This was not the first time I’ve been to the US. But it was just as exciting as the first time. In the past I’ve chosen the route by picking some of those world famous places and by using the McNally atlas. This time I had valuable assistance from the Internet which can give much more detailed information about specific points and how to get there. I even knew where the Riverside Park motel in Tucson is before I started my journey.

After arrival at Tucson and after solving some problems to finally get to Circulo Zagala I checked that the model had made the flight in one piece ( a somewhat unusual description for a take apart model which had been dismantled for transport! ) . It was. The next day I started my trip across Arizona and New Mexico. The first goal was Lake Powell where I wanted to take a boat tour. Alas the season seemed to start one week later, and they didn’t want to arrange a tour just for one person. So I tried to get some photos of the area from the marina and from Horseshoe Bend. The next destination was Antelope Canyon. This is a world famous place and a photographer’s delight. In my eyes - just seeing this natural wonder was worth the whole America trip.

I’ve seen Monument Valley before, but I’ve lost the pictures. So I decided to visit this place again. In my opinion: he who hasn’t seen it hasn’t seen much in his live. The nest visit went to the Aztek ruins near Farmington; really an impressive sight.

East of Farmington I took the wrong road and happened to get into a snow storm at over 7000 feet, but I survived. Getting to Santa Fe on Sunday morning was a real surprise - no traffic, no people, most shops closed, a perfect situation to take lots of photos of the beautiful town center - I just like these Adobe style buildings. I skipped Albuquerque because I’m not a fan of huge cities and went right down to Silver City. A nice little town with a romantic Old Town, and a perfect stay to visit the ghost town Mogollon ( I just love ghost towns !) and the Gila Wilderness and Gila Cliff Dwellings.

The last part of the journey included a visit to the spectacular Chiricahua National Monument ( South of I 10 near Willcox ). To miss this spot would be sheer ignorance. After all these breathtaking impressions only the event at Columbus Park could be a worthy crowning to my Arizona adventure. And of course it was !!

I wholeheartedly want to thank those people who have helped me to overcome the problem of registration and hotel booking; the HUGE problem to transport the model box, especially engine and tank ( Thanks, Keith ), and the most friendly welcome I received from everybody. It was like coming home after a long absence.

This was the ninth time I’ve been to the US. It was the 5th time in the Arizona-Colorado-New Mexico area. And it was the 3rd time for the Vintage Stunt Championships. I’m very grateful for having had the opportunity to see all these wonderful places and all those great experiences which wouldn’t have been possible without helpful friends. I think that at my age it's time now to turn my attention more to my mother-country. If this d.....d computer works as it should ( at present I'm having massive problems ), clicking on the respective event button should show the VSC results, and hitting the little button cactus should open an album with some photos shot at Columbus Park.