Our vacation in Germany flew by. We spent a lot of time with family and friends and welcomed our fourth grandchild. That's why we were a little wistful when we boarded the plane back to Las Vegas after almost seven weeks. After a night in the hotel, we take MOMO out of storage and stay at a campsite to install the various spare parts we have brought with us. 

At the campsite, we also meet our friends Ritschi and Hermann from Bad Tölz, with whom we had already spent a few days in the Yukon in 2018. Together, we explore Las Vegas and take a look at the latest technological wonder, The Sphere. 57.6 million light-emitting diodes project video animations into the desert sky on the outer shell of the giant 2.3 billion dollar LED light sphere. Inside, an exhibition shows what is currently technically possible in terms of robots. Humanoid robots, whose facial expressions are even correct when they speak, answer questions and interact with visitors. This is where science fiction movies become reality. The auditorium itself is so steep that you are asked at the ticket desk if you have a head for heights if you want to sit in the upper tiers. The curved LED screen is 195 wide and 76 meters high and displays images in 16K. One hundred and sixty-seven thousand loudspeakers designed and manufactured in Germany provide the finest sound. We opted for the movie “Postcard from Earth” and are absolutely thrilled. An absolutely gigantic experience in 4D. A Tesla from Uber then took us back to the campground and the car drove more than 80% of the time completely autonomously, i.e. the driver didn't have his hands on the wheel. Eight cameras monitor the traffic flow and control the car almost better than any human. Eight cameras monitor the flow of traffic and control the car almost better than any human. A great end to our technology day, which impressively showed us what is already possible today.

Unfortunately, our Victron voltage converter gives up the ghost after the first espresso and we have to have a new one sent from Germany. We pass the time until then on a free pitch at Lake Mead, where we are regularly visited by a herd of donkeys looking for food. In between, we take a nice bike ride to Hoover Dam on a disused railroad line and treat ourselves to a Weißwurst breakfast with pretzels and wheat beer, which we got from the German bakery in Las Vegas. 

After three days of waiting, we hold the new part in our hands. To install it, we go back to the campground in Las Vegas for another night and take a short trip to Downtown Las Vegas to Freemont Street in the evening. Life is buzzing here and everything is loud, shrill and incredibly crazy. We can hardly stand it for more than an hour. Unfortunately, this time there was no Tesla for the return journey with Uber. Now we've done everything except for a few little things and can finally set off on our vacation. 

We drive along the old Route 66 via Kingman to Seligman, where we eat the world's best carrot cake. The old flair of the 60s and 70s can still be seen here and there, but overall everything has more or less fallen into disrepair. In Williams we meet up again with Hermann and Ritschi who surprise us with champagne, mussels and sushi. .

Together we continue to Mathers Campground at the Grand Canyon. It's really cold and the temperature drops to minus 5 degrees at night. Even though we've been here many times before, a stroll along the Canyon Rim is always a great experience. In the evening we watch the US election.

It has snowed tonight and at minus 6 degrees MOMO is very reluctant to start. We drive to Flagstaff to do some shopping on roads that are slippery in places. We've had enough of the cold, because we actually want to escape the European winter and not swap it for the American winter. So we step on the gas, because the sun should be shining in Sedona. The town is very touristy, but nice for a stroll and the temperatures slowly but steadily climb back up to a pleasant 20 degrees. 

Near Pine we visit the Montezuma Well National Monument, a small underground lake fed by 5.7 million liters of water a day. Not far away is Montezuma Castle, a building that was erected in a vertical rock face around 1100 and was inhabited by Indians until 1400. Access was only possible via ladders, which were then retracted in case of danger. 

We continue south, always heading towards warmer temperatures. We have lunch in a saloon in Strawberry. It's unbelievable what's going on here in the middle of nowhere. The bar is full of the same people who are always there and the barmaid is already busy pouring shots at one o'clock in the afternoon. We then head via Payson to Roosevelt Lake, where we find a nice spot to celebrate Karin's birthday. In the morning, in glorious sunny weather, Karin is surprised by Hermann & Ritschi with flowers, a sumptuous birthday breakfast, sparkling wine, delicious spread and other treats. The day then continues with coffee and cake in the afternoon and in the evening there is sushi followed by a DAL soup. The evening ends with a lovely campfire until it gets too cold and we retire to the living room. 

After two glorious days, we continue past Roosevelt Dam and then 40 miles along the picturesque Apache Trail, which has only been open again for two months. The partly unpaved road winds through the rugged mountains, high above the Apache River and lined with giant saguaro cacti. At the end, an old western saloon awaits us in Tortilla Flats. Not far from there we find a nice spot for the night and shortly after sunset we are visited by a rather large tarantula that is probably looking for food. 

Just a few kilometers further on is the Lost Dutchman Campground, where we can easily get two pitches in the morning. From there we take a nice walk to the nearby western town of Goldfield Ghosttown, stroll around and drink ice-cold beer with live music in a rustic saloon. In the evening, we enjoy another dinner together with lobster pie, followed by mussels in white wine sauce and homemade cake for dessert. Outdoor life is pretty damn exhausting. 

In the morning we say goodbye to Hermann and Ritschi. Thank you very much for the wonderful time with you, it was great fun. It takes us almost the whole day to do some shopping in the nearby city of Phoenix, a city of 4 million inhabitants, covering 140 kilometers, just in the city of course.  We set off the next day and enter California shortly after Parker. We occupy a simple campground on the Colorado River for the pleasing price of $2.50 a day. Yes, that actually still exists. There we also meet Daniela and Dennis, who have been traveling with their Mercedes for 2 years. Because it's so nice, we stay for a week, do a few small repairs and spend the rest of the time adjusting our deckchairs to the sun and occasionally taking a very refreshing dip in the river. 

After a good week of pure relaxation, we head south. The Imperial Dunes are on our way. Here you can race uninhibitedly over the dunes in pimped-up fun vehicles. However, the sand is too soft for our MOMO and we content ourselves with watching. 

In the next few days we will cross the border into Mexico to spend the winter on the Baja California. As always, you'll find out what we experience in the next blog. Until then, enjoy reading and looking at the pictures.