Denver- Steamboat Springs 18th May- 1st June 2012

After our 'family' holiday in Mexico, we flew from Puerto Vallarta to Denver via Phoenix which took most of the day as we had to wait in Phoenix for about 4 hours.  We were wearing vests, ’t’ shirts and flip flops which was typical clothing for a hot country but not the right clothing you need for wet cold and foggy weather with snow on the ground.  The weather got worse during the day so we looked silly wearing shorts and flip flops.

We collected a hire car ready to start our 2000 mile trip in order to visit some of the sights in Colorado.  We aimed to cover roughly a geographical square above Denver that would take you to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota in the North East then across to the Little Big Horn in Montana at the North West. Our next plan was then to go down to the Rocky Mountains in Yellowstone, then back to Denver via Steamboat Springs.

Near Cook City- winter wonderland again

Next day out of the shorts and back into sweat shirts and jeans again. Our ski jackets would have been handy but we left them behind while we have been on our trip. Not a good idea! 

We knew we were amongst the Rocky Mountains but could not see them due to the fog and snowey conditions.  What can we expect when Denver is one mile high above sea level. This was obviously one of the reasons for the changeable weather conditions.

During our journey we saw the rolling hills of Wyoming appear leaving the flat, parched grassland of Colorado behind. Our first trip was in Guernsey, a small town famous for being on the Oregon Trail where in the 1850’s over 350,000 settlers past through to the West Coast , they had been offered cheap land. The town was a little run down with just hotels and  nobody in them.  The first hotel we called in we were met by two twin brothers about 17 years old who were holding rifles  we were a bit wearey about them ,  we would just call  it intuition as they seemed a liitte strange !  So we decided not to stay there and stayed in bunk house up the road..  The best thing about this place it was next to ‘Mad Tony’s’ here we had a meal and met up with some of the locals most of these were from the USA Army base and were off duty USMC (United States Marine Corps) the base was near by.

The second aim of this trip was achieved today by visiting Little Big Horn, very reveling when all things were considered. A great museum with loads of easily accessible information. We spent time on Last Stand Hill and saw the inevitable here where Custer and his 200 troops came to an end. The controversial question was though was it all Custer’s fault?. The debate will never end on this one.

Custers grave- Black text on it.

We headed North into Wyoming after spending the morning in  Fort Laramie made famous in many westerns. It was impressive with its layout next to a river and we both enjoyed going back in time looking at how people lived during those turbulent times 170 years ago. We drove Northwood through Lusk where the film Raw Hide had been made, this is  where we heard the true story about the young man who got skinned alive.  ooch!

 As we entered South Dakota the Black Hills came into view. We stopped in mid afternoon at Hot Springs and dropped in the Mammoth Museum, this was a fantastic like  mini 'Terracotta Army' experience ast he findings were an archeological dig unearthing 65 Columbian mammoths and many more to discover too.  (Well worth a visit). That night we stayed at Hot Springs in Americas Best Value Inn. opposite the river.  The whole place had  lovely sandstone structured buildings. We were  lucky and found ourselves in a great location, this was yet another place where we could have spent more time as there were many attractions.

Mammoth Museum -South Dakota

Mammoth Museum -South Dakota, thigh bone of one of the mammoths

The car ride in the Black Hills was glorious and we stopped off in Keystone for lunch, it was a typical Western town in appearance with board walks, and great scenerey.  It was the perfect stopping point before or after people visited Mount Rushmore as it was only ten minutes up the hill from the town itself.  Mount Rushmore was very dramatic with the four statues each on their own merit, and collectively amazing. (once again well worth a visit).


Mount Rushmore



Mount Rushmore



Mount Rushmore

However with 400 miles west to aim for, our next destination we had to keep moving.  This day drew to a close in Sheridan where we stayed.  Sheridan is famous for hosting Buffalo Bills old hotel, by the railway and bar which of course we had to visit ,it was quaint by Americas standards and had some great photos of the man himself.

Steve had the best fish and chips in months  (now missing England!)

Buffalo Bills bar


Steve eating Fish and Chips

Whilst in Montana we headed for Yellow Stone National Park where we saw a magnificent site of approximatley 50 wild horses it was a fantastic sight to see.



Wild horses in a field- Montana

This weather was so changebale on our travels , a variation of  80 degrees + for four days  but as we climbed higher into the Rocky’s  it declined to  32 degree Fahrenheit, (freezing)  in Cook C ity.  This was quite shocking as we did not appreciate the fact that  the car safety light came on saying DANGER ICE,   it does not help when  you are driving with flip flops wearing t' shirts etc! what can we say!!!
Our other surprise was  Cook City had a  population of only 100 people.  City what is that all about ???

Cook City sits at 7,608 feet at altitude, higher than a lot of ski slopes in Europe. We managed to find a nice place called 'The Alpine Inn'  basic but cozy and warm. The next day the car was covered in snow and ice, there had been a good storm during the evening surprise surprise !! The thought of driving without snow chains  the following day was quite scary.

The next day we entered Yellow Stone National Park,  where we discovered  a Moose next to the road! we found that exciting, however  the day got better as  we saw a real live grizzly bear only 25 yards away (Yogi), It was busy digging up roots so it ignored everyone else around it. (Thank goodness as a couple of tourists were killed by one last year by not following the park rules).

Moose

Yogi Bear

Grizzly Bear (Yogi)

We then had a snow storm in Mammoth Springs, the roads were blocked we saw two more bears and a wolf before we retreated to West Yellowstone to wait until the storms passed.

Views- Black Hills

View Yellowstone Park

Views- Yellowstone park

Buffalo

The aim was to get to Yellowstone and avoid the bad weather we failed but we saw herds of Buffalo run past the car, we also saw Elks we passed a frozen lake (Lewis) and ended up in Dubois and stayed there another night due to snow falling.

Stampede of Buffalo's

Elk- Yellowstone National Park

Elk- Yellowstone National Park

Deer crossing the road

The weather worsened as you can see from the picture below, it was like being back in winter wonderland, very pretty but cold!

Yellowstone Park- Lake Lewis

Yellowstone Park- Lake Lewis

On the way we drove through a place called Muddy Gap, which was quite well signposted but when we got there the town consited of one shop.  When we saw this van outside the shop it made us laugh.

We drove to steamboat springs and had a lovely journey down which was in Colorado and descended to 7,000 feet where we stayed at the Legacy Vacation Club Hilltop.  We were ready for a rest after driving 1500 miles in 6 days through many different weather conditions and landscapes.

At Steamboat Springs we stayed in a studio flat, so it was great to get back into a kitchen and cook our own food. We played tennis most days and ventured out on a couple of fairly long uphill trails.  The trails had magnificent views, but were fairly hard on our lungs it must have been the altitude of being so high, but they were well worth it.  Steamboat Springs is a famous ski resort with many other outdoor activities do during the summer such as walks, mountain biking, canoeing, Kayaking etc. We were both impressed with the place and it had nice temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so it felt comfortable. 

 Fish Stone Creek trail

 We stayed for five nights and it should have been six but the flights were really expensive to Houston at the weekends. We changed our plan instead of flying to Houston we managed to find a fairly cheap flight to Dallas where we stayed one night. Our new intention was to drive  to Houston from Dallas as we were meeting our friends from Darlington.  The journey was supposed to be a four hour  drive but turned into seven hours,  this journey was a total nightmare from start to finish as the highways were just so busy with no respite from the traffic.   We finally arrived and were now looking forward to the next part of our trip.

The next road trip 'Bailey Tours' in Texas!

Mexico Surprise ! - 11th May-18th May 2012

After leaving the Bahamas  we flew to Phoenix via Orlando and were really excited  to surprise my sister Caroline and her fiance Simon. Jacqueline and Michael were in on the surprise.  Our seats were already arranged so we would all be  sitting on three rows together, therefore Steve and I arranged to get on the plane last.  We involved the airport staff and they enjoyed their involvement. In fact some of the airport staff came on the plane so that they could also see the looks of surprise ,excitement or just shock horror on their faces.

Both Caroline and Simon's faces were an absolute picture,unfortunatley we did not get any pictures as we were so busy laughing about it. Well done to  Jacqueline and Michel for keeping them distracted while we got seated.

We stayed in Puerto Vallarta again at Jacqueline and Michaels condominium as we did in mid March.  We had  fantastic quality time, just  catching up.  Again we relaxed and partied most of the time and spent one night in Puetro Valletro down town.  Steve managed to fit in a couple of games of golf with Simon and Michael, we all went down to the driving range and  we played a bit of tennis and enjoyed their fantatic gym. 

The Grand Myan resort which is about 20 minutes taxi ride from Puetrto Vallarta is a fantatic place to go and relax.  Where else do you go where you get your sun glasses cleaned resting by the pool and have  a waiter service  all day encouraging you to drink a copious amount of Coors light by the bucket?

Steve,Simon and Michael cooling down in the Grand Lux pool,
with a beer

Me Jacqueline and Caroline in the Grand Lux Pool

Our cricket match in the pool

Caroline enjoying the relaxation in the pool with a

nice cold beer.

Posing on the balcony

Steve and Simon getting ready for a game of golf

Caroline and Simon at La Destileria restaurant

Me helping the chef make the fresh guacamole

Steve and I being serenaded by the local Mexican band

Puetro Valleto- Down town sea front.

Me Caroline and Jacqueline , catching up!

 

Our last night fairwell!

Overall we had an amazing time and the relaxation over the past two weeks have been brilliant, sun sea sand and partying Now holiday time is over and we are getting ready for our next two week road trip, where we are flying from Phoenix to Denver and touring up towards the rocky mountains and finishing in Steamboat Springs Colorado. 

We do have to say thanks to Jacqueline and Michael for making the surprise happen as it was well worth it!

Bailey's Tours 'Bahamas Experience' 1st-10th May

Our trip to the Bahamas was simply brilliant and yet amazingly totally unexpected. Its success was due to the hospitality of two chaps I spent alot of time with as a teacher training college form 1974 to 1977 and Viv and I put the success of our Bahamas experience down to Ronny and Garry and their lovely and very understanding wives Suize and Denise.

Doncaster College of Education's RFU  'Powerhouse' circa 1975-77.(Bailey,Guest,Markham.)

Ronny and Suzie's 'Backyard' !

Our trip was planned in minutes once Viv realised we were going to end up in Orlando in the RV, she suggested since we were only a one hour plane ride away  we could pop in and say hello to Ronny and Gary.   (AS  she had never met them and I was always talking about them)  From this simple plan where we thought we might meet up a couple of times and catch up , we found ourselves being fully accomodated and entertained for ten full days by the 'Guest and Markham Bespoke Bahamian Travel Agency.'

Saddleback Cay

Sand Bar,off the Ezuma Islands.

Main Bay in Saddleback Cay.

For the whole period we were looked after and made to feel really comfortable and also met many of their Bahamian friends and ex pats.   Both Ronny and Gary were at work to so we were fortunate that Ronny lent us his spare car to explore the island with and as we were staying in his beautiful home we could also relax and enjoy his pool too. 

Most days we were taken and intoduced  to different places to have lunch and  or dinner; always ones that had a good reputation for  service, location or simply good eating extablishments. (Usually they had spectactuar views of Atlantis on  Paradise Island,  a harbour or  marina.)  Three of the days we spent fully on the water so we had to suffer locations with beautiful white beaches and turquoise seas, forty miles south on Ezuma Islands or locally on Rose Island.  Viv and I truly had not experienced anything like this on our travels to date and were quite mesmorised by both the beauty and tranquillity of our surroundings everywhere we found ourselves.

Viv getting off the boat after we'd been snorkelling

A few of the fish and Nurse Shark that were everywhere !

Viv socialising on Rose Beach after our Sunday afternoon picnic.

Saddlebck Cay

On Atlantis on Paradise Island,next to Garry's boat!(Nearly agreeing -for once!)

Ronny and myself opposite the main cruise liner dock after discusing many of the bridges we had crossed.

Gary also organised me to visit Queens College private school where he works  so that I could meet with the Head Teacher and Curriculumn Co-ordinator.  This was really enjoyable and interesting and supported my visits to schools in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. (The best bit though was when I visited the different classes observing their daily routine and speaking to the children)

Back to the chalk face,discussing the topic of England with a year 6 class.

To conclude our holiday we were taken on the last night to Meze a restaurant near Cable Bay .After a great meal  we decided  that after 10 years that Gary Ronnie and myself have covered most of the bridges  we've  crossed since then and we all agreed to meet up soon  to ensure  that we covered all the rivers that run under them too.

Our meal at the  famous Bahamian  'Conch ' restaurant.

The Bahamas  "The Jewel and the Crown" of Bailey's Tours so far !

 Many ,many Thanks to;

 Ronnie Suzie, Gary and  Denise.

Orlando 25th April-01st May 2012

We finally arrived in Orlando 2,300 miles later from Phoenix.  We were so pleased to finally drop off the RV and planned to  spend a week relaxing by a pool. The RV seemed like a good deal at the time but it certainely soaked up the petrol especially averaging about 10 miles to the gallon. Also each RV park cost approximatley $30 per night, therefore the whole experience was still relatively expensive.  (Something you have to weigh up when you are considering doing such a trip.) We were pleased however that we did  the journey as it was a great experience and we can now  tick  it off the list, but not something we would do again in a hurry as twelve days to do the journey was too much of a rush. 

We got a really good deal with Legacy holiday vacation club  situated in the centre of Disney World and was ideal for what we wanted.  We basically rested by the pool, played tennis enjoyed the gym and spent a day at Universal Studios theme park, Island of Adventures which was excellent.   It was a total week of relaxation which included  a night out in the Old Town Orlando.  This is a place well recommended, as every Satrday night  throughout the year there is  a classic car show so it was good to see all the old American classic cars (approx 200 cars). 

There were some fairly small rides,  such as a ferris wheel, bumper cars and a few good bars and restaurants too.

Orlando Old town- clasic car show

 Steve found the rodeo, very much to his regret he decided to have a go, unfortunaltey he came off it with about three leg grazes, four skint knuckles and two sprained thumbs.  There is always a last time for everything, "Never again" he said!

Steve on the Bull

Steves foot still on the bull.

Entrance to Universal Studios

There were some fantastic rides our favourites were Spiderman, Harry Potter, The Hulk and Popeye.

Steve challenging one of the characters

Beetle Bailey



The Hulk ride.



Island of Adventures- Universal Studios

Harry Potters forbidden city

Steve wishing you were here!

Our next destination is the Bahamas in order to visit a couple of Steves college friends who have lived there for over 20 years.