It was very cold in the morning -8C, with a thick layer of ice on the windscreen of the car that we [...]]]> We stayed in West Yellowstone, just outside of the park. The town is almost completely closed. Even the hotel we stayed in with a few other guests was being renovated around us.

It was very cold in the morning -8C, with a thick layer of ice on the windscreen of the car that we had to scrape off.

what happens when its -8C

cars across the road that look like they have been buried all winter

We headed south through Idaho, through lots of frozen landscape.

filling at a service station, lots o mud, and slush and piles of snow

Eventually we made it to Salt Lake City. We stayed close to the centre of the city.

Boulder is a lovely town. [...]]]> We spent the day exploring Boulder, then drove back to Denver along the eastern edge of the Rockies. The mountains around Denver and Boulder are spectacular, and the higher peaks are still covered in snow. It’s a very impressive backdrop for residents when they walk out their front door.

Boulder is a lovely town. The main street shopping area is a mall, so it reminds us of home. We happened to find a Borders bookstore that is closing down ( I’ve said it before …. books just seem to find us, even when we’re not looking), so we went and had a look. I picked up 3 gems – my current favourite author Larry McMurtry’s latest book, Hollywood, which is the 3rd part of his memoir, Annie Proulx’s latest and Before the Fall by Kylie Ladd, an Australian author. Greg found a couple too.

I had done a bit of internet research and found out about food carts in and around Boulder. Here they call them ‘gastro truck’, but that has some negative connotations for us Aussies ( I wonder what the Americans call ‘gastro’?). Anyway, I found out about one that serves American/BBQ food – a lot of them serve Mexican food, and they’re great, but I wanted to try a BBQ one. Top of the Hill Grill West sounded good, and they had posted their Friday location on their Facebook page – here. However, before we went to find them a couple of kms from the CBD, we had a pre-lunch hotdog from a little hotdog cart in the mall. Stood eating it and chatted to the seller and his customers & found out a bit more about Boulder.

And then on to our ‘real’ lunch destination. The guys run their food cart out of a very impressive van-turned-into-kitchen. They are in a different location each day, and many evenings, and post their location on their Facebook page. They offered 6 or 8 choices, plus side dishes. The food is all cooked as it’s ordered. I had a Pulled Pork and Coleslaw sandwich, Greg had a Steak & Cheese sandwich, and we shared side orders of cornbread and hand-cut fries. I almost can’t think of enough words to describe how delicious and tasty it all was. Definitely one of the best meals we’ve eaten in the US on this trip.

menu on the Gastro Truck

lunch from the Gastro Truck

Flowers in Boulder Colorado

the Rocky Mountains from Denver

We ate real southern food tonight at Mary Mac’s Tea Rooms in Atlanta, founded [...]]]> Very looong driving day due to roadworks and a lot of traffic on the I-75. So we took a couple of detours off the main road and saw a bit of Georgia that we wouldn’t have seen from the freeway.

We ate real southern food tonight at Mary Mac’s Tea Rooms in Atlanta, founded 1945. Great food, huge serves and we finally got to try some cornbread and grits! Greg had Roast Turkey with cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce and a Root Beer, I had Roast Pork (sorry Tom, there was no crackling) with cornbread stuffing and gravy, and washed it down with a Mint Julep.

I remember reading historical novels where Southern ladies drank mint juleps and always wondered what they tasted like. Turns out it’s just bourbon with ice and a large sprig of mint. Those Southern ladies were probably all pissed by 5pm!

Dinner at Mary Macs Tea Rooms

Mary Macs Tea Rooms