Glen Innes, New South Wales

'Twas a long and bumpy road over the border to New South Wales, but we made it safe and sound.

We stopped at Fossicker's Park for two nights, whilst I checked out the local showgrounds. That park was tiny, the sites very small. Nowhere for Dick to have a gallop. But the showgrounds! Beautiful, huge, grassy sites. Space galore for the mutt and best of all - no neighbours! So we moved here this morning, bright and early and have been mooching about, setting up, exploring and enjoying the sunshine since.

Took Dick for a cycle about the grounds and around the oval and he showed his delight by yelling his head off with excitement. That's the most noise he's made in his whole life, so I'm pleased we don't have neighbours. Gets very excited about the bike, does Dick.

Shall I tell you what else he likes? Rolling in all the horse poo. Then eating it. Gross. And there was a horse show here recently, so there's plenty of it. I found a dog wash in town yesterday, one of the DIY ones, and he was smelling glorious. But alas, no longer. He'll be having another one of those washes before we leave.

We've been to see the Standing Stones of Glen Innes, the No 1 top attraction here. Perhaps I've been spoiled growing up next to Stonehenge, as it wasn't all that impressive. You could carbon date the stones to last Tuesday, they're so new.

They've gone with the stones being a clock theory here, with the winter and summer solstice marked out against the opposing stones and some blurb stating definitively that is their purpose.

I'm not sure that the archaeologists of Stonehenge are clinging to that theory so much these days, with their recent digs. Not now they've found burials under the main sarsen stones and connecting sites in neighbouring Durrington Walls along the river, with procession stones, long and round barrow graves, and Woodhenge inbetween.

And before Woodhenge, there was Strawhenge. Until one day, a Big Bad Wolf came and blew it all down.
(For the Eddie Izzard fans)

The last documentary I saw about the most recent excavations at the Henge, they were swinging more towards it being a journey from birth to death; with the birth / christening occurring by the river in Durrington Walls, and the final procession up to Stonehenge for burial, for the important folks.
More ceremonial, than clock.
I suppose we'll never know for certain.

We've got the local markets tomorrow morning then the Old Glen Innes to Grafton track to do on Sunday or Monday. It was the old coaching road for the bullock drays, with tunnels dug out by hand, a gold mining ghost town, graffiti from the 1800s, smugglers caves, war memorials, fire tracks, lookouts and five rivers to choose from, for a swim or a paddle.

Apparently this 4WD track is washed out in several places from the floods and there was a landslide a few days ago, so I have high hopes it will be an excellent 4WD adventure!

**EDIT** I've copied this blog over to Facebook under the page 'Adventures with Jaime & Dick' for those who prefer fb. That page is a direct copy of this blog.

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/JaimeandDick/Read more