I'm off to the USA again and one or two friends have suggested that I do another blog. So I have blown the cobwebs off my 'OffExploring' account. It is two years since my last entry (I hope that I can remember how to operate it). I'm also hoping that it will at least make more sense that the drivel that Candy Crush spewed out on my behalf! The first test is to see if this gets flagged on Facebook. The trip starts tomorrow care of BA to Chicago.

The last leg of the journey was from Wall, South Dakota to Gerry's home in Rochester, Minnesota. A long and uneventful drive across sprawling prairie land, only broken by the crossing of the wide river Missouri. I say uneventful, except for a cracked windscreen one hour from home - thank god for belts and bracers insurance cover! We returned the car to Hertz after 3,600 miles on the roads of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and Min...

Compared to previous days, our drive from Rapid City, SD to Wall, SD was a short one. This allowed us to spend some time in the Journey Museum in Rapid City. It covers life in the Black Hills from the dinosaurs to today but particularly focuses on the Native Indians and the impact of European settlement on their lives. The Native Indians had a wonderful harmony and affinity with Nature and the Land, and one can't avoid feeling a deep sense of sadness and loss at ...

We visited The Buffalo Bill Cody museuam before leaving Cody. It had some very interesting information on the opening up of the West and on Native Indian culture. It also had William Cody's childhood home (in case anyone is wondering what the random house is in the photo album). More glorious mountain scenery on the drive to Rapid City. We passed through a town called Greybull, which had a delightful bill board sign that made me homesick for my Annie so I took a...

(I have some catching up to do, as I have not found time to make entries over the last few days.) Yesterday we had a long drive through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen (and I have travelled a fair bit!). We visited the Grand Tetons and the Yellowstone National Parks. We are now in autumn (or the fall as they say here). The colours of the leaves combined with the mountain/lake backdrop were stunning. There are photos but an i-phone camera has ...