Photos/Text: David Bulmer & John Parkinson

Even though the Nationals started with Glen Helen on the 23^rd, the Vurb road-trip only began in earnest on the Sunday evening after round two at Hangtown. While motocross is obviously our main goal this summer, we are always on the lookout to do cool stuff along the way to keep things interesting.

First up was Yosemite National Park, a place the entire crew was looking forward to checking out. With all the video and photography equipment we were carrying, we figured that a place known for such spectacular beauty would be a good place to visit - we weren't wrong. It's an awesome area and well worth driving through if you get the opportunity.

The same can't be said of the next place, Death Valley. It's hot, it's barren and there really isn't anything worth checking out, other than how high the thermometer will go. But at least we can all say we've done it now, right?

After such a busy day, all any of us wanted to do was chill out, unfortunately I'd come up with this brilliant idea to walk across the Grand Canyon. It would only be Wes and me taking on this 25 miles hike, as everyone else was too scared (or clever). Instead they'd be driving the 260 miles from the North Rim to South Rim on nice flat roads to come and pick us up. Looking back on it now, it was probably one of the most satisfying things I've ever done, however at the time all I could think about was how much my legs were aching, and how much further we had to walk. Still, to have walked across the Grand Canyon is a pretty unique trait and if you have the time, energy, commitment and some gullible friends willing to drop you off and collect you, it's well worth it.

From the Grand Canyon we had a long drive to Texas (about 1,200 miles).  We were supposed to shack up with some of Wes' friends in Waco on Wednesday night, but we got a text asking if we wanted to head down and shoot with Andrew Short at his house.  We'd all seen videos and photos of Shorty's pad before so we were pretty pumped to go and throw down another shoot.  It was a tough drive which eventually ended around 2:30am when we pulled into an empty parking lot about 2 miles shy of Short's Ranch.

Thursday morning came way too quickly but we were all excited to get to the ranch and start working.  As we rolled through the gates it was an awesome sight - green grass for days, cows roaming the fields and a supercross track out in the distance.  Behind the overgrown supercross track is the outdoor track which winds in and out of trees and backs on to a river. It really made for an amazing shoot.

We'd like to thank Andrew and his family for letting us shoot at his house, they are good people and we wish him well in his quest for the outdoor championship. If you want to see what his track is like on film, check out the video on insider.vurbmoto.com

After finishing up with Andrew, we packed up the motorhome and headed to Waco to finally meet up with Wes' friend who kindly agreed to let us take over his house for the evening. Twelve hours later and we were off to Freestone for the National - it's all go for us motocross journalists.