World War Battlefield Tour Autumn 2014

This something that I should have done years ago, but it's better late than never. At last, I headed off on a tour of the northern French battlefields of both world wars. First of all, WW2.

The “tour” began at Utah beach, the westernmost of the five beaches used to land allied troops and equipment on the 6^th June 1944, otherwise known as “D-Day”. The beach itself is just a beach, but there are several monuments and other artefacts to remind the visitor of what took place and who was involved. This was one of the two American beaches. Around 200 were killed on this beach during the D-Day operation. 

Two unidentified people at Utah Beach

A few miles inland is the little town of Sainte Mere Eglise, which hosts the Airborne Museum. It features in the film “The Longest Day” where a paratrooper (John Steele) gets attached to the church steeple by his parachute. The church still sports a parachute with attached dummy hanging from the roof. Despite being surrounded by German soldiers, Steele lived to tell the tale. The paratroop drops took place inland from the beaches, a few hours before the scheduled landings, in the hope of smoothing the passage inland for the beach landings. Thousands of aircraft, including gliders, dropped tens of thousands of troops, but most of them landed in the wrong place for many reasons, including weather and pilot error.

The dummy paratrooper on the church where erroneous drops took place on D-Day

A Sherman tank outside the Airborne museum in Sainte Mere Eglise

The following morning, having first viewed the famous Bayeux Tapestry, we visited the Battle of 

Normandy museum in Bayeux. This provided a useful overview of the entire Normandy campaign, which began with D-Day, but lasted for months, and incurred huge casualties on both sides, perhaps 200,000 killed on each side.

Omaha, the other American beach came next, in the afternoon, and this was where the greatest casualties occurred, with 2000 or so killed on the first day. Having endured a sleepless night in rough seas, wet through and seasick, the soldiers then had to scramble ashore while facing German machine guns and artillery. The area overlooking the beach is a quite beautiful place, and it is hard to reconcile this to the carnage of 70 years ago. The huge American cemetery, in Colleville-sur-Mer, where nearly 10,000 are buried, is very impressive, laid out in ten lots, with an imposing monument and lake at one end. The names of 1500 missing are inscribed on the monument. The visitor centre nearby is also really informative, with films, videos and other displays describing what happened, with many accounts of individual experiences. There are also interviews with survivors and with relatives of some who fell on 6/6/44. 

The American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer

The Memorial at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer

We also took in the Pointe du Hoc, between Omaha and Utah. This was the scene of a heroic and successful attack by the American Rangers on D-Day. In order to overcome the German strongpoint, the rangers had to scale a 100 foot cliff under fire. 225 made the foot of the cliff, but after overcoming the defenders and sustaining counter-attacks for two days, only 90 survived.

The cliff face at the Pointe du Hoc scaled by the US Rangers under fire on D-Day

Next morning was the turn of Gold Beach, the first of the British beaches, where the famous portable floating harbour was put into commission. Two harbours, nicknamed “Mulberrys” were built in sections in England, for towing to France, but only one made it across the stormy channel. Several pieces are still visible from the shore, and the museum has a working model and a person who explains how it worked. It was quite ingenious in concept and design, and was very successful in practice with thousands of tanks and other vehicles landed using the Mulberry. Over 400 men were killed on this beach during the landings. The town of Arromanches houses the landing (“debarquement”) museum and also a 360 degree cinema, which recreates the sound and fury of the landings with a presentation projected on all sides. A little train provides free travel between the two, which is just as well, as the cinema is at the top of a very steep climb! 

Gold Beach is use as a normal beach with part of a Mulberry harbour in the background

Statue overlooking Gold Beach at Arromanches-sur-Mer

We also inspected the great German gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer. On returning to our camper, we discovered a flat battery, which needed replacement, so much time was unavoidably lost to breakdown, and Juno beach had to be postponed until the following morning.

Unscathed German gun and surrounding casemate at Longues-sur-Mer

Next morning, the new camper battery worked perfectly, and off we went to explore Juno, the Canadian beach. This beach also saw significant casualties, with some 1200 brave Canadians killed during the landings. Here, we were given a tour of two bunkers, a command post and an observation station, by a bi-lingual Canadian student. Since 1944, the sands here have shifted, so the observation bunker, which was on the beach in 1944, is now behind a sand dune. It was used by the Germans to scan the sea for possible landings. The other bunker was a command centre, and much less heavily fortified. (The walls of the observation bunker are 2 metres thick!). The command post was connected by telephone to numerous other installations along and close to the sea front. Each bunker had a maze of tunnels with compartments or rooms for various purposes, including an escape tunnel. The Juno Centre museum was also interesting, detailing the Canadian involvement in WW2. They lost at least 45,000 in the war, having provided almost a million personnel, from a population of 11 millions. Many Canadians signed up due to poverty and lack of employment opportunities at home.

German bunker at Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer

Inuit (Eskimo) INUKSUK and Canadian cemetery at Juno Beach

The fifth and final beach is Sword, the second British beach, and the furthest east, and we reached there in the afternoon. Again, it looks just like any other beach, with sand and bathing huts. But, more than 600 young men died here on 6^th June 1944. The museum here is contained in an actual German bunker, several storeys high. The building is surrounded by a range of equipment, including tanks, artillery, half-tracks and an anti-aircraft gun. The most interesting exhibit is a reconstruction of an actual landing craft. This was used in the filming of the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.

Sword Beach complete with sand and Bathing huts at Ouistreham-sur-Mer

The museum in a restored multi-storey German bunker at Ouistreham-sur-Mer

Landing craft at Sword Beach museum used in filming of "Saving Private Ryan"

A short distance inland lay one of the “objectives” of the Sword landings, Pegasus bridge. The actual bridge is preserved and is on display in the grounds of a museum in Ranville. Where the story of the action is detailed. For once, the paratroopers landed precisely on target, in two gliders, 30 in each. They took the bridge, assisted to some extent by some slack German defending. (Some of them had gone off with ladies of the night). A full-size replica of a glider is also in the grounds, built to the originals plans and using the original materials. It is bigger than expected, and sitting inside it gives some impression of what it was like to arrive by glider. Thousands of these were used, but none survived intact as the French used them for firewood and other farming purposes.

The famous original Pegasus Bridge in the grounds of the museum at Ranville

The full size replica of a 30-seater Horsa glider at the museum in Ranville

The final stop on the Normandy campaign of 1944 was the Caen Memorial, situated conveniently on the Caen ring road. The forecourt is dominated by a giant statue of an American navy man kissing a woman, presumably French. This centre takes several hours to explore, with a mixture of films and exhibitions, but it's worth the effort. It explains the wider context of WW2, but also covers the Normandy situation. Parts of the shattered city of Caen are enclosed in the museum. It was here that the Germans made their final effort to halt the progress towards Paris of the allied armies. They did halt progress for some weeks, but were eventually surrounded by the allied armies. But, the city was flattened, and thousand of civilians were killed. The exhibits presented some surprising statistics, such as the claim that as many as 20,000,000 Chinese died in the second world war. It was also a surprise to discover that nearly 6,000,000 Poles died in the war. The museum also contains some surprising exhibits, including a fully intact Russian MIG-21 fighter aircraft, and sections of the Berlin Wall. There is also a nice restaurant in the building where we had a delicious lunch.

The giant couple kissing outside the Caen Memorial museum in Caen

After Caen, we headed for Beauvais via Lisieux and Rouen. Rouen is a nightmare to traverse, even with a good GPS. The turns are so complex that following the voice prompts in difficult, and we made at least one wrong choice, which cost us some time. We stopped in Lisieux to view the huge Basilica to St. Thérèse, also known as the Little Flower.

The great basilica in Lisieux dedicated to Saint Thérèse also known as the Little Flower

After Beauvais, the following day we headed north towards the WW1 battlefields, starting with Ypres in Belgium. It was called Ypres at the time of WW1, and the soldiers called it Wipers. French was then the official language of Belgium, but that changed in the 30's when Dutch was elevated alongside French. The current name for Ypres is Ieper. The In Flanders Fields museum is housed in the Cloth Hall, a magnificent building devastated by shelling during the war, but now fully restored. This is an excellent museum and covers every aspect of WW1. It took a couple of hours to peruse it and to watch the many short films available. It covers the whole western front, but particularly the Ypres “Salient”. The nearby St. Martin's church close by is also worth a look. The other great monument here is the Menin Gate, designed and built by the British, and completed in 1927. Every night since then (except during WW2) the last post is played there at 8 p.m. Thousands of people turn up for this ceremony, many arriving in coaches. The names of 54,000 missing are inscribed on the monument. The last post is sounded by four buglers from the local fire brigade. We attended on two evenings. On both occasions, colour parties made up of military veterans were in attendance, and other people, mostly military laid wreaths. On the first night, a male quartet sang three very moving laments. On the second night, a woman sang a Scottish lament. Unfortunately, this was followed by a bagpiper who performed a dire wailing match - twice. Immediately after the Last Post, on both nights, a man read from Laurence Binyon's poem “For the Fallen”. An announcement was made at the start requesting that we refrain from any applause. It is a very dignified and moving ceremony.

The restored Cloth Hall building which contains the In Flanders Fields museum

The Menin Gate in Ypres (now Ieper) at night scene of the Last Post nightly

The four fire brigade buglers playing the Last Post at the Menin Gate at 8 p.m.

The following day we visited the Passchendaele Museum, in a former chateau in the village of Zonnebeke. Passchendaele was the scene of the third battle of Ypres, where huge numbers died on both sides, many by drowning in flooded trenches. The ground was so wet that tanks had to be abandoned. The allies eventually prevailed, but at a huge cost. I suspect that it was engagements like this that led to Earl Haig being labelled “Butcher Haig”. The museum has comprehensive information on the war, especially in this sector, and features a range of reconstructed bunkers and trenches. Many of these were built as semi-permanent structures, as this war was bogged down in one place for a long time.

Reconstructed trench at the Passchendaele museum in Zonnebeke near Ieper

The Passchendaele museum in the former chateau of Zonnebeke

Close by is the Tyne Cot cemetery, which gives a better idea of what the battle cost. The cemetery rivals the great American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, with 12,000 graves and a memorial to the missing with 34,000 names. It is beautifully laid out and maintained. In this peaceful setting, it is hard to imagine the horror and violence that took place here 100 years ago. This is the biggest of the British cemeteries, but there are smaller cemeteries everywhere in this region. They are all meticulously maintained and signposted by the War Graves Commission.

Tyne Cot cemetery where British victims of the Passchendaele battle are buried

We then headed south of Ieper to see the Messines Ridge cemetery. It contains the graves of some 1500 soldiers, as well as a memorial to the 800 or so New Zealanders who died in this area. It was the New Zealand Division who recovered this ridge from the Germans in 1917, but it was lost again a few months later in the German “final push”.

Nearby is the Peace Village, a kind of hostel for youth groups to explore the area and learn its history. It started off as an Irish/British project to bring young people from both factions in Northern Ireland together, against the background of a shared experience by their ancestors in fighting side by side in WW1.

The entrance to the Messines Ridge cemetery 10km south of Ieper in Belgium

Grave stone of Irish soldier in Messines Ridge cemetery

Behind it, and round a corner is the Island of Ireland peace park, featuring a round tower, for which stones were transported from Mullingar, the remains of a former “workhouse”. It is 32 metres tall, a metre for every county in Ireland. The park includes a series of nine stone slabs featuring quotations from WW1 soldiers like Francis Ledwidge, Tom Kettle and Patrick MacGill on the horror and futility of war.

The Irish round tower at the Island of Ireland peace park at Messines in Belgium

Poem by Patrick MacGill from Glenties in Donegal who fought in WW1 and survived

The final memorial in this area was that of the Berkshire regiment at Ploegsteert (known as Plugstreet to the soldiers). The monument is on one side of the road with the cemetery “extension”, while the original cemetery is on the other side.

Memorial at Ploegsteert to the members of the Berkshire regiment who died in this area in WW1

The other two great centres of slaughter in WW1 were Verdun and the Somme. We didn't have time on this occasion to make it to Verdun, but, after Ypres, we headed south towards the Somme. We stayed in a small village near Peronne, a town which featured heavily in the fighting, and which now houses the “Historial de La Grande Guerre” in an ancient castle. The main focus of our visit here was the Thiepval Monument. This huge structure, on top of a hill, was designed by Lutyens, and features the names of 72,000 of the missing. It is visible for miles around in every direction. Nearby there is a visitor centre with all the usual information in many formats. Thiepval Ridge, because of its position, was an obvious military target, and changed hands in September 1916 after a costly struggle. The Germans had held it since 1914, and had dug impressive defences in three lines. Some estimates put British losses in this sector at 400,000.

The monument to the missing on Thiepval Ridge with 72,000 names

The French and British cemeteries attached to the Thiepval monument

Nearby is the Ulster Tower, commemorating the contribution of the 36^th Division. It is a replica of a tower near their training ground at Clandeboye. A friendly couple from Northern Ireland live in the tower nine months of the year, and run the small shop/café and information centre. There is a room inside the tower displaying tributes from various organisations and communities, including the Orange Order and the many unionist political parties in Northern Ireland, as well as town councils and others. There are some tributes from southern Ireland, and poster displays on other Irish regiments including the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

The Ulster Tower near Thiepval a replica of a tower at Clandeboye

Further on, also on the D73, is the village of Beaumont-Hamel. Near this village is a memorial park in honour of the Newfoundland Battalion. There is a small centre near the entrance, manned by friendly Canadian students. Free guided tours are provided on request. The Park is dominated by the statue of a caribou, and contains three cemeteries and several other monuments.

The caribou statue tribute to the Newfoundland battalion whose emblem was a caribou

It also features some original trenches. The cemeteries are the Y Ravine, the Hawthorn Ridge and Hunter's. The latter was actually a shell hole where those who perished were buried. The other two were named after the places where most the victims fell. Y Ravine is a geographical feature near the eponymous cemetery where serious fighting took place. Hawthorn Ridge was a German front line fortification, attacked by the British on the 1^st of July 1916. There is also a monument to the Scottish Highland Division, topped by a black-clad Scotsman in a kilt.

An actual trench from WW1 with added boardwalk in Newfoundland Park

Hunter's cemetery created from a shell hole in Newfoundland Park near Thiepval

The kilted scotsman monument to members Scottish Highland Division who died near here

The park also contains an enormous mine crater, created on July 1^st 1916 when a huge mine was exploded to frighten the Germans. It is not as big as the Loughnagar crater, which is close by, and which was created at the same time. Some claim that the explosion that created it could be heard in London.
Next time we hope to visit Verdun.

Visitors from French class!

For the second time in as many years, a group representing our former French class arrived in Bergerac to pose as tourists! So, I pretended to be a tour guide and brought them to various places in the general Dordogne area.
Our first stop, on the way from the airport, was for coffee and crepes in the World Heritage town of St. Emilion.

In the afternoon, we went on to explore the wonderful Gouffre de Proumeyssac, a cave containing huge numbers of stalagmites, stalactites and other shapes formed over millions of years. Until relatively recently, the only way to enter was in a bucket which held three people and was lowered and raised by walking a horse round in a circle. This meant, on occasion, a hair-raising experience, if the horse decided to behave in an unfriendly manner!

Next we stopped at the little village of Limeuil, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, which overlooks the confluence of the Vezere and Dordogne rivers. The riverside area looked beautiful in the early evening sunlight.

On the following morning, we set off for the chateau of Castelnaud, which supported the Cathars in the early 13th century, and suffered for its efforts. It changed hands many times during the 100 years years war (which actually lasted 116 years!) and the wars of religion which followed. It was also wrecked following the French Revolution, but is now restored and has an excellent collection of arms and weapons from the various periods.

This was followed by a tour of the nearby "hanging gardens" of Marqueyssac. These gardens are a little different, and contain, inter alia, 150,000 box plants, trimmed to a variety of shapes. It's a deceptively large area, topped by a "belvedere" with a great view of the river Dordogne, the chateaux of Castelnaud and Beynac, and the lovely village of La Roque Gageac.

We then drove the few kilometres to La Roque Gageac for lunch. La Roque is another of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, and is partly built into the rock overlooking a wide stretch of the Dordogne. It is packed with restaurants and cafes, and cruises on the river are available in the local gabarres or flat-bottomed boats. In high season, it is over-run with tourists, and it is often difficult to find parking. By early October, despite the Indian summer, the numbers have thinned out a little.

Having seen at least some of the Dordogne valley, we decided to have a look at the valley of the Vezere, a tributary of the Dordogne. So we drove through Sarlat to the little village of St. Leon sur Vezere, yet another of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.

We then turned around and took a back road to the Roque St. Christophe. This fortified rock dwelling was inhabited continuously for a period of around 55,000 years, much longer than any of the towers in Ballymun. It is favourably situated, overlooking the Vezere from a height, and the whole valley for miles in three directions. It also appears that other lookouts were able to signal the approach of attackers from long distances, which made surprise attacks very difficult.

Very close to the "Roque" is the tiny village of Le Moustier. This is the village after which the Mousterian Age and tool culture are named in archaeology. It became famous after the discovery of a neanderthal skull over 100 years ago, in an "abri" or shelter made of rock. The skull was 55,000 years old.

On the way "home" we passed through the famous and historic town of Les Eyzies de Tayac, famous for its "Cro-Magnon" man statue, outside the museum. The museum itself is unique in that it is partly built into the rock, as the "abri" where many early artefacts were found has been incorporated into the museum building. Many regard this area as the "cradle of civilisation".

We passed through the scenic village of Le Buisson on the way west towards Bergerac. It is best known for its Cadouin Abbey and cloisters.

Next day, after a good night's sleep and some shopping, we repaired to the recently restored chateau of Bridoire. Once the subject of protests that landed the protesters in jail, Bridoire has been restored as a result of a campaign that lasted 22 years. It was originally owned by the state, and neglected, hence the protests. Eventually, it was sold into private ownership and restored. It is ideal for groups of children, as it features dozens of medieval games for their amusement. Adults have been known to attempt these games, with varying levels of success!

Finally, another visit to sample the famous wines of Monbazillac. This hilltop chateau is a major venue for weddings, and wedding photographs. During our visit, a wedding was taking place in which Bernard and David were joining up for better or for worse. The view from the chateau grounds is stupendous, with the town of Bergerac spread out in the valley below, topped by the spire of the church of Notre Dame.

The visitors returned to Dublin next day, tired but happy, after another good night's sleep.

Please note that I did not take any of the above photographs. But, they're all in the public domain, and I have not infringed any copyright.

Yellowstone pilgrimage

I have always wanted to visit Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming, USA. This year (2014) I decided to do it. So, we flew to Denver, and drove to Grand Teton, via Rawlins, WY.

20^th May 2014

We drove from Rawlins Wyoming through a largely boring, desolate landscape, but which has some incredible geological formations in places. I have no idea what these are called or what their origin is, but they are interesting to look at. I photographed only one, a red rock formation. With about 50 miles to go to the entrance to Grand Teton National Park, we drove through a snowstorm! This was somewhat unexpected in late May, but it didn't last long, as we descended rapidly below the snow line. We arrived early at the Jackson Lake Lodge, and were told that out “cottage” wouldn't be ready until 4pm. We passed the time by driving to see some of the nearby sights. The park is set among the Teton range of the Rocky mountains, which are still covered in snow. We tried to drive to the top of Signal Mountain, but found the road still closed due to snow. Instead we stopped at the Jackson Lake dam, which doubles as the main road, and took photographs. The place was black with Orientals, Chinese and Japanese, covered in Canons, Nikons and tripods.

We eventually checked into our “cottage”, somewhat like a motel room, but minus the television, microwave and fridge. But, it has two great beds, a nice bathroom, a coffee machine and free wifi for any number of devices. We couldn't find it at first for the simple reason that the signboards were covered in snowdrifts. But, first thing the next morning, two men with shovels uncovered all the snow- covered signs. There are mainly two types of people here, young Chinese and very old Americans.

Tetons reflected in the reservoir/dam

Marina at Colter Bay

21^st May 2014

We visited Jackson in the morning. It should not be confused with the much bigger Jackson Mississippi, of “lookout Jackson town” fame. It is a lovely town, which is quite a surprise. In the preceding two days, we had traversed three western towns, Cheyenne, Laramie and Rawlins, all in Wyoming, and one more run-down and boring than the next. Do not bother to visit any of these towns. They have no redeeming features. “The man” should deny that he is from Laramie! But, Jackson is pretty. And Jackson Hole, where the town and much of the park are situated, is a very scenic place, with snow-covered mountains all around. The main range is the Tetons, after which the park is named.

Main Street Jackson Wyoming

Sunrise at Oxbow Bend

22^nd May 2014

I have risen for dawn the first two mornings to get photographs in the early light. It was minus one this morning at a quarter past five! I've been lucky with clear skies. Of course, a red sunrise would be better, with a thundery sky opposite, but these miracles rarely happen. When they do, the resulting photos can be worth a lot. Landscapes are supposed to look better under the early morning or late evening light.

For the Mormon barn photo I had to drive over 20 miles in the pre-dawn light, carefully avoiding herds of elk on the way. Several other people had the same idea, all wrapped up from head to toe against the cold. Just as I was leaving to go for breakfast, a herd of bison (buffalo) appeared from nowhere, and sauntered away into the distance. (I'm not sure why they don't call them buffalo any more). The barns were part of homesteads built by the Moulton family who came from Utah to promote Mormonism. They gave up, and abandoned them a long time ago.

 Dawn on the Mormon barn

Jenny Lake

23^rd May 2014

We make the short(ish) journey to Yellowstone, stopping here and there to look at the sights. The first impression of Yellowstone is that the snow is much deeper than in Grand Teton. As we drive along the shores of Lake Yellowstone we notice that it is still iced over. This is a big surprise, as it's late May. Apparently, Lake Yellowstone spends seven months of the year covered in ice and snow.

When we reach the Lake resort, we get checked immediately into our “frontier cabin” even though we're two hours early. There is no wifi, but it's available free in the business “center”. The cabin is similar to the “cottage” apart from the lack of a wardrobe.

One of the interesting features of Yellowstone is the preponderance of dead trees almost everywhere. The reason for this is the 1988 fire which affected almost 800,000 acres, almost a third of the park's area. But, in most places, a new forest has grown up. Many of these forests are made up of ponderosa pine, whose seeds will only sprout following a fire.

While Grand Teton is noted for its mountains and lakes, Yellowstone is famous for its geysers, hot springs and its wildlife. The most famous geyser is Old Faithful, so named because it explodes faithfully approximately every 90 minutes. By far the biggest in the park is the Steamboat Geyser, but it erupts only when it feels like it, which isn't very often. Its last eruption was in July 2013, almost a year ago. It shoots water 300 feet in the air, or three times the height of Old Faithful.

Another feature of the park is the smell of sulphur and other chemicals from the ubiquitous hot steam. Some visitors, Chinese in particular, wrap their heads up like astronauts to keep out the unpleasant fumes and smell. Surely, it can't be worse than the pollution in Chinese cities?

The sheer size of Yellowstone surprised me. It is over 100 miles from bottom to top. By the time we leave, we will have driven at least 750 miles within the park. For that reason, we split the 4-night stay into two days at Yellowstone Lake, near the bottom, and two at Mammoth Hot Springs at the very top. Most of the park is in Wyoming, but 3% of it is in Montana, and Mammoth is right at the Montana state line.

There are speed limits in the park, the maximum speed being 45 mph. But, it's as low as 15 in places. However, it's still dangerous, as some idiots who think they've spotted a bear, or even a dinosaur, slam on the brakes to get a better look. There are specific stopping places every few hundred yards, and you are warned to stop only in these spots. But, when wildlife is spotted, drivers pull in everywhere, and often just stop without pulling in at all. Like the way they used to park in Castleblaney. The bear often turns out to be a rock.

 Old Faithful geyser

Grand Prismatic Spring

24^th May 2014

I get up for dawn, and drive to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, to view the two waterfalls, Lower and Upper. There is one Chinese man at Lower Falls, along with his wife and father. His wife complains to me that he gets her up for every sunrise and drags her to every sunset. He's covered in equipment, including every filter ever invented. Both falls look well in the morning light, so I head for breakfast tired but happy!

We drive to the Old Faithful area, named after the most famous geyser, and are rewarded on arrival with a prompt eruption, in bright sunlight, to the delight of the hundreds of spectators.

We drive to the Norris Basin, which is where many of the steaming features are grouped. Seated on the largest volcano in the world, the area hisses and sizzles all day long. However, it hasn't erupted in a major way in 640,000 years, so it's due to blow any day now! One of the features of this area is the Steamboat Geyser, the biggest in the park, but which erupts irregularly, usually less than once a year. We met a woman there who had once actually witnessed an eruption. I suggested that she should play the lottery!

We also visit the most spectacular hot spring, Grand Prismatic, which attracts very big crowds, and makes parking difficult. Like many of the features here, it has a large boardwalk around it, to facilitate spectators, but also to keep them at a safe distance. However, to see it properly, it is necessary to climb the mountain behind it and look down on it from a height. The climb is worth it, even though it's a little hazardous for someone with a recent hip replacement!

 Nirvana Terrace in Yellowstone

Lower Falls at dawn in Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

25^th May 2014

We check in to our second Yellowstone accommodation, another frontier cabin, almost identical to the first one. Except that this one has a hair-dryer but no coffee machine! But, it has six elk grazing out in front, and a view of the Gallatin mountain range from the front verandah. We tour the “Travertine terraces”, some by car and some on foot. These are spectacular manifestations of all kinds of volcanic and chemical activity and skulduggery, resulting in all kinds of shapes and colours.

We ate in the hotel restaurant, where one of the servers was Siobhan from Galway, who tired of big-city New York living (not to mention Galway!) and came out west for adventure. Later on, we drive to Hayden Valley for the sunset.

 Sunset at Hayden Valley

Upper Falls just after dawn

26^th May 2014

I get up at six to see, and capture, the effect of the rising sunlight on some of the shapes and colours of the “terraces”. There are about half a dozen cameras there, including that of a man from Texas, who is making the trip with his wife for their 35^th wedding anniversary. He's not impressed by the fact that I'm married 43 years! In the afternoon, after a tour of Lamar Valley, where we spotted a real live bear among other wonders, we sit down to read in the hotel lobby while the cabin is being refreshed. I suddenly realise that I'm being addressed by the same big Texan, who is now wearing a medical boot apparatus on his right leg. He said that he went over on his left ankle in a car park, and fell over, screwing the right knee in the process, and dislocating his unfortunate kneecap. It being Memorial Day, a bank holiday, the local medical centre is not open, so he had to drive 56 miles on one leg to Livingston Montana to get medical attention.

 Rusty rocks near Grand Prismatic Spring

Orange Spring Mound

27^th May 2014

We leave Yellowstone, and drive 175 miles to Billings, Montana. We traversed a road called Beartooth Highway, over Beartooth Pass (I'm not making up these names!), and it was an experience. It was extremely scenic, but for about 40 miles it consisted entirely of corkscrews, switchbacks, hairpins, and "virages", with snow piled five feet high on both sides. We eventually reached Billings, Montana, a significant, and apparently civilised city! The first thing I have to do is to find a tyre centre to fix a slow puncture. A display on the dashboard shows the pressure in each tyre, and the rear right has been dropping alarmingly for over 100 miles. When the repir has been done, I discover that the car hire company had inflated the tires away above the recommended pressure, and also well above the maximum safe pressure! 50 psi!! So much for car hire companies. The car has only 3000 miles on the clock, but the boot lid doesn't lock.

 Beartooth Lake

Beartooth Pass

28^th May 2014

We drove from Billings, Montana to Douglas Wyoming (320 miles)for another overnight stop. This was a long and often boring motorway drive, but the boredom was temporarily lifted by a visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. This is a huge national monument, and includes a national cemetery for fallen soldiers. There are detailed accounts and illustrations of how the battle unfolded, and memorials to the dead on each side, with the indian memorial being the more impressive. Less than 100 indians died with some 250 soldiers, but the cemetery has thousands of graves containing soldiers from many wars, including Korea and the World Wars, where the Germans were twice runners-up. Every year on June 25^th, a ceremony is held here, conducted by the indians, but all are welcome. The descendant of Sitting Bull who currently runs the show is Donlin Ten Bad Horses, as most people already know.

 National Cemetery at Little Bighorn

Roosevelt Arch at Gardiner, Montana - North entrance to Yellowstone

29^th May 2014

Douglas Wyoming to Estes Park, Colorado (260 miles), which is close to the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. We drive south on Interstate 25, then take US 34 West. It is fine for the first few miles. Then it turns into Beartooth Highway without the snow! It's hairpin after hairpin for 22 miles, like driving through the Grand Canyon, with towering rock formations on each side, and a river (The Big Thompson) flowing alongside. It is certainly scenic, but the scenery begins to wear thin after a long drive two days in a row! It does eventually bring us to Estes Park, a nice mountain town, overlooked by the mountains and the Stanley Hotel, where “The Shining” was made.

 Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Sprague Lake in RMNP

30^th May 2014

We decide to travel Trail Ridge Road, 48 miles from Estes Park to Grand Lake, and 48 miles back, opened after the winter only three days ago. When it was first opened in the 1930s it was described as the “scenic wonder road of the world”.

On the outward leg, we enjoyed the scenery, with dappled sunlight falling on many of the peaks, and numerous places to pull in, enjoy the view, and take photographs. The road is good, but has a million bends and steep climbs and descents, and has snow five feet deep piled up along both sides for 90% of its length. It took more than two hours to reach Grand Lake, by which time the weather had changed. Grand Lake was barely visible through the rain, reminding me of holidays in Donegal, hundreds of years ago.

On the return journey we encountered the father and mother of all storms, with rain, sleet and hailstones, driven by strong winds, pounding down. The temperature dropped to freezing, 25 degrees colder than it was 4,000 feet below. The highest point is over 12,000 feet; it has sharp drops on one side or the other for most of the way, and there are no barriers to prevent us becoming part of the scenery hundreds of feet below! It is the highest continuous paved road in the US. It is an adventure, but it's a relief when it's finished, and we're back down at 7,000 feet!

 Sunlit peak seen from Trail Ridge Road

Dawn on Long's Peak (and other peaks) from Trail Ridge Road

31^st May 2014

On our last day in the mountains, I get up at 05:00 for dawn, and drive to an “overlook” on the near part of Trail Ridge Road. This time, I'm lucky with the weather, with clear skies, so the morning rays can fall directly on the peaks. There is only one other person there, a woman from Wisconsin, who claims to have had open heart surgery three times, as well as five pacemakers. She volunteered all this information while capturing the dawn scene on her camera.

 Dawn rays seen from near Cub Lake

Sunset rays near Cub Lake

1^st June 2014

We rise again at the crack of dawn, as we have to drive to Denver airport, return the car, and check in the bags, all before 09:00. And, the main road is closed due to roadworks, so we have to take a “scenic” route instead. When giving the car back, I complained about its shortcomings, and was immediately told that a significant refund would be made to my credit card in two weeks. However, I'm not holding my breath.

 Chipmunk

Buffalo/Bison

Autumn has arrived

There are several ways to tell that autumn is here, but the most convincing is the vendange, the wine harvest. Last week, on a cycle, it suddenly struck me, even though it was 25 degrees and felt like summer. An enormous tractor, towing an even bigger trailer, joined the road a little ahead of me. I couldn't see what was in the trailer until I caught up with it. It turned out to be a heaving mass of purple grapes, the biggest quantity that I have ever seen in one place. Probably at least a ton. A little further on, a grape harvester was at work, slowly wending its way along a row of vines. These huge machines, which seem to be always painted blue, are interesting to watch. They completely envelop the plants, and seem to be chewing them up with huge plastic teeth. But, behind the machine, the plants emerge apparently unscathed, apart from the fact that they're denuded of grapes. These machines are much in demand this time of year, and regularly start work at 04:00. A few kilometres further on, in the village of Le Fleix, I passed the wine co-operative building. All the doors were open, and I was almost knocked off the bike by the smell of fermenting (rotting?) grapes.

Mention of the tractor reminds me of one of my French cycling friends who recently had an altercation with a tractor. He had turned quickly on to a narrow side-road, featuring an even narrower bridge, with the sun in his eyes. He didn't immediately notice that the bridge was entirely occupied by a very large tractor. He managed to avoid hitting it head-on, but couldn't avoid the huge back wheel, and descended rapidly off the bike on his left side, bruising everything from his ankle to his ear, and damaging several ligaments in his shoulder. It could be worse. He could be dead. He has no broken bones, and will be cycling again shortly. We have asked him, however, whether he'll be expected to pay for the damage to the tractor. He doesn't get the joke.

A few days ago, on another cycle, I came across, for the first time, a sunflower harvester. This is also a vast machine that moves much more quickly than a grape machine, and throws up clouds of dust. It cuts the stems off half a metre from the ground, for reasons unknown to me. The sunflowers grown around here, and there are a lot of them this year, all go to make sunflower oil.

Another sign of autumn is to be found in the fruit and vegetable market. A few days ago, only one stall had any charente melons. I bought one, and she said to me that these were the last of the crop. The numbers of stalls selling peaches and nectarines has dropped to just a few. Soon there will be none. They only sell stuff in season. There are still plenty of figs and walnuts. Last week one of the supermarkets was selling figs from Turkey! And, the Dordogne is covered in figs. That's the difference between the supermarkets and the markets; the latter sell only local produce. The supermarkets are also selling garlic from Argentina! There should be a law.

Today, I came across an apple-picking scene. There are huge orchards to the west of the town, and they've been festooned with big green boxes for weeks. These are the boxes into which they place the hand-picked apples. Today, I met a full-size articulated truck loaded with hundreds of green boxes, full of apples. I often wondered if they had mechanised the apple-picking, but they just climb ladders and place the apples in crates which are then emptied into the boxes.
How much do you know about compost heaps? I have a big compost bin, and I know one thing now that I didn't know before. In hot weather, you can listen to the compost at work. You can clearly hear the wildlife chomping away at the the vegetable matter. In fact, if you have the stomach for it, you can lift the lid and watch them in action! It's gone quiet now that the temperature has dropped.

One morning recently,  we awoke to the sound of men's voices in the garden/driveway next door. We noted that the outside light had been turned on, - a rare event. The husband has a heart problem and cancer and a number of other things wrong with him, and has been taken away by ambulance (the SAMU) previously. So, we concluded that this was another such event. Later that day we met Madame, and expressed our concern for Monsieur. She said it was nothing of the sort. It was the men arriving to close the pool! At twenty past six? An hour and a half before sunrise! Only the French!
Sarkozy is back in the news. He never really left. He had been before a Tribunal de Grand Instance, charged with accepting large sums of money from Liliane Bettencourt, the richest woman in France, before being elected president. She owns L'Oreal. He has now been acquitted of all charges. Every time they show a clip of him, they also show Mme Bettencourt, a wizened old dame, being led along. She has gone completely loopy in recent years. She is also living proof that the L'Oreal anti-ageing products don't work! (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2449482/Woman-suffers-blistered-face-using-LOreal-anti-wrinkle-cream.html)

The big news today is the weather. The French are nearly as obsessed with the weather as the Irish. I can't understand it, as they get the weather that you would expect most of the time. But, it's still news when it happens. In summer they suddenly announce that it's hot on such and such a beach, and they go there and interview a few bucket-and-spade wielding visitors to confirm that it's great seaside weather. Today they're excited that it snowed in the Alps and some other (high) places. So they show a herd of cattle battling their way through a snowdrift, and interview the farmer about the hardships of winter, as if this is something new. It turns out that the snow arrives on this very day most years! The intrepid reporter is dressed like Nanouk of the North, and looks like a snowman by the time he's finished his live report. All he's missing is a carrot for a nose.
Watch this space!