DC, VA, TN, AR (10-2001)

	The adventure continues... in our land yacht! We even refer to it as the "r/v Attitudes." This is our 1989 Fleetwood Flair 24 foot Class A motorhome. This picture was taken at the Capitol KOA campground near Annapolis.
	Karen in front of Lincoln in his memorial. We spent a day touring some of the sites in Washington DC that we missed in the spring. Security is increased sinced the 9-11 attacks and some attractions are still closed, but overall things seem to be returning to normal. We were glad to see this because if the terrorists can cause us to stop living our normal lives then the bastards have won. We refuse to let them do that!
	Part of the recently completed Korean War memorial.
	The gem collection at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History contains such wonders as the world famous Hope Diamond.
	One of the world's largest gems, this topaz weighs in at 22,892.5 carats!
	Statue of General Stonewall Jackson at Manassas battlefield. The first battle of Manassas was when the General got his nickname. General Bee, just before his death, rallied his troops by saying "Form, form, there stands Jackson like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians."
	The highlight of our campground in Knoxville, TN, was their petting zoo. Two geese, two goats, a turkey, and this pony.
	Crater of Diamonds state park, AR. This is the only public and the 8th largest diamond mine in the world. For $4.50 you can search for diamonds and keep any that you find. One 3 carat stone found here was cut into a perfect (grade 0/0/0) 1+ carat diamond. The state of Arkansas bought it from the finder for $35,000. We didn't find any diamonds but we did have a good time.
	There are 3 main ways to seach for diamonds. The first is surface searching where you simply poke around in the dirt looking for the diamonds.
	The second method is wet screening. This method works well with wet soil. You load a shovel full of dirt into the screen box and start washing it. The dirt (mud at this point) starts washing away leaving small stones behind. You then look for diamonds in the stones.
	The third method is screening. This method works best with dry soil. You load some dirt into the screen box and sift out the soil leaving small stones behind. You then look for diamonds in the stones.