Yellowstone National Park

From Cody it is only a stone's throw to Yellowstone National Park. The landscape of this place is mostly formed by the active Volcano beneath it and it did a fantastic work! Yellowstone is just beautiful! It has got everything: Mountains, rivers, geysers, waterfalls, forests and a lot of wildlife.

The Yellowstone River...

One of the hundreds of hot springs in Yellowstone...

Old Faithful...

Buffalos...

bears...

 elks...

waterfalls...

and much more.. it truely is one of the world's most beautiful places!

Get ya cowboy boots at the Cody Nite Rodeo

While we were crossing more vast plains to approach Cody, we went to the devils tower, a hughe monolith in northeast Wyoming. This single peace of rock is attrackting several hundred rock climbers every year, who dare the thrilling climb

Before we went to Cody we followed General Armstrong Custer on the battle field of Little Big Horn, the only major battle, which was won by the Indians. In a madness run, Custer ran against hordes of warriors led by Chief Sitting Bull, Low Dog and Crazy Horse.  The battle was over before it even started and all of Custers troops were killed. From then on, the Forces if the United States realized, that they have underestimated the strength of the Indians, but acted accordingly and the history took an immediate turn...

In the evening we arrived to Cody for the famous Nite Rodeo, where a bunch of show-off cowboys dare the grossly negligent ride on the back of an angry bull...

It was fun to see and it is a miracle nobody was injured (at least nobody we know of!)...

Badlands

Guess why the Indians called the Badlands this way... The thing is, that the Badlands is not actually bad, but for the Indians, it was useless land. It is a large area of bizarre, rugged stony land, beautiful, but useless.

Deeper into the Badlands, the rocks are getting slightly more colorful...

 
and on the way to the Badlands, the area is getting wilder...

But the real treat revealed itself in the evening, when all of a sudden, the sky darkened and there was the craziest thunderstorm I have every seen combined with the sunset in the background and all that while crossing the amazing great plains... A magical moment!

The place to be for US patriots

The Black Hills in Nebraska and South Dakota are the Black Forest of the USA. This is where some of the most important frauds and massacres between the white settlers and the Indians took place. In the 1920s the Mt Rushmore Memorial was built. Four Presidents of the United States were carved in stone: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. A picture almost everybody knows...

In order not to forget the Indians, (especially in this area, which was supposed to be given back to the Indians for eternity, until the rumor spread, that gold was found), another monument is being built. A gigantic monument is being carved into the stone of Cheif Crazy Horse, 200m tall and believed to be finished within 50 years time. To get an idea, they show a model in front of the actual monument:

The Black Hills with Mt Rushmore is a must see for all US patriots (like me ;))

Crossing the Great Plains

To get to the Black Hills, which are located at the beginning of the Rocky Mountains, one has to cross the Great Plains. It took us two days to cross them, but it was not at all boring landscape. The Great Plains are not just great, but they are also great! For miles and miles, you are passing maize fields until the landscape switches and you'll be passing meager grazing lands below this amazing sky.

The air is clear like in Bolivia and the landscape is flat like the australian Nullabore Plain - a fantastic journey! I just hope to also see a tornado, next time I come here...

Roaming the streets of Al Capone

Chicago – USA’s No.2, but not when it comes to skyline, culture and food. With the Willis tower, the Trump Tower and the John Hancock Centre, Chicago has America’s three tallest buildings. Willis Tower was the world’s highes Building for more than 20 years and you get incredible views from it's 412m high Sky Deck.

Millenium Park is „Chicago‘s Central Park“, just smaller and there is some fun stuff to see, such as The Bean, a gigantic bean shaped metal block in which the skyline reflects.

The evenings should be spent with a compulsory visit in a Blues or Jazz club. First night in B.L.U.E.S., the place where all the legends once slammed, was an absolutely fantastic experience. It’s cramped, it’s filthy, but the more the singer got wasted, the better the show was.

The Green Mill used to be one of Al Capone‘s favourite clubs and is a much classier place to enjoy smooth Jazz sessions.

Climbing up high over Toronto

Toronto is Canada's financial centre and business hub and the metropolitan area has some 8 million people. Coming into Toronto just feels like coming to a US american city (to all my US and canadian friends: sorry to say that, but if there wouldn't be canadian flags instead of USA flags, I wouldn't recognize any difference!).
Besides Torontos skyline there is a castle build on a hill by a rich business man, who fulfilled his dream and lived there until he lost all his money and had to give away the castle. (what a shame for him, but at least he left a pearl in Toronto and is now open to visitors).

The skyline is affected by the CN tower. The cities embleem built in 1973 used to be the world's highest structure stretching 555m into the sky. The highest observation deck however is just 447m high, but high enough for stunning views. Furthermore, the tower was equipped with a glass floor on which you can walk looking down onto the city.