OK, here they are. A selection of pictures from the few trips I've taken abroad, now in thumbnail format. Click on any image to load a the larger version.
Above: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, USA. March 95. Set in the Black Hills (about the only bit in South Dakota that's not flat), this truly is a magnificent monument. It features Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Lincoln (although I cannot guarantee the order/spelling).
Above: The Devils Tower, Wyoming (least populated of all the states), USA. March 95. Americas first National monument, 1906. You may have seen this place in the film 'Close Encounters of the 3rd kind' where it was the location of the alien landing. The scientific explanation for the way the tower was formed is that weathering over the years eroded away the soft outside layers of an extinct volcano, leaving the much harder centre core exposed. The red Indians on the other hand believe that whilst escaping from a bear, seven young indian girls ran up onto the top of a small rock. The bear scratched the sides in an attempt to get at them, but the rock grew upwards, lifting them to safety. Eventually the rock grew so high that the girls reached the sky and were transformed into stars. The constellation Pleiades in fact. I'll let you make up your own mind.
Snowmobiling in Yellowstone park, Wyoming, USA. (More photos to come). An excellent adventure, but according to the park warden the grizzly bears were out and about and were very, very hungry. My snowmobile kept breaking down so I thought I was going to end up as a snack for a family of bears, but it all went well in the end - maybe because the bears stayed inside as the weather was so bad. We checked out the 'Old faithful' geyser and it was quite impressive, and of course right on time, hence the name. To be continued........
Phil trying to act cool whilst freezin' his nads off. This shot taken overlooking Bear Lake, Utah before driving North into Southern Idaho.
Above: Island of Psara photographed from above on route to Kos (Greece). This small island is near to Khios and is only about 5 miles across. Shortly after our trip the plane (Boeing 757) was investigated and found to have the engine fire extinguishers connected up back to front. Yikes. Middle, nice pic of Santorini (Thira, Greece) looking South from the village of Oia. Right: One of the lesser known attractions of Malta, the 'Dive in' pub. It speaks for itself, (and for the rest of Malta).
Lake Windermere, English Lake District, October 95. Not a great deal to add here except that it was our 1st wedding aniversary and we had a great time. I must point out that the hotels in the Lake District are the most expensive in the world. We chose the 'Logwood Mill' (featured in right photograph) because it had a swimming pool and health spa. Unfortunately the pool and spa were closed for the time we were there for a local sports gala. Oh well, that's life I suppose.
A few USA shots. 1st shot; Mariposa county court room, Santa Barbara, California. Fascinating building, cool photo, although I say it myself. 2nd picture; London Bridge. You always wondered where it went didn't you? Well an American chap bought it and took it brick-by-brick to Lake Havasu City, Arizona (South of Las Vegas). Here it sits in the roasting heat, while bikini clad chicks swim in the lake below. It's become the towns focal point.
A Joshua tree, amazingly enough this one stands in the Joshua tree national monument park, California. 2nd pic; A strangely built house at Carmel, California (South of San Fransisco) which just caught my eye. Clint Eastwood was the major of this place and quite obviously you need to be rather well off to move there. Never mind.
Yep, thats me! Hurtling along perhaps one of the worst roads in the world on the island of Kos, Greece. They don't take safety too seriously over there. You can drive a 200cc motorbike with no bike licence, no helmet and no real insurance for a few quid a day. In fact the only essential items are the sunglasses which come in real handy in case you get smashed in the face by a 3 inch beetle as you collide with it at 70mph. It's a great time of course, but if you come off...... you've had it. I was lucky... but we found some chalk outlines of people drawn on one of the bends, so presumably they weren't.
More coming soon..........