Tennessee Excursion - Part III - Another Night at Camp and Rappelling at Bee Rock

Following our trip through Blue Spring Cave, we all re-grouped back at Paul and Sheila's. There we were joined by several other former students and cavers from TTU. Frank and his wife Valerie graciously provided food for all of us, and after a full day of caving, I was certainly ready to enjoy my share along with Angela and Randy!

Of course, the evening would not be complete without a slide presentation! Frank provided the "warm up" with lots of old photos from years gone by, and then Ric shared slides from his cave explorations around the world.

I was particularly impressed with the giant, as in, Superman's Hideaway style, crystals from Ric's visit to the Cueva de los Cristales in the Naica Mine in Mexico. However, unlike Superman's frozen abode, these crystals reside in an environment of 112 degree temps. As Ric pointed out, that's a lot lower than the temps used to be, so at least now people don't have to wear total body protective suits if they want to actually walk among the crystals. (Photo courtesy of Ric Finch)

Although I would have loved to spend yet another night around the campfire - my lack of sleep the night before, a long day of caving, and a belly full of food left me feeling quite tired. So as much as I hated leaving the fun and fellowship, I decided to turn in "early". Even with the temps not quite a low, I made sure to take full advantage this time of the sleeping bag Randy had loaned to me, as well as all of my other sleeping gear and, as a consequence, I stayed much warmer, and slept much more soundly.

Which was a good thing, as Sunday morning, the day broke early and bright, and it was time once again to pack-up camp! I got all of my things out of the tent, and Randy took over from there. I thought about trying to help more, but it was clear he had everything under control!

From Paul and Sheila's we traveled to Bee Rock, THE Place where many TTU cavers had the opportunity to rappel for the first time. That would also be the case today for the next generation: Tom's son Dylan and Frank and Valerie's son Joe.

As noted in my blog about our trip through Blue Spring Cave, I was once again impressed with the pervasive Community Spirit of all who came out that day. Tom provided the most direct guidance on the ropes, while the rest of us also added our two cents - sometimes to the consternation of both Dylan and Joe as they were having to sort through all of the directions while also overcoming the inevitable anxiety of their First Descent.




I'd like to be able to add here: "And then it was my turn"... but, I decided to refrain. I had my "day in the sun" - or rather, if I remember correctly, my "afternoon in the dark" rappelling into a pit somewhere, years before, and that was enough for me! For this day, I was content with a nice image of me standing close to the edge. And, once again, I have Frank to thank for that (along with the other pictures here : )).

Tennessee Excursion - Part I - Kayaking and Camping

First of all, I have to offer a special "Thanks!" to my friend and former housemate during my early college years at Tennessee Tech, Randy Paylor. From hosting me in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to sharing the ride with me to and from Tennessee, kayaking, camping, and caving together, Randy has been wonderfully supportive, covering all of our expenses, as well as just being a great friend. After not seeing each other for 20+ years, it is like we are getting to know each other all over again and I am glad that I have matured to the point of having the wisdom to fully appreciate our friendship, and the friendship of so many others that I knew back in Tennessee.

I also have to say "Thanks!" to Frank, another special friend of mine, and the force that brought all of us together this weekend. Although I was not active in the caving community for long, I did get to go on several caving trips with Frank, and often with Randy as well, and I am grateful for all of those experiences, in part because it connected me with so many other really wonderful people.

Randy and I drove from Baton Rouge, LA on Wednesday arriving at his parents' house in Historic Rugby, TN on Wednesday evening where we stayed for the night. Thursday morning we traveled to Cleveland, TN where we met Tom and his son Dylan; Frank, his wife Valerie, daughter Taylor, and son Joe; and Jim. After lunch at Applebees, it was quite amusing to see Randy, Tom, Jim, and Frank all gathered together in the parking lot, Smart-Phones in hand, comparing maps and deciding just what route would be best to take to the Hiwassee River for our afternoon of kayaking.

My hope for the day was that the cold water would help the swelling in my legs and so I was inclined to ride on the seat of my inflated "funiak", with my feet dangling over the sides whenever possible. Unfortunately, as I was trying to navigate through one rather tricky set of chutes, my boat went up on a rock, tipped backwards, and off I went into the water!

Luckily...I did not lose my head and, therefore, I did not lose the paddle, I did not lose my turtle ball cap, and I did not lose my sun glasses! Dylan and Jim came to support me (well, actually, Jim was having fun taking pictures of me "in distress"), while Randy rounded up my boat, and after reaching a shallow shoal of the river, I was able to get back in and continue on, this time a little more attentive to being completely seated IN the boat when approaching other tricky sections of the river! I got to soak my legs...and the rest of my body in the cold water and, since that was what I was hoping for, I felt my little "incident" was "Exactly what the doctor ordered!" : )

After kayaking, Jim, Frank and Joe, and Randy and I made our way to the Luminary Fire Tower, on Worthington Knob, thinking we might camp there for the night. Unfortunately, we found the gate locked so we decided to at least walk up the trail to watch the Sun go down. Randy was quick to head right on up the tower, I followed behind him but started feeling a little scared as I approached the top, so I let Jim and Frank go on by me. Joe decided to stay below. As Frank explained, the area had been cleared of many of the trees in the 20 years since we had ventured there before, recalling one particular time when his truck got stuck after a night in the rain. Although Frank did not concur, I remember a lot of Boone's Farm wine being involved on that particular occasion! : )

Having been prevented from taking our vehicles and camping gear to the top of the hill, and because there was stormy weather threatening, we drove back down the hill to another campsite and set-up for the night. Randy got the fire going and we managed to cook up some (healthy, organic) hot dogs and had Nutella smores for desert. We found enough wood to keep the fire going through the night, even into the morning when...sure enough, it finally ended up raining on us! Oh, well, so much for packing dry tents!

From Worthington Knob we headed back to Monterey and the property of Paul and Sheila who were our generous hosts for the rest of the weekend. We set-up camp again and then, with some "down time" on our hands, found nothing better to do than to tie a rope up in a tall tree and let the younger folks get some practice climbing, changing over, and rappelling. Tom helped to secure the rope and Jim gave the instructions to Dylan and Joe.

As the rope training came to an end, more people began to gather - Jeff and Kathy, our hostess Sheila, and Joe L. among them. Everyone had a great time catching-up both in the field and around the camp fire. After that, we were all up for a good, though somewhat chilly, night's sleep as the next day would bring many more of the TTU Cavers together to do what cavers do best... : )



**Thanks to Frank and Randy for help with these photos.

Highlights: Florida Peace Conference and First Leg of My Journey

March 3, 2012 I was able to attend the Fourth Annual Heart of Florida Peace Conference held in Winter Haven, FL (Heart of Florida Peace Conference). My friend Alisa and I camped out at the nearby Orlando S.W./Ft. Summit KOA before heading on down to the event.

This is a picture of our campsite after we'd taken down our tents. It did not rain, but the dew was so heavy it might as well have rained. You can see the contrasting dry patches where our tents were.

Quick review of the site: Eh...cheaper than a hotel, but mostly populated by RV's, and there were really bright street lights everywhere which made it much harder for me (as I have a lot of trouble sleeping with lights on). No trees to speak of so I was glad I brought my free-standing Eureka tent as a back-up to my home-made one (although I do intend to test my home-made tent with free standing support at some point before I leave. : )). Alisa was kind enough to park her car to block one of the worst of the lights, which helped, but it was not nearly the pleasant experience I had at Astor Landing a few weeks ago (Astor Landing Campground Review).

The bath house was fine - clean with multiple showers, etc. Funny thing...I managed to lose one of my (very special) wolf earrings down the sink, so I had to do a little plumbing to open up the trap to get to it. Luckily, I was successful in that, hardly skipping a beat with my "morning routine", but it made for an interesting conversation with another woman who was there at the same time. She suggested I start hiring myself out as a plumber, just for that purpose alone! : )


Even with the earring incident, Alisa and I managed to get ourselves to the event site in plenty of time. As the heavy dew had indicated, it was still quite humid, but the temps were nice. On our way to the conference center, we passed this Sandhill Crane quietly enjoying its "morning routine" as well.



Of course, the highlight of this trip was getting a chance to meet and listen to the featured speaker, Paul K. Chappell (Paul K. Chappell), Peace Leadership Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). Although there was a relatively small group gathered of about 20 or so people, they came from very diverse backgrounds, and posed many challenging questions.

Where Paul's talk focused on confronting long-held beliefs about the nature of "national security" and the fundamental nature of human beings (being non-violent as opposed to violent), he also had to field questions and comments regarding the current economic system and the best way for activists to present themselves in public so as not to detract from their mission and message. True to the videos I had already seen of him, Paul was the model of patience and respect for his audience and I think everyone walked away with a renewed sense of hope for the future of humanity as well as the motivation to get more involved in whatever way they could.

As for me... I came to the conference with my own particular peace mission already determined. And the next day, March 4th, in spite of the 20+ mph head-winds, I set off on my bicycle from Jacksonville Beach, FL.

Here are a couple of videos highlighting the beginning and the end of my first leg. I start out christening my wheels at Jacksonville Beach and end up in Orange Park, FL approximately 35 miles and six hours later!

Christening in the Atlantic Ocean, Safe and Sound in Orange Park

In addition to the 20+ mph headwinds, I was carrying approximately 85-90 lbs of gear. Because I have not been able to get my two-wheeled trailer yet, and for safety reasons, I did not use the top rack this time which might end up adding another 10-15 lbs for the rest of my journey. Furthermore, although there were no major natural hills, there were several man-made ones to surmount in the form of bridges and overpasses.

For instance, the first bridge was around the 2 mile mark from the beach and it took a lot of determination to get over that one. I felt like it was my first "test" to see just how committed I am to my mission. As I was pushing hard at the very top of the hill I started breathing the words "I - Want - Peace", and that is what kept me going.

Overall though, it was a relatively easy trip. By choosing a mountain bike instead of a road bike for this journey, I have more capacity to "gear down" then I would with a road bike. In addition, I've added a "super low" gear with a new cassette on the back wheel, which made riding my bicycle, into the wind, up a hill, and under a heavy load possible.*

So, I am glad to report that after those 6 hours in the saddle, and with very little pre-training, I am none the worse for it, and I expect the next part of my journey will continue on that foundation - as I will be "training myself into this" as I go.



Thanks again to my friend Alisa for helping, not only with the videos, but with transportation and payment for the campsite (and a celebratory "Stella" beer at the end of my ride). I feel really lucky to have her and other friends who have been and continue to be so generous with their support.



If you would like to join their ranks, please take advantage of the "Donate" button in the top right menu, and thanks again to everyone who has already contributed thus far. : )

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*Note: For those of you who may not be cyclists, and especially for anyone thinking about becoming one or even attempting a trip like this, I think it is important to mention that gearing that allows for easy, steady, revolutions per minute (rpm), or "spin rate" is crucial, especially for a very long ride like the one I am planning. Easy spinning minimizes the stress on the body and gives it more of an opportunity to adapt over time. It is similar to the difference between lifting a light weight many times and lifting a heavy weight only a few times, or running a marathon instead of a sprint. Yes, the ride took me 6 hours (Yeah! Turtle Power! : )), but as far as I'm concerned, that's a day's work. Furthermore, with a couple of (generic) "Aleve" prior to and a couple after my trip, along with my regular yoga exercising the day of and the day after, I actually experienced relatively little pain - even though I have not really been on my bicycle that much in the last several months.

Astor Landing Campground Review - Tent Test I

So, just to be clear, this image is NOT of Astor Landing Campground in Astor, FL. I wish it were, but both my camera batteries were dead when I set out on my little adventure this past weekend (January 27-29) so I was not able to take pictures there. However, I have attempted to recreate some of my experience by setting up my tent AGAIN in the backyard of the house where I am currently staying in Orange Park, FL. (For more info on the "real" Astor Landing Campground go to: http://astorlanding.com/campground.htm)

My reason for being at Astor Landing was to sleep in between officiating bike races in De Land and De Leon Springs, FL. Astor Landing was just a few miles north of the second race venue so I thought I'd give it a try. Besides, given all the work I have put into my "travel tent", I thought it was high time I gave it a test run.

I pulled into the campground around 5:30 pm. The office was closed, but a very nice gentleman in a mobile home was there to stand in for his son-in-law who was the owner of the property. I think showing up in my light-blue, '73 VW Bug put everyone at ease, as the one's who saw me smiled and some waved. I finally managed to track down the $28.00 cash for a non-electric tent sight "...in the trees over behind Jeff" and handed that over to my host.

Turns out, Astor Landing is a very quiet, off the beaten path hang-out for quite a few people, I'm assuming mostly retired, or "snow birds" who stay in Florida during the milder winter months. As I was later told by another volunteer at the bike race, people usually don't try to camp too much in Florida during the summer months because it just gets too hot.

However, such was not the case this particular Saturday night. No, I checked and the weatherman said the low was around 48, unless you count the actual low on Sunday morning which was around 41. Knowing that it was likely to get cold, I prepared my tent as follows...(Update 2013 - these photos were accidentally deleted via my G+ account and I have not had time to replace them. Sorry. :(  )








Floor liner (no clothes in the bags this night)

















Yoga Mat


















I especially like these foam pads because they compress but they never "bottom out".













Thermarest Pad

















Wool Blanket/Outer Sleeping Bag




















Inner Light-Weight Sleeping Bag (This one I picked up back in 1996 to take with me to Kauai.)


















And my silk/cotton sleeping bag liner.







After getting the tent and sleeping gear situated, I took advantage of the campground's shower facility. It was clean, not spotless mind you, but definitely suitable for a campsite. The hot water was nice and hot and I didn't have to wait for it to get that way! : )





I completed my "evening routine" with no interruptions (after all, I was probably the only one there who was NOT in a mobile home of some kind), headed back to my tent, enjoyed a little reading and writing by the light of my headlamp, which, by the way, fit conveniently over the main support cord that ran inside the top of the tent. I even discovered I could slide it up and down the length of the tent as necessary.




Once I was tucked into the liner, inside my sleeping bag, I was then able to zip the outer wool blanket bag all around me, up over my head and everything. Because it has multiple zipper pulls going in opposite directions I was able to zip it almost completely closed except for a small space to breathe through.






And So I Slept! I figure I crashed around 10:00 pm or so (there was one small group of people having a bit of raucous fun on the other side of the catch-and-release pond, but it was Saturday night, so I understood). I tell you though, as soon as it got quiet, I was out, "snug as a bug in a rug"! And even though I woke up spontaneously at 4:30, I went right back to sleep preferring my "snugness" to the chilly air outside my "rug".

But, at 6:15 it was time to get up and get ready to head back down the road to the next race venue, a road race around the Spring Garden Ranch Horse Farm, winter training grounds for many of the world's top standardbred harness racers.
(http://springgardenranch.com/) Being there actually made me a little "homesick", seeing how I was born in Kentucky! : ) The ranch includes a restaurant on a hill by the race track, complete with dancing Sand Hill Cranes to keep the owners, tourists, and horses company. If I'm ever in that area again, I hope I can actually get to watch the horses - with my camera! : ))

All-in-all, it was a nice weekend. I was very pleased with the way my tent worked, although, it hasn't been rained on yet, so that will have to wait for another camping trip. (Or maybe I'll wait until it gets rained on here in Orange Park before I take it down?) And, even though 48 is pretty cold, I'd like to see if I would stay warm at even lower temperatures with just the gear I used this time.

Also, for a "lesson learned": I plan on laying my clothes out for the next day between the sleeping bag and the wool blanket. Not only will they add more insulation, but they will actually be WARM for me to put on in the morning! : ))

Furthermore, should I ever have to be in the woods for a longer period of time, especially in colder weather, I think I could combine this tent with a debris shelter, which would add much more insulation to the wind and water repelling capabilities of the tent fabric.

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Please Note: If you have found this blog to be of "value"; i.e. entertaining, informative, educational, etc. please consider making a donation via the "Donate" button in the upper right-hand menu. I have recently upgraded the button from PayPal so it should be working now. If you have any interest in purchasing a tent like the one shown here, feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do for you. Also, if you happen to be looking for a nice place to camp in Florida, I would definitely recommend Astor Landing. Feel free to tell them, "That girl in the light-blue Bug sent you." And don't forget the restaurant at Spring Garden Ranch. They were very generous with bagged lunches and providing parking for our bike race.