OT: Black Hills and Ellis (Full Version)

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition



Message

John 3rd -> OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:32:20 PM)

Met a new set of friends last weekend at Ellis AFB:


[image]local://upfiles/18041/FEE5F0A8542B41D0AB8B3214C4EE14A1.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:33:36 PM)

Here is the Reluctant Admiral and his two 'Staff Members' John IV--11 (almost 12) and Christopher--9:


[image]local://upfiles/18041/4617B46179144308BD42F1787601D928.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:35:24 PM)

Scale on a -29 is hard to imagine but look at the SIZE of this prop!


[image]local://upfiles/18041/836B60DD5CBE42AA983E7BD477B8991A.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:36:20 PM)

Found a piece of nose art that riled me up and I embarrassed the Admiral's wife with this shot!
[:D]

[image]local://upfiles/18041/8E0E75D3FE3D407A972F450DC5BC66C5.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:38:14 PM)

You don't truly know how BIG a BUFF (B-52) is until you stand next to one. HOLY COW! [X(]

..I am truly TOUCHING it. HUGE PLANE!



[image]local://upfiles/18041/F71910B9D090469BB9412B2D487FF740.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:44:18 PM)

The trip to Mt. Rushmore was a lot of fun. We first went to the night lighting of the mountain and I was shocked at how unabashedly patriotic it was. Patriotism is in short supply these days and for the National Park Service to be that direct and up front was a welcome surprise. Here is Mrs. RA Cochran's shot:


[image]local://upfiles/18041/CC0982B0919146BD8D9E5B22A24FFD54.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:47:27 PM)

I said patriotic because the night ceremony was fantastic and at the end the Lady Ranger asked ALL veteran's and active duty members to come down to the stage. She then had EACH ONE give his/her first name, branch, and when they served. There were a lot of them including two WWII Vets. Once everyone was done she got eight volunteers to be the Honor Guard to lower the flag and then fold it. Those eight were proud and did IT RIGHT! It was quite emotional and we ended with God Bless America. Standing ovation for the Vets at the end.

Something, from the Government, that was truly respectful and patriotic. FANTASTIC!

Here are the Vets:


[image]local://upfiles/18041/6E0EB377FFAB43A4AC133A7405250572.jpg[/image]



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/12/2015 11:50:40 PM)

Everyone who knows this Forumite know that the Cochran Family have...a...ummmm...LOVE of trains. There is a FANTASTIC steam railroad (the 1880 Train) that was marvelous. The ride (13 miles each way) was cheap at $20.00 for adults and $12.00 for kids.

Got to have a picture of that!

Hope you liked the Ellis shots.


[image]local://upfiles/18041/B68A98CFF4F94BF08D0638A19274D2C8.jpg[/image]



Shark7 -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 2:09:56 AM)

Looks like you had a 'productive' vacation. [;)]

And only $20 for the train ride? A bucket of popcorn at the movies costs almost that much anymore. [X(]



Trugrit -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 10:25:17 AM)


Very nice. Thanks for posting.



Cap Mandrake -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 2:43:28 PM)

WWII in the Pacific might have been avoided had that picture of the B-29 been circulated in Japan. Of course, there might have been some giggling about the shorts.

I once toured Scotty's Castle in Death Valley with a NPS guide. The guide was funny as Hell. He offered numerous innuendo that the builder of the home, was gay. He "befriended" a "cowboy" who had 25 identical red neck kerchiefs and had his own room at the Castle. His wife had a separate room. They had no children. His wife spent all day reading Bible passages. The guide showed us the "closet"...and he paused when he said that..where the "houseguest" stored his 25 red kerchiefs. As I recall the place is even named after the "houseguest". The rules of the will that deeded the house to the NPS required that there be no "tours" but only "educational events". The audience was supposed to figure it out. I figured out where he was going with it after the bit about the wife so I began to ask questions to reinforce his observations. "Did most cowboys in Death Valley have 25 neatly ironed identical neck kerchiefs?"...or..
"There's no water, no grass, no cows, why did they need cowboys?".

Funniest NPS guide I ever met. By the end of the "educational event" I think about 1/3rd of the adults had figured out the joke but he never broke character.

The point of the story is the NPS can sometimes surprise you. Of course, if you drive up to Tuolumne with 8 people in an SUV the chick at the gate will probably give you grief for your "carbon footprint"



Cap Mandrake -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 2:54:44 PM)

Look again at the nose art on the B-29. That's Kilroy sticking his nose over the clouds. [;)]

The B-29 is beautifully painted. It looks like a restored classic auto or something. Cool train too.



zuluhour -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 2:55:48 PM)

Nice pics John, thanks for sharing. SHOW ME THE MANDRAKE!



Cap Mandrake -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 3:01:28 PM)

That's me in the 6th picture down.

John;

Have you ever done the Silverton and Durango trip?



tomed63 -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/13/2015 9:50:38 PM)

Just a short note: If you were in the Black Hills of South Dakota,
The Air Force base at Rapid City is Ellsworth AFB. I was stationed there in 1969 - 1970.
Ellsworth was a major SAC base flying B52s' and KC135 aircraft.



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 2:00:49 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

That's me in the 6th picture down.

John;

Have you ever done the Silverton and Durango trip?


Hey Cap!

We wanted to do Durango this summer but ran out of $$$ and time. Will do it next year.

We did the Cumbres and Toltec two summers ago and that ride was AMAZING! Highly recommend it.



John 3rd -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 2:01:33 AM)

I didn't see Kilroy in the art. Nicely spotted!

Ellsworth! Damn. I had Ellis in my head. Stupid.



Sheytan -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 7:03:14 AM)

Very nice!



USSAmerica -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 11:54:05 AM)

Nice pics, John, and looks like a great family vacation! [:)]



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 6:34:07 PM)

I was driving through the Black Hills once and got lost in Custer State Park. I was navigating at the time. We stopped the car to try and figure it out. There was a group of democrats blocking the road anyway. I had the map all unfolded and was studying it. The democrats started coming towards us but we paid them no mind.
One of them stuck his head through the window and grabbed the map. We played tug of war for a while but he won in the end, and proceeded to eat the map.
Here's the culprit:


[image]local://upfiles/37002/BCC600F518DA40EEAC14A7DE131DE8DD.jpg[/image]



Cap Mandrake -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 6:40:31 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 3rd


quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

That's me in the 6th picture down.

John;

Have you ever done the Silverton and Durango trip?


Hey Cap!

We wanted to do Durango this summer but ran out of $$$ and time. Will do it next year.

We did the Cumbres and Toltec two summers ago and that ride was AMAZING! Highly recommend it.



"Cumbres and Toltec". It sounds fun just from the name. Colorado has some great place names. Telluride, Ouray, Leadville, Durango, Beaver Creek...etc

Durango has some cool old timey hotels "downtown"



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 6:48:02 PM)

Here's what I booked into evidence.

[image]local://upfiles/37002/8B5774718734445BB02E78FB56088A86.jpg[/image]



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 6:48:37 PM)

.

[image]local://upfiles/37002/13998BA042D0422B9B7B9A38F6D1D744.jpg[/image]



Cap Mandrake -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 7:18:41 PM)

quote:

State Park Rangers Hunt Individual Who Poisoned Jack Ass: FBI Animal Cruelty Branch Called In


Custer State Park---State Park Rangers are searching for an individual or gang of viscious jack ass murderers who are belived armed with cartography materials and beleived dangerous. A much beloved jack ass named "Sitting Bull" was found dead Tuesday morning in the park. A necropsy revealed intestinal obstruction and chromium and lead poisoning. Said Superintendant Joe Gannon, "We are going to catch the jack ass that did this to our beloved jack ass and it will only be the professionalism of the department that prevents some Custer State Park road justice when we find him." Authorities are looking for the owner of a vehicle with red and grey interior which was seen in the area on Monday. Curiously, they are unable to comment on the exterior colors.



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 8:11:24 PM)

This from Joe Friday

From Episode 21 - "The Shooting Board" (Aired Sept. 21, 1967)
(Speech by Captain Brown. The trial board for the shooting of Arthur Ashton has adjourned; for Joe it doesn't look too good. Captain Brown [Art Balinger] calls Friday and Gannon into his office.)
"You were issued this when you first came on the job. 20 bucks worth of brass and pot metal and a two-dollar leather case. You were told to give it a regular polish or it'd tarnish. It's easy to keep the metal bright and clean-but what about the men who carry it? The Department set up that board of inquiry--we did--ourselves. No political pressure, no citizens' groups, just us. And it's been in business for fifteen years. I've faced it before; so have a lot of others. Sometimes the going's rough. It has to be--but it's the best way to get at the truth we know of.
"We live in a free and open society. That's why that board was set up. I don't have to tell you we don't sweep anything under the rug here. No whitewashing of anybody or anything.
"That's why this hunk of metal means something and why it always will. It's not something we hide behind. It's something we live up to. Believe me, I know what you're going through, Joe. If the board rules against you it means a possible jury trial for manslaughter; dismissal from the force.
"But I know this, too: You want this cleared up with facts, not opinions. And that's the way it's gonna be. You men are professionals at your job. And you're judged first by professionals just like yourselves. Men who aren't out to whitewash you. Men who aren't out to bury you. I wouldn't want it any other way, and neither would you--because the alternative sickens me!
"None of us want to see this [Friday's badge] turned into a hunting license!"



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 8:13:53 PM)

And Joe says, "That's Bill Gannon to you."



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 8:20:53 PM)

I'm mainly worried about this guy


[image]local://upfiles/37002/7C62C0E0DCD7471B82C19CE8B0F7CE9D.jpg[/image]



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 8:30:50 PM)

This guy's helping him

[image]local://upfiles/37002/4A61CC1601A84FF38EF376C9434323A8.jpg[/image]



geofflambert -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/14/2015 8:53:31 PM)

This shows you how intrepid Sky King is

[image]local://upfiles/37002/0F1805150BCB4890991E3AAA3C247EBA.jpg[/image]



reg113 -> RE: OT: Black Hills and Ellis (9/15/2015 12:01:31 AM)

How hard did you have to try to get lost in Custer State Park??? [:D]
Not a real easy thang to do, is it?



Page: [1] 2   next >   >>

Valid CSS!




Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI
0.890625