On holiday: a week in England and Wales, and a week in Ireland. Four flights covering 8000 miles of air travel, 2 rental cars, 1200 miles of driving interesting roads, sleeping in a dozen hotels and B&Bs, one ferry boat ride in the middle of the night, countless ATMs, pubs, castles, mountains, valleys, and 860 digital photos taken. Where do we start to tell the story? Here are a few notable pics from our journey. I just added a few more. Enjoy.

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Week One: England and Wales.	On a double-decker bus tour in London. Pay 18 quid, and you can hop on and off the buses at your leisure all day. If you want the quick-and-dirty superficial tour of London on a tight schedule, this is the way to go. I want to go back and spend a week in the city -- the one day we had didn't begin to scratch the surface.	Trafalgar Square.	Statue of Lord Nelson, in Trafalgar Square.
Westminster Abbey.	The River Thames, seen from the Lambeth Bridge.	Houses of Parliament.	Big Ben.
London Eye, AKA the "Millennium Wheel." A huge, 450 foot tall ferris wheel along the banks of the River Thames. We didn't ride it, as the queues were too long. So much to see, so little time...	London Eye, viewed from below.	Tower Bridge across the River Thames.	Heading across Tower Bridge.
Tower of London.	The Hotel Russell, at Russell Square, London.	A view of the English countryside, near the Whitehorse Hill in Oxfordshire.	The ancient chalk inscriptions at the Uffington Whitehorse Hill.
Sunset over the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hungerford. A quaint town in southern England that caters to many well-heeled London visitors. We were probably the only "Merrycans" there that day.	A hand-operated lock in the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hungerford. Many people spend their summers traversing English canals and rivers in houseboats.	Stonehenge. No trip to England is complete without a visit to this mysterious monument. The self-guided audio tour (with audio handsets) is well worth the small admission fee.	Crossing the Severn Estuary into Wales.
The ruins of Tintern Abbey along the banks of the River Wye, dating from the 12th Century.	Offa's Mead B&B, where we stayed near the River Wye, on the English/Welsh border. The B&B is situated next to the Offa's Dyke, an extensive earthen berm believed to have been built in the 8th Century in an attempt to keep the marauding Welsh invaders out of England. Offa's Dyke is now used as a hiking trail.	The 13th Century castle at St. Briavels, now used as a youth hostel. St. Briavels is a charming English village perched atop a hill just a few miles east of the River Wye.	The George Inn, in St. Briavels. This unassuming pub has something not found in many English pubs - real cuisine. The chef offers a huge menu of tasty fares, and of course, a nice selection of ales.
A small stream in the Brecon Beacons, along the A470 route between Merthyr Tydfil and Brecon, in South Wales.	The River Cottage B&B, along the A470 route near Llyswen, Wales. This quiet retreat is situated on the banks of the River Wye, northeast of Brecon. An enjoyable stay.	A view of the River Wye, behind the River Cottage B&B.	Along the River Wye, near the tiny Welsh village of Boughrood, not far from the River Cottage B&B.
Along the bay near Aberdovey, Wales.	Dolgoch Falls, near Tywyn, Wales.	The stream near Dolgoch Falls.	Tal-Y-Llyn Lake, near Tywyn, Wales. Cader Idris is the mountain on the left.
The view from in front of the Eisteddfa B&B, near Tywyn, Wales. A real working farm, with thousands of sheep and cattle, and 15 shepherd dogs.	Sunset on the mountains near Eisteddfa B&B.	The 13th Century Harlech Castle, in Harlech, Wales.	A view from inside Harlech Castle.
Along the windswept beach at Llandanwg, Gwynedd, Wales.	Another view along the beach at Llandanwg.	A peak near Cader Idris.	The Glyderau Range of the Snowdonia Mountains, in North Wales.
Mist-shrouded mountains in Snowdonia.	The boulder-strewn face of a cliff in Snowdonia. This area is a rock climber's and hiker's paradise.	A view of the harbour at Holyhead, Wales, a major function of which is to serve as a port for the ferries that connect to Ireland. The ferry that we had booked to take us from there to Dublin was canceled, due to a mishap involving a whale. We had to scramble to get a spot on the overnight ferry that was departing that night.	A view along the street near our B&B. A B&B that we only spent a few hours at, since we had to catch the earlier ferry that night.

Week Two: Ireland and Northern Ireland.	First sight of the Old Sod: reaching the coast of Ireland at sunrise as our ferry approached the harbor at Dublin.	The Brady pub in Cavan, Ireland. Perhaps owned by one of my distant relatives? My paternal ancestors left the area in the 1700s, and since pre-19th Century genealogical records in Ireland get rather spotty, I'll probably never know. I have good reason to believe my family name traces back to County Cavan, and there are numerous Bradys still residing in the area.	The Eonish Lodge and B&B, near Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland. Situated along the Lough Oughter, a series of lakes near Killykeen Forest Park, the Eonish B&B provided a most enjoyable four nights' stay. The north-central "lake country" of Ireland is often overlooked by visitors, which is unfortunate, as the area has incredible beauty, and offers many outdoor activities. If you want to avoid the hordes of tourists found elsewhere and see the real Ireland, this region is the place.
The view from our room at the Eonish B&B.	A moonlit evening at the Eonish B&B.	The border of Northern Ireland (foreground) and the Republic of Ireland (background) between Belcoo and Blacklion. Unlike just a few years ago during The Troubles, crossing between the two countries is now routine, with no border stop required. In many places, you don't even realize that you are crossing the frontier, but for a small sign welcoming you to the other side.	Benbulben Mountain, near Sligo, Ireland.
Glencar Waterfall, in County Leitrim, a few miles from Sligo.	The stream below Glencar Waterfall.	A scene by a small lake, not far from Glencar Waterfall.	The town of Sligo.
Marble Arch Caves, near Florencecourt, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.	The 17th Century Tully Castle and gardens, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. We were the only people there at that time, and had the castle to ourselves.	Donegal Castle, in Donegal, Ireland.	Along the bay at the fishing village of Killybegs.
The hamlet of Glencolumbkille, at the tip of the Slieve League Peninsula.	The beach at Glencolumbkille.	The precipitous 2000-foot cliffs of Slieve League. After a white-knuckle drive up a steep, one-lane mountain path (with mountain on one side and a thousand feet drop to the sea on the other), the trip was well worth it. What a spectacular view!	A view to the Atlantic Ocean from Slieve League.
A view from the cliff to the raging Atlantic, 1000 feet below.	Another ocean view from Slieve League.	Ditto.	A view of Cuilcagh Mountain, which straddles the border between Counties Fermanagh and Cavan, in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively. Photo taken from near Glangevlin, County Cavan.
Lough Sheelin, near Mountnugent, County Cavan.	A cattle crossing on a country road in County Cavan.	Wooded trail in Killykeen Forest Park, near Killeshandra.	All good things must come to an end. A view of the "forty shades of green" seen from the window of our 767 as we ascended from Dublin.

PHOENIX, OCTOBER 2006
A few photos from a brief trip to visit relatives.

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View of downtown Phoenix while on approach to Sky Harbor Airport.	A full moon over Glendale, Arizona.	I have no idea what this is supposed to be. It was some POS sitting in a Phoenix parking lot and could easily have been the subject of a Jeff Foxworthy joke. I'm guessing the car's owner lives in a trailer house and crushes beer cans on his forehead while watching NASCAR. Unfortunately we didn't have time to wait around for the return of the guy who owned it. That would've been good for a few more laughs.	A grove of palms outside a restaurant in Cave Creek, AZ. The food there was rather mediocre, but the view was quite nice. Guess you can't have both.
I went for a short hike up Shaw Butte, in Phoenix. A view of the summit.	The trail up to Shaw Butte (actually a narrow road used by all the technicians who service the many communications towers perched on the summit).	One of the many Saguaro cacti found in the area.	A cactus wren, sitting (of course) on a cactus.
A nice view on the way to the top of Shaw Butte.	A view toward downtown Phoenix, from near the summit of Shaw Butte.	A panoramic view of Phoenix to the north, as seen from the summit.	Panoramic view of Phoenix to the south.

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SAN DIEGO AND TIJUANA, DECEMBER 2007
Xmas in SoCal.

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Along the shore at Silver Strand State Beach, just south of Coronado.	A view across the bay to Point Loma, taken from the Silver Strand.	The pier at Imperial Beach.	Imperial Beach.
The lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument, at Point Loma.	A view of downtown San Diego, across the bay from Point Loma.	Downtown San Diego skyline, taken from Point Loma.	The sea cliffs on the Pacific side of Point Loma.
Another view from Point Loma.	A walk on the trails in the foothills at Mission Trails Regional Park.	Another view at Mission Trails.	Crossing the border from San Ysidro, into Tijuana Mexico.
The actual line between the U.S. and Mexico.	Along the beach at Playa de Tijuana. This area is under much redevelopment, as many Americans are buying seaside homes for a fraction of the cost north of the border.	A view of the Coronado Islands from Playa de Tijuana.	Bullfighting ring and lighthouse at the Playa.
Marker showing the northernmost point in Mexico. Behind the border fence is Border Field State Park, complete with picnic tables. You can watch people squeeze through the border fence while enjoying your sandwiches and potato salad. :)	The border fence reaches into the sea, though not very far. At low tides, people can literally walk around the end or between the slats, all under the watchful eyes of the Border Patrol. People from the Mexican side often walk over to the U.S. side with impunity--provided they go back soon.	Arch at the end of Avenidas Revolution, the big tourist district in Tijuana.	One of three restaurants within the same block named "Taco Bell." Trademarks aren't a big issue south of the border.
The Tijuana River. The primary sewer for two million people. Think of it as one really big petri dish.	Traffic awaiting entry to the United States. This is the world's busiest border crossing. The lines for pedestrians weren't much better. Crossing on foot into Mexico only takes a couple minutes. Getting back into the U.S. typically takes an hour or more.	Fire-scarred landscape east of San Diego along highway 94.	A California sunset, taken from Santee, CA.

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SAN ANTONIO, MARCH 2008
A four day weekend getaway.

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We stayed at the Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio, just across the street from the Alamo.	The view from our room on the 14th floor.	San Antonio skyline at night.	The restored church building at the Alamo Mission. Perhaps the most recognized site in Texas.
Another view of the front of the Alamo church.	View inside of what were once barracks at the Alamo.	Monument to the 189 Texas fighters who died at the Battle of the Alamo in March, 1836.	Part of the Alamo barracks.
Large oak tree in front of the Alamo barracks.	The Alamo church building at night.	One of several views along the River Walk in San Antonio.
			A now-defunct pub along the River Walk. Perhaps once a hangout for local attorneys?
A yellow-crowned night heron, perched in a tree near the River Walk.	The River Walk at night.	The Tower of the Americas, built as the theme structure for the HemisFair '68. This is the second-tallest observation tower in the U.S., after the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower.	El Mercado (Mexican market) in San Antonio.

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MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS, 2007
A few photos taken during bits of free time while on business trips.

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Downtown Atlanta, Georgia, July 2007.	CNN Headquarters, Atlanta.	Harbour at Hyannis, Massachusetts, August 2007.	Hyannis, MA.
Niagara Falls from 35,000 feet, during a flight from Boston to Minneapolis, August 2007.	Balboa Park at sunset, San Diego, August 2007.	Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio, October 2007.	Clearwater Beach, Florida, November 2007.

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WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 2009
A few days in our nation's capital.

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U.S. Capitol.	White House.	Jefferson Memorial.	Washington Monument, from across the Tidal Basin.
Lincoln Memorial.	Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.	Statue of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, Marine Corps War Memorial, Alexandria, VA.	National World War II Memorial.
Washington Monument, viewed from the National World War II Memorial.	Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial, viewed from the National World War II Memorial.	Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.	Korean War Memorial.
Jefferson Memorial, viewed from the Tidal Basin.	Statue of FDR (and his dog) at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.	U.S. Capitol, viewed from Pennsylvania Avenue.	Washington Monument.

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MAINE AND NEW BRUNSWICK, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2008
A week of driving up the coast of Maine.

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Portland Head Light, just south of Portland, ME.	The Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory, near Bucksport, ME.	Bar Harbor, ME.	Bar Harbor, ME.
View of Porcupine Islands from Acadia National Park.	View from the Dorr Mountain Trail, Acadia National Park.	Coastline, Acadia National Park.	Estuary in Acadia National Park.
View from atop Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park.	The fishing village of Jonesport, ME.	View from the Owen House B&B, Campobello Island, New Brunswick.	East Quoddy Lighthouse, perched on a rock off the north tip of Campobello Island.
Sugarloaf Rock, aka "the frog," off the south end of Campobello Island. In the distance you can see Grand Manan Island, 11 miles away.	Boreal forest on Campobello Island.	Franklin D. Roosevelt's childhood summer home, Campobello Island.	West Quoddy Lighthouse, near Lubec, Maine.
Low tide at St. Andrews, New Brunswick.	The rapids on the St. Croix River, Calais, ME.	Crawford Lake, between Calais and Bangor, ME.	360 degree panoramic view from atop Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park.

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EARLIER TRIPS
Some 35mm slides and prints exhumed from my archives and scanned to jpeg.

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BLACK HILLS AND BADLANDS, JULY 1973
Vacation photos taken as a teenager, with my first 35mm camera.

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Badlands, South Dakota, just after a hailstorm.

Badlands, along scenic Highway 240, the so-called "Badlands Loop." If you can't stay longer, at least take an hour or so to drive this route. It's really cool on a moonlit night, BTW.

Bridal Veil Falls, along the drive through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills.

This friendly little fellow is a prairie dog, a burrowing rodent found throughout the area.

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COLORADO AND ARIZONA, AUGUST 1973
Through the mountains of Colorado and to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. One of my favorite family vacations, we traveled through southern Colorado, down to New Mexico and Arizona, then looped back through Colorado.

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The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (it was a National Monument back in '73). The tallest sand dunes in North America, rising over 700 feet from a valley in front of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Hiking the dunes is allowed, and is quite fun, despite the heat and wind-blown sand.	An alpine meadow, somewhere in southern Colorado.	Chimney Rock, near Durango, Colorado.	The Native American cliff dwellings ("Cliff Palace") at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. This sheltered city was built around the 12th and 13th Centuries by the ancient Pueblo peoples.
Canyon at Mesa Verde National Park.	Four Corners Monument, the quadripoint where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet.	Shiprock, New Mexico.	Painted Desert, a series of badlands in northeastern Arizona.
A petrified log in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.	Barringer Meteorite Crater, near Winslow, Arizona. It is a 570 foot descent to the bottom of the crater, making it a nice little hike.	The Grand Canyon, viewed from the South Rim.	View of the Bright Angel Trail and the Indian Garden (center), from the South Rim. I hiked this trail to the edge of the Inner Gorge and back up in less than a day. I drank a gallon jug of water during the hike.
Grand Canyon at sunset.	The Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon, from the Bright Angel Trail.	Black Canyon of the Gunnison, in western Colorado.	A view of the suspension bridge across the Royal Gorge, Colorado. Spanning the narrow gorge 1053 feet above the Arkansas River, it is the highest suspension bridge over water in the world.

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CANADIAN ROCKIES, AUGUST 1982
A trip to Calgary, Banff, Jasper and nearby areas of Alberta and British Columbia. Scans from 35mm prints.

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Calgary Tower, in downtown Calgary, Alberta.	View from the Calgary Tower.	View from atop Sulphur Mountain, Banff, Alberta.	Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta.
Athabasca Glacier, Alberta.	Front edge of the Athabasca Glacier.	The Continental Divide, separating Alberta and British Columbia. Behind the sign are the remains of a forest burned by fire about 15 years earlier.	Mountains in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia.

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WEST GERMANY AND BERLIN, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1984
The first half of my first European adventure.

Note that I will refer to geographic entities as they were known when I visited in 1984, hence, "West Berlin," "East Berlin," "West Germany," etc.

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A view from the train, along the Neckar River near Heidelberg.	Mõgglingen, Baden Württemburg, West Germany.	Schwäbisch Gmund.	München (Munich).
The Frauenkirche, Munich.	Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), on the Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin. This church is a memorial, left much as it was after it was bombed at the end of World War II.	The infamous Reichstag Building in West Berlin.	Siegessäule (Victory Column), West Berlin.
The Berlin Wall. Built in 1961, this cold war relic was torn down in 1989 prior to German reunification.	The River Spree in East Berlin.	A wide boulevard (not sure which), in East Berlin. Note the dramatic socialist banners everywhere.	The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, East Berlin.

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USSR, OCTOBER 1984
The continuation of my European trip. I took a 7-day "package tour" of three major cities in the Soviet Union. The cold war was at its height in 1984, and I wanted to see "the other side" for myself. A once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Note that I will refer to geographic entities as they were known when I visited in 1984, hence, "USSR," "Soviet Union," "Leningrad," etc.

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A view from my Moscow hotel room, overlooking the Kremlin and Red Square.	Saint Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square, Moscow.	The domes of St. Basil's.	Lenin's Tomb, on Red Square, Moscow. Soviet citizens would queue up for blocks to see this. Lenin's preserved body is displayed inside. Kind of creepy.
Church of Saint George, Moscow.	The Main Department Store (GUM), Moscow.	Kalinin Square (now Maidan Nezalezhnosti), Kiev, Ukraine.	People's Friendship Arch, Kiev. Commemorates the unification of the Soviet Union and Ukraine. The Ukranians, who were not so enthusiastic about being joined at the hip with the USSR, referred to this as "The Yoke."
Saint Andrews Church, Kiev.	Motherland statue and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev. A memorial to the massive losses suffered during World War II.	The Winter Palace in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg).	Peter and Paul Fortress, Leningrad.
Palace Square, Leningrad.	Smolny Cathedral and Convent, Leningrad.	One of the many canals in Leningrad.	Along Nevsky Prospekt at about 9 in the evening. Unlike today, in 1984 it was a fairly dead place at night.

Palace Embankment in Leningrad, including the Hermitage Museum, Winter Palace, Hermitage Theatre, and Summer Garden.

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WEST GERMANY, AUSTRIA AND FRANCE, JULY 1985
Four friends, a VW Golf, and three weeks on the road in central Europe.

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The bauhaus (farm) home of my generous hosts where I stayed in Heubach, Baden Württemburg, West Germany.	Ancient ruins of Rosenstein Castle, along the bluffs near Heubach.	Altstadt (old city) walls of Nürnburg (Nuremberg).	Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospital of the Holy Spirit), Nuremberg.
Nuremburg Castle.	Another view of Nuremberg Castle.	Hofbräuhaus, Munich. Enjoy a litre (ein mass) of tasty Bavarian Hofbräu.	Aviation display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
Olympiaturm (tower), at Olympiapark, Munich--site of the 1972 Summer Olympics.	The BMW Headquarters, viewed from the observation deck of the Olympiaturm.	Concentration Camp Dachau, just outside of Munich. A labour camp, and not an extermination camp, its gas chambers were never used. Nevertheless, over 30,000 people perished at Dachau, due to brutal living conditions, shootings, and disease. Everybody should visit one of these camps, lest we forget what happened there.	Prisoners' barracks at Dachau. No heat, no blankets, no running water, just a cubby-hole to sleep in at night before another day of hard labour.
Iron gate at Dachau, with the inscription "arbeit macht frei" (work makes you free). Tragically, work didn't free any of the people there.	Salzburg, Austria, along the Salzach River.	Festung Hohensalzburg (High Salzburg Fortress), Salzburg.	Schloss Neuschwanstein (Neuschwanstein Castle), near Hohenschwangau, Germany. Now you know where Disney swiped the idea for its "castle."
We took the ferry from Friedrichshafen, Germany, across the Bodensee (Lake Constance) to the little village of Romanshorn, Switzerland.	An alpine village in Austria.	Hilly pastureland near Schwartzwald (Black Forest).	View of Freiburg, Germany, from the cathedral.
Street scene in Strasbourg, France.	Strasbourg Cathedral.	View of Strasbourg, from atop the cathedral. We got plenty of exercise on this trip, climbing to the tops of cathedrals in many of the major cities we visited. But the views were well worth the effort.	On the way home: a view of the Greenland coast from 40,000 feet.

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A COUPLE DAYS IN AMSTERDAM, SEPTEMBER 1989
A few images taken with a cheap 110 camera. The photos are fuzzy and so was my memory of the place--a bit too much Heineken, perhaps. It was a spur-of-the-moment trip, but lots of fun.

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MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS
Scans from slides and prints taken in various locations in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Time exposure of the night sky, showing the earth's rotation, 1973.	Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO, 1975.	Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Sept. 1983.	Old barn, near Garretson, South Dakota, 1985.
Abandoned barn, near Garretson, South Dakota, 1985.	Sunset, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1985.	Sunset, west of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1985.	Up for a ride with the Red Baron squadron, near Tea, South Dakota, 1986.

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