What a night. Goosenecks is windy and cold, oh so cold. My decision to take the brunt of the wind as some heroic act of chivalry led to me feeling a bit chilly in the early hours of the morning. Marion had also braved the cold but had retreated to the safety of the bus by the time I'd awoken. It was bitterly cold in the wind and I was shivering. Holly and I huddled together for warmth, which probably saved me from hypothermia and/or death. Which was nice. Thanks, Holly.

First up on our list after breakfast and lots of hot coffee was Monument Valley, home of many wild west movies and "wilderness" scenes in movies like Forrest Gump. I was still wrapped in thermals, fleece and a beanie to keep warm, then as we pulled into the Navajo reserve, rain loomed up ahead. It lashed down as we headed out for some people to have a jeep ride, but for Barbara, Marion, Ryan, Laura and I to ride mustang horses through the wild west! It rained right up until we got close to the horses and the weather stayed ok for the whole hour and a half's ride. I loved it! Mustangs are very sensitive and you control them only with one hand. My riding skills came trickling back to me and within an hour I was galloping with my horse Yellow Hair. That was the first time I'd ever galloped! Woo! Special recognition should go out to Ryan who is a first time rider who held on whenever his horse began to trot. A full ninety minutes later and he was still going. Good man.

Our evening was spent in Page, Arizona enjoying an all-American diner meal followed by a couple of games of bowling at the local lanes. That took forever because the lanes were all screwed up and kept randomly breaking. Nevertheless, everyone had a good time and got nicely tippled before our overnight bus ride to the Grand Canyon. It has been decided who will go down and camp in the canyon itself - that'd be me, Nicola, Linda, Nicholas and Isaac - but we sort of cocked up when the supermarket closed before we could get supplies. The 24-hour store came to the rescue but I now have baloney and condiment sandwiches to look forward to for the next few days...