The sessions I went to went very well. Yvonne Droms and I
were in charge of International Exploration on Wednesday and we had a
full day of exciting talks from China to Mexico and points in
between, often with standing room only. My guess is that the average
age was more like 50, but it is definitely creeping up. The Syphons
were great, as always. The weather was often rainy, but that's par
for the course at NSS Conventions. At least there were not high
winds, so not many camps were damaged. Groad Hollow was in a nice
spot in the woods, which was very nice.
Mark Minton
At 10:03 PM 8/8/2010, David wrote:
I presume everybody is home safe now from the convention ?
I feel it is important to discuss the convention, to encourage new cavers
unfamiliar with the NSS to attend future conventions, and for those
that really wanted to go, but just couldn't make it.
This was a difficult convention for most Texas cavers to attend.
Only about 13 percent
showed up. But there were still more Texas cavers there than Vermont
cavers. ( I bet this convention probably broke the record for the number
of Vermont cavers to attend. ).
I searched the web looking for reports about the convention, but
did not find anything. I regret missing almost all of it. Maybe
there are still some cavers that are not home yet,
who have stories to tell?
I saw nearly 25 cavers there from Texas, along with their families.
Here are just a few that were wandering around the Howdy
Party: Tom Summers,
RD Milhollin, Mike Walsh, Jim Kennedy, Bill Mixon, Terry Raines & family,
Mark Minton ( lives in VA now ),
Peter Strickland and sons, Lee Jay Graves, Keith and Lisa Goggins
( of the Terminal Siphons ), Rene Shields, Gary Napper, Chris Thibodaux,
Ellie Theone, Jim Coke, and Bill Stone. Who did I leave
out ? ( Michael Cicherski, Benjamin and Corrine Schwartz, Kenneth
Laidlaw, Josh
Rubenstein and Rex Williams )
But there were also lots of cavers there
that many of you know like: Dale Pate, and famous cavers like
Roger Brucker and Dick Blenz, and most likely dozens of others that
I didn't get a chance to say hello to.
The average age of the cavers attending seems to get one year older at
each convention.
A safe guess would be over 50, but my bet would be 60.
I think I saw at least one Facebook posting that the Terminal Siphons
put on a great show.
I posted my final road-trip report privately by e-mail, so if you want
to read it, feel free to contact me.
Some expressed mixed feelings about my intentions for driving
to Vermont. I did make a last-minute faithful attempt to take cavers on
my little joyride. I posted ride offers on Cavechat.org and NSS
On-line Cavers,
and here on Cavetex.
Yesterday, I picked up my 4th Craigslist rider in Slidell, Louisiana and
he paid me $ 40 to drop him off in Houston. After this experience, I would
highly discourage others from offering cross-country rides on Craigslist.
I would be interested to know how the sessions went, and the salons,
and the Terminal Siphons concert. And more about Vermont, for example,
how were the caves and the caving ? How did the weather turn out?
I learned that Vermont has pockets of paradise that are well worth
visiting. I only got to see 2 of them very briefly on this trip.
If anybody wants to tell me about their trip privately, I would like to
read it.
This trip was probably the hardest of my life, but I had at least 8
hours of fun,
that I could not have had, had I chosen to stay home.
For example, have you ever been at the edge of a virgin pit
in going virgin cave, and decided to turn around and head out, knowing that
you would never be able to return? I wouldn't know that feeling,
but that was
probably how I felt when I started the car and started heading south
after leaving
the Howdy Party.
David Locklear
Please reply to mmin...@caver.net
Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
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