Grand Teton September 2001

Keath, Tone and I went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in September of 2001.

Dad & I on TV

This is a picture of my dad and I at the Michigan State - Wisconsin-Green Bay game in December of 2007. I took this picture of the TV screen to show how close we were to the floor. The camera could see us almost every time it panned over to the Michigan State bench.

There are more photos from this cool experience here.

#14 Pecos NHP

Pecos National Historic Park is located on a stretch of land where people have lived since 800 A.D. The Pecos Pueblo became a very large city in the period preceding Spanish arrival in the Southwest. Coronado made his way through Pecos looking for riches. A Puebloan guide was given to him, but led his men onto the great plains hoping they would die from heat and starvation or at the hands of the Apaches. Coronado returned and wreaked havoc on the people of Pecos. Next came the Missionaries. The Mission dates from an exceptionally aggressive period of mission building in the southwest, in the early 1600s. The over zealous Spanish did not succeed in their conquest of the Puebloan People, but Pecos was deserted by the 1830s, with the last people moving north to Jemez Pueblo.

See the rest of my photos here.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I figured today I would publish pictures of the things I am most thankful for.

#13 Fort Union NM

Fort Union National Monument stands on a site where three separate forts once stood. The first, of which nothing remains, was a sloppy mud fortification built to protect the early settlers of New Mexico from Indian raids. The second fort also was built with that purpose in mind, but served as a staging ground for the most important battle in the Southwestern theater of Civil War, The Battle of Glorietta Pass. The third fort was an adobe and brick fort, but even it had outlived it's usefulness when it was abandoned in the 1890s in favor of newer and more centrally located defensive posts.

See the rest of my pictures here.

#12 Capulin Volcano NM

Capulin Volcano is a perfectly formed cinder cone volcano that rises on the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field of Northeastern New Mexico, which contains about 120 volcanic formations total. I walked around the rim on a paved trail on a glorious morning in May of 2003.

See the article and more pictures at the Capulin Volcano NM page on my website.

#11 Bents Old Fort NHS

This was my first stop on my Southwest 2003 trip. It also has the distinction of being the first National Park Site that I visited after deciding to try and visit all of the units that spring.

This fort, located in Eastern Colorado, next to the Arkansas River, was an important stopping point for travelers along the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to New Mexico in the 1830-50s. Founded by brother Charles and William Bent, and their statesmen partner Ceran St. Vrain, the post was a meeting point for the Native Americans, road weary Pioneers, and the Spanish from the South.

See my Bent's Old Fort NHS page on my website for more pictures and the complete article.

Nha Trang Market

This picture was taken in a market outside of Nha Trang, Vietnam in 1996. The people in Vietnam were poor but very friendly. The food was also very good, but you could not tell it by looking at this picture.

http://www.eriksmith.com/Asia/nhatrang.htm has the rest of my pictures from this stop.

Camp Arcadia Staff 1994

This is a photo of most of the staff of Camp Arcadia for the summer of 1994. I was lucky to spend two of the most outstanding summers of my life working with an amazing and talented group of people.

#10 Dry Tortugas National Park

Located 70 miles west of Key West, Dry Torugas National Park contains Fort Jefferson, a Civil War era fort bulit to defend the Mississippi River Watershed, and a number of coral reefs popular for diving and snorkelling. The fort never saw any action and is most famous for being used as a prison to house Dr. Samuel Mudd, the surgeon who repaired the leg of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abrham Lincoln. This is such a unique park in a unique setting, it is one of my favorites. It is accessable by boat and seaplane from Key West.

See more pictures from January 2003 when I went with my mom, dad & sister-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Florida03/DryTortugasNP.htm

#9 Everglades NP

Everglades National Park in Southern Florida, preserves North America's largest and most important wetlands. It is a small section of an ecosystem that used to encompass almost the whole Southern half of Florida, an area that has lost at least half of it's size due to spreading urbanization and draining for farmland. It is a prime birding and wildlife viewing spot and home to a very small number of the very endangered Florida Panthers. The highlight for me was seeing all the exotic birds, plus the alligators. The top picture is of the Pinelands area of the park. These small pockets have been especially hard hit by the eroding of this once pristine environment.

See more pictures here-(this is a park I intend to re-photograph while visiting my parents one of these years) These pics are from January of 2003, while on my way to Key West.

http://www.eriksmith.com/Florida03/evergladesNP.htm

#8 DeSoto NM

De Soto National Memorial, 5 miles (8 km) west of Bradenton, FL, commemorates the 1539 landing of Hernando de Soto and the first extensive organized exploration by Europeans of Florida and the Southeastern US. DeSoto's leagacy, like many of the early explorers, is checkered with abuse of the native population spurred on by greed.

See More of my pictures from January 2003 here-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Florida03/DesotoNM.htm

#7 Father Marquette NM

Father Marquette National Memorial in located near the straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. This memorial commemorates Marquette & Joilet's 17th century exploration on the Great Lakes area. Marquette is also responsible for establishing the nearby town of St. Ignace, as well as the town of Sault St. Marie, where the Soo Locks are now located. This is technically not a National Park, but it is an affiliated area.

See more pictures here- http://www.eriksmith.com/UP02/fathermarquetteNM.htm

#6 Pictured Rocks NL

Located on the Lake Superior shore in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, my home state, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a popular place to take boat tours to view the rocks from the water. The park is also home to numerous waterfalls and hiking trails. This formation is called Miner's Castle.

Here are the pictures from the summer of 2002, the last of my three visits to this park-
http://www.eriksmith.com/UP02/PicturedRocksNL.htm

Waldenbooks and the Deathly Hallows

This is the crew I worked with at Waldenbooks in Livonia for three months last year. This picture is from our midnight party for the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on July 21st.
http://www.eriksmith.com/Professional/waldenbooks.htm has the rest of the pictures from that night.

Adelaide

This is Victoria Square in Adelaide, South Australia.

#5 Gettysburg NMP

In late July 2002, Tone, Keath and I stopped at Gettysburg National Military Park in Eastern Pennsylvania on our way to Washington, D.C. We acquired a tape at the visitor's center which helped explain to us, during our driving tour, the site of this 1863 battle which is the most famous, if not most crucial, battle of the Civil War. The Picture above is the field where the battle started, and the second one is The Eternal Light Peace Memorial.

More pictures-http://www.eriksmith.com/dc02/gettysburgNMP.htm

#4 Little Bighorn Battlefield NM

Visited on the same May 2002 trip that took me to see TRNP, is #4 Little Bighorn National Monument. Here in 1876, George Armstrong Custer, in an extreme act of cowardice which defined his career, decided to attack a group of what he thought were defenseless Indian women and children. Unknown to him there were two bands of warriors nearby and they quickly came and routed Custer's small, ill-prepared force. The area of the battlefield is explained in an excellent driving tour and the cemetery, pictured above, is a memorial to those soldiers who had the unfortunate assignment to serve under such an inept military commander.

The rest of the pictures are at the following URL-
http://www.eriksmith.com/OutWest02/LittleBighornBattlefieldNM.htm

#3 Theodore Roosevelt NP

Park #3, located in the badlands of Western North Dakota, is Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I visited the park in May of 2002, and was enchanted by the vastness of the plains, much the same attachment that the park's namesake had himself. I especially liked the Prairie Dog Towns.

Here are more pictures from TRNP-
http://www.eriksmith.com/OutWest02/theodorerooseveltNP.htm

#2 Fort Clatsop NM

This is a picture from Fort Clatsop NM, now known as Lewis & Clark NHP, located near Astoria, Oregon. It is a replica of the fort that Lewis, Clark and the corps of discovery wintered in during the winter of 1804-05. The men complained often about this fort because the weather was dreary and relations with the local Indians weren't as friendly as they had been the previous winter with the Mandan Indians of North Dakota.

Here is the rest of the set from my September 2000 visit-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Travel/FtClatsopNM.htm

#1 Statue of Liberty NM

Starting Today, I am going to be publishing a picture from each National Park I have visited on Monday through Friday. The two weekend days will have other pictures; family, friends, other non-NPS travel.

Today's picture is from the first park on my list- The Statue Of Liberty National Monument. This picture is froma December 1999 visit with my family on a cold and blustery day. Being before September 11th, areas of the statue were open than no longer are accessable.

Here are more pictures from that first visit-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Travel/StatueOfLibertyNM.htm
and pictures from the visit this past June-
http://www.eriksmith.com/NYC2008/StatueofLibertyNM08.htm

Ronda, Spain

Ronda, Spain is a white-washed Spanish town in the province of Andalusia. It has a rich history from Moorish conquest to the Spanish Civil War.

More pics- http://www.eriksmith.com/SpainPortugal99/Ronda.htm

Chicago Lakefront

Devil's Tower 1962

This is a photo my grandfather took in 1962 on a trip out west with my grandma, my mom and my Uncle Gary.

Isle of Wight

This is the our family with the Ollingers on the Isle of Wight off the Southern British Coast in 1986.

Mount Rushmore NM

This is a picture from my 2006 visit. I visited Mount Rushmore as a kid, and again in 2001. On the 2001 visit, Tone, Keath and I couldn't even see the mountain because of the fog.

More pictures from a perfect 2006 day- http://www.eriksmith.com/OutWest06/mountrushmoreNM.htm

College Graduate

This is a picture of me from my college graduation in May of 1995. No grey in the goatee then!

Australia Journal Map

This is a scanned copy of a map of Australia I drew inside the front cover of the journal I kept while I was there in September, October and November of 2001.

More Paper Scraps from the Australia trip here-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Australia/paperscraps.htm

Martin Luther King Jr. Tomb

This is the tomb of Martin Luther King, Jr. located near his birthplace in the Sweet Auburn district of Atlanta.

http://www.eriksmith.com/deepsouth05/martinlutherkingjrNHS.htm

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

This park in Central Western Colorado is one of America's newest National Parks.

More pics here- http://www.eriksmith.com/sw03/BlackCanOfGunn.htm