nursing baby elephant in Ngorogoro Crater
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elephants in multiple sizes!
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OK Junior, here's how to flap those wings if you really want to fly
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Jean's first wild giraffe in Nairobi National Park
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Rhinos standing about 30 feet from the jeep in Nairobi National Park
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Baby giaraffe standing in the road. You can see that this national park abuts the suburbs of Nairobi
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Our first night in Tanzania is spent at the African Tulip Hotel in Arusha, owned by Roy Safaris
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Roy Safari staff in the lounge at the Tulip. From left to right, Brian the sales guy, Salvatory, our driver & guide, and the operations director. whose name I've forgotten
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Arusha shoppers
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Arusha. Everyone in Tanzania carries plastic water containers.
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Homemade wooden wheelbarrows using old car tires or bike tires are a common sight.
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Fresh Chicken, anyone? Arusha TZ
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Ladies selecting veggies. Arusha TZ
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This newly constructed visitor center was donated by a Japanese company. It is not yet in use. Arusha TZ
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Typical storefronts. Pepsi and Coke advertising can be seen in many small towns. TZ
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The local Home Depot. TZ
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Our driver called this an African Christmas Tree. It flowers just before the holiday season. Many of the folks here were converted to Christianity by missionaries and Xmas is celebrated.
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Yes, those are camels. They were imported by local entreprenuers. TZ
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A baobab tree! They were just getting white blossoms because the short rains had started. Nov 09 TZ
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A Masai values his cows above all else. Cows have the right of way.
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Tourist shops like this line the few paved roads. TZ people like really bright colors.
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This is a modern house, built of block in a rectangular shape with a metal roof.
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A Small town market
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Bikes are used to transport huge loads.
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The area around Lake Manyara is a banana growing region.
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Baboon on a baobab tree at the entrance gate of Lake Manyara NP. TZ
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These red clothes are worn by the Masai, who favor red above all colors.
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Banana lady next to the road.
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Topo map of the NP
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Jean in a garden at Lake Manyara NP
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Termites like to build their mounds around a yummy tree.
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At Lake Manyare, sitting next to the road
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Roger's first elephant. standing in a creek below the road.
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A Broad-billed Roller, a rare bird that our driver, Tory, rarely sees. Lake Manyara
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The hippo pool at Lake Manyara
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A Masai giraffe bull.
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A male blue monkey
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Maternal bliss at Lake Manyara
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At our lunch stop, Lake Manyara Lodge, we see our first turtle, who was not happy to see us.
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An ogama lizard. They are common and quite fearless
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The view from the pool at Lake Manyara Lodge.
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Traditional round houses with grass roof.
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Blooming wildflowers at Lake Manyara NP
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Our tent cabin at Kirumu tented camp outside of Lake Manyara NP. It has a flush toilet and a shower.
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The open air dining room at Kirumu camp
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Flowers of the Christmas Tree.
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People walk immense distances here. They are glad to have a ride of any kind
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Our first view of Ngorongoro crater. Jean with driver Tory.
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The interior of an large collapsed volcano which has formed a little ecosystem.
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A Bee-Eater Bird
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These lavendar-colored tall flowers grow by the thousands in Ngorongoro.
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Elephants on the crater rim.
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A masai boma. Note the cattle corral made of thorny bushes
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This is Oldupai valley in the Great Rift where the Leakeys discovered remains of very early humans.
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We arrive at the Serengeti
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Zebras
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The park fees are very high, but this is a big source of income for this very poor country
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Serengeti is the Masai word for endless plains.
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In the Serengeti plain, little islands of rock create protective habitates for many animals.
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Lions like to sit on the top and look for herds.
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Hyena crosses the road
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A pair of Honey Badgers living in an old Termite mound.
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The lounge at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge
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We were incredibly lucky that the migration of Wildebeasts was in full swing when we arrived in the Serengeti. 1.23 million animals going for a long walk.
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No time to pose for a picture, we're migrating.
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We see a pair of very large owls.
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The second owl
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A cheetah laying in tall grass.
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The giraffes stretch up and eat the leaves that they can reach, giving a flat bottom to the tree's canopy
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Hippos use unexpectedly small streams.
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Acacia tree.
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Hippo nap time
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A breath-taking moment. 3 lionesses and 4 cubs do not rise from their naps as they lay 15 feet from the road.
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Washing a dirty paw
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These guys sleep about 20 hours per day
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The dominant female is wearing a tracking collar as part of a local study of lion habits.
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Tory guesses that the cubs are 8 weeks old.
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The dominant lioness flops over so that a cub can nurse
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The second mother nursing a cub. The third lioness does not have cubs.
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Dominant female nursing two cubs. As we watch, the cubs wander back and forth, nursing on both lactating lionesses.
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We love milk!
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More nursing.
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Cub #3 can't find room and after sulking a minute, goes to the other lioness for milk.
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Big Mom with a collar.
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Cub #3 nuzzles Mom affectionately.
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Madonna and cubs
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Sneaking under for a drink.
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Lioness #2 providing sit-down dining.
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Can we play with your tail, Mom?
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Got Milk?
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Giraffes look good on both ends
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A calelabra tree at Oldipai.
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Gorgeous bird. There are about 500 diffecent birds in Serengeti. Many are brightly colored.
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Crowned cranes.
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Dramatic landscape
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Hyrax in a coptjke
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Great birds
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Wildebeast marching in straight lines.
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Thompson's gazelles, favorite rood of cheetahs.
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Vultures eating the remains of a wildebeast killed by a lioness earlier in the morning.
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Our window on Tanzania for a week. We could also ride standing up and watch out of the sunshade pop-top
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Elephant family.
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An eagle
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Baby elephant demonstrating her best trunk-work.
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The matriach knocked over this tree as we watched. Her family crowded around to eat the fresh leaves.
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Zebra and Wildebeast crossing a river
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That striped thing on the beach is a crocodile, who is laying about 40 feet from where the migration is crossing the river.
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The Croc watches
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Kingfisher bird
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Bustard
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Even really big cats love to climb trees. Lion.
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Lion enjoying her high perch in the trees while others lay in the shade.
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It is really cool up here.
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Although we are often alone, a zillion jeeps come to see the lions in the tree
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Hey, there are two lions in the tree!
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Leopard in a tree
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See the tiny fish in his beak?
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Another hippo pool. These pools always had a huge variety of birds as well.
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Egrets and Herons hanging out at the hippo pool
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Elephant skull
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Superb starling
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Lobby of Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
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Typical trees
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That dark line is a wildebeast parade in the Crater
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Yipes, Stripes.
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You can stand in the jeep with the sunshade up and have a terrific view.
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We have good luck on the Crater floor.
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Yes, it is Puumba.
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Another great hippo hole. They had very babies. The adults were rolling over and waving their feet in the air.
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This heron was pestering a hippo that was getting too close to the grass clump that contained her next.
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Hundreds of pink flamingos in the crater.
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Pink flamingos!
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Many Puumbas
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Proud male ostrich.
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Rhino in N. Crater
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Crown crane displaying his wing markings.
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Egyptian geese.
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Lilac Roller. N Crater.
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Lilac Roller
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Elderly bull with huge tusks
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Quinine tree
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It is a serval!
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Crowned cranes on the wing.
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Hunting serval. N Crater
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Are you looking at me?
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A year-round spring in N Crater. One of the reasons that this area does well in a drought.
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Do you like my horns?
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Cape Buffalo.
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Dining room at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
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Crater view from Sopa Lodge. This was perched on the drater rim, a 20 Km drive on a narrow muddy road.
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Ngorongoro Sopa lodge.
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An enormous white slug, shaped just like a Calif. banana slug. All our guide could tell us was "Nobody eats them"
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To reach the lodge, one drives up through beautiful tropical forest on the slopes of the volcano.
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Sunset over Ngorogoro Crater from Sopa Lodge
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Sunset over Ngorogoro Crater from Sopa Lodge
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Olmoti Crater Waterfall
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Olmoti Crater Masai Village
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Masai Cows
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Masai cattle on the move.
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Sopa Hotel
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We see many tributes to President Obama on signs, in art, on T-shirts. etc.
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A tin-smith's shop
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Typical housing
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Gibb's farm
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Gibb's farm
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Gibb's farm
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Our bedroom at Gibb's farm
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The Living Room of our cottage at Gibb's Farm
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It rained frequently, much to the delight of all living things. This area has been in a drought for 8 years.
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This is the local technique for creating a bee hive. Honey was used in the kitchen at Gibb's
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A really huge red grasshopper
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The restroom has a great view at Gibb's farm.
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Bougenvilla
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Coffee beans
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Veggies at Gibb's Farm.. They grow the food for the dining room
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Coffee fields at Gibb's
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A library building project in the town near Gibb's Farm
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