Alan's Travel Blog
Rambling and nonsense from the road

Unfortunately I’ve managed to completely fail to crib any pictures of Devil’s Tower from my companions’ cameras.
Devil’s Tower was utterly breathtaking.  This was probably the first spot on the trip I really felt my usual cynical atheism slip away, because there’s really just something quite spiritual about this mountain.  You just can’t help be in [...]

We spent these two days in Yellowstone park.  Again, the wildlife was breathtaking, and the campsites incredible fun.  I feel like I’ve really lucked out with my tour companions.

I also got over my first day incident completely, getting not only back in the water but back on (and off) a log!

Jenny Lake, near the Grand Tetons (look up the source of the name) was really breathtaking.

As well as all the greenery, and the lake itself, the wildlife is incredible.  While my obsession with catching chipmunks on film died out once I was swarmed with them at lunch, I was extremely proud of getting six inches [...]

Today was spent exploring Craters Of The Moon National Park – a ridiculously dramatic name for an expanse of volcanic rock formations and caves.
The other-worldly feel here was unbelievable.  Words can barely do this part of the trip justice.

WiFi connection is too slow to upload pictures, will update this later.

After my ordeal on day 1, I wasn’t much in the mood for water – so I skipped the optional white water rafting trip, but was thus appointed adventure photographer for the day.

While I admit I was a little jealous at times, I was [...]

Due to time constraints & wifi availability, I’ll have to leave writing a full report of my trip until the end – or perhaps half way through in Chicago.  In the meantime, I’ll be posting brief updates as and when I can.  The posting dates won’t match the date of the events, but I’ll try [...]

There it is.  The only movie shooting location I saw on Alcatraz.
It turns out that most of the great things I came to San Francisco to see were all shot on sound stages.  The awesome kitchen shoot-out scene in The Rock?  Sound Stage.  The “Roads” cafe from So I Married An Axe Murderer?  Interior is [...]

Climbing up the Coit Tower is one of the few tourist-trap destinations in San Francisco (along the cable cars).  It was hardly worth the $5 entrance fee, given its relatively small size, but it did enhance San Fran’s already wonderful viewpoints into the most incredible vistas.

I also cycled across the Golden Gate bridge – a [...]

If LA is a city defined by its people, and New York by its layout, San Francisco is the perfect blend of the two.  Due to the hill-based layout of the city, almost every intersection has a beautiful, stunning viewpoint in at least one direction.  This is a city where just wandering up and down [...]

I’m sorry, East Coast Railways – as wonderful as the many trips you’ve ferried me on from Edinburgh to Inverness, you’ve a long way to go to top Amtrak’s coach service up the west coast of the USA.  Legroom, comfy seats, big windows, an elevated position and a lounge car with huge bay windows.  The [...]