(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 its limitations.

The moment we entered the GT park, we experienced two perplexing events. Firstly, the master warning light came on in the car with no other explanation as to what was wrong. Secondly, the forest road we were on became clogged with dozens of cars and camera toting tourists on foot.

The second problem resolved itself almost immediately when the focus of their photographic frenzy became apparent when a bear lumbered across the road. We wove our way through the turmoil and drove on into open country.

The warning light was more of an issue. We decided to take the car to Hertz at nearby Jackson Hole Airport. After some discussion with the staff there and calls to their emergency rescue support, we decided to carry on with existing car. I did express some surprise when the only replacement car they could offer was a Toyota Yaris, which is a small city runaround and not fit for the long distance driving we are doing. Inexplicably, two miles after leaving the Hertz parking lot, the warning light went off and has not shown itself again!! I'm not sure if I'm more releaved or exasperated!

Anyway, the rest of the day was a wonderful drive. Everywhere I looked was exceptional scenery. You can't go to Yellowstone without seeing the Old Faithful Geyser. We have all seen it on the travel and geographic programmes so it was neat to see it for real and the hots springs and bubbling mud pools.

Towards the end of the drive the road was temporarily blocked by a herd of cattle being moved. It did prove to me that cowboys do still ride horses and wear stetson hats.

We spent that night in a very nice and friendly B&B in Cody, Wyoming. The town is a small but busy little place. Being in this part of the country, I had to have steak for dinner, which was extremely good. For some mysterious reason, the wine did not arrive until after we had finished our main course so we did not have it. I still wonder what that bottle of Malbec would have tasted like!

Cheers for now