For the last week or so I've been carving plates of mashed potatos, waking up with sunburn down one side of my face and hearing a repetetive series of musical notes.  Today we leave the wyoming welcome centre with a leaflet and directions to the Devils Tower......

"This means something"

The tower is an extraordinary sight, at this time of year the ranger station is deserted and no one collects the national monument fee as we aproach. We get to drive right around the monument and can't help but photograph it from all angles.  There is of course a geological explanation for it's shape but the Indian legend is much much more beautiful.

7 beautiful young sisters went down to the river to collect water and fruit from trees that were growing there.  On their way back they came across a bear. The enormous creature decided to make a meal of the girls and they ran as fast as they could, but the bear kept gaining on them. 

Eventually the girls came upon a low rocky place, and too tired to run further they knelt and wept for their fate and preyed to the spirit of the rock to help them.

The spirit was merciful and slowly the rock began to grow out of the surrounding land. The bear ran up and launched himself after the girls but already the rock and grown over his height, in his rage he began clawing at the rock, digging great gouges down the sides of the rock.  Now on this side, now on the other the bear continued to claw the rock as it grew heavenwards, but every time the bear could not gain a purchase and slid down the the rock, leaving more and more grooves.

The great spirit kept the rock growing until it reached the heavens where it left the girls.  This was many, many years ago, and the rock has weathered away leaving the girls trapped in the sky. 

If you look up, you can still see the beautiful shining faces of the seven sisters (The Pleiades) as they look down to earth, fearing the bear and wondering if they can ever dare to come down to their people again.

From Devil's tower we're driving though the town of Buffalo and on to Cody, which puts us within striking distance of Yellowstone.  All day as we drive across this extraordinary landscape a range of black mountains, each snow capped, has been growing across our path from one horizon to the other.  The town of Cody is like a dream to someone raised on Rawhide and the Virginian etc.  We're staying in the Irma hotel, built by Buffalo Bill! for his daughter Irma.

It's a fantastic old place, full of character with a bar packed full of characters, all discussing their chances in the bar raffle, the prize being a lever action repeating rifle as used by "The Rifleman" (was it Doug Mclure?)

Right across the street is a building, now a jewlery store which was once a bank.....The last bank robbed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!!...For christs sake!!

The weather has changed completely, the sky is unbroken blue, the air clear and crisp in the morning with the temperature reapidly rising to the late 70s by midday.  The solid wall of mountains through which we need to drive look simply amazing if a little daunting.

As  we drive through country ways we spot a rattle snake curving across the road, we have to back up to look at him but fear he's have made a wriggle for it.  Obviously we don't know much about Rattlesnakes, he curves into a defensive knot in the road and seems perfectly happy to take on the car if needs be!

From Cody up into Montana and on toward the Big Horn national park  and its' staggering wide open vistas.  The mountain road still lined be deep snow, the midday sun sparkles on it looking as though it's been strewn with diamonds.  Through the tiny "town" of Emblem, population 10, to Cooke "City" and Silverdale and finally into Yellowstone Park.

In Cooke City we stop off in a food market where we get a couple of sandwiches made.  The Italian Stallion, pepperami, smoked ham, pickles, mustard, big enough to stand on to reach those tough little corners when painting the ceiling. Inside the park we stop at a stunning spot to munch away happily and swap those, isn't it fan-freaking-tastic to be alive? looks of disbelief at our surroundings.

My superlative pantry has never really been over stocked and describing Yellowstone is I'm afraid somewhat beyond me such is the grandeur of the place.  The colours and scale of the place are simply mind boggling, the absolute, utter beauty of the scenery are enough to render most people speechless.  One exception to this being Kayla.

Kayla is I guess 13-14 years of age, she has a hoody cinched around her, her arms crossed on her chest as she stomps along.

"Hey Mommy" she screeches in a voice that would seperate Haddock from breadcrumbs at 100 metres.

"How come we never see any wildlife?"

"I don't know Kayla....know kayla kay la la la la" her mother bellows, the echoes off the surrounding mountains slowly dying....

A solitary crow a few meters above us clenches against the sudden noise, two feathers, involuntarily shed, float slowly to earth catching the sun as they turn, "Squark!"...He launches himself in that lazy crow way and falling few feet before bothering to open his wings and with one lazy flap, enters a rising thermal of warm air which, lifts him, without effort, over a tree line into another Kayla-less valley.  Kayla huges her chest tighter, ensures her head is back in her hoody such that she can't see anything other than what's directly in front of her...."This sucks"

We're going to have a nights rest in West Yellowstone, a nice little town by (you guessed it) the west entrance to the park.  West yellowstone is a cute little place and we have some chicken wings in a sauce that could probably strip barnacles off a battleship and some beers in the Buffalo bar.

Up bright and breezy we fuel up. I go into the gas station office to pre-pay the fuel and buy a couple of sandwiches for later in the day.

"Y'all goin' inta tha park?"

"Uh-Huh"

"Way'all I hope y'all see a great big fat bar"

And we do. two of 'em.  We're stunned at the size of the things as they lumber into the lumber like a pair of mobile hills, in their winter coats and packed full of goodies to keep them warm through the hibernation, they're massive. 

The previous evening as we left the park we'd come across a herd of Elk.  The early evening sun was low in the sky and a golden light slanted across the mountains and the nearby tree tops lighting a meadow of green, gold, red, and silver grasses through which wound a saphire stream which, reflecting the deep blue of the sky chuckled over rocks and fallen trees.  The air is full of insects and flying silk webs lit silver and gold.  A magnificent stag is herding his queens and princesses from a stand of trees, across the stream to an island and then into more forest.  He throws back his head, bellows, breath steaming in the early evening chill and stomps into the river. In twos and threes the rest of the herd, maybe 20-30 animals in all cross the clearing feet away from us.  What a fantastic thing to see. 

We make our way around the rest of the park taking a couple of trails into fire hole lake, the artists paint pots (a series of chemical springs and mud holes) and of course Old faithful.  Ordinarily when Kim and I turn up to something we've just missed the event.  We lost count of the times we'd wonder into a bar just as the band takes a 30 minute break only to be bugged by some bloody drummer or other collecting tips for a band we've never seen.

What do you know, we roll up to the parking lot and hike up to old faithful and within 2 minutes up she goes!  I have to admit that afterwards we did have to ask "is that it?"  It maybe we'd been all amazing sighted out by this time, but it didn't seem that spectacular.  What we saw next however  was a whole nother  thing!

Jackson Hole looks a cool place, we'll head there.  Through the Grand Teton range we go.  Dear sweet jesus! What a staggering place.  Pictures painting a thousand words as they do, I'm going to take the lazy way out and try to let my uncertain photography skills give you a flavour of the Tetons.  After a heartbreakingly beautiful drive we wind into Jackson Hole and locate our preffered lodgin's The Mountain Modern Motel. From the outside it don't promise much, looking like what we've come to know as a mom and pop motel. 

All external deck access units surrounding parking in a "Bates Motel" style.  Once inside the Mountain Modern however we're just delighted with the room.  All modern fixtures but decked out like a cabin, the lamps and light fittings are hurricane lights on chains, a lovely floor to ceiling painting of a river with mountain back drop backs the headboards of our double queen room.

Next morning after an evening meal of soup and chilli at the Brewhouse bar and grill we're sad to be leaving the motel and we tell them that.

"we'd like to stay longer but it's quite expensive" We say (It's around $120 per night)

"What do you want to pay?" says the counter clerk.

I have no idea what she thinks I say but it's

"well in twin falls we can get a room for the next couple of nights at $75 a night"

"Oh, you won't get a room in Jackson for that, the best we can do is a local rate of $59"

"Can we think about that......OK we'll take it!"

Lovely! another day in in wonderful Jackson.  We while it away touriung the dozens of artists studios.  The standard of the work is just superb.  In particular the bronzes take our eye (But starting at around $5,000 not our dollars unfortunately)

Tonite to cap it all the local theatre is starting their halloween run of an Adams family show so we get a couple of tickets.

It's a lovely antique theatre and we file in at show time with our beers from the entrance hall which doubles as restaraunt and bar, all packed with dummies, vampires, headless bodies etc and take our  seats.  It's a really good show in the finest panto tradition, lots of cross dressing and double meaning to keep the adults interested and plenty of fart gags for the kids.  We're out in time to hit the Millionaire Cowboy Bar's country band and couples western swing dancin' session before hitting the hay, tard, very tard....but heppy.