Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico (briefly), Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota.
Redwood, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Great Sand Dunes, Theodore Roosevelt. (And the Garden of the Gods, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore don't even count)
The first part of our USA visit is coming to an end. We cross back into Canada tomorrow (assuming they let us in) to visit cousins in Saskatchewan and then Alberta. There might be a bit of a blog gap.
But before that we have had yet another fabulous day. They just keep coming and coming. Our final National Park for now, is just across the road from where we are staying in Medora North Dakota. Having got here in enough time we managed an hour's walk in the landscape that inspired Theodore Roosevelt, to create a system of land preservation through the National Forests and expansion of the National Parks. It's one of the reasons he is at Mount Rushmore. The park in North Dakota that bears his name is another worthy of the title, full of wildlife (bison, prairie dogs, elk, golden eagles etc), and twisted landscapes that up here are called the "Badlands" - presumably because it was useless for farming.
The prairie dogs would not cooperate and sit up close enough for us to grab a great picture but as dusk was approaching the bison were wandering towards the river in amiable procession. We got up close and personal - but not too close!
Earlier in the day I had taken myself off to Sturgis, the capital of American motorcycling, while Nareesa did some work (one of us has to). Here in early August as many as a million motorcyclists descend on this town of 7000 people of the biggest motorcycle rally in the world. You read that right, up to a million!! I have no idea where they all stay - lots of camping apparently, but it must be quite an event. Much more tamely I simply visited the motorcycle museum of memorabilia and vintage motorcycles. But I did vow to try to get back one day on a bike. Just not sure I can handle the million crowd!
And finally for now, we found ourselves, again through serendipity and no planning of our own, at the geographical centre of the USA. On approach, I thought that can't be right, we are too far north, but since Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union it has moved from its location in Kansas (which is still the centre for the 48 mainland states) to a field in South Dakota, on the northern edge of Belle Fourche. Apparently more accurately it's in a privately owned field about 20 miles further north but that lacks a little romance and the good people of Belle Fourche had the foresight to claim it as the nearest town. Every little helps in the battle for tourists.
Well, that is it for a few days probably. The weekend will be taken up catching up with several cousins - I've got lots of them in this part of the world, and have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in Saskatchewan and Alberta over the years. There will be food to eat, beer to drink, an an awful lot of rubbish to talk. I'll catch up with this again next week sometime. Bye for now. I'll leave you with some more bison. They are gorgeous!
Non of your Beach cousins will remember me. The first time I was on the farm was with Graham Liddle.. We had brought him over as a high school graduation present. As Graham turns 58 this month, that means it was 40 years ago. The last was with my Mum and Dad when we lived in Ohio. That was 42 years ago.
Have a wonderful time with your families. Safe travel.