This is the last entry for a while. After seventeen months, twenty-seven countries, fifty-nine books, eight flights, two campervans and one robbery we'll be back home in the UK very soon. The countries you'll know about, the books include three by John Grisham, the flights and vans are self-explanatory. The robbery was an unfortunate end to our time in Latin America at the hands of a gang of mask-wearing, gun-toting Mexican bandits who hijacked our bus in the middle of the night somewhere in the hills near Palenque. Despite scaring everyone on board witless and relieving all of cash and us of our Ipod, the not-very-good robbers managed to miss our cameras, computer, travellers cheques and credit cards which is something of a bonus. The real bonus in this story is my new nephew Luke, who made his entrance into the world in a Cornwall hospital at the exact moment we were being frisked by a man in a balaclava. Here he is at a week or so old....



A week or so later we were pleased to leave Mexico for the US, specifically San Francisco....





After a couple of days in the city we bought a tent and picked up our rental car....



It's a Chevrolet Slow, a free upgrade from the Dodge Small we had originally booked, and comes with a full plastic interior and a clock. We took Highway 1 north up the coast, camping by the beach on the way. Lovely and warm during the day, freezing cold at night...



Once into Oregon we turned inland to Crater Lake....



and the Mckenzie Pass...



then further north to a ping-pong tournament in Portland at the house of Naked Alex, boyfriend of GingerfromMexico, and to camp in the back garden at Jessica and Taya's house.

We don't have any pictures of Naked Alex.

Seattle next...





where we couchsurfed with Jeff and Angel and I climbed the Troll...



before heading further north again and across the Canadian border to couchsurf with Lila in Vancouver...







There is a dog in that armchair...



Then our first proper turn for home as we made our way east to the Rocky Mountains, via a shopping trip for warmer sleeping bags and the Dawson Falls...



Once in the Rockies it was -10 degrees at night, a great view from the tent but a little parky...





The Columbia Glacier around the corner from our campsite...



And generally spectacular scenery...







Latik Lake just south of the park...





Turning south once more we crossed into Montana and the US and then the equally spectacular Yellowstone Park...







Lower Falls...



Elk and buffalo everywhere...







but no bears, despite using marshmallows as bait. Old Faithful...



and other old geysers...





Leaving Yellowstone we stopped for a couple of days in Thermopolis, Wyoming, with Linda and Coulter (thanks Jaime)...



and to see our first homecoming football game...



Next stop Mount Rushmore, smaller than you think but very impressive nonetheless...



Lots and lots of old people there. And lots and lots of prairie dogs in the Badlands...





Having spent too long in the mountains, we had a three-day drive across states that begin with 'I' (firstly flat and slightly dull Iowa, then flat and slightly dull southern Illinois, and finally flat and slightly dull Indiana) to reach Ohio to stay with Marty and Liz (aunt to Sarah). We arrived in time for a party to celebrate Marty's 70th...



Sarah and Liz...



Molly and Collette...



and all of us...



North again and Canada again to visit Chris and family in Toronto and then back into the US to the Adirondacks in New York State to get cold in the tent by a lake for a few days before making our way north again to Montreal. Couchsurfing again with Louis and then on to Quebec City for more couchsurfing with Benoit and a few struggles with the French-Canadian accent. A beautiful city if little freezing cold and very rainy...



With only a couple of weeks left we made our way south through Maine...



to stay with Kim in the north of the state, Elizabeth and Tim in the south and Mark in Boston, all via the magic of Couchsurfing. Then we'll be with Sarah's cousin Ben and family in New York until we take our flight back to London.

We'll be around for about six weeks before we leave again, this time for France to run a ski chalet in the Alps for the winter. A proper job will just have to wait....