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The drive to convention
started auspiciously. We passed this UHaul van with a cave on it's
side! |
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The campground for convention
was huge, but not too packed like it is at OTR. Here we're at an abandoned
airstrip. The bad news is that there were no trees, but the good news
was that the ground was really flat and comfy. |
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What do you
do while waiting for others to clear the pit? |
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And when his
time came to drop Natural Well, Richard had a grand climb. |
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Mike Hood enjoys
a bit of chilling out on a sweltering summer Alabama day. |
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Indeed, Alabama
DOES have a lot of poison ivy. (no I didn't get any rashes, but
only because I was VERY careful). |
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A land snail near Natural Well. |
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A skink on
a tree by Natural Well. |
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Scott and
Kevin, the two most attractive men on the planet sponsored a Swaygo
party for people who read the NSS Discussion Board... serving
fried bologna sandwiches... |
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Hazel showed up and gave
a big hug to Mikie. |
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A frequent poster
to the DB is Madratdan. |
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On Tuesday night, the convention
held a party at the US Space and Rocket Center. |
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This didn't
happen at the convention, but the scars are still visible from the
probably rabid cat that bit Hazel in the back of the leg. |
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The
friggin' ants were something fearsome. Barbara got bites in numerous
places on her hands and feet. The nasty little buggers left bites
that pustulated. |
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George Dasher, the
alien, at the campground. |
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Man, you come all the way to Alabama and you just
can't get away from those darned West Virginians...
:-) |
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| Yet another West Virginian! |
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You can take the girl out
of West Virginia, but you can't take West Virgnia out of the girl. |
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Tiny gets his hair
braided in camp. |
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Good Golly, there are Virginians
all over the place, too! Dan McConnell just bought a new rope! |
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The Lovely
Mylroies |
The Lovely
Palmers |
The Lovely
Montgomeries |
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Keith, the master photographer,
was the fellow with whom I rode down to convention. |
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Alex has a smile,
which hopefully means convention was good for business at Inner Mountain
Outfitters. |
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This picture of Barbara came
out of her camera, but who knows how it got in there in the first
place. |
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A fine gathering of various
cavers. |
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Photo specialists
Benjy and Ann give each other a hug. |
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Back at the
high school, Bill Steele hits up the vendors. |
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Though they
don't show in this picture, the formations next to Barbara were
lovely and sparkly. |
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Woo Hoo! Caving
in Shelta with the new Prez of the NSS, Bill Tozer. |
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The JSS held
a trip to Shelta Cave during convention. |
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Mark
is one of the happiest guys at convention. |
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Clem and Dawn enjoy a moment
away from the hustle and bustle of convention.
Here is a funny video of Clem.
Unfortunately, I held the camera in portrait orientation and it
can't be rotated afterward. But silly is silly, so here it is.Click
HERE for the 1MB AVI or click
HERE for the 5 MB Quicktime
version. |
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Benjy doesn't have much of
a smile in this shot, but he seemed pretty happy at the time. |
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Our gang watches
a different gang of folks drop Hoopers Well. |
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For at least
one guy, it was his first cave rappel. |
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Kevin shows off
one of his Swaygo packs. |
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Becky shows off
some of her Gonzo Guano Gear. |
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Doug -- it looks
mighty suspicious what you're doin' there....
PS -- Congrats,
Doug! You're almost a Regular Fellow. But you're *really* a Life
Fellow now!
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Ohhhhhhhh.
So *that's* what you were up to, Doug. Philip misplaced his nametag,
and you were givin' him another! |
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The entrance
to Cathedral Caverns. |
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