Monday night

Today we went into Yellowstone park. We saw a few elk and quite a few bison, as well as seeing the upper falls, a quick look at the lower falls, and the lake. We also saw some hot springs and geysers. It's pretty in the summer, but honestly I think I preferred it in the spring.

We ate breakfast and dinner in West Yellowstone - dinner at a place that served lots of local microbrews, but unfortunately none from West Yellowstone's own Wolf Pack Brewery as they didn't brew this year.  I tried a nice amber ale from Bozeman, Montana called Bozone.

We're at the same campsite tonight and tomorrow we'll be camping on a ranch in Wyoming, owned by Autumn's mum's friend's friend's friend who said we could stay for free! The day after that we're going to Denver, Colorado.

Monday morning

Last night was our first night camping. Cool! I slept quite well - we had inflatable mattresses as well as sleeping bags. The campground is nice, there is a big lake (Hebgen lake) which our site is right next to, and lots of trees. Our tent was pretty easy to set up, and then we built a fire and heated up some soup over it - we tried to make macaroni cheese but mosquitoes kept falling into the water! The sky was very clear, I could see so many stars, it was really nice. We are staying here another night then heading to Colorado. Today we're going to Yellowstone, hooray!

Saturday night

Today we drove to Boise, Idaho, about halfway along the route to Yellowstone. We were going to camp but couldn't find anywhere, so we're in a budget motel which isn't bad. 

We were supposed to meet Jesse for breakfast this morning but as it was his birthday he'd been out the night before and overslept today, so we had breakfast at the hotel - very filling - then shared a waffle from the Waffle Window, it was very good. We used the hotel wifi to research campgrounds near Yellowstone and found a good place where we'll be staying the next couple of nights.

Friday night

Today we spent the morning packing and sorting our things out, before going to lunch with Carolyne at the truck stop, then we set off to Portland, where Carolyne had paid for a room in a fancy hotel for us. It's really classy! Once we'd checked in we got some food and Jason and I had some free beer (it was happy hour) and then we hung out in the lobby and played cards, checkers, and air hockey in the games room. We had some more drinks and then came to bed.

Tomorrow we're meeting Autumn's uncle Jesse for breakfast - it's his birthday - then setting off for a stop along the way to Yellowstone. 

Thursday night

This morning Carolyne made us American-style 'biscuits' - like a flaky, savoury scone - for breakfast, then she took us to the gun club's shooting range to fire her 38-caliber snub-nosed revolver. It was really fun, I managed to get 2 bullseyes! After that we came home for lunch before going to another river for swimming and gold-panning. We had to search a while for a non-claimed area to pan, one spot had been claimed by 'Mad Dog' - the sign was riddled with bullet holes! The old man operating the dredge raft, presumably Mad Dog himself, looked like a real pioneer, with a long grey beard. Carolyne's handyman Charles, who we had met earlier, was similar - he was a very nice man but a bit crazy-looking, and kind of dirty. He had built his ramshackle house himself, along with a cage around his vines to keep the raccoons out. Tonight we ate at Carolyne's and watched a film before going to bed, and tomorrow we're leaving for Yellowstone.

Wednesday night

This morning we went to the wildlife safari park - it's like a cross between a safari park and a zoo. We saw animals from all around the world. Afterwards we ate in a nearby town, went food shopping and then went to a park to feed ducks and nutria (although the nutria never showed up) and then the three of us went to swim in another river, which was nice.

Tuesday night

Yesterday we drove all afternoon to get to Canyonville, Oregon, where Autumn's grandma lives. We arrived at about 8pm, met Carolyne (who is lovely and very hospitable) who took us to a restaurant at a nearby truck stop - apparently one of the biggest in the US. Afterward, we took a walk around her property which is beautiful. It's a little way out of town and is quite wilderness-y. Wild deer, cats and turkeys come right into the garden!
Today we went to a local diner for lunch after spending the morning eating breakfast and playing scrabble. I had a traditional diner-style milkshake with my meal which was lovely, and then we went to a little waterfall in the river, about 40 miles away. There were a lot of other people swimming there, and it was so beautiful! The water was crystal-clear and mostly slow-flowing. People were jumping off the waterfall into the pool beneath, swimming, or relaxing on the rocky shore. I would kill to live here.
In the afternoon Autumn, Jason and I went to the wal-mart to buy camping supplies, got food, then went back and played cards. It was a good day. Tomorrow morning we're going to the zoo/park nearby.

Monday morning

I arrived to Ventura on Friday, after two fairly long flights. It took me forever to get through Chicago O'Hare airport, and thanks to the passport control and security measures I only just made it to my second flight as they were closing the doors - luckily I did get on. 

Once I landed in Los Angeles airport, Autumn came to pick me up and we went back to Ventura to hang out with her dad, younger brother, and her sister. After a while her boyfriend Jason came round and the three of us went to get some food. When we got back, her older brother and his girlfriend were there too. It was a very full house! We hung around some more and then went to bed.

On Saturday we overslept a little, had some breakfast, and then Autumn's friend Jenna came round and took us to pick up the rental car. Unfortunately, due to us being late, the car was no longer there so we had to wait for another to come in. It turned out to be a good thing because the car was slightly bigger, and allowed us to pack all of our stuff in. After sorting that out we went to get lunch - a local dentist's surgery had an In-n-Out Burger van outside giving away free burgers and drinks! We went back to pack our things and then left for Mariposa, near Yosemite park, where Jason's family had a holiday home.  We arrived in the evening and set ourselves up on a mattress in the main sitting room.

On Sunday we went to Yosemite - it's so beautiful! We drove all around it and saw some amazing sights - towering cliffs, huge waterfalls, rivers, and lots and lots of pine trees. After spending the day there we went to eat at a Japanese restaurant then went home and watched 'Memento', a good film.

Today, Monday, we're heading North again to Oregon, where Autumn's grandma lives.