A trip to the Gower Peninsula

A big fan of Wales – and especially the Welsh coast – I’ve spent a lot of time exploring Pembrokeshire National Park over several visits and the North Wales coast around Snowdonia National Park but despite numerous recommendations from friends and colleagues over the years, my only experience of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales near Swansea was a disappointingly soggy family day trip there way back in the late 90s while on a summer vacation staying on the southern fringes of (where else!) Pembrokeshire.

A walk on Port Eynon Beach, looking towards Horton Bay

Then, in the absence of the internet at our finger tips, we had used a giant road map along with good, old-fashioned road signs, to navigate our way to the Mumbles, right on the edge of the Gower coast line only to find no beach with it being high tide and getting caught in an almighty downpour walking from the town to the pier. In search of one of the ‘stunning’ beaches we had heard about but having done no research before our spur-of-the-moment day out, we had later stopped off at another nearby bay, my only recollection of it being small, by a hill and quite old-fashioned with beach huts lining the walkway at the back – not a lot to go on!

So, after continuously hearing good things about the Gower coastline in the many years since, we finally decided to return and this time, for longer than a few hours, deciding to book a week away in the area. Finding a holiday cottage in the small village of Scurlage, I set about researching where to visit in the area.

Arriving from work late on a Friday evening, we were up and ready to be out the next morning. We decided to make our first port of call the closest bay to where we were based, Port Eynon beach, just over a mile away through the small, pretty village of the same name. With it being low tide mid-morning, there was plenty of beach available to explore in the pretty bay and we walked the stretch of the sands to Horton Bay at the opposite end before returning to the car park for lunch. If we hadn’t brought a picnic with us, we would have been fine as there were a few takeaways and cafes offering fish and chips and other snacks and meals for anyone looking to eat out. After another walk, this time in the other direction where the old Port Eynon Salt House ruins sit above the bay, we returned to the cafes to grab a well-deserved ice cream.

The next morning we decided to head to Oxwich Bay, a larger stretch of sand which we had read was a popular destination for families in the summer months.

Lily investigates a lobster pot on Oxwich Beach

The main access to the beach here is owned privately by the Penrice Estate and unless you want to hike in, you have no choice but to pay to park on the large car park they own. With it being mid-March rather than the height of summer, the parking charge for the day was £5 rather than the £7/£8 we had expected from our research. As well as a large car park, there were toilets, cafes and restaurants on site behind the large expanse of sand.

Again, the tide was way out and after a walk to the southern end of the bay for a better view of St Illtyd’s Church, hidden in the trees of the cliffside, we returned to the car park for our picnic lunch before walking in the opposite direction towards Three Cliffs Bay in the distance.

It was certainly a beautiful beach with the dunes backing it and clear, shallow waters. For those who want it, there’s also walkways through the dunes to Nicholaston Wood and Burrows.

As we left the beach later that day, we called in at the Dunes Cafe across the road from the car park for ice creams. From here it was also possible to access a board walk across Oxwich Marsh, a nature reserve popular with bird watchers.

After two mainly sunny days, we awoke to heavy rain the next day and decided to have a ride out a bit further along the southern coast, aiming for Langland Bay just west of the Mumbles. Walking from the car park to the beach, I immediately recognised it as the beach-hut-lined bay we had stopped off at all those years ago on our day trip here!

With the tide out this time, there was more beach to explore than on our last visit with lots of rock pools revealed along the sea front.

Low tide reveals sea caves at Caswell Bay

After lunch, we drove the short distance to the next bay along, Caswell Bay.

If we had had more time, we could have walked along the coast path between the two bays but after having trouble working out the car park’s pay and display meter, we’d found ourselves with a ticket for just one hour which had already flew by so instead, we drove between the two.

Pretty scenery and rick formations at Caswell Bay

Despite Caswell Bay appearing to be the smaller of the two beaches, with it being low tide (and having finally worked out the parking metres!), we spent a lot more time here marvelling at the rock formations revealed under the cliff and it was our favourite of our two stops that day.

Above, looking down on Rhoselli Bay from the Worms Head coast path, and below, a walk along the coast path towards Worms Head

We awoke to glorious sunshine again the next morning and decided to drive to one of the Gower’s more famous beaches, Rhoselli. From the National Trust car park here, it is possible to access both the long stretch of beach (via a rather steep coast path) and the coast path to Worms Head, an island you can actually walk out to at low tide when the causeway is visible.

The Worms Head Causeway revealed by low tide

We decided to begin the day with a walk towards Worm’s Head (which gets its name from the Viking word ‘wurm’ meaning dragon after Viking invaders thought it resembled a sea serpent). There were beautiful views of Rhosilli Beach from the coast path and we even saw wild ponies grazing along the way.

A wild pony sleeps on the cliff top as we walk back from the Worms Head viewpoint

We made it as far as the old coastguard station from where there were clear views of Worms Head out in front but despite there still being a couple of hours during which the causeway would be accessible, decided not to tackle the walk out there and instead retraced our steps back to the car park. With my father finding the path down to the beach a bit too steep for him to manage, we decided to try and access the beach further up from a more accessible route later on in the week and instead stayed on the cliff top to enjoy the views from the coast path.

With a day of sunshine and showers forecast the next day, we decided to go for another ride out, this time to the Mumbles right on the edge of the Gower Peninsula. Parking in a bay along the sea front, we walked in the direction of the pier. With the sea on its way out, we detoured down to the beach – although I use this word loosely, it was more like mud flats and we found our boots sinking into the sand on a few occasions! Making our way back up to the esplanade, we reached the busy pier area with its arcade and cafes. The pier itself was partly closed off allowing us to only walk as far as its old-fashioned clock tower.

With the tide drifting further and further out, a small bay had been revealed on the far side of the pier overlooking Mumbles Lighthouse so we clambered down the steps for a walk along the bay. Some visitors were taking the opportunity to walk out to the lighthouse but we decided to admire it from where we were.

A rainbow over Swansea Bay following a heavy downpour

The tide was not quite out far enough yet to walk around the corner to the next bay, Bracelet Bay and the coast path from the pier was quite steep so instead, we returned to the car right as a heavy shower began to rain down on us.

The sun was still shining though and we were lucky enough to see a beautiful double rainbow shine brightly across the bay as we ate our lunch from the cover of the car.

Driving the short distance around the headland to Bracelet Bay we arrived in its large car park overlooking the bay. The rain had stopped and the sun was once again shining and there were beautiful views of the pretty beach and the other side of the Mumbles Lighthouse in the distance. We tried to walk down to the bay but only made it so far as the steps down to the beach disappeared, leading out to steeps, slippy rocks which my elderly parents (and I still suffering slightly from my Achilles tendon injury) found too difficult to navigate down.

Taking a walk along the Welsh coastal path at Cwm Ivy

Instead, once back in the car park, we walked to the other end of the car park where the low tide had revealed another bay, Limeslade, which was more accessible so we made our way down and had a wander along the pebbles and down to the water’s edge here before heading back to Scurlage for the evening.

With one full day left of our trip, and more sunshine and showers forecast, we still had a lot of the coast to explore. We decided to begin our day with a walk to Whiteford Beach, a beach recommended by our hosts in the information pack left in our cottage accommodation.

This beach was a bit harder to access than many of the others we had visited this trip, requiring us to park up in a farmers field just outside of the village of Cwm Ivy (payment via an honesty box!) and walk through National Trust land down a coastal path, through woodlands and across a marshy nature reserve. It was a pretty walk but but the rain was falling heavier and heavier and the path was getting increasingly hard to navigate as it flooded with us having to try and find ways around the often quite deep water.

Stormy weather walking across the sand dunes at Broughton Bay, Worms Head in the distance

A walk through the dunes to the beach at Hill End

Unfortunately, when we came out of the wooded area and into the marshland which backs the beach, there was no way around the water and with the rain still bouncing down around us, we made the decision to turn around and walk back having not quite made it out to the beach itself.

With three car parks marked on the north-west coast of the Gower map at our cottage, we decided to drive to the next one down at Broughton Bay. The rain had briefly stopped and the sun was once again shining so here, we took a walk across the sweeping sand dunes offering beautiful views over Rhossili Bay.

The long stretch of sand at Rhoselli Bay accessed from the Hill End car park

Driving down to the next car park marked on the map, our final stop was at Hill End where a board walk through the dunes gave easy access to the northern end of Rhossili Bay.

Unfortunately, as we started to walk along the long stretch of sand and stones, heavy rain started to fall once again and this coupled with the strong wind out on the exposed bay caused us to turn around and head back to change our clothes and dry off. As we returned to the car park, we spotted yet another beautiful rainbow, this time shining over the sand dunes.

A final stroll on the beach – back at Port Eynon

Up early the next morning to check out of our holiday accommodation, we decided to make the most of the early morning sunshine before the forecast showers moved in and headed back to the nearby Port Eynon bay for a last stroll on the beach before we grabbed a delicious freshly cooked breakfast from the local Granary Cafe back in Scurlage and making our way home.

The Gower Peninsula had turned out to be every bit as beautiful and people and told us it was and we all agreed that we would love to return to the area to revisit the beautiful bays we had discovered on this trip and explore the areas we had not had chance to see yet!

Winter Sun in Tenerife

It’s always nice to have something to look forward to when January once again ticks around. And especially if that something is a bit of warm sunshine to break up the cold, winter days. So my friends and I had been thinking about a short getaway to the Canaries for some winter sun for a while. When some of our favourite 90s pop acts announced a gig at one of Tenerife’s Hard Rock venues, our decision of which island to visit was made for us and 5 nights in Playa de las Americas at a hotel just a short walk from the venue was booked.

The view from our balcony in Playa de las Americas

Just days after booking our Jet2 Holidays package, the gig was unceremoniously cancelled before we’d even had chance to purchase our tickets. But we weren’t too disappointed as in 6 short weeks, we’d still be getting our 5 days in the sunshine and having previously visited both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, I was looking forward to seeing a different Canary Island.

Once Christmas was out of the way, we started to do some research on how to spend those days – plenty of relaxing around the pool/on the beach but we also wanted to see something of the island. A trip to Teide National Park was a definite and maybe a boat trip. Knowing the boat trips can be tide and weather dependent, we decided to wait til we arrived and to book that on the day we decided to do it as there seemed to be enough companies around the resort offering them that we were sure there’d be availability somewhere.

As for the National Park trip, we really wanted to get the cable car up Mount Teide but were either struggling to find companies offering this as an add on to the basic park visit excursion or were seeing negative reviews from people who had thought they’d pre-booked this only to then be told they’d booked the wrong thing on the day. We looked into booking the excursion through our travel operator Jet2 but the information on the website informed us that if we wanted to add on the cable car, we’d have to book in person with our in-resort rep. So again, we decided not to book in advance and to chance booking once we’d arrived in Tenerife.

With an early flight out of Birmingham, we decided to book an airport hotel plumping for the Hilton Garden Inn, across the road from the terminal but surprisingly reasonable splitting the price three ways for our triple room. Packing an overnight bag for hand luggage with pyjamas and a few basic toiletries, we made use of Jet2’s twilight check-in, allowing us to check in our hold luggage the evening before our morning flight in order to save a bit of time at the airport the next day.

Up early, we stepped out into a bitterly cold February morning and crossed the road to the airport looking forward to sunshine forecast to greet us in Tenerife later that day. Queues for airport security were thankfully way down on my last few visits to this airport and we were soon though and in the surprisingly busy departure lounge where we had the traditional Wetherspoons’ breakfast and grabbed a few last minute essentials from Boots before boarding our flight.

Above, views of Playa del Camison as we begun our walkalong the coast path to Los Cristianos, and below, looking out across the ocean from near Los Cristianos harbour

Despite not paying extra to pick our seats, we’d been seated together on our outward flight (but in three different rows returning!). Boarding was later than planned and we departed almost an hour late, the pilot explaining in detail the technicalities of defrosting the plane’s wings which was apparently the cause! We managed to make up some of the time though, arriving at Tenerife South Airport just half an hour later than scheduled. Stepping off the plane into the warm sunshine felt amazing and luckily it didn’t take long to navigate passport control and be reunited with our luggage.

Transfers were included in our package and there were plenty of Jet2 reps around to guide us to the coach that would take us to our hotel. It was just a short 15-20 minute ride to our resort and after a couple of drop offs in the neighbouring Los Cristianos, we were one of the first drop offs in our resort of Playa de las Americas.

The hotel we had booked, Parque Santiago III/IV was split across two buildings, one either side of the road. We had read reviews saying building IV had recently been renovated whereas III was in badly in need of updating and had put in a request to be allocated a room in IV but having read that these were mainly allocated to those who had booked direct rather than through package operators, we were not surprised to be told we’d be in building III. We were at least excited to find our room was ready despite it being almost 3 hours before check in time.

It took us a while to find the block our room was in – it wasn’t accessed through the reception as you’d normally expect but instead we had to walk down the main road and through the outdoor seating area of a pizza restaurant to get to the gates leading to our room!

Above, and below, on board the yacht enjoying our sailing trip

Entering our apartment, we saw exactly what the reviews we’d read meant. The room looked like it had been furnished in the 70s and not updated since and as we opened cupboards and drawers in the kitchen to see what utensils we had available, knobs came off in our hand and drawers came off their runners sending cutlery crashing to the floor. The position of the room was on the corner and partly facing out onto the main road and this, along with a low overhang from the balcony above, meant it got very little sun and the apartment was very dark.

Slightly disappointed at the lack of a sunny balcony, we knew we wouldn’t be spending a huge amount of time in the apartment anyway and would be able to make do so we wasted no time in changing into our swimwear and summer clothes and headed straight out to make the most of the remaining warm sunshine.

It was just a short walk to the pretty Playa del Camison beach and after grabbing an ice cream along the way, we settled down on the golden sands. Despite the warm sunshine, it was also very windy and after a while, we couldn’t take being whipped by sand flying around any longer and decided to see if the pool area would be more sheltered. Directly accessible from a gate off the coast path behind the beach, as soon as the gate was shut behind us, the wind dropped and we found a spot in the sunshine to relax out of the wind.

We’d read that the pool at our hotel wasn’t heated (our wristbands did give us access to the facilities at the neighbouring hotel where the pool was heated though). Deciding to give it a try anyway, we found it was indeed absolutely freezing but after a lot of shivering, we eventually got in and got used to it for a quick dip.

Once the sun started to go down and lose it’s strength, we headed back to our apartment for a quick change before venturing out to a nearby supermarket to do a shop which we hoped would last us most, if not all, of our stay.

Arriving back at the marina just at sun set

Tired from the early start and travelling, we had decided to stay in that night. After quickly whipping up some pasta, we were sat out on the balcony relaxing when suddenly loud music started blaring out. It was so loud we had to move off the balcony as we were struggling to hear each other over it and the walls and windows of the bedroom were shaking. It seemed to be coming from a DJ in an outdoor seating area at the neighbouring hotel across the road. Worrying that this was going to go on into the early hours, we had to eventually ring through to reception who assured us that even though this would be a nightly occurrence, it wouldn’t go on past 11pm. While this meant we’d not quite be getting the quiet, relaxing evenings sat out on the balcony we’d planned (we’d actually emailed the hotel before our trip requesting a quiet room!), we were at least relieved it wouldn’t be going on too late into the night!

The next morning, the hotel that kept on giving had another surprise in store for us when we tried to make toast and the fuse tripped every time we tried to use the toaster! Luckily the fuse box was in an obvious place and we were able to get the electricity back on again. Using the grill instead, we made our first port of call that morning the hotel reception to request a new toaster and see if there was a quieter room to move to. We were assured the toaster would be replaces ASAP but were told it would be the following day at the earliest before another room was available and as we were only staying 5 nights, it seemed more hassle to move at that point than to stay put and put up with the music.

Above, a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe, and below, watching the dancing fountains

That morning, the weather was beautiful and we decided it might be a good day to do a boat trip. Knowing that a lot of the trips went from the neighbouring resort of Los Cristianos, we decided to take the 20 minute walk along the coast path to the harbour there and see what was available. It was a nice walk with pretty views and small coved along the way. Along the front there were also plenty of stands offering excursions so we stopped to discuss the boat options with a few along the way.

Once in Los Cristianos, we spent some time on the beach, had some lunch and even ventured into the ocean (which was warmer than the pool back at the hotel!) before walking back to Playa de las Americas. While on the beach we had decided we’d like to take a sunset sail that evening on a small sail boat rather than on one of the larger, cheaper but busier boats and stopped along the way to book this with one of the vendors we had previously spoken too, haggling for a deal on the price.

Views from the coach on our excursion to Teide National Park

The cruise departed from the port at Costa Adeje, a 40 minute walk along the coast from us in the other direction and being short on time at this point, we caught a taxi there from our hotel. Although we’d been told the boat trip took up to 15 passengers, we were pleased to find just one other group of 4 on board with us and as they stayed at the stern and we sat up front, it felt like we were having a private cruise!

Above, views from our first stop, and below, exploring Roques de Garcia with its famous Roque Cinchado

The weather was perfect, not at all too chilly for the time of year and although we failed to spot any dolphins along the way, we did see a couple of pilot whales. The cruise included unlimited drinks and there were also sandwiches to snack on.

Posing in front of Mount Teide in Roques de Garcia

The next morning, we awoke to cloudy weather so decided to catch the land train around the resort. We had hoped there’d be some kind of commentary along the way or at least something interesting to see but it literally just went up and down the strip and past some hotels stopping at a couple of other different points within the resort for anyone who wanted to get off an explore. As the sun was starting to come out – and we also wanted to meet with the Jet2 rep at our resort – we decided not to hop off and just to return to the stop by our hotel and, after meeting with our rep and booking onto an excursion to Teide National Park the next day, we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool.

That evening, we ate out at the Hard Rock Cafe before having drinks at a bar at the Safari Shopping Centre and watching the dancing fountains – it was hardly Vegas or Dubai but passed a few minutes!!

Above, and below, catching the cable car up Mt Teide

We were up early the next morning to take an excursion to Teide National Park. After a rather unnecessary stop at Vilaflore for coffee (queues for what appeared to be the only cafe in the tiny village were huge and there was seemingly nothing else to do and nowhere else to go if you didn’t want to buy anything), we drove into the National Park stopping at a viewpoint of Mount Teide for photos.

The next stop was at Roques de Garcia to see a variety of interesting volcanic rock formations including the famous Roque Cinchado. The circular walk past the various rocks also offered more views of Mount Teide in the distance.

Above, closer to the summit of Mt Teide, and below, volcanic scenery hiking to the viewpoint

As we had opted to catch the cable car to the top of Mount Teide, we were then dropped at the cable car station. The other passenger would continue their tour of the park while we were exploring at the summit.

We managed to get by the window in the cable car so we could enjoy the views on the way up.

Permits are needed to hike to the very top of the volcano once you reach the station at the summit but if you haven’t applied for this (as we hadn’t) you can take a hike to a viewpoint instead or just enjoy the views.

The hike to the viewpoint wasn’t the easiest with the uneven volcanic rocks underfoot which sometimes had to be scrambled over but it was worth it to get close enough to the top of the volcano to see the fumeroles as well as for the stunning views over Tenerife.

Catching the cable car back down was not much fun as the car was packed to capacity and we were squashed right in the middle with very little room and nothing to hold on to and we were all glad the journey was relatively short. Once back at the cable car station at the bottom of the volcano, there was a small museum about the legends surround Mount Teide to visit and a cafe to get snacks from before we met our coach again to return us to our resort.

Back in Playa de las Americas beginning my walk towards Costa Adeje

Above, and below, walking along the coast path between Playa de las Americas and Costa Adeje

Our last full day on the island and we again awoke to overcast skies breaking up to sunny spells. While my friends decided to head to the pool anyway, I decided to take a walk along the coast path towards Costa Adeje. There were some pretty views along the way and plenty of beach cafe bars to stop for refreshments or ice creams.

By the time I returned it was lunch time and time to finish off the remaining food in our apartment. With the sun still not completely breaking through, we decided to try the heated pool at the hotel across the road. Finding the hotel grounds here a lot quieter, we settled down on sun loungers before taking a dip. The difference in temperatures was huge and we wondered why we hadn’t just come here to start with!

Above, a final night pizza and below, the hotel grounds lit up in the evening

That evening we ended our holiday with a meal out at the pizzeria we had had to walk through to get to our apartment each day before returning to our apartment to pack. With a midday flight the next day, we had a morning pick up but decided to get up early to grab half an hour by the pool in the sunshine the next day before vacating the premises to head home.

It had been a fun few days and had definitely brightened up the long winter!

A few days in New York State

Visiting New York state and New Jersey

When one of my best friends moved to New Jersey, right on the New York state border after her husband was relocated with his job, I couldn’t wait to visit, eventually deciding to add a week’s stay with them onto my Hawaii and Texas summer trip plans. As my stay approached we began to make tentative plans – knowing I was a fellow Paul Rudd fan, she wanted us to do a day trip upstate to Rhinebeck, NY where he co-owns a sweet store, we’d cycle to the nearby town of Piermont to explore and take in the views from its pier and, of course, there’d be at least a couple of visits across the Hudson River to New York City.

A stop on the banks of the Hudson River, New Jersey to take in the view of New York City

Unfortunately, that visit was not to be after I suffered a tear to my Achilles heel and was unable to fly, nevermind walk far, with a long road to recovery ahead of me. But with persistent enquiries from my friend as to when I could rebook my visit, I was eager to get fit enough to make the trip out there worthwhile and as soon as I was given the all clear from my doctor – 4 months after my injury – I booked a flight for a November trip across the Atlantic.

While I had been told I was ok to make the trip, I had also been given clear instructions not to overdo it – I was not recovered enough for any hiking in the National Parks or any cycling but road trips with short bouts of walking would be fine. So while a bike ride into Piermont was off the table, we could still take that day trip to Rhinebeck and some trips into NYC as long as I took it easy.

Of my seven days in the US, I spent three of them in New York City, revisiting some of my favourite places but mainly exploring parts of the city I had not been to before. The remaining days, I got to see some of the neighbouring New Jersey towns as well as taking some trips into New York state.

First up, was that long-promised trip to Rhinebeck, NY. Being used to crafting road trip itineraries to the US, I wasn’t about to just leave it to my friend to sort out our plans for the day and was soon visiting my old friend, the Roadside America website, to look up the route and see what there was to see along the way.

Above, the celebrity-owned Samuel’s Sweet Shop, and below, the store plays on its links to its celebrity co-owners

From the town of Norwood, NJ, we’d be driving north alongside the Hudson River through the Hudson Valley area of New York state. While there was not a huge amount of stops to make along the way, I pointed out the Walkway Over The Hudson, the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the World near Poughkeepsie and the National Historic Site of Franklin D Roosevelt’s Home in the town of Hyde Park, just south of Rhinebeck. While my friend who had already walked bridge across the Hudson worried if I’d make the walk right now, we kept both places in mind as possibly stops that day.

After grabbing delicious bagels from Norwood neighbourhood café Adam’s for breakfast, we set off for Rhinebeck on a November Saturday’s morning, driving northbound on following the west bank of the Hudson River. About an hour and half later, we had arrived and began our stroll around the pretty town. The main street was lined with independent stores and we also found antique stores to browse in just off here but the main attraction was the sweet store and it seemed like everyone else had come to visit it as well as the tiny shop was full to the brim with tourists making it difficult to get around!

Posing with the Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt sculpture outside the Roosevelt Home’s Visitor Centre in Hyde Park, NYntre

We gave up after a few minutes and instead went outside to take photos before walking around the town again to see if there was anything we had missed – there wasn’t – and then returning to the now slightly quieter store. Apart from the odd mention of it’s celebrity co-owners, the store wasn’t that different to any other old-style sweet shop, just with slightly inflated prices and we came away empty handed not wanting to pay that much for a cookie, cupcake or candy bar but it was fun to visit and while there wasn’t a lot to see or do in Rhinebeck, it was at least a pleasant town to take a stroll around.

Having not stayed in Rhinebeck as long as we had expected to, we decided to call into the National Historic Site of Franklin Roosevelt’s Home, a short drive south in the town of Hyde Park. With it being Veterans Day weekend, entry to the site was completely free. Unfortunately, with this being the case, it meant that the house tours running that day were already fully booked by the time of our early afternoon arrival. This didn’t matter too much though as there were extensive grounds to wander around and the Roosevelt Presidential Library – a museum dedicated to FDR.

Above, outside the Roosevelt Presidential Library, and below, exploring its exhibits

After a picnic lunch in the grounds, we looked around the museum which was really interesting – we spent a good couple of hours exploring the various exhibits. Then we took a stroll through the grounds and down to see the exterior of the house and the gardens where FDR and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt are buried.

Our visit took up the rest of the day meaning we didn’t have time to make any more stops on the way back to New Jersey although we did at least catch a glimpse of the Walkway Over the Hudson as we drove south, this time along the east side of the river.

The next day, we decided to stay local, starting the day with a hearty pancake breakfast at the Northvale Diner in the local New Jersey town. From here, we crossed the road into New York state and walked to the nearby village of Tappan.

Above, and below, a visit to the historic DeWitt House in Tappan, NY

The picturesque village is small but has a lot of history, linked to George Washington and the story of Captain John Andre, accused of espionage and hung as a spy in the late 18th Century.

Just outside of the village stands DeWitt House, a registered historic site once used by George Washington as his headquarters. Free to visit, the house has it’s rooms set up as they would have looked during Washington’s stay and the carriage house has been converted into a small museum full of artefacts from the time.

The rest of our day was taken up with a flying visit to the New Jersey town of Engelwood for, of course, a concert in its Performing Arts Centre and the late night, meant a bit of a later start the next day.

With my friend working til mid-afternoon, the next morning, I took a stroll into Norwood, one of the two locals towns. Typical of pretty much every American town I had ever driven through with its multitude of chain eating places, I could see what my friend had meant when she said there wasn’t a lot to do locally but my stroll around the block with a stop off at Dunkin’ Donuts for refreshments passed a bit of time.

Once my friend had returned, we set off for a drive into New York state again and the town of Sleepy Hollow.

Above, and below, a stroll around Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

The town, bordering Tarrytown and formerly known as North Tarrytown, is famous as the setting for the Washington Irving story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – the basis for one of the stories in the early Disney animation The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad, the 1999 Johnny Depp film Sleepy Hollow and the 2010s TV series of the same name although neither the film or TV show were shot anywhere near the town.

In 1996, locals voted for the name change of the town to Sleepy Hollow to tie in with the Irving story, bringing more tourists to the town.

We began our visit at the historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the Old Dutch Church mentioned in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow standing at its entrance.

Autumn colours and views looking towards the Hudson River from a hilltop in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

We wandered the cemetery’s extensive grounds to see some of the historic graves including the Rockefeller Mausoleum and the grave of writer Washington Irving himself. It was interesting to stroll around and eerily beautiful with the autumn colours on the trees.

The new stone bridge stands where the original wooden bridge once was

As we walked out of the cemetery alongside the Pocantico River, we passed an old-style recreation of the wooden Horseman Bridge – the one the Headless Horseman thunders across as described in Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Just outside of the cemetery is the site of where the original bridge would have stood, marked with a historical plaque, but the bridge has long been replaced with a more modern stone structure.

Historical markers at the ‘Headless Horseman Bridge’

Across the bridge, stood the Headless Horseman Statue, a steel sculpture depicting one of the most iconic scenes from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow story.

Our final stop, and what should have probably been our first, was at the Welcome to Sleepy Hollow sign where remnants of pumpkins from recent Hallowe’en celebrations sat wilting around the base.

After that quick photo stop, we drove though the village and down to the waterfront where we had hoped to take a stroll past the Sleepy Hollow lighthouse but heavy redevelopment work there meant the river front was closed off as new houses, apartments and offices were being built.

Above, view of Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge across the Hudson from Piermont Pier, and below, more views from the pier at dusk

Driving back across the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge across the Hudson, we decided instead to make a quick stop in Piermont at it’s pier before the sun disappeared and darkness descended. With night rapidly falling, the views at dusk weren’t the best but it was worth a quick pitstop and I made a mental note to return in the daylight on a future visit when I had time to visit what I’d heard was its picturesque town as well.

With a solo trip to New York City planned for the next day and a final visit to the city with my friend before I departed on Thursday, that just left one more day to spend locally. With my friend once again working for a few hours that day, I once again, took myself off for a walk, this time walking into the town of Northvale where I grabbed a bagel for breakfast from a local cafe before continuing to the main hub of the town which once again, mainly consisted of chain eateries. Not finding anything to really see, I grabbed a hot drink from Starbucks and sat there for a while before strolling back to meet my friend.

That afternoon, we visited a local bar in Norwood, Gerry’s, a typical American Irish bar, for a late lunch and drinks before a relaxed evening in in front of the TV.

It had been interesting to experience a bit of local life in small town New Jersey and fun, as always, to get to explore some of the USA I wouldn’t normally see on a city break. I was especially surprised at all the historic links the area had and look forward to visiting my friend again at some point in the future and exploring the are further.

Finding something different in New York

Looking for things to do in NYC off the main tourist track

Being able to walk a bit further following my Achilles Tendon injury, I decided to reschedule what would have been the last week of my planned summer trip and visit my friend who now lives out on the New Jersey/New York state border.

My first glimpse of the city – looking across from New Jersey

While we had plenty planned away from the city throughout the week, I knew I wanted to go into Manhattan a few time during my stay, I just wasn’t sure how easy that would be after hearing how the transport links weren’t particularly good.

As we left Newark airport though, the city skyline was glaring at me across the Hudson so when my friend asked if I wanted to go in the next day, I jumped at the chance.

Starting with the familiar – finding myself back in Times Square

Knowing I’d be tired from the jetlag, we decided to avoid the early morning commuter buses and catch the 10.30am bus from the town of Northvale which should get us into the city about 70 minutes later.

A temporary art installation in Times Square

The journey through various small Jersey towns then through the Lincoln Tunnel passed relatively quickly and we were soon disembarking at the conveniently located Port Authority Bus Terminal, just a stone’s throw from Times Square.

Finding a National Park Service Historic Site in the centre of the city

Having made 10 previous trip to New York City, I was eager to avoid the main sights and tourist traps as much as possible and find new things to do and see in the city but how easy was this?

Walking towards Broadway, we soon found ourselves in the middle of Times Square and stopped for the obligatory photo and trip to the Disney Store and Forever 21. Along the way, I spotted the art installation the Sculpture of Dreams. While just a temporary attraction in Times Square, it shows that there is always something new to see in the city and we wandered over to get a closer look and take a walk right through the centre of its inflatable walls!

Deciding we’d spent more than long enough in probably the busiest place in the entire city, we decided to go in search of something completely different.

I’d done a bit of research on things to do during my trip and, while not actually investigating the city itself randomly, had come across a National Park Service site right in the middle of New York – Theodore Roosevelt’s Birthplace. Hidden away on 20th Street, the building is free to tour. Tours are by guided ranger tour only but there is a small museum you can wander around if you don’t have time for a tour or if there is not one running for a while. Luckily, we arrived 5 minutes before a tour set off giving me just enough time to grab a Junior Rangers booklet and get a few answers filled in before we began.

We were taken up the properties stairs to the two floors above which contained some original furniture and objects belonging to the Roosevelts while the Ranger explained what we were looking at and told stories about the President’s childhood spent in that very house.

Once the tour was completed, we spent a bit of time exploring the museum before I handed in my Junior Ranger booklet in exchange for another badge to add to my collection.

Next up, and something I’m surprised I’ve not done before being a huge movie fan, was a visit to the Ghostbusters HQ – the firehouse used as the company’s headquarters in the movie. We walked to Union Square and caught the subway to Canal Street from which the building was just a short walk. The site was surprisingly busy for a mid-Friday afternoon in November and we had to wait a bit to jump in and get our photos. Once that was done, we wandered through the local streets finding a nearby bar to visit for some food.

Above, and below, views from One World Observatory

Whilst eating, we made a last minute decision to purchase tickets to the One World Observatory at the World Trade Centre – not something new for me as I’d been up once before not long after it opened. That time, I had found it to be mega-busy and was put off by the number of people who had sat themselves down on the ledge in front of the floor to ceiling windows and not moving – some not even looking the the view but just sat reading making it hard to get close enough to get good photos.

This time, without specifically planning it, we found ourselves reaching the top of the tower just as the sun was setting which did make this a new experience of sorts for me as last time I had visited mid-afternoon and saw the views in the daylight.

We saw the last of the sun setting over New Jersey in the West and then the city lit up in all its glory as night time descended – always my favourite time to visit an observation deck. This remains my third favourite of the observation decks on offer in the city after Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building, mainly as it offers no outside area meaning photos are subjected to terrible reflection and glare from the windows but also because its just too far downtown to really get any shots of iconic New York buildings like the Empire State or Chrysler Building but it does at least offer a different perspective from the two midtown observation decks and closer views of Liberty Island.

Leaving the One World Observatory, it was time to catch the subway back uptown to Port Authority to get the last bus back to Northvale, NJ.

Views from the aerial tramway to Roosevelt Island

Our next planned day to return to the city wasn’t until 6 days later on my final day in the USA when we had tickets for a taping of the Kelly Clarkson Show at the NBC Studios but I knew I wanted more time there so decided to return by myself a few days later while my friend was at work.

Again catching the 10.30 bus out of New Jersey, I arrived slightly later at noon today due to traffic. Top of my to do list today was to visit Roosevelt Island, named after the other President Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt. I’d seen the tram pass overhead while in a taxi through the city a few years earlier and had wanted to ride it ever since and having ran out of time to visit it a few days earlier, today seemed as good a day as any.

Above, and below, views from the west side of Roosevelt Island looking across to Manhattan

The tram was well sign-posted and easy to access tapping in with a contactless car or with a metro card and I was soon onboard. Being one of the first to step onto the tram, I had automatically walked across to the opposite side of the car and stood against the window facing downtown. After we set off through, I realised that this was a mistake as the view was, for the most part, blocked by the Queesboro’ Bridge right in front of us!

Above, and below, lighthouse and art in Lighthouse Park at the north of the island

Arriving on Roosevelt Island, I walked North along the riverside path on the West side of the island, taking in the views of Manhattan across the East River. It was a beautifully sunny Autumn’s day but, being a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of November, it was very quiet and I only passed a couple of bikes and a few other people out for a stroll. There were plenty of benched along the path offering me the opportunity to take a break and rest my foot regularly.

Above, and below, views walking south along the east side of Roosevelt Island

At the Northernmost point of the island, I found Lighthouse Park, a bit of greenery with some sculptures on display and Roosevelt Lighthouse at the tip of the island. From here, I followed the path down the east side of the island to the south offering views across to Queens. Not long after passing under the Queensboro’ Bridge, I reached the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park but unfortunately found it to be closed on Tuesdays making the southernmost point of the island unreachable. It was at least possible to see through the fence at the ruins of the Smallpox Memorial Hospital situated there.

Above, and below, the historic ruins of an old smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island

After a walk back to the centre of the island, I caught the aerial tramway back to Manhattan – this time making sure I was on the other side of the tram facing north for views unobstructed by a bridge!

Views from the aerial tram on the way back to Manhattan

Once back in Manhattan, I decided to make the most of the beautiful Autumn’s day with a stroll in Central Park. I’ve visited the park many times but have only ever explored the lower third. So, again trying to do things in the city I’d not done before, I decided to ignore the usual park sites I’d visited hundreds of times before such as Bow Bridge, the Boating Lake and Bethesda Fountain and instead head further up to the park’s mid-section, a huge chunk of which is taken up by the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

Above, and below, walking the southern rim of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park

The reservoir is gated off with a path circumnavigating the perimeter. I followed along the southern rim, cutting across the park from east to west. With it being mid-November, the autumn colours were still visible on the trees and looked pretty reflected off the huge reservoir.

By the time I had walked across the park, it was time to catch the subway back to Times Square and Port Authority to catch my bus back to New Jersey but after a couple of days spent in the local area, I was back in the city a few days later on my final day in the US.

A ticket to the Kelly Clarkson show taping

Today, we were up to catch an early morning commuter bus into the city as we had tickets to see a taping of The Kelly Clarkson Show which had recently moved from its LA Studios to the NBC Studios at the Rockefeller Centre in New York. As always with show recordings, shows were overbooked in case of no shows so a ticket didn’t guarantee entry and it was on a first come first serve basis.

Above, at 30 Rock waiting to go in to watch the show, and below, at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens later that day

Unfortunately, there was an accident near the Lincoln Tunnel and we were 45 minutes later to the city than planned. Arriving at 30 Rock, we joined the long queue and hoped for the best and luckily, we were within the last 10 to get in. This meant we had balcony seats for the show rather than a full on view but it was still fun to see the show being recorded and another first in New York for me.

It was early afternoon by the time we got out of the studios and after grabbing food from a nearby McDonalds, we caught the subway over to Queens to visit the Museum of the Moving Image – a museum that had been on my radar for a while but being off the main tourist trail, one I had not been to before.

Above, and below, at the Jim Henson exhibit

The museum, which has free entry on Thursday afternoons, was spread over 3 floors and we were encouraged to work from the top down. There were lots of interactive exhibits where we could make our own stop-motion films or play around with sound effects on film footage and on the second floor, an interesting exhibit on Jim Henson with lots of his original puppets from The Muppets and Sesame Street on display.

By the time we left the museum, it was time to catch the subway back towards Time Square and the nearby Port Authority bus station so I could catch my connection to Newark Airport. I’d always used the air train from Penn Station to get to Newark in the past but I actually found the bus much more straight-forward and easier to manage with luggage.

Movie memorabilia at the Museum of the Moving Image

Revisiting New York for the first time in 5 years had been fun and I was glad I was still able to find new things to do and see – and I know there’s still plenty of the city left to explore!

The End of the Road

Finishing an epic road trip with a drive through Minnesota to Wisconsin to Illinois

It was over 5 weeks since we landed at LAX to begin our US adventure. Starting with a few days in Los Angeles, we had then hired a car to drive north through California visiting beach cities in Orange County and sailing across to the Channel Islands National Park; stopping in Solvang, at Pinnacles National Park and in Santa Cruz and San Jose; spending a few days revisiting the amazing city of San Francisco and then eastbound through Yosemite National Park and on to Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border.

Above, and below, at the Moorhead Dairy Queen

Leaving California behind, we had then journeyed through Nevada travelling the “Loneliest Road in America” into Utah where we had visited Salt Lake City. From here we spent a few days driving through the beautiful states of Idaho and Wyoming, visiting the breath-taking Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park before heading into Montana for a visit to Glacier National Park. We had then finally reached the state of North Dakota, the state we had planned our entire trip around, and after just reaching the Fargo visitor centre on time, it was now time to wave goodbye as we crossed the border into Minnesota.

We didn’t have far to go to reach our first stop in the town of Moorhead to visit one of the oldest original Dairy Queen stores where, allegedly, the franchises Dilly Bars were first invented. After posing with the World’s Largest Dilly Bar outside the store, we joined the queue to reach the counter and order the real thing before continuing our journey.

Above, and below, a soggy stop at the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

Loving our roadside attractions, we couldn’t resist one more stop, this time in the town of Rothsay to see the sculpture of the World’s Largest Prairie Chicken before driving to our overnight motel in the nearby Fergus Falls.

The World’s largest raspberry in Hopkins, MN

The next day was a long drive day continuing through Minnesota and into Wisconsin to get us closer to our final destination of Chicago. Along the way we decided to take a bit of a detour to revisit a roadside favourite of ours – the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota. Immortalised in the Weird Al song of the same name, we had first stopped by this random roadside attraction on our road trip around America’s Midwest states a few years earlier. Unfortunately, this time, just as we arrived, the heavens began to open so we grabbed a few photos but didn’t stick around very long!

We made one more stop in Minnesota, in the town of Hopkins to see the World’s Largest Raspberry sculpture before crossing the border into the penultimate state on our road trip – Wisconsin.

Above, the obligatory cheese hat photo in Wisconsin Dells, and below, in Milwaukee to see the ‘Bronze Fonz’.

Here, we’d also be revisiting old ground, returning to the touristy town of Wisconsin Dells to reminisce about our previous visits, first on our Northern States tour with Trek America and then again on our Midwest States road trip.

We were pleased to find it hadn’t changed much (although disappointed to find the Cheesy Tomato diner, a favourite of ours, had closed) and spent our evening revisiting its scores of tacky souvenir stores and attractions.

The next day was our final day in the USA and we had a late flight out of Chicago booked back to the UK. With a long way still to go, it called for an early start to fit all in. Luckily, the traffic was on our side and by mid-morning, we had made it to the city of Milwaukee where we had must-see attraction: Bronze Fonz!

Famous for being the setting of popular US comedy Happy Days, a bronze sculpture of actor Henry Wrinkler as the Fonz lies along the Milwaukee river side walk. After a short stroll along the river, we soon found the statue and after posing for some photos with it, returned to our hire car to continue our drive.

Before long, we were crossing the border into Illinois where we were Chicago bound. One of our favourite US cities, we couldn’t fly out of it without a quick visit. Not wanting to navigate the busy city traffic, we had researched park and ride options and opted for Rosemont Station on the outskirts.

From here, we caught the train into the city and spent a few hours revisiting some of our favourite places.

These, of course, included Millennium Park’s Cloudgate sculpture, otherwise known as the ‘Silver Bean’, which reflects the city skyline and the many tourists always gathered around – and underneath – it!

Then it was a stroll along the Magnificent Mile for some last minute shopping before dinner at our favourite Chicago restaurant, Gino’s East, for some traditional Chicago Deep Dish.

As always, it didn’t disappoint, and we waddled our way back down the Magnificent Mile detouring to make a stop at Navy Pier along the way. After final stops at the Nutella Cafe for dessert and at the Crown Fountain with its digital ‘spitting’ faces in Millennium Park, it was time to catch the train back to the park and ride station ready for our final drive.

Arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, we returned our car before making our way to departures and checking in for our overnight flight.

It had certainly been an epic adventure and we’d seen and done many amazing things. And as always, I couldn’t wait to return to see more of the United States of America!

Reaching North Dakota

Ticking off State 49!

Four weeks after arriving in the USA, we were finally crossing the border into the state we had planned our road trip around reaching – North Dakota. State number 49 for me and the 50th and final state for my friend to tick off; the last of the ‘Great 48’ mainland states for both of us.

Finally reaching North Dakota, my 49th state!

We had definitely had a lot of fun along the way on our journey to North Dakota: we had began our trip in Los Angeles; drove up the California coast through Orange County and up towards Ventura to visit Channel Islands National Park; continued north through Solvang, to Pinnacles National Park and on to Santa Cruz and San Jose; spent a couple of nights in the city of San Francisco and then visited Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.

From California, we had entered Nevada where we’d visited Reno before driving the Loneliest Road in America through to Utah and Salt Lake City; we’d driven across the state of Idaho into beautiful Wyoming to visit Grand Tetons National Park and, of course, Yellowstone National Park and had then continued north-east through the state of Montana where we’d visited Glacier National Park.

Now, after a 4-hour drive with just a quick rest stop from middle-of-nowhere Montana, we could see the ‘Welcome to North Dakota’ sign just ahead of us! The excitement was palpable and stopping in a pull-in just in front of the sign, we jumped out and raced each other to the border.

The obligatory National Park sign photo!

After taking photos with the sign, we hopped back in our hire car and continued the short distance to a local gas station and information hut to pick up state-branded fridge magnets and postcards to mark this momentous occasion.

Then it was on to the town of Medora where we’d be spending the new couple of days to explore Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The park is split into two areas 68 miles apart and in different time zones, the North Unit and South Unit, and it is the Southern part of the park which is accessible from Medora.

As it was already late afternoon, we decided there wasn’t time to see the park with its one-way 36-mile loop road so instead, spent some time taking a walk around Medora with its Frontier town-style store fronts before driving towards the nearby town of Dickenson where we’d be staying.

Arriving at the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

On the way, we made a stop at the Painted Canyon Visitor Centre, part of the park’s South Unit but further along the main road away from the main part of town. Here we took a short walk along the Painted Canyon Nature Trail enjoying the views across the park before picking up Junior Ranger booklets and continuing on our way to our motel.

Up early the next morning, we decided to change our plans to just see the South Unit of the park and to drive up to the North Unit. It didn’t take us long to get there and after a quick stop at the small visitor centre, we were soon driving along its Scenic Drive.

Above, cannonball concretion and strange landscape at the park’s North Unit, and below, continuing our tour of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Unlike in the South Unit, this wasn’t a loop road but one 14 mile road which you drive to the end before turning around and returning along it back to the entrance.

Above, Bison in the distance, and below, surrounding the car just seconds later!

Along the way, there were plenty of opportunities to stop at scenic overlooks to see the Buttes or bison roaming in the distance or for short hikes. We were making good time and not far from Oxbow Overlook at the end of the road when a bison drifted onto the road in front of us. While we sat there and waited for it to move, we suddenly realised the herd in the distance were also heading our way.

Before we knew it, our car was surrounded and we had nothing to do but sit there patiently hoping they’d eventually move on and not come any closer to us. Thankfully, after a scary 15-20 minutes, they did move on leaving us to continue with our drive to the final scenic outlook before retracing our steps and driving back out of the park.

The North Unit done, we drove back to Medora and to the South Unit of the park. Driving into the park, we tried not to let ourselves get too distracted by the prairie dog villages along the side of the road. Before joing the one way loop road around the park, we made stops at the Skyline Vista to take a short hike and then Cottonwood where we sat and had lunch.

Visiting the South Unit of the park – Skyline Vista hike

Just past Cottonwood, we picked up the 36-mile loop road and followed it around the park. We made stops along the way to take short hikes to viewpoints at Wind Canyon for views over the Little Missouri River and Boicourt Overlook and Buck Hill Trail for beautiful views over the badlands. There were plenty more opportunities to stop and watch the prairie dogs hop in and out of their burrows in their villages along the way too!

Above, one of many Prairie Dog villages, and below, continuing our visit to the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

After completing the loop road, we visited the South Unit Visitor Centre to exchange our Junior Ranger booklets for yet another badge to add to our growing collection before heading into Medora town to grab dinner at a local diner.

Above, and below, watching the Medora Musical

That evening we had tickets to attend the Medora Musical, an annual entertainment extravaganza that runs throughout the summer in the local amphitheatre. By the time we had had dinner, it was almost time for the venue’s doors to open and the show to begin.

The show, with its singers, dancers, comedy skits and wild west feel was fun to watch and a great way to end our stay in Medora.

‘Geese in Flight’ marks the start of the Enchanted Highway

The next morning, we set off early for our drive east across North Dakota state towards Fargo at its far east end. As was often the case, we planned to fill the drive day with stops at a variety of roadside attractions!

First up, was a detour to drive along the Enchanted Highway which runs North to South between the towns of Gladstone and Regent. Dotted along this 30-or-so miles of highway, lies a variety of giant sculptures, starting with ‘Geese in Flight’ at the northern end of the road.

Above, the Grasshopper art installation, and below, more Enchanted Highway stops

Next up was ‘Deer Crossing’ followed by ‘Grasshoppers’, ‘Fisherman’s Dream’ and ‘Pheasants on the Prairie’. After making quick photo stops at all of these, we continued south to see ‘Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again’ and ‘Tin Family’ before cutting back to the main road and continuing with our journey eastbound!

Next up was a stop on a hill in the town of New Salem to see ‘Salem Sue’, the World’s Largest Holstein Cow – a sculpture visible from the road miles before we actually reached it!!

Posing with ‘Sandy’, the World’s largest Sandhill Crane

The roadside fun didn’t end there as we made stops to see ‘Sandy, the World’s largest Sandhill Crane’ outside a motel in the town of Steele and the World’s Largest Buffalo in Jamestown before, 6 or 7 hours later, finally reaching Fargo just in time to visit its Visitors Centre – home to the infamous Woodcutter from the Fargo movie – before it closed so my friend could pick up her complimentary ‘Best ‘Til Last’ North Dakota T-shirt for finally ticking off all 50 states and, as so many people do, making North Dakota her last!

Having first visited the USA in 2005 with a trip to New York, it had taken a long time to reach this point – with just Hawaii left to go – and I was glad to have finally ticked off what is a difficult state to get to but it had been worth it and North Dakota had proved it was definitely worth the effort to visit.

From here, it was on to Chicago, Illinois where our almost 5-week trip would end and with stops in Minnesota and Wisconsin states to make along the way, there were still some adventures to be had yet.

Visiting Glacier National Park, Montana

Driving Going to the Sun Road

We had reached the final week of an epic 5-weeks travelling across the USA. While yet to reach North Dakota – the one state on the list we had never visited before, we were getting closer having now reached its border state of Montana.

We had begun our trip in Los Angeles a few weeks earlier spending a few days in the city before picking up a hire car and beginning our road trip. During 2 weeks spent travelling through the state of California, we had visited the beach cities of Orange County and taken a trip across the water to Channel Islands National Park; continued north with stops in Solvang, Pinnacles National Park, Santa Cruz and San Jose; spent a few nights in San Francisco and returned to Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.

Since leaving California behind, we had continued our journey through the states of Nevada where we had driven the Loneliest Road in America; visited Salt Lake City, Utah, road tripped through Idaho and the into the beautiful Wyoming where we had revisited the amazing Yellowstone National Park.

Today, we were heading to another National Park, this time, one we had not visited before – Glacier National Park. We would be entering the park at its west entrance in the town of West Glacier – just a 40 minute drive from our overnight motel in Kalispell – and exiting later that day at its east entrance of St Mary before driving to our motel in the town of East Glacier.

We began our day in the park with a stop at Apgar Visitor Centre to pick up Junior Ranger booklets and speak to a park ranger to get some tips on where to stop and short hikes along the way.

Above, and below, beautiful views at our lunch stop

Then we began our journey along Going to the Sun Road making a couple of stops at Lake McDonald, first to wander down onto its shore and then at the Lake McDonald Lodge. Having arrived at the park early to try and beat some of the traffic and make it easier to get car parking spaces at some of the more popular stops, the early morning clous was yet to completely lift and the lake looked really beautiful under the smattering of cloud with the mountains visible in the background.

We made a quick stop to see McDonald Falls and then continued to follow the road as it got narrower and steeper.

Soon, we found ourselves driving on a cliff edge up the mountain pass. While the views were beautiful, my friend who happened to be driving, missed most of them as she kept her eyes glued firmly on the winding road as she navigated the precarious switch backs, refusing to look at the sheer drop to the side of the car!!

We made a stop at a scenic overlook further up the mountain where we sat on a rock overlooking the view to eat our lunch – not a bad picnic stop!!

Another viewpoint along Going To The Sun Road

Then we continued to Logan Pass Visitor Centre where we planned to do our main hike in the park. Logan Pass is one of the most popular stops in the park and being around the half way point along the road had visitors arriving who were travelling in both directions along Going To The Sun Road. It took us a few loops of the car park to find a space to park but just as we were about to give up, on what we said would be our last try, a space appeared!

Behind the Visitor Centre is the trailhead to the popular Hidden Lake trail. The hike to Hidden Lake overlook is just over 1.3 miles each way and as well as the beautiful meadow and mountain views along the way, we also saw some wild goats! The Hidden Lake Overlook itself was absolutely stunning and worth definitely worth the walk.

Above, and below, hiking to Hidden Lake Overlook

Once back at the visitor centre, we completed our Junior Ranger booklets with details from our hike and handed them in to one of the rangers before taking the pledge to receive our Glacier National Park badges. Despite being in our 30s, we love the junior ranger programme and the badges make great park souvenirs!

From Logan Pass, we continued to drive east bound along Going To The Sun road making regular stops at scenic overlooked to see the glaciers glistening on the distant mountains. We made another longer stop at Sunrift Gorge where we took a short walk to a waterfall and then continued to Rising Sun village where we grabbed ice creams before embarking on a boat tour on St Mary Lake.

This boat tour had to be prebooked meaning we had to estimate at what time we would have reached this end of the park. We had booked a later trip departing at 6pm hoping this would give us plenty of time and we wouldn’t have to clock watch too much and it had worked out well with us arriving within the hour before our tour.

While we waited for our check in time, we took photos from the shore and sat out in the early evening sun enjoying the views across the lake.

The boat tour took us across the lake and there was a commentary telling us a bit more about the park and what we were looking at as well as pointing out any wildlife along the way – we were lucky enough to see huge moose swimming across the lake and a cute otter swimming near the dock as we arrived back.

Waiting by the docks for our cruise to start

Once our tour was over, it was just a short drive until we were at St Mary’s entrance station and exiting Glacier National Park but our adventures in Montana were not over yet!

That evening we were staying in the town of East Glacier, home to the World’s Largest Purple Spoon – a very specific World record!! After taking photos with this roadside attraction and grabbing dinner at a local diner, we settled down for the night at our roadside motel ready for the long drive ahead of us the next day.

The aim the next day was to get closer to North Dakota but first, we still had a long drive across Montana ahead of us.

We broke the drive up with a couple of roadside attraction stops. First up, was a stop in Cut Bank to see a Giant Penguin, then, a stop at a rest stop in Shelby which, along with the usual conveniences, was home to a carousel. With no one else there, we had the ride all to ourselves!!

From there, it was a long drive to our overnight destination of Lewistown via a grocery stop in the town of Great Falls and we arrived to heavy rainfall causing us to try and dart into our motel then across to the local Pizza Hut for dinner!!

It had been a long drive day and tomorrow we had more of the same with North Dakota still over 4 hours away!! But we were looking forward to finally getting there so I could tick off state 49.

Our journey through Montana

A Road Trip through Montana

Leaving Yellowstone National Park behind after an amazing couple of days exploring the park, we had crossed the border into the state of Montana. This was the sixth state we had visited since embarking on our ambitious road trip to North Dakota and beyond just a few weeks earlier. Starting out in California, we had spent a few days in Los Angeles before picking up our hire car in Anaheim and driving from Orange County to Ventura to visit the Channel Islands National Park. From here, we had made stops in Solvang and at Pinnacles National Park before an overnight stop near Santa Cruz and spent a few days in San Francisco before visiting Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe on our way out of California state. Nevada was next with a quick stop in Reno before driving the ‘Loneliest Road in America’ to Great Basin National Park. We then spent a couple of days on a city break in Salt Lake City, Utah before continuing our road trip across the state of Idaho and into Wyoming where we had also spent time in the beautiful Grand Tetons National Park before our epic Yellowstone stay.

The sun sets as we drive from West Yellowstone to McCallister

Now we were in the town of West Yellowstone, a town not at all unfamiliar to us having stayed here for the duration of our previous Yellowstone National Park visit a few years earlier while on a coast to coast tour with Trek America.

After a quick walk along the main strip to reminisce, we headed straight to the BBQ place we remembered enjoying a pulled pork sandwich at on our last visit for a repeat of our order!

Then it was back on the road to drive to the small town of McCallister where we were staying at its Inn overnight.

The next morning, despite both wishing we could have spent longer at the lovely inn, it was straight back on the road. Our main destination in Montana was Glacier National Park and we’d be using today to get closer so we could have a full day in the park the next day. Despite today mainly being a drive day, we had, as always, made use of the Roadside America website to find some quirky roadside attractions to stop at along the way.

Our first roadside stop was along the highway in the town of Norris where there was randomly a giant Boom Box on a grass verge. After posing for some fun photos just because, we continued to the city of Butte. As we approached the city, we could see its 90ft Our Lady of the Rockies Statue on a hill in the distance. Despite having a list of attractions we could possibly visit in the city – including a closer look at the statue – we were, as ever, behind schedule and only had time for one stop here. That stop was Berkeley Pit Overlook on the edge of the city. A former copper mine which is now a pit of toxic water, Berkeley Pit has become an unlikely tourist attraction due to the bright colour of the water backed by the mountains making it actually look quite pretty!

Above, my travel mascot Mr Ted visits the town of Deer Lodge, and below, off to rise Missoula’s Carousel

From Butte, we continued to the town of Deer Lodge where we stopped to stretch our legs again. This town is home to the Golden Spike of Montana, a huge peg commemorating the completion of an old railway, and the Old Prison Museum which had some fun photo opportunities!

Back on the road, we headed to our main stop of the day, the city of Missoula. As with Butte, we had a few items on our ‘to do’ list there but as it was already late afternoon and we still another 2 hour drive to our overnight stop in the town of Kalispell, we drove straight to Caras Park in the city’s downtown area which is home to the World’s Fastest Carousel!!

Excited to ride, we had no idea that a brass ring game was played while the ride was in motion. As we zoomed round, we could see other riders reaching for small plastic rings coming out of the mouth of a dragon situated at the side of the ride. One brass ring is amongst these and whoever grabs it, wins a free ride. The ride was almost over by the time we realised what was going on so, of course, we paid to have another go so we could take part properly this time. Unfortunately, we failed to grab the prize-winning ring and win another ride so we consoled ourselves with an ice cream from the park’s café before continuing on our way.

Driving out of Missoula we happened to briefly pass one of the random attractions we had down to see if we’d had more time – the ‘squashed cat’ sculpture – but we couldn’t stop with so much of our journey still ahead of us. Unfortunately, we were also unable to stop at the National Bison Range which we would pass en route to Kalispell wither, as even if we had time to stop, it was already past its closing time.

Pretty views travelling from Missoula to Kalispell in Montana state

The drive to Kalispell from Missoula was, at least, a pretty one, taking us past mountain and lake views. And once there, it put us just 40 minutes drive from the West Glacier entrance to Glacier National Park and the start of the park’s “Going To The Sun Road” which we would be driving end to end the following day.

Revisiting Yellowstone National Park

Roadtripping through the USA to North Dakota and beyond, we had already had so many adventures – hiking in the Hollywood Hills on a short city break to Los Angeles, sea kayaking through the sea caves of the Channel Islands National Park, ziplining through the giant redwoods near Santa Cruz, segwaying down the ‘crookedest street in the World’ in San Francisco and viewing waterfalls in Yosemite National Park in California. Since leaving California behind, we’d travelled the Loneliest Road in America through Nevada, visited Salt Lake City, Utah, and floated down rivers in beautiful Idaho before reaching one of my favourite US states, Wyoming.

Stopping at a viewpoint on the way into the park

And that’s where we found ourselves now. Having left the Wild West town of Jackson Hole behind that morning, we had been driving through the beautiful Grand Tetons National Park enjoying the beautiful views and were now heading towards the nearby Yellowstone National Park.

Above, view of Lake Yellowstone from Grant Village, and below, views from the boardwalk at West Thumb Geyser Basin

This wouldn’t be our first visit to this extraordinary National Park. A few years earlier, we had spent 3 days in the park on a cross-country small group tour with Trek America and ever since, we had wanted to go back.

Having had everything organised for us on our last visit to the park, we were not completely sure of the route we had taken or which parts of vast park we had seen other than the obvious highlights of Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Prismatic Springs and a hike to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone – all sights we wanted to revisit this time.

More thermal activity hiking at Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron

Last time, we had entered the park from the east side having travelled there from an overnight stop in the town of Cody before spending 2 nights in the town on West Yellowstone on the north west of the park from where we travelled into the park from the next 2 day. This time, we were entering from the south side – the park entrance we had exited from on our last visit – and would be staying on site at some cabins at the park village near Old Faithful.

Having looked at a park map in advance of our visit, we had worked out that we must have travelled anti-clockwise from the east entrance last time and had therefore probably not covered the south-east section of the park so this is where we decided to head to first on this visit.

Our cabin in the woods at Old Faithful Village

Stopping at Grant Village, we picked up Junior Ranger booklets from its visitor centre and enjoyed the views across Yellowstone Lake before continuing to West Thumb to take to the circular boardwalk at its Geyser Basin.

Thermal activity in the distance as we drive through Yellowstone National Park

The bubbling mudpools, steaming hot springs and other various volcanic behaviours on display here were fascinating to see and we joined a free ranger talk to find out more.

From West Thumb, we continued anti-clockwise towards Lake Village, stopping to get ice cream and realising we had been here before – for lunch with our group on our last visit to the park! We then made a stop at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Centre and Museum, again remembering it from a stop we must have made upon entering the park with Trek America.

Above, arriving at Midway Geyser Basin, and below, viewing Grand Prismatic Springs

We knew we had not made a lot of other stops in the park along that route on our last visit, recalling a viewpoint from where we had spotted bison roaming the plains and a short hike along a river after spotting bears and a long drive to Mammoth Hot Springs so we decided to continue our drive towards Hayden Valley where we stopped to take short hikes to Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron before turning around and driving right across the park to Old Faithful Village where to check into our park lodge.

The ensuite cabin was small but comfortable and, we felt, worth the expense for the ability to continue our park exploration into the evening and being able to get up and be at our destination already the next morning and we made the most of it with a sunset viewing of Old Faithful that night after dinner at Old Faithful Lodge.

Visiting another of the park’s geyser basins

Up early the next day, we set off north travelling clockwise towards the Midway Geyser Basin, home of Grand Prismatic Spring, hoping to beat the coach party crowds. Grand Prismatic was just as incredible as we had remembered with the steam rising off its brightly coloured surface.

Above, and below, at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

From there, we continued clockwise around the park stopping at various other geyser basins, springs and ‘paint pots’ until we reached Canyon Village to view the ‘Grand Canyon of Yellowstone’.

Above, a bison-free valley, and below, at Yellowstone River view and Tower Falls at Tower-Roosevelt

On our previous visit, we had taken a long dawn hike to the canyon before walking along the rim to the village. This time, we were taking a less strenuous, easier route, parking at the village and walking the short distance to the various viewpoints but it didn’t make the views any less magnificent!

After grabbing lunch at Canyon Village, we continued our drive around the park’s loop road heading out past the park’s prairies towards another part of the park we were pretty sure we hadn’t visited before, Tower-Roosevelt.

Above, and below, exploring at Mammoth Hot Springs

On our last visit to the park, also in the summer months but mid-June rather than mid-August, we had seen an abundance of wildlife throughout the park – elk grazing, bears prowling in the woods and bison causing traffic jams lazing in the middle of the park’s roads. This time however, we had seen nothing more than a deer dashing across the road and this continued to be the case even as we stopped at viewpoints to gaze across the prairies at Lamar Valley stretching out in front of us. We were at least grateful not to have our day interrupted by bison road blocks!!

Arriving at the Tower-Roosevelt area of the park, we took a short hike to Tower Falls and more breath-taking views over Yellowstone River running through the valley below.

Then it was on to Mammoth Hot Springs, an area we recognised from our first visit to the park when we had been dropped off at its upper terraces and hiked down to the village at the bottom for ice cream!

At the Upper Terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs

This time, we followed the boardwalk along the areas lower terraces to see the strange layers of chalky looking ridges which from an distance could easily be mistaken for ice before driving up to a parking area for its upper terraces with its barren landscape.

It was almost time to leave the park and rive to our overnight accommodation in our next state, Montana, but we had time for one last stop at the Norris Geyser Basin, a site we had passed earlier in the day and decided to come back to if there was time after we were unable to get a parking space. It was much quieter now and we spent a bit of time walking across its boardwalk to see the Steamboat Geyser where photographers were patiently waiting for it to erupt.

Despite spending much of the day seeing similar thermal activity and volcanic landscape throughout the park, the Norris Geyser Basin was just as amazing.

Spending an incredible 24 hours or so at Yellowstone National Park

The novelty never wore off and Yellowstone never failed to take our breath away. Of all the incredible places I’ve seen in the USA, Yellowstone National Park everyone should visit if they can.

A return to beautiful Wyoming

Journeying to North Dakota – my 49th state – we had, so far, had a busy few days in the city of LA, visited Orange County and Channel Islands National Park, travelled north through California with stops at Solvang, Pinnacles National Park, Santa Cruz and San Jose, visited the beautiful city of San Francisco and revisited Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe. And that was just California. Since leaving that state behind, we’d had more adventures driving America’s Loneliest Road through Nevada to Great Basin National Park, visiting Salt Lake City in Utah and spending the last couple of days on a fun-filled drive through the state of Idaho.

Crossing the border from Idaho into Wyoming

Returning to the state of Wyoming had been something I had been long been looking forward to. Having last visited the state on a coast to coast tour through the Northern states of the USA with Trek America a few years earlier, I not only had some great memories associated with the state but it stood out to me for its sheer beauty.

This time we’d be retracing some of our steps through the state but in reverse – starting with a stay in the town of Jackson and from there driving through Grand Teton National Park and into Wyoming’s crown jewel – Yellowstone National Park and while we wouldn’t be going anywhere new, we hoped to be able to take our time a bit more and see a bit more of the 2 National Parks.

Placing our Trek America sticker to make our mark at the Snake River Brewing Company, Jackson WY…

The Grand Teton Mountains came into view before we’d left the state of Idaho behind and we pulled over at the Wyoming state border to take in the already pretty views over Wyoming and nearby Jackson Hole. A popular ski resort in the winter, the town of Jackson, with its old West feel, is a popular place to stay for visitors to the two National Parks.

Above, the antler arch entrance to the main square in Jackson, and below, taking a rest in the town before watching the Wild West shoot out

Staying at a motel within walking distance of the town centre, we were looking forward to revisiting some of the town’s locations that held memories of our previous stop, the first of which was the Snake River Brewing Company, a bar and restaurant our tour group had eaten at years earlier.

It wasn’t the food that drew us back, as great as I remembered the pizza I had had there being, but a memory of a group effort to tag the large vat/keg outside the venue with a Trek America sticker – we wondered if the vat was still there and if our sticker had survived the intervening years!

Walking up to the bar, the outdoor area had changed with some of the car park being redesigned into an outdoor seating area with family outdoor games to play but the vat remained and after close inspection, we spotted the sticker we had branded it with still proudly splattered on the side!

It was quite emotional seeing it there and we had to immediately video message our Trek America Whatsapp group, still occasionally active all these years on, to tell them where we were and how our mark had remained there!

From the bar, we walked into the main part of town, another place littered with memories from our Trek America trip.

That time, we had stayed out of town at a KOA site, stopping off in Jackson for just a short time on our way there and then again that evening for its nightlife. The town had not changed with its pretty square and tourist-aimed souvenir stores. Finding there was going to be a Wild West recreation shoot-out later that day, we went for food at a local pizzeria before returning to the square to watch the free show.

Before returning to our motel that evening, we returned to the Million Dollar Cowboy bar to reminisce about a group night out spent there on our last visit to the town, once again taking the opportunity to perch on its saddle-seated bar stools!

The next morning we were up early to drive the short distance into Grand Teton National Park. A park often overlooked due to its proximity to the much better known Yellowstone, we had spent an afternoon there upon leaving Yellowstone on our Trek tour during which we took a short hike to the other side of Jenny Lake, catching a boat back to our start point but while planning this road trip, we had realised the park had a lot more to offer and wanted to explore it further.

Visiting the Mormon Row Historic District

From Jackson, we drove to the Mormon Row Historic District where Mormon settlers had lived as they were sent to establish new communities outside of Salt Lake City in the early 19th century.

From here, we looped round back to the main road, beautiful mountain views stretching out in front of us, and up to one of the park’s visitor centres to find out more information about the park, buy some souvenirs and, of course, pick up Junior Rangers booklets to fill in so we could earn another badge for our collection!

Above, driving towards the Grand Teton mountains, and below, beautiful views throughout the park

After our stop at the visitor centre, we continued along the main road making a series of stops at viewpoints along the way. The views of the mountains against the blue skies with the snake river winding through the valley below were so beautiful – Wyoming was just as beautiful as I remembered and Grand Teton National Park is definitely one of my favourites.

Our final stop in the park was at Colter Visitor Centre where we handed in our completed Junior Ranger booklets in exchange for a well-earned badge before having lunch lakeside at Jackson Lake.

Although sad to leave the Grand Teton National Park behind, we were excited to reach the nearby Yellowstone National Park, another stop on our Trek America tour a few years earlier and a place I couldn’t wait to revisit!

My Jackson Hole/Grand Teton NP vlog

Share this:

Share this:

Visiting New York state and New Jersey

Share this:

Looking for things to do in NYC off the main tourist track

Share this:

Finishing an epic road trip with a drive through Minnesota to Wisconsin to Illinois

Share this:

Ticking off State 49!

Share this:

Driving Going to the Sun Road

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: