Eielson Visitor Center and Wonder Lake area

After the Tolkat backpacking trip, I had one day reserved at the Wonder Lake campground. I got to the Toklat stop and caught the bus about an hour later. The first picture is from the Stony Pass area on the park road.

The next four shots are of Denali Peak and the Alaska Range in the clouds as seen from the Eielson Visitor Center.

This shot has the Eielson Visitor Center in it. It just reopened after a multi-year rebuild that used a lot of environmental features.

Here are two shots of the tundra from Eielson

Click here to watch a 26 second (16 MB) video pan of the scene from the Eielson Visitor Center.

Two juvenile sibling grizzlies ran across the field below the visitor center. I asked the rangers and they told me that they had just left their mother earlier this year, and were still hanging out together. There were many people watching and filming, but they didn't pay us too much attention.

When we went to leave Eielson, the bus wouldn't start. After some delay some of us managed to get on another bus. In the rush, I left my trekking poles and bear spray canister on the old bus. I realized this only after I got to Wonder Lake. I told the bus driver and he called back and had the next bus bring them.

The stop for the day was the campground near Wonder Lake. The campground is actually about a half mile from the lake. I only took a video of the lake. Click here to see the 10 second (6.5 MB) video of Wonder Lake. Here is a picture of the tundra and forest near Wonder Lake.

There is an actual maintained trail near Wonder Lake, rare in Denali National Park away from the entrance area. It goes to the McKinley River. Here is a bog that it goes through.

Here is another view of the bog. At Eielson Visitor Center, while waiting for a replacement ride when my bus wouldn't start, I started talking to another backpacker who was also waiting. We both had had a windy night the night before, and I offered to let Sarah pitch her tent in my reserved campsite rather than heading out again tonight. This is a picture of her on this hike.

More boardwalk on the McKinley River Bar hike.

The campsites at the Wonder Lake campground are actually spread out on a hill to give the best view of Denali Peak when it is clear. While we had clear skies above, the peaks were generally covered with clouds.

5th Beijing 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival concludes

Artistic performance

(BEIJING, July 15) -- The 5th Beijing 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival drew to a close with a rousing chorus of an Olympic song honoring Games volunteers Sunday evening, here in the Olympic City.

This year's festival is the last one prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad next August 2008 and followed the mantra of "One World One Dream -- I participate, I contribute, and I enjoy" which integrated sport with culture.

The gala event brought together local pop stars and artists and among the 20 plus scheduled activities were large sport and cultural activities, Olympic Cultural Squares, films, forums, exhibitions, open-air concerts, and cultural activities for persons with a disability and the youth.

Present at the closing ceremony were:

-- Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and member of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, and President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympaid (BOCOG);

-- Chen Zhili, State Councilor and BOCOG First Vice-President;

-- Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture, and

-- Yang Yuanyuan, Minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.

Other officials from the central and municipal governments, as well as BOCOG, also attended the concluding ceremony.

Officials at the ceremony

Artistic performance

The hosts

Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor was born on September 21, 1977 in Bombay India. Her father is Punjabi -speaking Randhi Kapoor and her mother is Sindhi-speaking Babita. Her older sister is Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor.

Kareena Kapoor was born into a family full of actors going all the way back to her paternal great grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor and her grandfather Raj Kapoor. Her paternal uncles Shammi, Shashi, Rishi, and Rajiv along with

aunt's Neetu Singh and Jennifer Kenndall also were actors. On her mother's side her grandfather, Hari Shivdasani, and aunt, Sadhana acted also.

As a young girl she studied in Jamnabai Narsee School in Bombay and went on to attend Welham Girls Boarding School. After finishing she attended Harvard for 3 months to take a course in Information Technology and Microcomputers.

She returned to India after and attended the Government Law College in Churchgate, Bombay and left after one year to pursue acting at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting School.

Her father was not pleased with her decision to pursue acting and wanted his daughters to live a regular life by settling down with a family. This led to differences with between Randhi and Babita who eventually divorced. The girls went to live with their mother.

Kareena Kapoor's film debut was in 2000 "Refugee" debuting together with Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek. After "Refugee" she went on to star in 31 other Hindi films, and won four awards for her roles in "Refugee", "Chameli", "Dev", and "Omkara".

Kareena Kapoor is now one of the most popular actresses inBollywood. She has done endorsements for Pepsi, Citizen Drive Watch's and Head and Shoulders. She continues to expand her career accepting versatile roles and is among the A-list in Bollywood.

Shahrukh Khan

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On November 2nd 1965, Shahrukh Khan was born in New Delhi to parents, Fatima and Mir Taj Mohammed. Khan showed a knack for entertaining at a very young age.

When he was younger, he and his family would gather around their radiogram and listen to Vividh Bharti. Once the news segment was over, Khan would get up and break into dance.…

On November 2nd 1965, Shahrukh Khan was born in New Delhi to parents, Fatima and Mir Taj Mohammed. Khan showed a knack for entertaining at a very young age.

When he was younger, he and his family would gather around their radiogram and listen to Vividh Bharti. Once the news segment was over, Khan would get up and break into dance. However, acting was not always Khan’s first career choice.

While attending Hans Raj College, Delhi University, Khan majored in Economics and was quite the jock. He played both football, hockey, and cricket while in college. While Khan would have liked to have pursued sports further, a back injury and an arthritis-ruptured right knee prevented him from doing so.

Khan went on to pursue his Masters from the mass communication research center, Jamia Milia Islamia. Shahrukh Khan was excelling during his first year in the course, which emphasized on filmmaking and journalism, but would not be allowed to finish. His vice principal informed him that he would not be permitted to take the final exams because his attendance was not up to par.

Shahrukh Khan had been dabbling in theater, television and production work for short films outside of the college in his free time; it was while he was in college that he starred in his first TV series’ ‘Fauji’ and ‘Dil Dariya.’

‘Circus’ was his first project when he left college, which sent him traveling all over Maharashtra. Shahrukh Khan has gone on to star in twenty-plus films since leaving college.

SRK’s other passion includes advertising. He has endorsed numerous products, including Pepsi, Mayur Suitings, Hyundai Santro, Snoodles, Cinthol soap, Bagpiper club soda, and Clinic All Clear. Khan describes advertising as ‘the soul of filmmaking.’

Shahrukh Khan started the production company, Dreamz Unlimited, alongside Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza in 1999 with one goal in mind: to make their own kinds of films and not have to be dependent on producers.

While the company’s first film, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani,’ was not the success Khan would have hoped, Dreamz Unlimited is now a successful production company in the industry.

History of the Limousines

The Lemovices were a Gallic tribe who established themselves in the Massif Central area including Haute-vienne, Creuse, Corréze and Charente territories in France. Their capital was Durotincum (Villejoubert). Lemovices means "conquerors with the elm". The Lemovices gave their name to Limoge and to the province of Limousin.

Famous products of the province of Limousin such as the Aubusson tapestries, enamels and porcelains are made in the capital city of Haute-Vienne, Limoges.

A part from these products, Limousin beef cattle have been raised here for many years and, the shepherds who began the tradition of raising this special breed of cattle in Europe wore a long cloak associated with today�s lavish means of transport called LIMOUSINE.

The shepherds used the cloaks to protect themselves from the rain and from the cold. Limousine is the feminine adjective of the masculine form limousin. These 2 adjectives describe the origin of a person or of a product.

example:

• Un berger limousin (masculine noun and masculine adjective)
• Une bergére limousine (feminine noun and feminine adjective)

The concept of having chauffeur-driven vehicles dates back to the era of horse drawn carriages in the 1700s. The carriages were overstated with gold and they were drawn by the best looking animals. This service was anticipated for the wealthy.

In the 1900, some of the first engine powered carriages were designed with two compartments. The chauffeur had a covered compartment outside the carriage and the other compartment, also covered, was for the passengers.

The driver and the passengers were separated by a partition which had a sliding sound proof glass that allowed the passengers to keep their conversation private. If they needed to communicate with the driver, they would slide open the glass or use an intercom.

In many of the modern limousines, the partition still exists and the sliding sound proof glass, if not completely eliminated, has become part of the frame that secures and protects a flat screen TV, an indispensable amenity in today's way of life, travel, entertainment and work.

The picture below is that of an early idea that gave birth to what we now know as stretch and non stretch limousines: This is a 1908 Studebaker Limousine. limousine. This limousine had an open driver's compartment for the chauffeur and a closed cabin for the passengers, as typical in Edwardian limousines.

Hudson Super 6 Limousine with partition and sound proof sliding glass.

Here is a 1931, 7 passenger limousine.

The first stretch limousine was built in Arkansas in the late 1920s. They were used to transport big band leaders, their bands and their equipment. People called them Big Band Busses.

An early stretch limousine, a Cadillac Super Stretch

These sumptuous vehicles used to be limited to the rich, the famous and to the government.

Now, they are accessible to all including teenagers who are choosing to travel in style to their numerous scholastic, athletic, social events and summer camps.

Many industries that provide luxury means of transportation use them to generate business for their trade. The limousine industry is in its infancy in many parts of the world and active in the USA.

A 1977 Lincoln Continental Limousine

A 1986 Lincoln Town car Limousine and a 1986 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine

The looks have changed; The Lincoln, Cadillac, Hummer, Chrysler, Mercedes to name a few, give a variety of exciting choices to industries such as car rentals, hotels, casinos, clubs, wedding salons and private buyers.

Here are a few pictures of a modern stretch limousine taken from our website. The exterior is beautiful, polished and luxurious. The plush interior shows a well equipped limousine with audio, video, flat screen and a bar.

and we can now build RHD Limousines, Chrysler 300C or Mercedes:

And, for corporate or personal use, the new non stretch Executive Mobile Office SUVs are the talk of the town.

One can only guess what is next in this growing global industry...

This article was prepared and written by Josée Hanlon

How Limousines are Built

The Process starts

The factory always starts out with a new Lincoln or Cadillac Coachbuilder Heavy Duty Package for the Lincoln or Cadillac limousines. The factory uses New Lincoln, Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac, Cadillac Escalade, Hummer, Mercedes, Infiniti and Chrysler 300 new cars to build the New Limousines. It is QVM and CMC Certified by Ford and General Motors.

We can build custom limousines on other cars as well.

The factory enhances the OEM braking system to accommodate the limos weight using oversized front brake pads and rear braking cylinders. The factory uses each models length and The factory selects the appropriate Moog heavy-duty spring for a better ride and greater safety. All units are fully inspected prior to production. Then they are stripped and covered, in and out, to protect the body and interior.

Top quality laser guided cutting system

The factory's proprietary cutting unit. Each vehicle from six to 120 inches is within 1/16-inch tolerance for exact specifications. All body parts are locked in so there is no flex to change our exact cut specifications. And, of course, all specifications are equal to or above QVM and CMC standards.

The conversion process

The factory uses only OEM body mounts for all the extensions, adding eight to every stretch from 85 to 120 inches. They strengthen the chassis, smooth, and quite the ride. The factory's aluminized steel exhaust is mounted to improve clearance. Heavy-duty isolators limit vibration.

Floor assembly is reinforced and prepared for flat rear floor entrance area. This protects the carpet from high heel tears and supports the seating area. The factory uses OEM connectors to extend the electrical body harnesses, then loom them to protect from incision, humidity and temperature extremes. The proprietary cross-member frame design delivers unequaled crash performance. The OEM brackets, connectors, and double-wall, stainless steel chassis, fuel, and brake line extensions give backbone to the OEM extended 150,000-mile warranty. The factory assembles the drive shaft extension from OEM materials, then unit balance each other for a vibration free ride.

The factory's low-alloy, high-strength floor, rocker panel and header extensions are two-sided, hot-dipped, galvanized steel exceeding OEM standards. They resist damage even in the fiercest weather. Only factory pillars are used in all the extensions and are built to exact QVM standards.

All interior panels are then primer etched for rust protection prior to installation of the side panels. For passenger protection, The factory weld eight-gauge rectangular tubing to the front, center and rear OEM pillars in all 120-inch models and to the front and rear pillars in all other models. Then, The factory adds structural foam adhesive for rigidity.

Refinishing done at eye level

The factory proprietary cutting unit. Each vehicle from six to 120 inches is within 1/16-inch tolerance for exact specifications. All body parts are locked in The exterior seven-step, epoxy-urethane coating is unique to the factory in the limo industry.

It's resistant to acid rain damage and chipping, while retaining a gloss high enough to dazzle any eye.

Roof and Sidewalls

The factory roof bracing system bonds high-strength hot galvanized steel on 16-inch centers to the existing roof panel. The result is a vastly stronger roof for better client safety and operator piece of mind. Our side panel extensions are veritable works of art. They are bolted, not The welded, to the car, making them easy to replace in the event of collision. To reduce weight and eliminate rust the factory uses a combination of aerospace composites, high-strength marine alloy aluminum, stainless steel fasteners, and non-conductive sealants. For our roof and side wall insulation The factory use double-radiant-barrier aluminized Mylar, expanded closed-cell polyurethane foam.

Top Quality air conditioning and evaporating

The two air conditioning evaporators are built of 30-finned, aluminum/copper tubing to dissipate heat rapidly without rust. Each provides 19,200 BTUs of cooling capacity at face level. The heater core produces volumes of warm air, which The factory funnel to floor level, where it rises. Heat-blistered pavement is no match for Our factory's floor pan insulation. The energy-absorbing material of OEM-style wool felt drowns out sound, vibration, and temperature extremes.

This construction exceeds federal safety standards. The factory use the same materials plus a radiant barrier below our evaporators to enhance heating and cooling. The auxiliary air conditioning condenser and eleven-inch cooling fan improves heat exchange.

Divider assembly

For the divider assembly the factory uses only high-strength aluminum extrusion OEM lift mechanisms for trouble-free operation year after year. Service personnel will find work easier and faster with our electric system control panel from ICS or Mastercon. Low-voltage switching signals are reliable and safe-and carry a limited lifetime warranty. The panel itself is mounted on the passenger side of the divider.

Upholstery and seats

Nothing seems to age a limousine more than sagging or worn seats. The factory anticipates and counteracts this prolonged usage with tubular steel, eleven-gauge tension springs, Ricarro-style webbing, and multiple density foams.

Reserve starting battery

The MVPU1 battery is a sealed lead acid high-output workhorse. The auxiliary air conditioning condenser and eleven-inch cooling fan improves heat exchange. The OEM heavy-gauge vinyl top won't fade or peel for years. Our auxiliary air conditioning condenser improves heat exchange.

Final Inspection

This completes the build process for a superior limousine.

Your new Limousine!