Last couple of weeks of action

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Hey guys... No I'm not still in New York! Actually got back yesterday morning so I have had a full days rest! Apologies for not updating this in like the past couple of weeks - The Northern parts of America is awful for Internet (and mobile coverage) - Its cowboy country thats why!

Anyway heres the deal with whats happened the past 2 weeks or so of my life (and this shall be the last blog update of my yankee trip - dissapointing I know but it shall be returning in April time!).

Sunday 2nd Sept - We ventured out of Canada today just across the border and into Montana. I was still feeling very cold and fluey but was determined not to let it get me down! Our destination today was Glacier National Park. We managed to blag a group campsite despite needing 9 people and us only having 8 - crazy I know! Anyway this pitch may have been the best we had so far- it was very beautiful right next to a river, with a mountain backdrop and forest on the other side. I went to do a bit of river walking which was great fun. We then headed for a quick 3 mile hike to a point called Logans Pass and "Hidden Lake" - it was my first look at a glacier - apparently there are only 50 glaciers here and they are expected to dissapear by the end of our lifetime. I struggled on this short walk with my breathing all over the place and had an early night to try and get over this cold.

Monday 3rd Sept - Woke up after a long sleep and still felt pretty much the same. Still I didnt want to miss another hike after missing out of Lake Louise so I headed up on a 12 miler to a point called "Grinnell Glacier". I havent either that this is deep in the heart of Grizzyly territory so we had to be run through a what you do if you stumble into one - quite daunting - we didnt see a bear on this hike although I would have liked to have (from a distance!). The hike was fairly easy which was needed and we were back at the campsite fairly early to do some sunbathing and have fun in the water (well just me acting like a big kid and splashing around!). Had a relaxing evening as I gave everyone a batting lesson in cricket and then played some cards (Hockey is a great game!) and went to bed a happy chappy 😊

Tues 4th Sept - MISSOULA. Finally the card is starting to wear off and as the guys have said "The old Dosie is back!". Today we stayed overnight in Missoula which is just seen as a stopgap between Glacier and Yellowstone. Not much else to say here except we took a trip to Wallmart, drank wine with some old school hippies and I had some issues chopping firewood !

Weds 5th Sept - YEELOWSTONE NP. We arrived into Americas oldest National Park today in what was storm like conditions - we contemplated staying in a motel but decided to brave it being the warriors that we are. This is the first time I have put my raincoat to proper use + with my camo trousers I looked like a real hunter! Anyway that afternoon we did a tour of certain parts of the park and I can safely say I have never seen anything like this before. At Yellowstones heart lies volcanism with the last eruption coming around 640,000 years ago with the magmatic heat still powering the landscape. We were seeing geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots in a rugged mountainess scenery with many waterfalls - it was quite awesome! Anyway the best part of the day was yet to come in the form of something called "the boiling river", which is where an icey cold river meets a natural hot spring in a series of waterfalls - it was such a bizarre experience clambering over these rocks to get to this point - there were a few casualties too on the slippy moss. It truly was though one of the best experiences of the trip lounging around under these waterfalls with temperatures outside really cold and clouds hovering over the nearby mountains. We all went to bed really happy tonight anyway!

Thurs 6th Sept - We continued a tour of the park today - so much to see and so little time. We ultimately got to the Old Faithful (or Old Bugger as we called it) geyserwhich is one of the worlds best known and erupts every hour or so. After viewing this we did a walk around other geysers to one called 'morning glory'. An early tea was then had and then we headed to a bar in town to see the NFL season opener - Colts vs Saints. Needless to say I had a few beers and then motormouth Davidge came out much to everyones delight! Haha good times 😊

Fri 7th Sept - CODY, WYOMING - Off to Cody today which is named after the famous Buffalo Bill and is a proper cowboy town. The weather took a turn for the better today and we pitched up in the sun and played some cricket with Jakes new wickets that he made! A few of us then went down to the Buffalo Bill museum to learn more about the man and the Wild Wild West! It was my kinda place - lots of buttons to press and things to touch! Then in the evening we headed off in our thrift shop suits to hang out with the cowboys and cowgirls at the Rodeo - yee haa! Was a really fun night with obviously the bullriding topping it all off - was crazy how close some of these guys are to being mullered by this massive bull. Afterwards we headed to a bar called Cassies which is entirely what you would expect from a classic American bar- it could have been in a film. The decor was just full of stuffed animals and old school cowboy gear and the live band were playing from the likes of Zizi top - quality!

Sat 8th Sept - BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA - Travelled to the Black Hills today through Wyoming with a few stops on route. The first stop was the Devils Tower, which is Americas first national monument and featured in Spielbergs film Close Encounters of the 3rd kind. This was a very eerie rock formation to say the least! We also saw prairie dogs which were real funny and cute - They were living the dream - lol! We then detoured to a place called 'Deadwood' (yes the program that Lovejoy is in on Sky One). You could see this was a historic old cowboy town (where Wild Bill was shot) but it appeared that the commerical aspect had taken over and it sort of resembled a mini Vegas. Still pretty cool though! That eveing after a 12 hour drive we had a steak which went down pretty well!

Sun 9th SEPT - BADLANDS, SOUTH DAKOTA - Woke up this morning and went to the crazy horse memorial, which was absolutely staggering. It ws started in 1947 by one guy called Korczeck and now his family are continuing it (7 in total) - they refuse to let the government fund it and rely totally on visitors and donations. It is the largest sculpture in the world and to put in perspective you could fit 5 to 6 Mt. Rushmores in it on completion, which is inevitably where we headed off to next. Korczeck was actually involved in the construction of Mt. Rushmore too. It was a great spectacle and I took a lot of photos! We then continued to badlands with a stop on route at a wonderful place called Wall Drug. We then got to the ranch which we were staying at which was awesome and real homely. the owner was a hunter in the lounge was an assortment of his kills including a giant moose head! This was a chilled evening which involved watching Forrest Gump! A bed after 10 days of camping was sooo good!

Mon 10th Sept - ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA - Did a short hike around Badlands NP, which as the name suggests is a set of inshosptible wasteland. Didnt have to do anything else as we had a long journey to Minneapolis. We did drive past the set where 'Dances with Wolves' was filmed which did get me a bit excited - lol!

Tues 11th Sept - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Off to Chicago today going through Wisconsin on route. We did a quick van tour of the city on arrival and then went and checked in at the hotel which was such an ideal location right next to Michigan Avenue. I had a quick wander down there checking out some shops and the skyline features before whooshing back to get into our thrift shop suit attire again and have a night out. We went to the Chicago Pizza and Ovengrinder Co. which was ideally located opposite the mafia's St. Valaentines Day massacre. We then checked out a blues bar called 'Blue Chicago' where we listened to a band whose singer had sung with Aretha Franklin.

Weds 12th Sept - Up early today as had a full day of sightseeing ahead. The sun was out and I was happy as I headed down to Millenium Park to see various artistic structures which amazed me - you'll have to check out the pics. Also saw this amazing fountain called Buckingham Fountain in grant Park. Went down to the Bears Soldier Field and tried to blag my way to have a look on the pitch but with no luck. Then headed to the city aquarium and ate a chicago style hotdog (hmmmm tasty!). I had a beautiful walk along the lake front (Lake Michigan on my right- massive!) as I headed back to meet the guys as we were doing a 3 hour city bike tour. Chicago has been voted as Americas safest place to cycle and I could see why immediately. We were literally cycling in the middle of roads and cars would stop at interesections to let you through and follow behind you calmly at a safe distance - you just wouldnt get that in the UK. As for the tour itself it was very cool - we got to see places that you just wouldnt in car or on foot. This included Oprah Winfreys and Jerry Springers pads. Hugh Heffners old pad, St. Michaels cathederal and a house that survived the famous Chicago Fire. Time flew! That evening we put our gladrags on on and went up the John Hancock tower where we had a table with a view of the whole city. We were up there for sunset which was amazing. Then we had some Thai food in an area known as Viagra triangle (old men and young ladies) before hitting some bars in the Rush St. vicinity. A few of us continued our night by grabbing a cab into Uni district and went to a bar rammed with students - I immediately felt at home with 1 buck beers, golf putting competitions and karaoke! Chicago is certainly one of my favourite cities - good times!

Thurs 13th Sept - CLEVELAND, OHIO - Mainly a driving day today - We were supposed to go to a place called Cedar Point which is full of Rollercoasters but it was only open at weekends - gutted! Instead we camped just outside Cleveland and went to our favourite buffet - Golden Corral in the evening followed by the cinema.

Fri 14th SEPT - NIAGARA FALLS. Checked out the Falls of Naigara today .. I have to say I was expecting them to be a little bigger - we did a Maid of Mist boat tour to the bottom which was beautiful though despite getting drenched!

Sat 15th Sept - New York - Back to New York today! very very sad to be saing bye to people but I battled through!

So thats it folks! Hope you've enjoyed the blog - It shall be returning March/April time for my Oz/New Zealand trip . See you all soon x

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