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

Wet Dogs

These are our dogs looking like drown swamp rats after getting a bath.

Happy Birthday Troy

Happy Birthday today to my brother, Troy!

More pictures of Troy on this page-http://www.eriksmith.com/Family/troyfront.htm

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS

Most commonly associated with Illinois, Land of Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln was actually born on this site in Central Kentucky. The building in the photo protects the cabin where he was born.

See the rest of the pictures of National Park #188- http://www.eriksmith.com/Midwest06minis/AbrahamLincolnBirthplaceNHS.htm

Newborn Eli

This is my Brother Troy, his wife Adrienne, my nephew Colin, and my second nephew, the newborn Eli.
Here are more pictures of Eli Kenneth as a newborn- http://www.eriksmith.com/Eli/elikennethsmith.htm

Our First Anniversary

Today is our first wedding Anniversary. I am a very lucky man to get to spend the rest of my life with my soulmate and best friend.

Here is a link to the main page for our wedding-http://www.eriksmith.com/Wedding/weddingMain.htm

Hong Kong

This is a picture of the skyline in Hong Kong from our 1996 visit. The peak in the background is Victoria Peak, which we took a tram to the top of. This was a year before the British gave control of Hong Kong back to the Chinese.

Hong Kong Pictures-

http://www.eriksmith.com/Asia/HongKong.htm

Fort Sumter NM

This is famous Fort Sumter National Monument, located in Charleston Harbor. It is where in 1861 the first shots of The Civil War were fired.

Here are more pictures from my tour on a sunny 70 degree February day in 2007-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Florida2007/FtSumterNM.htm

West, South, East

So far, I have been to three of the four furthest points in the 48 conterminous states.

The Top is Cape Flattery in Washington state, the Westernmost point.

http://www.eriksmith.com/Pullman05/capeflattery.htm

The Middle Picture is Tone, Keath and I in Key West, Florida, the Southernmost point.

http://www.eriksmith.com/FLA04/florida04.htm

The Bottom Pics is from my last trip, the Easternmost point, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, near Lubec, Maine.

http://www.eriksmith.com/NewEngland2008/WQHlighthouse.htm

The northernmost point is the Northwest Angle in Minnesota. I hope to visit there next summer.

Dad & Colin

This is a picture of my dad and my nephew, Colin, at Lindsay and Adam's wedding on Mackinac Island in May of 2005. This is a favorite photo of everyone in our family, because it shows how much Colin loves his Papa.

More pictures from the wedding are here- http://www.eriksmith.com/LinsWedd/afterwards.htm

Michigan State- Oakland Game

Mom, Dad, Janeen and I went to this game in early December 2007. State beat an undermanned Oakland team, but did not impress anyone. Oakland beat Oregon at the Palace two weeks later on the same day MSU had it's biggest win of the regular season against Texas.

http://www.eriksmith.com/Family/MSUOaklangGame.htm has the rest of that day's pictures.

Dordrecht

This is one of the rally cute Dutch cities that is often missed by tourists. It is about an hour's train ride from Amsterdam.

http://www.eriksmith.com/Am2004/dordrecht.htm

Flight 93 National Memorial

This is the temporary memorial to the victims of Flight 93, on September 11th, 2001. It is located near Shanksville, PA. A larger permanent memorial is being built and should be finished by 2011.

Here are more pictures of this tribute to those brave souls who fought back against terrorism-
http://www.eriksmith.com/PANY/flight93NM.htm

Happy Birthday Lindsay

Happy Birthday today to my little sis!

Here are some more priceless pictures of her-
http://www.eriksmith.com/Family/lindsay.htm

Innsbruck

This picture is from our family's 1986 tour of Europe.

Quokkas

These furry little guys are found only in a couple of places in Australia, but they are almost domesticated on Rottnest Island off the Western Australia coast from Perth. I spent a couple of hours pulling down braches and handing them to these cute little marsupials. Rottnest Island comes from the Dutch 'Rat's Nest', which is what the first Dutch explorers thought the Quokkas were.

More pics from Rottnest Island here-http://www.eriksmith.com/Australia/RottnestIsland.htm