Cowboy Boots!

Today was a big driving day. We left Yellowstone National Park after a brilliant week and headed south. We drove through Grand Teton National Park whose landscape is much more alpine than Yellowstone, with jaggedy mountains which are very beautiful. Just south of Grand Teton we came to the town of Jackson which was very smart and clearly geared up for the winter ski crowd. We continued south on the west side of the Rockies and the countryside opened up wide and flat, with lots of horse ranches. 

Our destination for the night was Rock Springs, a mining town with a chequered history. We checked into our hotel, then visited a big warehouse which had been well advertised as we approached the town, which sold cowboy boots and western workwear including jeans, belts, jackets, spurs, chaps etc. James had rightly supposed that this would offer us a better choice (and better prices) than tourist shops and soon he and David were happily buying some Levi's jeans at a fraction of the cost of Scotland prices. I have long wanted to own a pair of proper cowboy boots and there was a huge selection. James treated me to a lovely red pair and I bought myself another pair as well as a sort of cowboy shirt - I was delighted!