Back twenty years to... Saturday, April 1st, 2006. A ten and a half hour flight, from London Gatwick – to Dallas Fort Worth. A bog-standard Ford Focus rental car, and the 'Motel 6' in Plano, Texas.

"Having packed-away all of my regular day-to-day 'stuff' in my Transit van, and stored it for safekeeping, my best buddy Wayne drove me the short hop up to Gatwick airport. A fond farewell between us till October, when he's scheduled to get over to visit me, when – in theory at least – I'll be just over halfway done. The flight was smooth and uneventful, and we touch down at just after five in the afternoon. A nasty Ford Focus rental car, in burgundy, which after spending a day with Nick, at his place, I'll be driving the six hundred and fifty miles to Albuquerque, where I'll pick up my brand-new RV.

Although it's a city in its own right, Plano is basically a north-eastern suburb of Dallas. Heavy traffic all the way, and I find a cheap-as-chips, but perfectly acceptable room at the 'Motel 6'. Nick offered for me to stay with him, but tonight I need time on my own. Simply to gather my thoughts, check through the endless lists of things that still need finalising – drinking a few beers, ordering-in pizza, and relaxing. There'll be plenty of time to catch-up with him tomorrow.

I need to reassess the reason I'm over here. An epic journey – one helluva road-trip, of course – exploration and discovery. But what still makes small towns tick. Where do they still figure in the make-up of the USA? Mainstreet America. All those thousands of smaller communities. Simpler times past. And also I have to start writing. Get in the flow and the rhythm of doing it daily. Recounting each day as it passes. The thrills and the spills. From the ordinary to the adventurous. The ups and downs of living life in a tiny RV. The actuality of what I believe is called 'Vanlife'. To be honest – I simply can't wait."

In Search of Small-Town America: Volume 1 is a free-of-charge Pdf digital download – available from our shop. A table of contents, the introduction, the route-map – and featuring content on the first two States travelled: New Mexico and Arizona.

Jeremy Hammond I am a British writer and photographer, and have travelled through India, China, Southeast Asia and Australia, but most extensively in North America. In the late seventies and early eighties, I worked as lighting crew, and later designer, for many top-named British bands, on tours through Europe, Japan, and the USA. I’ve worked as a cruise-ship photographer, in office and store design, database design, visual arts book publishing and as a London-based freelance photographer, specialising in interiors and architecture.