DAY 3 On leaving our cute little log cabin in Tropic we popped in to the local visitor centre ...always a good idea here in USA , the lady was so helpful pointing us in the direction of Kodachrome State Park , and I bought an annual Utah State Parks pass which the kindly ranger let me have at a senior rate ..always a good idea to ask about that !! One of a kind beautiful stacks of towering sandstone , changing colour as the light changes and this phenomena prompted the National Geographc Society to name the Park Kodachrome. We took a little stroll amongst the rock stacks and admired the vegetation growing on the sandy floor and the twisted tree trunks which make for a great addition to a photo. When it came to ... read more

We weren't actually attacked but the minute we sat down by the river a couple of squirrel warriors appeared. They pleaded for a bit of my muffin sitting up begging with their little paws outstretched - looking so cute - and not getting any ( there is a big fine for feeding the animals !!! and it's something I don't do with wild animals) they then started running around me and looked like they would jump into my rucksack and search for more muffins . Suzanne on Mother-alert said move mum they might bite you and I thought it best to obey. So watch out for the little beggars if you are doing the Riverside Walk in Zion National Park. That was yesterday, we started with a great coffee stop in Springdale and took the free ... read more

Yes I know I have stolen a famous quote and it's not the same Valley at all but it came into my head whilst on my mammoth mini bus day trip to Death Valley. ... 450 miles , set off 6.30 am back at 7.30 pm . I wouldn't have missed it for the world, the scenery was stupendous , awe inspiring and way beyond any expectations I had . These small tours are an excellent way to see something special and with such a knowledgeable guide and no driving for me it was perfect. (And thanks Richie and Catherine for giving this trip to me for my birthday pressie). The guide Ralph was an expert in all subjects and regained us with stories for hours on end ... Explaining the geology ( just my thing ... read more

Sometimes life at home overtakes you and the last trip I took is now months away in July and I didn't get round to writing up my blog on Sofia.. so I better get it done before the next trip in 2 weeks or I really will be lagging behind. I wrote about the intercity buses ( if you can call them that) in my previous blog and this time the vehicle was a coach ... getting tickets can be a bit daunting with the Cyrillic script and nobody who speaks English but with a few smiles and a calendar handy you can make yourself understood and at least numerals are the same. You are usually given a ticket with the number of the bus stop at the bus station and your seat number too. By ... read more

Sometimes you find a spare half hour and as I am about to leave for the aiport this is a quickie just to show a few photos from yesterday's visit to the World Heritage site of Rila Monastery and the ancient church of Boyana. Unfortunately it is not allowed to,take photos inside the churches ... One point is any flash light can damage the precious frescoes but also it is not appropriate in the place of worship so one must be respectful... No sneaking a pic. At Boyana church about 10 km from Sofia the tiny church has been built in 3 stages , 10th 12 th and 18th centuries with some destruction at certain periods and following that restoration. The frescoes inside are layered and so there are 12 th C on top of 10 ... read more