This was to be my home for the next few weeks.
The eagle-eyed will have noticed that both Jeeps wear identical wheels and tyres for interchangeability. Clever, huh?
Vince's Cherokee illustrating its new-found levels of axle articulation on the RTI ramp.
"Objects in mirror may be... oh, another Jeep."
35-inch tyres and up to 8-inch suspension lift make for an imposing Jeep from any angle.
"Sod this weekend!" After driving hundreds of miles, it was a sentiment we could easily agree with.
While servicing both Jeeps, Burger Chrysler fixed a number of issues for us, including two recalls the British dealers had missed.
Ominous skies left over from the previous day's tornado accompanied us for much of our journey through Kansas.
The Jeeps make a brief stop in Ellis, KS, boyhood home of Chrysler founder Walter P. Chrysler.
The Kansas/Colorado border was far more than a line on a map - it ushered in its own weather.
Colorado didn't disappoint with its colourful skies.
The Old West Trading Company in Royal Gorge, CO, offered a tantalising selection of goodies.
I toyed briefly with the idea of lugging one of these back with me as hand-luggage.
Achingly photogenic ramshackle buildings were all around St. Elmo.
Almost certainly the world's most pungent pit-toilet, St. Elmo.
Agnes Vaille Falls trailhead, now closed after five family members died in a tragic rock fall in 2013.
"What, haven't you seen a deer cross the road before?"
We'd unwittingly driven onto the front of a Christmas card in Colorado.
Pausing to assess the state of the Old Monarch Pass trail in Colorado.
Highway 50 out of Gunnison River was so littered with sinuous curves that it was almost worth the trip by itself.
Our cabin at Red Cliffs Lodge was surrounded by a Martian landscape.
Moab sits within a plateau, surrounded by red cliffs and snow-capped mountains.
The rocks really are that red; it feels more like a film set.
Looking down on to Shafer Trail.
Standing on a rocky outcrop looking out across the Colorado River.
Pucker Pass requires squeezing under a giant fallen rock.
A rent-a-Wrangler climbs up towards Top of the World.
Some ascents are far steeper than others.
As it turned out, The Top of the World trail is well named.
Vince descends on Fins 'n' Things.
Traversing the top of Mini Lion's Back on Fins 'n' Things.
The cold air can be felt rolling off the La Sal mountains.
Spruce Tree House is tucked into a natural alcove at Mesa Verde.
Views like this are everywhere in Colorado.
I was mesmerised by this 'rockberg' bobbing about in the asphalt on the San Juan Skyway.
Many historical events are remembered on the skyway, such as here on the site of the Lime Creek Burn of 1879.
One of several original era steam locomotives that power the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad.
The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a full day out on its own.
No-one could ever tire of driving these roads.
The beautiful yet endlessly distracting Dallas Divide.
Even from the road that leads into Bryce Canyon, the rock pinnacles are impressive.
Bryce Canyon's hoodoos can be up to 200ft high arranged in giant amphitheatres up to three miles wide.
Impossibly grizzled and twisted trees look down into the canyon below.
If ever a place was worthy of the name Inspiration Point, it was here at Bryce Canyon.
As geological features go, Capitol Reef is pretty big. Large enough to stop weather, in fact.
Capitol Gorge was a public highway until 1962.
Pioneer Register records the names of early travellers through Capitol Gorge.
The Gifford Homestead, and the family's home until 1969.
Ledges and drop-offs are the order of the day on Lockhart Basin.
Many of Lockhart Basin's climbs are littered with small rocks that spin under the wheels.
We weren't the only ones using the trail that day.
Newspaper Rock will probably still be here long after we are gone.
Many sights in Canyonlands can be seen from the road, such as, well... Roadside Ruin.
The incoming storm began its journey towards Canyonlands.
The San Juan Inn was surrounded by wooden decking that merged into the red rock cliffs behind.
The motel restaurant beckoned to us from our lofty balcony, until we could resist no longer.
Apparently, this is Arizona's most notorious gas station for drive-offs.
An ingenuous way to transport four tractor units - by piggyback.
Gazing down to the power station at the base of Hoover Dam.
Only in Las Vegas would the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower be found on the same street.
Vince hasn't forgiven me for having this view out of my Vegas hotel room.
The Laguna Reef Inn, our last (and best) overnight stay.
The Bakersfield storage depot seemed to go on forever.
After an elaborate ballet, both Jeeps were squeezed into the storage unit.
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The route

The first leg of our trip saw us drive more than 2,500 miles from America's east coast to Moab, Utah. From there, we tackled a series of off-road trails before returning to the tarmac for a further 2,000 miles to visit the nearby National Parks. Finally, the last leg of our journey called for 1,200 miles to Laguna Beach, our storage facility in Bakersfield, and our flight home from LAX.

The Wrangler

The Wrangler featured in this trip is a 2001 Jeep Wrangler 4.0L 60th Anniversary, a special edition created by Jeep to celebrate 60 years of the brand's heritage. Although it was already very capable and sported a 2.5-inch suspension lift, winch and snorkel, on arrival in the US it underwent a further round of upgrades that culminated in the spec shown below:

The Cherokee

Matching the Wrangler, the Cherokee is a 2001 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L 60th Anniversary. Although Vince also owns an off-road prepared 1993 Cherokee, for this trip he felt something a little newer was called for. The 2001 Cherokee was shipped to Clayton's workshop in completely factory standard form, and received the following modifications before our trip began:

Climate Neutral

We offset the CO2 emissions from our road-trip with Climate Care. Offsetting allowed us to reduce CO2 emissions elsewhere to balance or 'neutralise' the CO2 produced during our trip. Climate Care achieves this by investing in a range of programmes such as fitting energy-efficient lighting in Kazakhstan schools, providing safe and efficient cooking stoves in Honduras, and replanting rainforests in Uganda. We calculated our trip's total CO2 emissions - including the Jeeps' sea voyage, our transatlantic flights and our road journey - and asked Climate Care to offset this amount on our behalf.