Lafayette, New Orleans and Panama City

Hi all,

We had a huge drive from San Antonio, Texas, into Louisiana. This was a 10 hour drive. We had our iPod's charged and ready and we tried to keep ourselves entertained. When we got to Lafayette, Louisiana, we were all battered but we got the tents up and had a good night sleep at a nice campsite. It was so hot though...

Next day, we were heading to New Orleans, but before this, we took a trip to Cajun Jack's for a Louisiana Swamp Tour. We headed out on his Motorboat and headed down the bayou. We had to go through a lock to the Mississippi river then went into another Bayou to some real swampland. The scenery was incredible, like you were in a forest but on the water. Cajun Jack tought us lots about the wildlife and the environment in the swamp and we saw some too, we saw a water Moccasin, an Egret, a Beaver and an Alligator. After the tour, we got back on the bus with a short drive to "the Big Easy". We got the hotel, and after a little confusion with what rooms we were in, we realised that me and Jen had to share with another couple on the trip. This was not what we had paid for and there were some arguments with the management of the hotel but there was nothing we could do about it. Its OK because we are really good friends with Gary and Lauren, the other couple.

That evening, we were taken by Jason, our tour leader on a tour of the French Quarter finishing at the Mississippi River. We then went to Bourbon Street where the party was already underway. We hit the Tropical Isle, home of the Hand Grenade, and then followed that up with a Hurricane at the Funky Pirate where we watched Big Al sing the Blues. After more Hand Grenades and more dancing... actually, it gets a little blurry from here on!

The next day, hangover in tow, we went back to Bourbon Street for some brunch. You know what they say... when in Rome... I had Gumbo! We spent the rest of the day chilling by the pool and went back to Bourbon Street for dinner. I had a Catfish Po-boy! New Orleans has some GOOD food!

The next day we set off for Florida. Another reasonably big drive and we were in Panama Beach, Spring Break central! Luckily, the college folk had long gone but the "seaside resort" feel was very prominent. The campsite was full of Hillbillies and we were very careful with our stuff. We headed out on to the strip and found some mini-golf. After losing by a mile, we headed back via some tacky souvenier shops and headed onto the Beach. The rest of the group left and me and Jen had a stroll by the sea. We met a man playing his guitar and we sat and chatted with him for a while and he played us some songs. It was a really nice escape from the corny night clubs and neon lights of the strip.

The day after, I had been looking forward to all trip... JET SKIING... WITH DOLPHINS! We went down to the place, got out life jackets on and jumped on the Skis. I drove and Jen clinged on for dear life. It wasn't long before I lost control a bit and flung her off! She was fine and we sped off again. We got up to 50mph and we making air off the waves. Then we saw them... the dolphins. We were circling around for ages are they circled around us. The sea was really choppy and they were bobbing up to the surface and ducking back down again. We were taken by the guide to an Island called Shell Island. The sand was white as snow and the water on the other side of the Island was beautiful. We spent some time on the beach and then got back on the Skiis and headed back. Luckily, me and Jen didn't fall off again... until we got to the part where we had to slow down, and I tipped to ski over. D'oh!

We are currently in Orlando, we had another big drive today (who knew Florida was so big!) and we have got to the campsite. We were supposed to be camping but the Sunshine State isn't living up to its name so we were given the choice of having a cabin that sleeps 6 people for $4 a night! You'd be STUPID not to, right?

Tomorrow, DISNEY!

x x x

Colorado, Toas, Carlsbad and San Antonio, Texas

Howdy Y'all,

Colorado is a beautiful state and was a welcome change to all the red rock and dust we had been experiencing until this point. In its place... Evergreen trees, snow capped mountains and GRASS! We had started to think it didn't exist in America at all (except on Golf Courses). The roads through Colorado were very hilly too, ears poppin' and such. We got to our first destination in Colorado, Ouray. Here, there's not a lot to do, so that's what we did... not a lot... where we did it was the key! Hot Springs! Clothing Optional hot springs to be precise (yes, I took the option... Jen didn't!). The sprrings were lovely, natural pools of hot water, some pools hotter than others (the Lobster Pot was TOO HOT! 75 degrees C!) and they had saunas and all other sorts of relaxation stations going on. It was a good day to take everything that we've done so far in.

The next day, we headed off for Canyon City, Colorado. The event of the day was White Water Rafting through Royal Gorge. We hit 3 grade 4 rapids and the rest were grade 3. It was a brilliant activity and Jen and Myself very much enjoyed it. We were in a boat of 5, me, Jen, Gary, Lauren, and the Raft Guide. The two boys sat up front, with the girls behind and the Guide in the back. We learnt the first 3 rules of White Water Rafting:

1. Don't fall in the River
2. Don't fall in the River
3. Tip your Raft Guide.

After Canyon city we left Colorado for Sunny New Mexico. We arrived at our destination, Taos (pronounced like Mouse with a T). It was our Tour Leader, Jason's, Birthday and he didn't want to camp that night so we stayed in a Hostel called the Abominable Snow Mansion. It was fairly nice, for a hostel. We all got dressed up to go out for dinner, Hawaiian style. We all had leis on and jason had a Hula Skirt. We got him and dancing Hula Girl for his dashboard and a 6' Inflateable Palm tree. He had put away a few beers by the time we left for the restaurant so decided that it would be a good idea to top the costume off with a Clown wig and cake all over his face! The restaurant didn't mind and we had a great evening.

Next, we went to Carlsbad, with a breif stop over in Roswell (the Walmart there to be exact). No Aliens, its all just a massive tourist trap! We got to the campsite in Carlsbad... WORST. CAMPSITE. EVER! Lots of POO everywhere, no electricity, it was IMPOSSIBLY HOT and all the showers and toilets were horrid! That night, we realised why there was so much poo. We were greeted by all sorts of wildlife, namely Racoons (HUGE!), Skunks (Not scared of anything!)and Foxes. Oh yeah... and A TARANTULA! The thing was running round our feet at the benches at the speed of light, all of us had our feet up out of its way. That night, a storm blew the crap out of our tents and we got our first rain! The Racoons, meanwhile, opened up the coolers and ate our fruit! Bats screeched overhead as we tried to sleep and it was also too hot to sleep! FUN! The next morning, we packed up in a miserable state and headed for Carlsbad Caverns. These amazing natural Caverns are the second largest in the world and are home to the Bats that we had heard the night before. We spent ages looking around at all the stalagmites and stalagtites and other rock formations. Then we had a big drive to San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio campsite was a site for sore eyes (geddit!?), we had a pool, nice showers and it didn't rain. It was very humid though and the weather got up to 38c, we were gasping. We went to the downtown area to have a look at the famous American landmark, The Alamo, where Davie Crockett and a load of other Texans were slaughtered by Mexicans and the the US Army got involved and the famour phrase "Remember the Alamo!" was born! The landmark is pretty dull unless you're American. Downtown San Antonio is lovely, they have a River Walk with eateries and such on the river as well as a mall. We got ourrselves back into the urban lifestyle for a change and had a look around shops and such.

Today we have arrived in Lafayette, Louisina and we are taking part in a swamp tour with a guy called Cajun Jack tomorrow! Then, New Orleans!

x x x

Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley & Moab

Hi all,

We arrived in Lake Powell on Friday, the lake is a man-made one, they dammed part of the Colorado River to fill a Canyon and that's the lake! It's pretty astonishing, we played frisby on the beach and I made a spectacular diving catch into the water! The campsite was the best yet and we did some laundry there. It was Jen and my turn to cook so we grilled up some burgers on the barbeque!

Next day, the Grand Canyon! We got our first glimpse on a viewpoint on the way to the campsite! It's big! A little too big... now I know that doesn't make any sense but here goes... it just looks like a picture! The scale of it is so huge that its almost impossible to take in! We set up camp, a rubbish campsite with pay-showers about halfva mile away and no real facilities to speak of... and Ravens, HUGE ones! And they'll rip your camp to bits if you leave anything out for them! They look pretty cool though! That night we went to watch the Sunset over the canyon. Next day we went on to the rim and walked around. Very touristy but good for photos!

Monday we went to Monument Valley, home of the Native American tribe known as the Navajo. This place is very famous even if you haven't heard of it... the monuments they speak of are tall pillars of red rock and many Westerns and some more recent films (mission:impossible 2, at the start when he's climbing the mountain and Back to the Future 3 when he's being chased by Indians) were all filmed here! We went on a Jeep trek with a Najavo called Jimmy. He took us to see lots of cool monuments, some in the shape of Eagles, Ears or whatever (you have to squint a bit). He took us to one that was like a big amphitheatre and played the flute and sang a traditional navajo song. It was a nice moment... They took us to one of their homes, a mud hut, and we sat in there and they cooked for us. Navajo tacos are immense!

Yesterday we arrived in Moab after a 5 hour drive (we stopped at the part of the road in Forrest Gump when he decides to stop running, amazing pictures!). Moab is dubbed "Adventure town USA" and is a really cool desert town. Near to Moab is Arches Nat Park where natural stone arches are in abundance. We hiked 1.5 miles to see Delicate Arch. Its amazing, better described with pictures (sorry guys I'm trying).

Today we're just chillin' in Moab! Our campsite has a "swimmin' hole"!

White water rafting and New Mexico to come!

x x x