AMERICA - SUMMER 2003  [page one]   [page two]

The Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson

Out of my entire trip to the States this was something entirely new to my experience. I have ridden quite a bit, but never in such searing heat where the risk of meeting rattlesnakes, scorpions and stray bulls of epic proportions on the trail is possible- and we did!

My stay at Tanque Verde left me totally in awe of those pioneers, both men and women, who made new lives in such difficult and challenging surroundings.

In this photograph you can see one of the friends I made- an incredible grandmother called Pattie who had driven down in a motor-home from Seattle to Tucson with her husband and grandchildren. Pattie tried everything, and kept on trying until she had mastered the lot. She was an inspiration to all of us, especially those who hadn’t ridden much before. We hit it off right away and had a lot of fun together. Hi Pattie! Remember us setting out on our five hour ride into the mountains? Boy, were we sore when we got back!

[Throughout this newsletter, if you click on an image you can see a larger version!]

The riding wouldn’t have been half so much fun, or so safe, without the help of our expert wranglers. Meet Justin on the left, and John on the right at the evening ‘cook-out’. Howdy guys, and thank you both for giving us the holiday of a lifetime!

San Diego

What a beautiful city. And although I’m usually unhappy about animals being used as exhibits, as Sea World is an important research centre I was able to relax and enjoy the incredible displays.

And what is it about my family and ducks? Even at the beautiful Paradise Point resort in San Diego we had soon adopted a whole group of ducks who joined us for breakfast each morning!

The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas

What an end to the trip of a lifetime! The scale of the Grand Canyon is impossible to take in. It is an overwhelming experience, and the lightning flashes around the rim make it an atmospheric cabaret that surely cannot be equalled anywhere on earth.

Las Vegas kept me too busy to take photographs. But the ‘dancing’ fountains at the Bellagio are certainly beautiful, and well worth a visit.

San Francisco

San Francisco? Fabulous! And we had an almost perfectly clear day so that the Golden Gate Bridge was revealed in all its glory.

I was particularly interested to learn that the bridge got its name from the Golden Horn in Turkey, as my Christmas 2004 story, which will go into an anthology with two other Presents writers, is set in that country’s beautiful and exotic capital city, Istanbul.

San Francisco was so interesting and the food so good, it provided the best possible end to an extremely memorable trip. And the best part of that trip for me will remain the new friendships I have forged, and the smiles and laughter I have shared. Thank you all, I’m looking forward to coming back to the United States of America very soon.

Happy reading!

Susan

[Throughout this newsletter, if you click on an image you can see a larger version!]

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