This was posted on the TCR Facebook page, but is being reposted here for those of you who might have missed it the first time around.
-- Jim ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There will be no hot tub at TCR this year, but there will be a sauna. Here is a letter from Drew Thompson and Colin Strickland explaining why. >From Drew: "A few days before Pete's passing I was working at Stricklandia and Pete asked me over to talk to him. For a while we talked as he lay on the couch telling me that he was at the end of his tenure and was not going to make it to TCR this year and does not want the hot tub to attend this year. He wants it to be missed, and that it being absent will hold people more accountable for their involvement [or lack of] on the whole hot tub process. Pete instructed us to put together a dedicated team of apprentices to continue the tradition in the style of Pete and all that he created, the way he taught us. What Would Pete Do? Would Pete Approve? We are all asking ourselves these questions. There will still be an awesome party zone with a bonfire and a metal-heated sauna, and a shrine to Pete and all his memories. The Pyro Grotto will be hosting a Party Lounge, and will also be setting up Bill Mixon’s classic Cave Box, and revealing the newly created black light Cave Cube to the caving public. Many people have expressed concern about the absence of the hot tub saying that it will kill the party. But in all fairness, we have had fantastic times at other events with only our friends, family, and all of the other things that bring us together. It is going to be a fantastic TCR and nothing will stop that! Neither Colin nor I are looking for a debate, nor interested in hearing your concerns on the matter of the hot tubs absence at this year’s TCR." >From Colin: “I will take lead bringing the hot tub next year and going forward, but I can not attend this year since I will have a week or so old baby at the time of the event. Many people have expressed that they could set up the tub, since they helped my dad do it for many years, and I am sure they could if the equipment appeared on site, but that is not the case. My dad has the hot tub gear squirreled away in many different locations and we would spend an entire weekend before TCR loading the trailer and truck with all the gear, and about the same amount of time after, filing it all back away. Currently I am building a kitchen in my parent’s house and trying to get our rental house ready to rent, so have zero time to deal with people trying to gather this stuff. Also, I need time to go through it all and see how my dad had it stored. The last thing I want is to not get a proper inventory of how it was and then get it back all jumbled and confused. The hot tub will be back, but I need time to do it right. On his death bed I told my dad not to worry, since I would carry on his traditions, and I intend to.” We thank you all for your patience and understanding. Drew & Colin
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