ok these pictures are ROAD TRIP!!!

1 - texas sunset
2 oklahoma city bombing site
3 me and tyler (family we stayed with in oklahoma)
4 and 5 oklahoma city
6 texas
7-10 New Mexico

These are a few odd ones i found from Derricks camera, I met Elmo in Hollywood and the others are in Joshua Tree National Park and The Grand Canyon

Sorry guys cant get the pictures to turn around so you'll just have to do it yourselves!
These are pictures of the Grand Canyon and Johua Tree National Park

Next ones will be of the road trip and Yosemite National Park

When I got to San Fransisco I joined the Green Tortoise Bus which is a tour company that take people all over America on 3-21 day trips. The bus itself was amazing. It was a converted greyhound bus and we carried all our food, drinks, tables, stoves, utensils, equipment, luggage etc, was amazing! The bus was arranged so that there were comfy chairs during the day and big beds at night - but the cool people (me and the back crew) sat up the back where it was a huge bed all the time!!Yosemite National Park has been described as natures cathedral and I have to say that's a pretty accurate description. It is not so stunning that I cant describe it like Grand Canyon, its more peaceful and green and amazingly beautiful with a million shades of green in the valleys.The waterfalls were dry and we went to look at a dry river bed which was very strange. The first day we hiked to Nevada falls and then Vernal falls (half way up half dome). Am pleased that I seem to be much fitter than a lot of people but the 2 fastest guys on the whole trip were Roy and J who always left their lunch in the bus and smoked weed and drank tequila on the way up the trails. I'm thinking of introducing that into a technique on scottish mountains cos it seemed to work for them!!!On the second day we drove on Tioga Road and we crossed the high country and the pass crosses the Sierra Nevada crest at 9945 ft!! There was some snow on the road already but felt very warm which was so strange.We stopped here and walked to Dog Lake and then onto Lambert Dome. The great thing about this was firstly the view point and the great scrambling routes but secondly the altitude started to affect everyone which was weird at first until we realised what it was. I started wheezing like a 40-a-day smoker and Jim got a nose bleed. I thought i was just struggling from the day before but it was the altitude. It wasn't that nice as you felt like you were taking a deep breath in and you lungs were not expanding.On the third day we decided to take it easy and only walked to Mirror lake which is dry at this time of year, I'd like to go back when its full of water! You get the best view of the half dome from here. We saw a coyote as well which was a first for me!
I had an amazing 4 days with the Green Tortoise, a definite highlight of my trip so far. The bus apparently had capacity for 37 people but there were only 17 of us and we all got on so well and exchanged a lot of emails at the end of the trip.In the bus was me, Jim, Tim and Andy (English),Paul, Roy and J (Irish) and Tina, Andrea, Chris and Manuella (German), Deno (Kiwi), Dave and Miles (Auz), Dider (French) and Perry and Bo (American). They were all a lot of fun and the fact that there were only 4 girls made it a lot more fun as the guys were great. We had nicknames for everyone as well, my nickname was Pumpkin (due to my birthday) and I was also known as 'the instigator' for climbing over the wall into the locked swimming pool at the campground to check the temperature at 11.30 and then going back to the campfire and persuading 5 guys to come and join me for a midnight dip! The other girls weren't like that and they were pretty quiet so I think i had the most fun on the whole trip. Also being one of the few females on the trip meant that you were able to instigate a lot of things that were a lot of fun. When we stopped to set up dinner one night, one of the guys said he was going for a dip in the river. I said i would join him and stripped off to my bikini and as a result of that there was about 8 of us all went in and I was the only girl!!!However the river was a glacial river and was so cold that you couldn't draw breath when you were swimming. Makes you feel great though.
My self esteem went through the roof on that trip and those of you who know mw know that that probably means it was where a normal persons self esteem usually is! I had such a great time and really felt like a worthwhile person and an important person on the trip. We all got back to San Fransisco yesterday and went out. A lot of people told me how great I was on the trip, talking to everyone and making sure people were not left out and having a laugh with the guys. Made me feel so good!!! Last night i went up to the bar where Paul, the irish guys works and he offered to put me up until i leave San Fransisco. He is a really nice guy and it sounds like fun. Think i'll spend my birthday here and then take off for South AmericaThe cable cars here are exactly like Eddie Izzard described, everyone gets on and becomes a rhesus monkey as the prisoners are taken down down to Alcatraz!Photos to follow soon if I can upload them.

Am writing this from San Fransisco after the Great Green Tortoise!!

I managed to get my camera stolen in LA which was a bit annoying but at least it was nothing really awful like my diary or passport! While I was working at the hostel we had to cover on reception sometimes. When the front door buzzed you had to look at the security camera and ask for 'name and room number'. However after a while that gets boring so we would ask things like' how many stripes on the american flag?' and 'spell pneumonia' before we would let people in - made it more fun, especially if they (or more likely us) were drunk!!
Derricks boss in Nashville bought an Airstream caravan (google for pics if you want) and we were to drive it from California to Nashville - Road Trip baby!!!!!When Derrick arrived we drove to Palm Springs then onto Indio to pick up the Airstream, it wasnt fit to sleep in but it was so cool and we towed it with a huge black SUV and I attached 2 scottish flags to the back of the airstream. Pictures to follow soon hopefully when i get a new camera!! Everywhere we went people were asking about it and taking pictures of it!
From Indio we drove to Joshua tree National Park which was my first real taste of desert land, and had some amazing scrambling routes on it, the rock was so easy to climb and there were some amazing cacti. We drove on from there and got got to Nevada at night time. Parked the caravan and then walked up to see the Grand Canyon for the first time. The moon was out and it was so stunning it completely took my breath away. I couldn't speak for about 10 minutes (and I know what a chatterbox I am!) There isn't really words to describe it - go and see it for yourself is the best I can say. On the way back walking through the dark woods we kept hearing coyotes which was so so scary!!The next morning we got up at 6 to watch the sunrise and I was able to fully appreciate the size of the Canyon, wow!! Definitely a highlight of my trip so far. I hiked down Bright Angel Trail during the day while Derrick did some work on the caravan (duct taping the windows became a huge highlight of the trip - every time we stopped!) We got through 5 rolls!!!!! Going into the Canyon just made me appreciate even more how enormous it was! I didn't get that far down as we had to leave that day for Flagstaff.We drove around the south rim to various viewpoints and then on through the painted desert past Gray Mountain that had lots of snow on it. I had no idea that Nevada and Arizona were so high up in elevation, it was pretty cold in the Grand Canyon and in Flagstaff.
We stopped in Gallup where we spent the night. We passed the Petrified forest National Park but it was late and we didn't stop. We were mainly on interstate 40 which has replaced Route 66 but they interconnect every now and again so there are signs for Route 66 everywhere you go!
I didn't manage to kill Derrick but the best I can say is that he is even bossier than me (and yes i know what that says!) so we have had a few run ins! Part of it is cabin fever spending so much time in a small space with somebody! Most of the time we get on well and have been swapping stories about family and stuff.
The indicators stopped working on the SUV so driving an automatic HUGE car on the WRONG side of the road pulling a caravan is no fun when you have to overtake or change lanes in a town!!!!
After Gallup we drove through Texas and Arkansas where we stopped and spent a few days with Derricks cousin Repete (his twin brother was called Pete.....)They all had extended families and it was great to spend some time not on the road and seeing Oklahoma City for a few days. All the extended family had boys (about 3 each) ranging from 7 months to 9 years, and I got on so well with them, I think I want to have boys when I have kids. Mind you when we arrived at the house and there was 8 very similar looking boys running around it was like'how many of that kid are you seeing!!'
Arriving in Nashville was very surreal it has to be said. I got all my mail, thanks everyone! and then the next day I got my photos downloaded and we made jack o'lanterns for Halloween. I got the bus from Nashville to St Louis and then the plane from St Louis to California San Fransisco - yes it seems like Im trying my hardest to see every corner of the states!!!

Los Angeles

This city is so huge. It takes 2 hours to get downtown on the bus. So far I've been downtown once and been to Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. I met Jack Sparrow, Elmo and Princess Fiona in Hollywood! I saw the Beverly Hills Hotel and the toilets outside it where George Michael was arrested. Also sneaked a peek at the outside of Hugh Heffners Playboy mansion.

The hills around LA go for miles and miles (and thats not even the Sierra Nevada). I've been walking in Griffith Park (way behid the Hollywood sign) and I biked up into the Malibu mountains behind Malibu and found a monestry in the hills. I am going western style riding in Griffith park at the weekend. Its only $40 for a 2 hour ride which is about £20!!! I know who is jealous reading this bit!!!

People here are more self centered than i've ever seen before in america. I dont mean self centered in an entirely bad way, everyone is out to get their little bit of the american dream and they dont have a clue about other people. Most shop keepers i spoke to and people who lived locally have no idea whats in the next street. They only care about themselves and are very very outspoken in a way that shocked me at first. Now i think that British people really do have a stiff upper lip and everywhere I go i see people being what I would call 'rude' but they are just leading their own lives and dont care for anything else as no-one would notice them being rude anyway! The more I stay here the more i realise there is never any sense of community anywhere and no-one really seems to notice anyone else. Everyone is too busy with their own lives. This is good in a way a no-one is self conscious as no-one pays them any attention but it feels very unfriendly at times. No-one notices or comments on the large homeless population raking through bins and sleeping on the beach. People all use their cars to get around 24/7 however public transport is very very good but very underused. Majority of people who use buses and who work in the lower paid jobs are black but also hispanic. There is a huge spanish population here and they dont speak english.
I met a guy on the bus the other day and we were chatting. He said he was from Memphis and he knew I was not from LA as I smiled at him and said hello when we were waiting for the bus.

I am working in the Hostel in LA in exchange for a free bed so i work for 3 hours and then my day is my own. The hostel is right on the beach, this is where they filmed baywatch and I am fitting in well as I have rollarblades for the boardwalk and spend some afternoons rollarblading up and down seeing all the street performers. Venice Beach (the area im staying in) is very like Brighton, lots of street performers and peace signs everywhere. Very big gay community as well. The people i work with in the hostel are nice. There is Shelly, an Australian girl and we are great friends. Then there is Crazy annd Morray (Kiwi guys) and then Matt (French) and Rodger (Sweedish). I could put in something here about how they all surf all the time when they are not working and put in something about what a surfers body looks like but I'm sure you can work it out (and im sure Linz knows where I'm coming from!!!)

I am staying here until the 5th. Derrick, the guy i met in the hostel in Nashville emailed me to say that his boss bought a caravan for the hostel, but he bought it in LA and asked Derrick and me to drive it from LA to Nashville!! Road trip!
We are going through Palm Springs to Joshua Tree National Park to Grand Canyon National Park. Then we are going to drive to New Mexico. We want to find some hot springs along the way (any suggestions Sue or Graeme??) Then Arkensas and then Nashville. I fly from St Loius to San Fransico after that and go to Yosemite National Park!!

These pictures are all of Nashville and of me swing dancing!
Email me if you want specifics of pictures cos i'm off to the bar now!

ok pictures at long last!!
Pictures 1-6 are of Mammoth Caves (all limestone) and the road trip i did from Nashville
The rest of the pictures are Memphis. Email me if you want specifics!!!