Ghost town

We had planned in our minds to borrow Kyla and Scott's camping equipment and go camping for a couple of night up in the mountains this weekend before heading off to Yellowstone Park on Monday. However we decided last night that we were being looked after much too well and were having too good a time with the family to leave, so we're gatecrashing for another couple of nights before heading off on Monday.

We were still keen however to see more off this beautiful state so today we went to an old ghost town called 'Garnet' (http://garnetghosttown.net/).

It's a great old town way high up in the forested mountains that nobody lives in anymore but in 1898 had over 1,000 people living in it, with three hotels, a school, 13 saloons (!), a blacksmiths and general stores etc. Miners were mining gold there and brought their families to live in the town. They found gold but by 1905 the gold was running out and only 150 people still lived there. The town saw a brief renaissance in the 1930s but not for long. Lots of the original wooden buildings still survive, as do some of the newer wooden buildings of the 1930s (which is funny to think that they were built about the time that our home in England was built) and it was fun to look around even though we didn't see any ghosts or the Scooby Doo Gang.

We had the pleasure of taking Bailey (Kyla and Scott's eldest daughter) with us. She was a star all day and the boys both enjoying spending more time with her.

The odd thing about the day was the temperature. Although it was 82 degrees at Kyla and Scott's by the time we came home, it was only 54 degrees up the mountains and it was cold! It was the first time we've worn jumpers etc. in three weeks and it felt a bit odd to all of us (except Joshua who would have chosen to wear jumpers everyday given the choice!)

We're three weeks into our holiday now and having such a varied but brilliant time. I'm enjoying America more than I thought I would and it's such a privilege to stay with a family and see more of the 'real' America. We really appreciate their fantastic hospitality.

Rachel x