Mount Rushmore and Wind Caves

Mount Rushmore and the Wind Caves were our aim today, but what a day!

We set off amid bikers from Keystone and headed for Mount Rushmore. I've always wanted to see it since seeing 'North by NorthWest' which is one of my all time favourite films.

It was only a couple of miles from Keystone and we were soon there. We parked in the parking ramp which was deserted; well it was Sunday. The sight that greets one even from the parking ramp is quite awe inspiring. The approach is up through an avenue with all the states' flags; this does include our own fair Union flag – it forms part of the flag of Hawaii! (Check it out!) We picked up an audio tour wand for a mere 5 dollars, £2.50; the only downside was the rather over the top (to us) commentary extolling the virtues of the great America constitution. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful document, it's just the jingoistic attitude that sometimes comes across in commentaries. Walking along the avenue one can look up and see the four faces carved from the granite rock face. It is a staggering achievement and well worth the visit. Walking around one did hear a Ranger doing the bit about how far sighted and wonderful the founding fathers were forgetting to point out that Benjamin Franklin would have happily stayed under the British monarchy and that the Constitution was only meant to apply those of good British stock and not the natives but those things tend to be forgotten and it wasn't really an appropriate time to point out the errors in her speech or later on in the exhibition hall to point out the really big errors in the history tableau

The bickering and arguments before, during and after it had been built seem no different if they had been doing it today. The amount of rock removed and the completed effect are genuinely staggering and the effect is absolutely amazing.

I have to write that I was disappointed by one thing in particular; the concession area where Eva Marie shots Cary Grant has gone and been replaced by a modern equivalent in the 1990s. I could imagine the end of the film up on the sculptures even though it was filmed in a studio.

After being there for three hours we decided to move on to the Wind Caves. A pleasant drive including more bikers on the move.

We pulled in to the car park and went in. My partner bought two tickets for 'The Garden of Eden' tour.

We went along to the lift(!) that would take us down into the cave system. There was eight of us in the little party that headed below ground. Our guide, a ranger, was excellent. As we attempted to leave the reception area at the bottom we found out why they were called wind caves. There was a strong wind that disappeared as we entered the caves. It was all due to the difference in pressure and there was no real wind.

What greeted us an amazing series of caves with incredible rock formations caused by water evaporating and leeching the minerals through the limestone. There were thin, delicate formations called boxes caused by the original limestone being shattered, the minerals filling the gaps and then the limestone gradually being eroded leaving the in-fill as delicate sheets of minerals.

Our guide showed us what it was like in the early 20^th century down there by turning off the electric lights and using only a candle lamp. It was truly amazing particularly when she blew the candle out too. Where was the light that one sees on television when people are trapped underground?

We went through a series of caves, each one truly different to the others. The number of possible exits from each chamber was frightening if one didn't know the way out or there was a concrete path beneath ones feet. After being given a fascinating tour we ascended to ground level where, unlike the cave, it was warm and brilliantly sunny.

We had a coffee there and started on the 90 mile drive to Lusk. The number of bikers decreased rapidly as we headed south. We saw plenty of prairie dogs, a dead porcupine unfortunately, and several other unidentified creatures as well as missing several birds intent on committing suicide, or should that be avaricide or birdicide? After an hour and a half we hit Lusk. A small town with a rail track running through it which, even now, we can hear the train hooting.

We eventually found a Subway and a liquor store – they do like putting the bottles of drink in brown paper bags. We had a pizza each, a salad and a bottle of red wine.

After this I went to the reception area to make better use of the wireless internet. On the way back I fell into conversation with our 'neighbours' a really nice, ordinary couple, Steve and Pat. They had been married for 29 years(!) which must be approaching a record in the USA. They were from Pueblo in Colorado. A nicer and more ordinary American couple I have yet to meet. I suppose that we must have spent well over an hour 'chewing the fat' as they say over here. The attitudes outlook were not what one may be lead to believe from television.

Anyway it's time to sign off for today. Tomorrow we complete the last part of this journey; back to Denver for a couple of days via Fort Laramie.

Mount Rushmore and Wind Caves

Mount Rushmore and the Wind Caves were our aim today, but what a day!

We set off amid bikers from Keystone and headed for Mount Rushmore. I've always wanted to see it since seeing 'North by NorthWest' which is one of my all time favourite films.

It was only a couple of miles from Keystone and we were soon there. We parked in the parking ramp which was deserted; well it was Sunday. The sight that greets one even from the parking ramp is quite awe inspiring. The approach is up through an avenue with all the states' flags; this does include our own fair Union flag – it forms part of the flag of Hawaii! (Check it out!) We picked up an audio tour wand for a mere 5 dollars, £2.50; the only downside was the rather over the top (to us) commentary extolling the virtues of the great America constitution. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful document, it's just the jingoistic attitude that sometimes comes across in commentaries. Walking along the avenue one can look up and see the four faces carved from the granite rock face. It is a staggering achievement and well worth the visit. Walking around one did hear a Ranger doing the bit about how far sighted and wonderful the founding fathers were forgetting to point out that Benjamin Franklin would have happily stayed under the British monarchy and that the Constitution was only meant to apply those of good British stock and not the natives but those things tend to be forgotten and it wasn't really an appropriate time to point out the errors in her speech or later on in the exhibition hall to point out the really big errors in the history tableau

The bickering and arguments before, during and after it had been built seem no different if they had been doing it today. The amount of rock removed and the completed effect are genuinely staggering and the effect is absolutely amazing.

I have to write that I was disappointed by one thing in particular; the concession area where Eva Marie shots Cary Grant has gone and been replaced by a modern equivalent in the 1990s. I could imagine the end of the film up on the sculptures even though it was filmed in a studio.

After being there for three hours we decided to move on to the Wind Caves. A pleasant drive including more bikers on the move.

We pulled in to the car park and went in. My partner bought two tickets for 'The Garden of Eden' tour.

We went along to the lift(!) that would take us down into the cave system. There was eight of us in the little party that headed below ground. Our guide, a ranger, was excellent. As we attempted to leave the reception area at the bottom we found out why they were called wind caves. There was a strong wind that disappeared as we entered the caves. It was all due to the difference in pressure and there was no real wind.

What greeted us an amazing series of caves with incredible rock formations caused by water evaporating and leeching the minerals through the limestone. There were thin, delicate formations called boxes caused by the original limestone being shattered, the minerals filling the gaps and then the limestone gradually being eroded leaving the in-fill as delicate sheets of minerals.

Our guide showed us what it was like in the early 20^th century down there by turning off the electric lights and using only a candle lamp. It was truly amazing particularly when she blew the candle out too. Where was the light that one sees on television when people are trapped underground?

We went through a series of caves, each one truly different to the others. The number of possible exits from each chamber was frightening if one didn't know the way out or there was a concrete path beneath ones feet. After being given a fascinating tour we ascended to ground level where, unlike the cave, it was warm and brilliantly sunny.

We had a coffee there and started on the 90 mile drive to Lusk. The number of bikers decreased rapidly as we headed south. We saw plenty of prairie dogs, a dead porcupine unfortunately, and several other unidentified creatures as well as missing several birds intent on committing suicide, or should that be avaricide or birdicide? After an hour and a half we hit Lusk. A small town with a rail track running through it which, even now, we can hear the train hooting.

We eventually found a Subway and a liquor store – they do like putting the bottles of drink in brown paper bags. We had a pizza each, a salad and a bottle of red wine.

After this I went to the reception area to make better use of the wireless internet. On the way back I fell into conversation with our 'neighbours' a really nice, ordinary couple, Steve and Pat. They had been married for 29 years(!) which must be approaching a record in the USA. They were from Pueblo in Colorado. A nicer and more ordinary American couple I have yet to meet. I suppose that we must have spent well over an hour 'chewing the fat' as they say over here. The attitudes outlook were not what one may be lead to believe from television.

Anyway it's time to sign off for today. Tomorrow we complete the last part of this journey; back to Denver for a couple of days via Fort Laramie.

The Devil's Tower and Beyond

Our route today ended at the town, Americans call it a city, of Keystone, SD. We had thought about going to Sundance but gave it a miss to add another 40 miles to the days mileage.

We decided last night to go to The Devil's Tower. It was in the direction we were going in and it would, as I wrote above, add another 40 miles to the journey today but that didn't matter.

We set off a little earlier and I was going to buy some 'gas' but the price in Buffalo was $3.13 a gallon (USA gallons are 6 pints, not 8) regardless of the gas station and I'd seen it cheaper that that. We had half a tank which was enough for the day. I pulled off just after Gillette,WY, (look it up, it's real) and filled up at $2.92 a gallon – seems like the same rip-off happens over here as it does in the UK. Anyway, we noticed that there was an increase in the number of bikers and not just ones or two. This was in fours and fives and quite frequent! We wondered what was going on. Well, we had heard that there was some sort of motorbike rally in Sturgis, SD, but hadn't really thought about it much, until now.

We pulled off I90 and headed north up to the Devil's Tower. Again there was an increasing number of bikers. These were not young men with nasty grubby machines that looked like a good wash wouldn't hurt them and that applied to both machine, men and women! They were principally in their late 40s, 50s and 60s. The majority had leather wear on but more common were the grey beards, glasses, jeans and a 'chick' – probably wife or current partner – on the back. These were no hoodlums. What was interesting even more so was the lack of helmet wearing.

The landscape changed from scrub land to pastoral. The hills were much more rolling, there was green grass that didn't look as if it had been watered by anything other than rain; differing varieties of trees, not just different pines. And then thrusting out of this landscape was a huge upthrust of rock. It was so incongruous in the setting. There was a scenic pullout which we pulled into and took some pictures. Off we headed again and now the bikers were beginning to swarm like bees around honey pots; they were more numerous than cars. It's difficult to describe to someone in the UK what it was like but believe you me, this wasn't just one or two, this was forty or fifty we were seeing. The closer to the monument the more there were. All were very respectful of the law, no breaking of speed limits; staying in lanes; not swerving between cars; they were behaving themselves and acting as responsible citizens.

We pulled into the parking lot at the monument, the USA's first national monument, and got out. The air was scented heavily with ponderosa pine and the day was beautifully hot. The Devil's Tower is a massive volcanic plug that has been left after the surrounding rock has weathered away. It's one of those that you hurt your neck looking up at it. It's made of basalt and where it cooled the rock has crystallised into hexagonal columns. They are massive. It was spectacular to walk around the base and see the different aspects of it. There were climbers trying to get up it. We saw at least four groups. The sides of this thing start out shallow and quickly slope upwards and then are vertical. Goodness knows how you get to the top other than climb. Someone did do a parachute drop onto it!

Surprise, surprise there were plenty of bikers here too! There were even parking bays put aside for them. Obviously they were expected. After an hour and half we started back down and stopped off at the stores near the entrance to the monument. There were many, many more bikers now. At a guess there must have been easily 200 and they were catered for. Now we noticed marquees that had been set up selling biker orientated goods. All were friendly and there was a great camaraderie amongst them.

As we headed out of the monument area we spotted some prairie dogs and pulled over. They are pests in the wrong place but in the right place, here, they are so cute. Rather like meercats they stand up on their hind legs. There was a couple boxing and another pair just standing looking around.

Off we headed to our next stop. In this case we thought some food and a coffee were in order. Just at the state border, Spearfish, we pulled in and picked up some vittals which we ate at a rest area a few miles down the interstate.

Our next stop, which you'll notice I've not mentioned 'till now, was Deadwood; yes, that one of Calamity Jane and Wild West fame.

The number of bikers had decreased however...

Just as we hit the outskirts there were two lots of bikini clad, mostly well figured and endowed, young ladies offering to clean cars! I nearly drove into the kerb in surprise as I thought it was the sort of thing one only saw in the movies or tv series.

On entering Deadwood it was like entering Biker City. There were bikers of all types, shapes and designs- mostly Harley-Davidsons. Some were obviously showing off by riding up and down the main drag; the bikers were on the sidewalks and all were very amiable and although there were obviously drinking there wasn't anything nasty. The noise was slightly overwhelming from some of the motorbikes. A point to note in differences in language what we call a multi-storey car park, here in the USA is called a parking ramp. We parked in a parking ramp and went for a walk. It was sight to behold – down one side of the street was a continuous line of parallel parked bikes. The shine of the chrome and stainless steel; the coloured windshields; large panniers; small panniers; seats of leather; seats covered in fleece; bikes with long handlebars; most were short. The clothes were much as described before except there were a few woman wearing bikini tops and a few who shouldn't have been wearing them. There was even a naked biker, riding his bike along the main drag I might add with his partner, female and fully clothed, sitting behind him.

We ended up in the Adams Museum giving a good run down of the history of Deadwood. It's worth looking at website as the picture showing the main street is quite different from the way we saw it. The town itself has been revived and restored. The architecture was fascinating and worth looking at.

After about an hour and half we decided that our ears needed some quiet. The satnav helped us out of the town and set us on the right track.

We had discovered in the information centre about the bikers. The nearby town of Sturgis has been holding a bike rally since 1938 and it has grown. It seems that several hundred thousand bikers descend on the town and surrounding area. Again, it's worth a look at the website as it's the town that runs the event. As we headed for Keystone we saw any number of bikers; groups of them; long tails of them; sometimes there was the odd individual but mostly in groups and mostly men but there was one or two women bikers; they were on both sides of the road; slowly the numbers decreased until...

We reached Keystone where it was like a miniature version of Deadwood regarding bikers. However I wanted to know where Cary Grant and Eve Saint Marie were in 'North By North West' when they were here for this is where the climax of the film takes place. Well, it's at the Mount Rushmore memorial nearby but some of the action took place here! It's been a superb day with the weather, scenery and the bikers!

Tomorrow it's Mount Rushmore and the Wind Caves.

Today it's the Little Big Horn!

The weather until now has been good in the morning and cloudy in the afternoon. It was the reverse today, cloudy this morning with rain. As a prelude to today, last night we were listening to 'Round the Horne' on BBC7. The story was 'The Palamino Kid' a skit on westernsand it just seemed so very appropriate.

We set off for Little Big Horn but made a diversion to a Wal-Mart. There were one or two items that we had to get. I used my credit card and the poor chap couldn't get his terminal to accept our address and then the card reader wouldn't read my card, there's no magnetic strip as such and the card reader couldn't do chip and pin!

Whilst in the store the heavens opened and it poured down in a deluge. Even after we set out on the road it remained overcast. The scenery was very much the same as before. We arrived at the Battle of the Little Big Horn memorial site.

The area is high and undulating hills with sharp ridges dropping to a plateau with the river running along the bottom of the hills. There were forested areas below and it's easy to see how the battle took place. The museum gives a very fair and balanced viewpoint from both sides. I would imagine that 20 years ago it would have been quite different. The whole situation leading up to Custer's death was a disaster waiting to happen. It seems to have ill-planned and ill-led. There were talks given by the rangers and one of the talks made a very significant point. He pointed out that for all the 'advanced' technology that Custer and his men had, it failed – the guns took too long to load, even the pistols. The Natives were technologically backwards but their weapons – knives, bows and arrows, hatchets – all worked and they defeated the troops. Now, doesn't that sound just like a certain Asian war where the 'backward' peasants defeated the technologically advanced Americans. Enough of this philosophising and back to what we did. We must have spent a good two hours there as we also did the self-guided auto-tour. That was interesting as it built up a pattern of the troops being gradually winnowed down in a series of skirmishes and the 'Last Stand' was the climax. All in all it was very good.

The weather by this stage was quite stable and sunny. It was time to move on and we headed off to Buffalo. Again, the scenery was much as I've described earlier. The area we were travelling through is where the Rockies meets the plains. The road, an Interstate, was good and fast, up to 75 mph. When we arrived we noticed that there a 'Hoot and Howl' restaurant and bar attached to the motel. The name says it all but the food was good.

Tomorrow, Saturday, it's Sundance, Deadwood and a stay near Mount Rushmore.

Cody to Laurel

Another short journey day today. It gives us time to look around some of the towns we stop in otherwise it'd be just one drive after another.

Today we go up into 'The Big Sky' state, Montana. There's no sales tax! We moseyed along to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, '5 museums in one'. The five museums are: Buffalo Bill Museum, what else; Draper Museum of Natural History; Plains Indian Museum; Cody Firearms Museum; Whitney Gallery of Western Art

The two of the five that we didn't do were the Plains Indian Museum and the Western Art ones so I can't write about them. You walk into the lobby and the five museums split off from that; quite clever. We first went around the Buffalo Bill Museum. Fairly obvious what it was about and it did it very well. It showed his life story fairly and without embellishment. He did lead an exciting life when he was young but when he went into show business the events of his life and the show business side blurred and it was quite fair to explain that all the stories about him were not made up by him but by others who used him as a cypher for the 'Wild West'. The Wild West show he ran he was at pains to point out was nothing more than that, a show. It caught the public imagination so much that they believed it to be the truth rather than a fanciful show. It didn't seem to make claims about him that were unrealistic, unlike one or two exhibitions we've seen. On show were various artefacts from his life including clothes, saddles, newspaper articles,etc in fact, all the things you would imagine there should be as well as exhibits about some of the other people involved. Overall not too bad.

If ever there was an exhibition dedicated to slaughter the Firearms Museum is it. It was a relentless exhibition about firearms, which pretty much speaks for itself. However the first item on show was a machine gun of the type used in 'Carry On Up the Khyber' where Terry Scott and Charles Hawtry use one to try and shot the invading Burpas. All I could do was look at and ask my partner where the gramophone records go - if you don't get the reference watch the film and you'll get it. With 1,500 guns on show on the upper level and another 1,200 on a lower one it was a touch overwhelming. A one-theme exhibition that got tedious fairly quickly and we both headed out after about 10 minutes.

The Draper Museum of Natural History couldn't have been more different. It presented the natural history of the area in a series of levels representing the different heights. It was very interactive and quite beautifully done. Starting at the highest level one spirals down through different exhibition areas. The quality and standard of the information and exhibits is extremely high. There are glass panels in the floor that one can walk over showing what goes on under the ground too.

After a coffee and bun in one of the cafes we wandered down along Sheridan Avenue. It was quite typical of other towns we had visited but more touristy. It wasn't overwhelming or showy but quite pleasant.

We followed the satnav instructions for leaving the town and headed on up to Laurel until... we got to the state border. Going along we had noticed that the scenery was changing; the hills were becoming flatter and more distant; the signs for road works that had been showing for 30 miles or more has disappeared. So, it was a bit of a shock when we were flagged down for road works at the state line. We were told it was going to be about ten minutes and we had time to get out and stretch our legs, which we did. The woman chatted with us. She was a Montanan but lived about 350 miles north and worked doing the traffic control for about a 10-12 hour shift! She had been brought up on one of the reservations so we guess that she was a real native American! The pilot car arrived and we headed off, followed by a long line of traffic. The work was extremely extensive. The road was being ripped up and replaced by new sections. This went on for about three miles. The pilot car pulled off ready to take the next group across avoiding the trucks and on we went. The road became normal until we realised that the works covered a much larger stretch, in fact they went on for 10 miles on and off. The authorities were widening and renewing the road in huge sections. This wasn't even a highway but an ordinary road.

It wasn't long after that we saw signs for Laurel and we could smell it too! As we hit town we could see that there was a small oil refinery and a large railway junction and sidings. It's the most industry that we've seen so far, not that we have been in areas that are likely to be industrial. We found the motel and settled in. As we had arrived quite early for once we headed up to the town of Billings for a look around. We picked up some groceries for our evening meal, including a bottle of white wine. To cool it quickly we get ice from the ice dispenser put it into the sink with some water and roll the bottle around. It gets the temperature down quite quickly.

Tomorrow it's off to Little Big Horn!

Yellowstone to Cody

Last night we had a meal at the restaurant next to the hotel. One of the waiters was there last October. She had gone home to Connecticut but had come back for the season and was living in a shed at present! Not a bad meal.

Anyway today we make our way to Cody at a leisurely pace. We stopped off at a store that we had got coffee at last October and picked up coffee and some buns for breakfast, then headed off to the 45^th Parallel to eat them; the parallel is just before entering Wyoming in Yellowstone near Mammoth Hot Springs. From there we headed off back to Canyon Village.

We went back over Dunraven Pass. It has a shear rock face some of which has come away to reveal the underlying structure of massive hexagonal looking columns reaching upwards. Swinging down from there we went to Canyon Village and whereas yesterday we went to Inspiration Point, today we went further along where the parking was a touch easier. We went down a winding pathway and caught a glimpse of one of the waterfalls. However, that was as nothing as to what came next. We were soon standing alongside the top of a waterfall watching the water plunge into the canyon. There was so much mist that where the water settled on the sides it formed streams running back into the river and these weren't little streams. It's a bit of a cliché to write about the boiling, seething mass of water but that is barely adequate to describe the sound and spectacle of watching the water plunge down and hit the bottom.

We must have been there the best part of hour before moving on. We pulled in at Fishing Bridge Visitors Center. We picked up a couple of coffees and single scoops ice cream cones. The single was more like a triple but was it nice! As we sat and ate our ice cream and motor bike with a side car went by, nothing odd in that but there was a dog in the side car and it was wearing goggles!

We were at the top of Lake Yellowstone and is it big or what! Somewhere under that lake is a magma chamber waiting to explode though and take out most of the western world one way or another.

The road took us up to the Sylvan Pass which was an interesting experience as there were road works from the bottom of the pass to the top and down to the Eastern Entrance. It seemed to be one way working and we had to wait fifteen minutes as traffic from the other side had to finish coming across. The journey up was okay but there was heavy machinery and the road surface was gravel. This was also going up the side of the cliff face with shear drops on the right. Luckily with there only being us on the road it was okay. Slowly the convoy spread out and there was a large gap behind us and quite suddenly we were at the entrance and saying farewell to Yellowstone.

A straight drive to Cody until... passing alongside Buffalo Bill Reservoir what do we find but the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitors Center. We've not seen that mentioned or indicated anywhere in the guide books or anywhere else. It's a little gem. There's not much to it but it was an unexpected pleasure. It was one of the first all concrete dams to be built. Originally used to control the water it's now used to generate electricity too.

Leaving that soon found ourselves in Cody and our hotel for the night. We've done just over 1000 miles and this marks the half way point.

In Yellowstone

Well, another day of incredible scenery. One starts to run out of superlatives to describe it.

This morning we did a little shopping and wandered around West Yellowstone. Unlike the last time we were here everything was open. I bought not one but two pouches. They are so useful to use instead of filling pockets.

The plan for today was to end up at Gardiner but take a different route to the one we had done before. The map will show our route.

We went up to Norris and past the superb Norris Geyser Basin - a sight to behold in winter – and on to the Canyon Village. We stopped there for a coffee and went into the visitors centre. The NPS had an exhibition about Yellowstone as a super volcano. There wasn't anything there that we didn't already know but it did have a rather unusual globe of the world. It was a large rock globe, some three feet in diameter, with the land masses etched onto it and the main volcanic areas marked in red. That wasn't the unusual thing about it. It was how they made it rotate. It was totally free to spin any direction as it has was supported and lubricated by water being forced under it so that it sat on a cushion of water. As is the way with such things the little sweet hearts were just making the globe spin faster and faster. I actually wanted to look at. So with one hand I slowed it down and the little oik tried to make it spin. I'm pleased to report that he gave up and disappeared leaving me, tee hee, to look at it properly. It was very easy to manoeuvre and position the right way up and then spend a few minutes actually looking and studying it.

Upstairs they had some very good displays showing where volcanoes and earthquakes had occurred since the 1960s built up on computer screens and a display showing the seismic activity in the area.

On driving out from the Canyon Village we did a tour of the 'Grand Canyon of Yellowstone'. This was an auto-tour, what else in the USA!, and did we encounter slow moving cars and some very odd parking practices. However, the first view we stopped at was at the Virginia Falls. These were magnificent. At some point I will put together a site showing some, not all of the pictures taken as that's the best way to appreciate them. These falls, like the Lewis Falls mark the edge of the Yellowstone caldera. It was like a version of the Grand Canyon in one valley. There were one or two wingey characters of the 'what's so special about these' variety. They wanted to go out on the promontory and do something – like drop off hopefully.

As a side note, some of the areas that we've passed through have been as spectacular as Grand Canyon. Some have been like Death valley with greenery. Quite stunning. What takes one by surprise is the sudden shift in scenery; one minute you're driving through a magnificent, steep sided canyon and then you're out on a plateau and the transition is so sudden.

We didn't stop at all the points as they looked rather crowded and difficult to park sensibly. We got back to the Grand Loop road and towards Dunraven Pass. The roads were steep and twisty but easy enough to drive. We stopped just after the pass for some pictures and as it started to rain decided to head on towards Tower Falls.

Tower Falls was where we had tried to get to last October but failed due to the snow. This time we would make it. Up, down, twisty roads and past Mount Washburn where we stopped and looked out across the main caldera, which is completely covered in trees. Soon we arrived at the Falls and despite it looking busy we stopped and took the requisite pictures. One little thing amused us. We had seen lots of older looking bikers, grey haired, beards, sun glasses, leathers, no helmets, (and that was only the women!) bandanas – basically, the works. Just as we got to the falls there were some bikers putting on white coveralls to keep off the rain! What wimps or didn't they want to get their nice leathers/denims wet?

Again these Falls were fantastic and quite spectacular. As we're going to be heading that way again on the way to Cody we'll probably drop in on them again or at least some of the other viewpoints.

As we swung up towards Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner we were travelling on the road that we had planned last October when all the snow stopped us. As we swung around a bend there were the Undine Falls, the furthest that we had got the last time we were here. We pulled off the road and I filmed the falls again but this time we ventured down to the top of the falls and I have gotten some amazing footage of the falls from directly above. They were just as amazing this time as before but easier to get to.

We made our way to Gardiner, stopping off at the same store as last October but the same woman wasn't there. So it was then off to the motel.