We were really excited to be meeting up with fellow travellers from the UK.

Dolly’s Diary, aka Dan and Geraldine have been travelling with their Unimog in the USA and Mexico and as they were travelling east and we were travelling west,  Mark and Dan made a plan for us to meet. Dan found a great spot in the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument. This is a Bureau of Land Management site, which means free camping!

We had met Dan in the UK and he was a great source of information before we set off on our travels in the USA. We had only met Geraldine on a video call, but she is such an outgoing and effervescent person we felt like we already knew her 😀 Dolly is a Unimog and the habitation box had been made by Motorcraft, the company who built ours, so we have lots in common!

It was lovely to spend time with Dan and Geraldine. We swapped travel stories, life stories and tips for places to visit.

We were going to do a walk together, but we were on the edge of a sandstorm, so we just contented ourselves with a short drive. We hunkered down and just talked some more! It is worth mentioning Mark and Geraldine both come from Northern Ireland and were brought up within 40 miles of each other! They were able to reminisce about places and life, it was great! 

We think Shaun and Dolly look great together 🤩😍 It was interesting to see our homes together, and see the differences, as Shaun is a couple of years younger than Dolly. Geraldine and Dan were pleased to see some of the suggestions they had made to Motorcraft had been actioned. 

Sadly, Dan and Geraldine are selling Dolly, as their plans have had to change ☺️ However, they will continue to travel, and we will definitely find a way of meeting up again 😀

We all agreed that whilst our experience of Motorcraft had not been plain sailing, meeting up because of our Motorcraft connection made it all worthwhile. In fact, we have made other great friends through being part of the Motorcraft group, people we met at Vanlife in 2025.

Thanks Dan, Geraldine and Dolly for a great few days, it was sad to say bye, but we will be keeping in contact!

And now little poem that Geraldine produced for us –

Julie and Mark on the Road

Julie and Mark, a fine veggie pair,

Cruising through towns with wind in their hair.

From Canada’s peaks to the U.S. plains,

Their orange truck, Shaun, takes the reins.

Julie sips red wine with delight,

While Mark grabs a beer—“Ah, that’s just right!”

They hike up mountains, stroll down trails,

Dodging bears and wary of snails

Then one fine day, with engines roaring,

They met their friends—oh, never boring!

Dan and Geraldine, in Dolly so grand,

Two mighty trucks, ruling the land.

Through forests deep and deserts wide,

These four adventurers ride with pride.

With veggie feasts and drinks in hand,

They toast to life, so wild, unplanned!

So if you see an orange beast,

And travelers on a plant-based feast,

Give a wave, a honk, a cheer—

For Julie and Mark, adventure’s near!

After leaving Dolly, we drove on to our first National Park in New Mexico, White Sands. I was not expecting it to be so amazing, this white landscape in the middle of beige and green! It is the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Amazingly people used to live and farm here, until drought forced them out in the 1300’s. More recently the first atomic bomb was detonated in the dune fields just beyond the national park at the Trinity site! It is other worldly and mesmerising, I am so glad we got to see it. 

Our overnight stop that night was at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, an amazing place to stay, with a short walk to 1000’s of petroglyphs, which are about 600 years old! It was really peaceful, but we did miss Dan and Geraldine.

We have exciting times to come though, and we really will be testing out what Shaun was made for as we journey on the back roads of New Mexico…………..