one told him to shut up, although that must have been the 50th
time he’d said that night. It’s 1am and we’re in downtown Las Vegas. Nevada’s
gambling capital could not be more different from the wilds of the Mojave
Desert or the stark natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. Only here could
you gamble in the supermarket while waiting in line to pay for your groceries
or find a casino in McDonalds. “I’ll have a Big Mac with fries and ten
bucks on red”. Of course, the best time to see Vegas is at night….by limo.
So we did. Oh, the copious amounts of Champagne was a nice touch too. Watch
a show? Walk down ‘The Strip’? Play the slots? Try your hand at poker?
It’s up to you. Whatever you do, Las Vegas will certainly stick in your
mind as the best fun you’ve ever had in the tackiest place on the planet.
Eventually, it was back to LA
and time for goodbyes. It was sad to see everyone go their separate ways.
Contact details were exchanged, tears shed (even from the boys) and promises
made about visiting and keeping in touch. We will – and we have already.
Oh, and by the way, ‘Squash from Derby’ does exist…that’s one name that
isn’t a Trek thing…it's for real!
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Jas & Jam, March 2001