It had to happen sometime. Been waiting for it ever since Grumpy declared that the tickets I bought for the Italian Grand Prix as a wedding present were a bowling ball. Today he got his own back!!!

(For the uninitiated, a 'bowling ball present' refers to an episode of the Simpsons where Homer has forgotten Marge's birthday. He tries to pass off a bowling ball he has bought as her present. It has 'Homer' engraved on it. Just to spite him she takes the ball and takes bowling lessons.......... It's a great episode.)

Anywho, this morning we headed off to the Joshua Tree State Park for 'a little walk' (Grumpy's words). Being wise to Grumpy's devious ways, I took along walking boots and a picnic.

Sure enough, he wanted to do a trail or 2 in the park. It's in the middle of the desert remember (there's one too few 's's in the word to interest me, but still). Having talked to a guy in the visitors' centre, I chose a trail. He promised the 360 degree view at the end was worth it.

Righty ho. It might only have been a couple of miles each way, but the first way was UPHILL. Very uphill. And the temperature over here is about 35-36 degrees c. And there's no shade. And did I mention it's a DESERT (the Mojave to be precise)??

I didn't moan much. Oh, okay, I did. But after an age and a gallon of water we finally reached the top. WOW. Panoramic views of huge mountains and desert tundra as far as the eye can see. I swear the picnic tasted better up there too. (And there were fit blokies with their tops off who find any Brit fascinating!)

I was looking forward to the downward trip, but a few steps from the top my walnut-sized bladder decided that it was full and it was determined to make every step as painful as possible. I swear I almost sprinted the last quarter mile to the loo.

Getting back into an air conditioned armchair after 4 hours on the side of a mountain in boiling heat (I'm from Wales - we're not built for extremes of temperature!) was heaven. We celebrated the achievement with a trip over to the Colorado Desert for a flip-flop tour of the cactus garden. We watched the sun set over the mountains before jumping back in the car and heading back to the motel.

Can't stay long - dinner is in the oven. And I have to pack, for tomorrow we are heading to............ LAS VEGAS!!!!! Oh, and we're going on ROUTE 66!!!! I doubt I shall sleep tonight for excitement!

Right, dinner's done. I'm off to replace those lost calories!!!