Raluca and M. are two thirty-something fresh divorcees who have just rediscovered love in the late summer of their lives. They have embarked on a brand new relationship together, and all they want is to explore each other’s worlds. Raluca shares the importance of writing in her life, and M. has a deep love for nature. A year and a half into their romance, M. starts planning an ambitious trip to the US with the intention of experiencing his favorite places with his new partner. This is how their passions entwine into one glorious travel adventure under the Southwestern sun. This easily being any writer’s dream subject, it later turns into Raluca’s fifth book. AMERICAN VACATION is the result of one man’s generosity and one woman’s eagerness to give back after having been gifted a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel 12,000 miles into the Wild West for 45 days, through 7 types of natural landmarks, from 260 feet below sea level up to 14,000 feet of altitude. Together, they hiked 170 miles across 33 national, state, and tribal parks discovering iconic places and corners of paradise hidden deep within the North American landscape. Immerse yourself in Raluca’s vivid pages, and you will see wild America through a foreign writer’s eyes who deeply appreciates the beauty of the land, and the way it is respected and preserved by the authorities and visitors. You will laugh and empathize with the author whenever she has to overcome her fears and limits, like climbing down rugged rocks in Spooky Gulch, reaching the summit of Mount White, or simply breaking down with exhaustion and overheating in Arches National Park. American Vacation. 12,000 Miles Into the Wild West is Raluca Barbu's fifth book and the first one in English, the first 4 having been published in her home country, Romania. It is a travel book about the most iconic Western US landmarks, seen through the eyes of a Romanian writer. It is in many respects one-of-a-kind because no other Romanian author has traveled and written about the American West. It provides a foreign writer’s take on the American landscape and tourism through the eyes of a citizen of a former communist country. The book is a homage given both to the beauty of the American outdoors and to young relationships that can blossom in such exotic scenery. As a vivid slice of Raluca’s travel experience, this book stands witness to a small fraction of this world's flawless beauty, which has taken hundreds of millions of years to perfect. What makes American Vacation special is the travel narrative that Raluca has brought back as a literary genre. In a world of Google reviews, travel blogs, and vacation guides she manages to shine a light on the lost art of travel memoirs. Visited places during The American Vacation: Whitaker Point, AR; Pedernales Falls State Park, The Enchanted Rock, South Llano River State Park, Caverns of Sonora, TX; White Sands, NM; Devil’s Bridge, Cathedral Rock, Slide Rock State Park, AZ; Lake Powell, UT; Horseshoe Bend, The Petrified Forest National Park, Canyon de Chelly, Four Corners Monument, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, UT; White Pocket, AZ; Buckskin Gulch, Zion National Park, Kanarra Falls, The Subway, Snow Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Peek-a-boo Canyon, Spooky Gulch, Devil’s Garden, Capitol Reef , Goblin Valley State Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, UT; Valley of Fire State Park, Death Valley National Park, NV; Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Mount White summit, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Redwood National Park, Cape Perpetua, CA; Kalaloch Tree, Hall of Mosses, Olympic National Park, Cape Flattery, Rainier National Park, Palouse Falls State Park, WA; Glacier National Park, MT; Yellowstone National Park, WY; Mount Rushmore, SD; Badlands National Park, SD, and others.