travelling-blogger

comments

After buying a cheap Dodge Ram van off the internet, three friends spent four months travelling around North America on a quest to see the true beauty of their homeland.

And they came up with one very unique way of documenting their trip: by taking 'selfies' on a couch that they brought along with them at each stop.

The brain child of university pals, Becca D'Agostine, 25, Andy Fuhrmann, 25, and Dave Fine, 24, the trip was first planned so that they could celebrate Andy's recovery from a serious spinal injury.  

Three friends road tripped across the US and documented their trip with 'couch selfies' at each stop. Pictured: Seward Highway, Alaska

The university pals initially embarked on this trek to celebrate Andy Fuhrmann's spinal surgery recovery

The group bought a used Dodge Ram van to transport the futon during their four-month adventure

After setting out from Burlington, Vermont the group visited everywhere from the snowy mountain tops of Alaska to breathtaking sunsets of California before ending in finally ending Massachusetts.

By turning the couch into a mattress, the students managed to save on space and so were able to bring their dogs, Arthur and Corinna, along for the 18,000 mile ride. 

Since posting the images online, they have had an overwhelming response from other would be travellers who are keen to make the same journey.

The trio snapped this photo on the train tracks in Parks Highway, Alaska

In Big Sur, California, the friends dragged the couch to the beach for this sunset photo op

The couch also doubled as a mattress when they opted to sleep in the back of their car. Pictured: Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, Utah

Because they saved so much space with the convertible futon, they were also able to bring along their dogs. Pictured: Humboldt Redwood National Park in California

Sea views: In Hueneme Bay, California, the group enjoyed the ocean-front view

'The water looks like the Caribbean,' one of the friends, Becca D'Agostine said of their favourite stop: Kenai Lake, Alaska

Becca said: 'We bought a 1996 Dodge Ram Van on craigslist for $2000 (about £1,260), it had 186,000 miles on it when we bought and now it has over 205,000 miles but it's still doing great!

'Our favourite place was probably Kenai Lake on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, the colour of the water looks like the Caribbean and there's also giant, snow covered mountains popping out in every direction.

'We stored the couch in our van, on nights that we slept in the car, we folded it out into a bed. 

'We wanted to figure out a way to show how varied the American landscape is, and we thought we'd do that using us and the couch.

The group admits they've had an overwhelmingly positive response since posting the photos online. Pictured, Homer, Alaska

Sitting under a gigantic tree in Mt Baker, Washington, the dogs seem to enjoy the photo project just as much

Amidst a sea of wildflowers, the three pals pose in front of a snow-capped mountain background at the Tetlin Wildlife Preserve in Alaska

The friends are on top of the world - literally - at the Top of the World Highway in Alaska

'We wanted to figure out a way to show how varied the American landscape is,' Becca said. Pictured: Denali National Park, Alaska

The group often parked the van close to where they took the pictures to avoid dragging the futon long distances. Pictured: Seward Highway, Alaska 

'It could be quite difficult hauling the couch across different locations, we crossed a couple rivers and scrambled up a few rocky hills, but for many of them we just parked the van close to where we took the picture.

'People are parked at the side of the road all over Alaska as they want to photograph the scenery but when they saw us they'd usually turn their camera our way and start snapping pictures.

'It was actually supposed to happen last summer, but Andy got a spinal cord injury last winter and we were forced to postpone it a year while he recovered, so the trip turned into a celebration for all of us.'