Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter On Jul 1, 2012, at 11:08 PM, George Veni wrote: I've just flown back to El Paso from DC and am driving home to Carlsbad. I was luckier than most, having camped in my rental car which survived undamaged, dry, and with a full tank of gas that let me enjoy Saturday's hydrology field trip and reach DC without any problem. There I stayed with my old friend Larry Cohen whose neighborhood was an island of electrical power. While we're incredibly lucky no caver was hurt in the storm (to the best of my knowledge), the timing was terrible for the many people who have given so much to caving and missed their moment of recognition. Dwight accidentally proves my point in mentioning Art Palmer's award. Art didn't get an award. He was yelling into the dark banquet hall, describing the accomplishments of the NSS' newest Honorary Member Dr. Pavel Bosak of the Czech Republic. Look in the NSS News in a couple of months to see all of the award recipients' names, and make sure to give them the pat on the back they missed but greatly deserve. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org Sent by mobile phone. Original message Subject: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience From: dirt...@comcast.net To: Cave NM s...@caver.net,Cave Texas Texascavers@texascavers.com,TAG Net tag-...@hiddenworld.net CC: Sunday Evening We are still in the Great Eastern Power Outage. For those NOT at the convention in Lewisburg, The power from Ohio through West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and parts of New Jersey and North Carolina, and, in Lewisburg, went out just as the awards ceremonies at the NSS Banquet started. The weather was hot but otherwise wonderful all week, but the NSS convention weather fortune continued on Friday night! The power went out and killed the projectors and sound after most had finished eating, and speakers bravely shoutedawards the names of the new Fellows. Then, when Art Palmer rose to accept his well-deserved award, the Great Gust arrived, clearing the campground (literally) and blowing some tents over 1/4 mile - we later saw one flattened tent pinned against the fence around the Fair Grounds on the East side of the one-way road to the south (just south of the limbs of a huge fallen tree which blocked the highway). After the wind threatened the integrity of the doors to the banquet hall, the ceremonies deteriorated further. All roads from the normal exit from our part of the Fair Grounds were blocked by numerous fallen trees. By some devious route-finding (and an unexpectedly unlocked gate), we found our way across the Fair Grounds and out to the one-way road on the other side, heading north. A bit more devious route finding across much lesser streets got us successfully to our hotel for a powerless night. Hotel operators wringing their hands were amazed by our cheery room, illuminated by several 200-lumen headlamps (operating on low and partial power). (Where did you get that??!!, they asked.) (We are cavers, the reply.) The next day was also beautiful (Saturday) but the extent of the outage in West Virginia became apparent - it was NOT just Lewisburg. Refrigeration was out everywhere, as was all power for any services, including pumping gas. It had been our plan to re-visit haunts from 56 years ago around Cass, Senica Rocks, Germany Valley, and Franklin. We had a full tank so headed north. All services were out. We found one or two rural gas stations where the owner had a generator, and the lines were 50 plus cars from each direction and rapidly selling out of whatever gas they had in their tanks. The batteries in the cell towers ran out and so did that service. Without power, of course there was no internet. We found lunch in Elkins by going to the hospital cafeteria. (Bright idea, Mary!) Our thought was that we would not have any problems once we got east into Virginia. Bad thought. Most of Harrisonburg and Staunton were either without power or running on half-power(120 V, not 240v). What few hotels that had power were swamped with
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
All: The loss of power at the awards presentation was unfortunate. No microphone meant no one could hear the presentations. As for light, cavers always have lights. A write up will appear in the convention issue of the NSS NEWS with all the winners. The best we can do. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt by the downed trees. We were fortunate that cavers were at the banquet. I saw cars and tents under the branches. One car has a 2+ft diameter tree trunk on top of it, and tents flattened . Bill Tozer In a message dated 7/2/2012 4:33:57 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, pjca...@gwi.net writes: I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter ___ SWR mailing list s...@just119.justhost.com http://just119.justhost.com/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter On Jul 1, 2012, at 11:08 PM, George Veni wrote: I've just flown back to El Paso from DC and am driving home to Carlsbad. I was luckier than most, having camped in my rental car which survived undamaged, dry, and with a full tank of gas that let me enjoy Saturday's hydrology field trip and reach DC without any problem. There I stayed with my old friend Larry Cohen whose neighborhood was an island of electrical power. While we're incredibly lucky no caver was hurt in the storm (to the best of my knowledge), the timing was terrible for the many people who have given so much to caving and missed their moment of recognition. Dwight accidentally proves my point in mentioning Art Palmer's award. Art didn't get an award. He was yelling into the dark banquet hall, describing the accomplishments of the NSS' newest Honorary Member Dr. Pavel Bosak of the Czech Republic. Look in the NSS News in a couple of months to see all of the award recipients' names, and make sure to give them the pat on the back they missed but greatly deserve. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org Sent by mobile phone. Original message Subject: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience From: dirt...@comcast.net To: Cave NM s...@caver.net,Cave Texas Texascavers@texascavers.com,TAG Net tag-...@hiddenworld.net CC: Sunday Evening We are still in the Great Eastern Power Outage. For those NOT at the convention in Lewisburg, The power from Ohio through West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and parts of New Jersey and North Carolina, and, in Lewisburg, went out just as the awards ceremonies at the NSS Banquet started. The weather was hot but otherwise wonderful all week, but the NSS convention weather fortune continued on Friday night! The power went out and killed the projectors and sound after most had finished eating, and speakers bravely shoutedawards the names of the new Fellows. Then, when Art Palmer rose to accept his well-deserved award, the Great Gust arrived, clearing the campground (literally) and blowing some tents over 1/4 mile - we later saw one flattened tent pinned against the fence around the Fair Grounds on the East side of the one-way road to the south (just south of the limbs of a huge fallen tree which blocked the highway). After the wind threatened the integrity of the doors to the banquet hall, the ceremonies deteriorated further. All roads from the normal exit from our part of the Fair Grounds were blocked by numerous fallen trees. By some devious route-finding (and an unexpectedly unlocked gate), we found our way across the Fair Grounds and out to the one-way road on the other side, heading north. A bit more devious route finding across much lesser streets got us successfully to our hotel for a powerless night. Hotel operators wringing their hands were amazed by our cheery room, illuminated by several 200-lumen headlamps (operating on low and partial power). (Where did you get that??!!, they asked.) (We are cavers, the reply.) The next day was also beautiful (Saturday) but the extent of the outage in West Virginia became apparent - it was NOT just Lewisburg. Refrigeration was out everywhere, as was all power for any services, including pumping gas. It had been our plan to re-visit haunts from 56 years ago around Cass, Senica Rocks, Germany Valley, and Franklin. We had a full tank so headed north. All services were out. We found one or two rural gas stations where the owner had a generator, and the lines were 50 plus cars from each direction and rapidly selling out of whatever gas they had in their tanks. The batteries in the cell towers ran out and so did that service. Without power, of course there was no internet. We found lunch in Elkins by going to the hospital cafeteria. (Bright idea, Mary!) Our thought was that we would not have any problems once we got east into Virginia. Bad thought. Most of Harrisonburg and Staunton were either without power or running on half-power(120 V, not 240v). What few hotels that had power were swamped with
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
Yes, Logan, it was quite chaotic. I don't think any cavers were hurt but there must have been a fair amount of camping equipment damaged. We ended up being both resourceful and a little lucky, and enjoyed two excellent days touring the cave country of Virginia and West Virginia, showing Mary some of the places of one of my miss-spent youths. One of the bigger problems driving around in the powerless areas was that few had credit card capabilities, so if you did not have real cash you were out of luck. I saw that one gas station with a generator was limiting gas to $25 per customer, but it was cash only. I seemed that quite a number did not have the $25 that they could spare. DirtDoc - Original Message - From: Logan McNatt lmcn...@austin.rr.com To: dirt...@comcast.net Sent: Sunday, July 1, 2012 9:15:09 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience Thanks for the update, Dwight. We've been getting spotty reports and photos through Facebook and from cavers who left early and missed the storm. Just talked to Geoff Hoese. Fortunately, he and Aimee Beveridge left on Thurs in his private plane . ___ SWR mailing list s...@just119.justhost.com http://just119.justhost.com/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
All: The loss of power at the awards presentation was unfortunate. No microphone meant no one could hear the presentations. As for light, cavers always have lights. A write up will appear in the convention issue of the NSS NEWS with all the winners. The best we can do. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt by the downed trees. We were fortunate that cavers were at the banquet. I saw cars and tents under the branches. One car has a 2+ft diameter tree trunk on top of it, and tents flattened . Bill Tozer In a message dated 7/2/2012 4:33:57 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, pjca...@gwi.net writes: I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter ___ SWR mailing list s...@just119.justhost.com http://just119.justhost.com/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter On Jul 1, 2012, at 11:08 PM, George Veni wrote: I've just flown back to El Paso from DC and am driving home to Carlsbad. I was luckier than most, having camped in my rental car which survived undamaged, dry, and with a full tank of gas that let me enjoy Saturday's hydrology field trip and reach DC without any problem. There I stayed with my old friend Larry Cohen whose neighborhood was an island of electrical power. While we're incredibly lucky no caver was hurt in the storm (to the best of my knowledge), the timing was terrible for the many people who have given so much to caving and missed their moment of recognition. Dwight accidentally proves my point in mentioning Art Palmer's award. Art didn't get an award. He was yelling into the dark banquet hall, describing the accomplishments of the NSS' newest Honorary Member Dr. Pavel Bosak of the Czech Republic. Look in the NSS News in a couple of months to see all of the award recipients' names, and make sure to give them the pat on the back they missed but greatly deserve. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org Sent by mobile phone. Original message Subject: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience From: dirt...@comcast.net To: Cave NM s...@caver.net,Cave Texas Texascavers@texascavers.com,TAG Net tag-...@hiddenworld.net CC: Sunday Evening We are still in the Great Eastern Power Outage. For those NOT at the convention in Lewisburg, The power from Ohio through West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and parts of New Jersey and North Carolina, and, in Lewisburg, went out just as the awards ceremonies at the NSS Banquet started. The weather was hot but otherwise wonderful all week, but the NSS convention weather fortune continued on Friday night! The power went out and killed the projectors and sound after most had finished eating, and speakers bravely shoutedawards the names of the new Fellows. Then, when Art Palmer rose to accept his well-deserved award, the Great Gust arrived, clearing the campground (literally) and blowing some tents over 1/4 mile - we later saw one flattened tent pinned against the fence around the Fair Grounds on the East side of the one-way road to the south (just south of the limbs of a huge fallen tree which blocked the highway). After the wind threatened the integrity of the doors to the banquet hall, the ceremonies deteriorated further. All roads from the normal exit from our part of the Fair Grounds were blocked by numerous fallen trees. By some devious route-finding (and an unexpectedly unlocked gate), we found our way across the Fair Grounds and out to the one-way road on the other side, heading north. A bit more devious route finding across much lesser streets got us successfully to our hotel for a powerless night. Hotel operators wringing their hands were amazed by our cheery room, illuminated by several 200-lumen headlamps (operating on low and partial power). (Where did you get that??!!, they asked.) (We are cavers, the reply.) The next day was also beautiful (Saturday) but the extent of the outage in West Virginia became apparent - it was NOT just Lewisburg. Refrigeration was out everywhere, as was all power for any services, including pumping gas. It had been our plan to re-visit haunts from 56 years ago around Cass, Senica Rocks, Germany Valley, and Franklin. We had a full tank so headed north. All services were out. We found one or two rural gas stations where the owner had a generator, and the lines were 50 plus cars from each direction and rapidly selling out of whatever gas they had in their tanks. The batteries in the cell towers ran out and so did that service. Without power, of course there was no internet. We found lunch in Elkins by going to the hospital cafeteria. (Bright idea, Mary!) Our thought was that we would not have any problems once we got east into Virginia. Bad thought. Most of Harrisonburg and Staunton were either without power or running on half-power(120 V, not 240v). What few hotels that had power were swamped with
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
Yes, Logan, it was quite chaotic. I don't think any cavers were hurt but there must have been a fair amount of camping equipment damaged. We ended up being both resourceful and a little lucky, and enjoyed two excellent days touring the cave country of Virginia and West Virginia, showing Mary some of the places of one of my miss-spent youths. One of the bigger problems driving around in the powerless areas was that few had credit card capabilities, so if you did not have real cash you were out of luck. I saw that one gas station with a generator was limiting gas to $25 per customer, but it was cash only. I seemed that quite a number did not have the $25 that they could spare. DirtDoc - Original Message - From: Logan McNatt lmcn...@austin.rr.com To: dirt...@comcast.net Sent: Sunday, July 1, 2012 9:15:09 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience Thanks for the update, Dwight. We've been getting spotty reports and photos through Facebook and from cavers who left early and missed the storm. Just talked to Geoff Hoese. Fortunately, he and Aimee Beveridge left on Thurs in his private plane . ___ SWR mailing list s...@just119.justhost.com http://just119.justhost.com/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
All: The loss of power at the awards presentation was unfortunate. No microphone meant no one could hear the presentations. As for light, cavers always have lights. A write up will appear in the convention issue of the NSS NEWS with all the winners. The best we can do. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt by the downed trees. We were fortunate that cavers were at the banquet. I saw cars and tents under the branches. One car has a 2+ft diameter tree trunk on top of it, and tents flattened . Bill Tozer In a message dated 7/2/2012 4:33:57 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, pjca...@gwi.net writes: I just want to add to George's statement that John Woods from California won the Arts and Letters Award this year for his work in photography and vertical training. Like many others, no one could hear the presentation. John most certainly deserved his moment, just as all the other recipients did. Sad for everyone who didn't get their acknowledgment. By the time most of them did, half the NSS was outside trying to hold onto their belongings and rescue other peoples' possessions. Once again, a typical NSS Convention with all the usual suspects…. Peter ___ SWR mailing list s...@just119.justhost.com http://just119.justhost.com/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
I've just flown back to El Paso from DC and am driving home to Carlsbad. I was luckier than most, having camped in my rental car which survived undamaged, dry, and with a full tank of gas that let me enjoy Saturday's hydrology field trip and reach DC without any problem. There I stayed with my old friend Larry Cohen whose neighborhood was an island of electrical power. While we're incredibly lucky no caver was hurt in the storm (to the best of my knowledge), the timing was terrible for the many people who have given so much to caving and missed their moment of recognition. Dwight accidentally proves my point in mentioning Art Palmer's award. Art didn't get an award. He was yelling into the dark banquet hall, describing the accomplishments of the NSS' newest Honorary Member Dr. Pavel Bosak of the Czech Republic. Look in the NSS News in a couple of months to see all of the award recipients' names, and make sure to give them the pat on the back they missed but greatly deserve. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org Sent by mobile phone. Original message Subject: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience From: dirt...@comcast.net To: Cave NM s...@caver.net,Cave Texas Texascavers@texascavers.com,TAG Net tag-...@hiddenworld.net CC: Sunday Evening We are still in the Great Eastern Power Outage. For those NOT at the convention in Lewisburg, The power from Ohio through West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and parts of New Jersey and North Carolina, and, in Lewisburg, went out just as the awards ceremonies at the NSS Banquet started. The weather was hot but otherwise wonderful all week, but the NSS convention weather fortune continued on Friday night! The power went out and killed the projectors and sound after most had finished eating, and speakers bravely shoutedawards the names of the new Fellows. Then, when Art Palmer rose to accept his well-deserved award, the Great Gust arrived, clearing the campground (literally) and blowing some tents over 1/4 mile - we later saw one flattened tent pinned against the fence around the Fair Grounds on the East side of the one-way road to the south (just south of the limbs of a huge fallen tree which blocked the highway). After the wind threatened the integrity of the doors to the banquet hall, the ceremonies deteriorated further. All roads from the normal exit from our part of the Fair Grounds were blocked by numerous fallen trees. By some devious route-finding (and an unexpectedly unlocked gate), we found our way across the Fair Grounds and out to the one-way road on the other side, heading north. A bit more devious route finding across much lesser streets got us successfully to our hotel for a powerless night. Hotel operators wringing their hands were amazed by our cheery room, illuminated by several 200-lumen headlamps (operating on low and partial power). (Where did you get that??!!, they asked.) (We are cavers, the reply.) The next day was also beautiful (Saturday) but the extent of the outage in West Virginia became apparent - it was NOT just Lewisburg. Refrigeration was out everywhere, as was all power for any services, including pumping gas. It had been our plan to re-visit haunts from 56 years ago around Cass, Senica Rocks, Germany Valley, and Franklin. We had a full tank so headed north. All services were out. We found one or two rural gas stations where the owner had a generator, and the lines were 50 plus cars from each direction and rapidly selling out of whatever gas they had in their tanks. The batteries in the cell towers ran out and so did that service. Without power, of course there was no internet. We found lunch in Elkins by going to the hospital cafeteria. (Bright idea, Mary!) Our thought was that we would not have any problems once we got east into Virginia. Bad thought. Most of Harrisonburg and Staunton were either without power or running on half-power(120 V, not 240v). What few hotels that had power were swamped with people fleeing their homes. It was HOT! We managed to find one OK motel with power and AC in a rural suburb, and scored the last room. This morning we found the local conditions somewhat improved, topped off with gas, and headed back west across Shenandoah Mountain to the Cowpasture Valley, Hot Springs, and Covington. Wonderful rural driving on another beautiful day. Mary had heard me talk about wonderful West Virginia and this part of Virginia, and was properly impressed. Power also still out in Covington and Clifton Forge. Power seems restored around Richmond and Williamsburg, although the rural areas are still out. We expect to fly out of Richmond on Tuesday. It looks as if airlines should be
Re: [SWR] [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience
I've just flown back to El Paso from DC and am driving home to Carlsbad. I was luckier than most, having camped in my rental car which survived undamaged, dry, and with a full tank of gas that let me enjoy Saturday's hydrology field trip and reach DC without any problem. There I stayed with my old friend Larry Cohen whose neighborhood was an island of electrical power. While we're incredibly lucky no caver was hurt in the storm (to the best of my knowledge), the timing was terrible for the many people who have given so much to caving and missed their moment of recognition. Dwight accidentally proves my point in mentioning Art Palmer's award. Art didn't get an award. He was yelling into the dark banquet hall, describing the accomplishments of the NSS' newest Honorary Member Dr. Pavel Bosak of the Czech Republic. Look in the NSS News in a couple of months to see all of the award recipients' names, and make sure to give them the pat on the back they missed but greatly deserve. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org Sent by mobile phone. Original message Subject: [Texascavers] Aftermath of the NSS Convention - one experience From: dirt...@comcast.net To: Cave NM s...@caver.net,Cave Texas Texascavers@texascavers.com,TAG Net tag-...@hiddenworld.net CC: Sunday Evening We are still in the Great Eastern Power Outage. For those NOT at the convention in Lewisburg, The power from Ohio through West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and parts of New Jersey and North Carolina, and, in Lewisburg, went out just as the awards ceremonies at the NSS Banquet started. The weather was hot but otherwise wonderful all week, but the NSS convention weather fortune continued on Friday night! The power went out and killed the projectors and sound after most had finished eating, and speakers bravely shoutedawards the names of the new Fellows. Then, when Art Palmer rose to accept his well-deserved award, the Great Gust arrived, clearing the campground (literally) and blowing some tents over 1/4 mile - we later saw one flattened tent pinned against the fence around the Fair Grounds on the East side of the one-way road to the south (just south of the limbs of a huge fallen tree which blocked the highway). After the wind threatened the integrity of the doors to the banquet hall, the ceremonies deteriorated further. All roads from the normal exit from our part of the Fair Grounds were blocked by numerous fallen trees. By some devious route-finding (and an unexpectedly unlocked gate), we found our way across the Fair Grounds and out to the one-way road on the other side, heading north. A bit more devious route finding across much lesser streets got us successfully to our hotel for a powerless night. Hotel operators wringing their hands were amazed by our cheery room, illuminated by several 200-lumen headlamps (operating on low and partial power). (Where did you get that??!!, they asked.) (We are cavers, the reply.) The next day was also beautiful (Saturday) but the extent of the outage in West Virginia became apparent - it was NOT just Lewisburg. Refrigeration was out everywhere, as was all power for any services, including pumping gas. It had been our plan to re-visit haunts from 56 years ago around Cass, Senica Rocks, Germany Valley, and Franklin. We had a full tank so headed north. All services were out. We found one or two rural gas stations where the owner had a generator, and the lines were 50 plus cars from each direction and rapidly selling out of whatever gas they had in their tanks. The batteries in the cell towers ran out and so did that service. Without power, of course there was no internet. We found lunch in Elkins by going to the hospital cafeteria. (Bright idea, Mary!) Our thought was that we would not have any problems once we got east into Virginia. Bad thought. Most of Harrisonburg and Staunton were either without power or running on half-power(120 V, not 240v). What few hotels that had power were swamped with people fleeing their homes. It was HOT! We managed to find one OK motel with power and AC in a rural suburb, and scored the last room. This morning we found the local conditions somewhat improved, topped off with gas, and headed back west across Shenandoah Mountain to the Cowpasture Valley, Hot Springs, and Covington. Wonderful rural driving on another beautiful day. Mary had heard me talk about wonderful West Virginia and this part of Virginia, and was properly impressed. Power also still out in Covington and Clifton Forge. Power seems restored around Richmond and Williamsburg, although the rural areas are still out. We expect to fly out of Richmond on Tuesday. It looks as if airlines should be
