NS:: Travels With Nowslimmer

“Sixteen days and 4,535 miles does not leave much time for backpacking! Wrong, it was a great trip. And here are a few names from along the way:

Divinity, Super Troll, Lizs and the Yellow River Gang

Wednesday, October 13, 2004, after three months of trying to start a trip, and after four hurricanes, I left Melbourne, FL, and headed my overloaded Nisson 240 XL north on I-95. With the possibility of being gone for three months, I had lots of gear and clothing in the car.

Fifteen October dates and bag nights were at the following places:

13 -Powhatan Camp Ground(CG) near Ashville, NC, and the NC Arboretum. Several trails are here including one up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the lake is great for swimming during the summer, for fishing and to hike around it. Fall colors were beautiful. The next morning I stopped nearby on Highway 191 near I-40 at Asheville's WNC Farmers' Market for some fruit.

14 - Wilderness Road CG at Cumberland Gap - Spent some of the afternoon at a car garage, where I discovered that new brake pads were necessary. Made an appointment. Left a sign at the CG Office and about 9 PM I decided to check it. But the car would not start! Within minutes Super Troll arrived. He quickly cleaned the battery posts and connector cables and the car started beautifully. He left and I started a campfire. A litttle later Divinity arrived. We had a nice talk for an hour or so, protected from raindrops by my tarp. She set-up her tent next to mine and we went to sleep to the soft pitter-patter of raindrops and the pleasing night songs emitted from the woods.

In the morning I had new brake pads installed, broke camp and had a cup of coffee in town with Divinity and Supertroll, who had just finished lunch. They urged me to stay for TC4, but I left to spend some of the Fall Break with my baby daughter(21). It was a good decision.

15 - Overnight Camp Grounds at Jamestown, IN (765) 696-9521, just west of Indianapolis, IN, near I-74. I found this place as I left the Interstate to go to Turkey Run State Park.

16-19 - Rock Creek SP outside Grinnell, IA. My daughter slept with me in my new tent on the 16th, when the temperature dropped to 28, and on the 18th in an all night heavy lightning and rain storm. Rock Creek is great. Enjoyed seeing 11 deer, 2 large racoons, 18 turkeys, several ground hogs, field mice, many geese, ducks and various birds. We hiked to the dam and to an earth dike, and I hiked part way around the lake. Before leaving Grinnell I was able to obtain a flu shot. Then I drove to Yellow River SF. It took a long time as I zig-zagged east and north to obtain a NE direction. Drove past mile after mile of fields being used to grow GE inproved corn and soybeans.

20 - Stayed at Little Paint CG in Yellow River SF. In the morning I moved to the backcountry site, Heffern's Hill Camp. Drove to Preston, MN, and visited with Lizs for a while. She said she had plenty of time, but changed her mind and kicked me out! Continued north past St. Paul to White Bear Lake, MN, where a son and I watched my oldest daughter and grandson at a Karate lesson. We then went out to dinner and heard from my oldest son, who was snowbound in Flagstaff. He was in the process of moving to Gunnison, CO. Returned to Heffern's Hill Camp at 2:15 in the morning.

21-22 - Heffern's Hill Camp. Set-up a 10'x12' tarp because of an evening rain forecast on the 22nd. The group arrived and we enjoyed the evening under the tarp with a good campfire and listening to BeerWench and Lizs. It was lots of fun and even Snake Eyes and I stayed awake for hours. See the report and pictures at Axe Man Cometh; the BeerWench Runneth: Y RSF Report.
In the morning the others went backpacking and I headed SE.

23 - Overnight Camp Grounds at Jamestown, IN (765) 696-9521, just west of Indianapolis, IN, near I-74. Stopped at the same place in Indiana as on the 15th. In the morning I headed to Breaks Interstate Park on the border of KY and VA. During this trip I drove along the Ohio River looking at barges and push boats. Saw electric generating plants with their stacks producing clouds in the otherwise cloudless sky, lime production plants(powdered lime juice?), refineries and coal hauling on trucks and trains.

24-27 - Breaks Interstate Park, Campsite # 32(the best tent site there!) A great place each night listening to owls, other night birds, deer rustling leaves as they passed my tent, dogs barking far away across the valley from being stirred by ocassional screams of KY virgins(now ex-virgins) and trains in the distance hauling long loads of coal, their horns sounding like fog horns on ships in a misty sea! The park has short trails, some easy and some of them challenging with ups and down in rugged terrain. There is an eleven acre lake, a beaver pond, motel rooms, cabins, a store, a convention center and restaurant, a swimming pool and horse rentals. Fog prevailed at this mountain top park until noon with frequent showers. Clouds and rain were present during most of this entire trip.

"Breaks Interstate Park, on the Kentucky-Virginia border, features the largest canyon east of the Mississippi-5 miles long, 1,600 feet deep and 250 million years old! Sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of the South," the gorge was carved by the Russell Fork River, a tributary of the Big Sandy. The spectacular beauty of the park is showcased with 12 miles of hiking rails and four scenic overlooks."



On Tuesday evening I drove off a cliff! I had gone shopping and stopped at an arcade. Leaving, I started forward from one parking lot into another. What appeared to be level surfaces, were separated by a foot high retaining wall, with a curb of less than a half inch. Two large bangs occurred as the front wheels went into space and the car dropped to it's frame. While waiting for a tow truck, four men came over and tried to lift the car back on the first surface. They only made it more difficult as one wheel was jammed against the retaining wall. The tow truck arrived at that point and after a while I was on my way again.

28 - Home. I was headed home by 5:10 AM. and after more than 800 miles arrived home at 9:30 PM. It took 3½ hours of twisted roads with heavy fog and drizzles to exit the mountains and reach I-77. En route I went through Damascus and on 321 through North, SC. Outside North I have seen some huge airplanes landing and taking off. There are no signs in North and little information on Goggle, so it must be a hush-hush operation. Investigating, I found an access road going to North Air Base. During WW-II it was known as North Army Air Field. I continued past cotton fields, anxious but a little sad to be headed home.

Some pictures will be posted in the future.
last edited: 10/30/04 1:36:34 PM”

“As the old song goes. (kinda)

He's a ramblin' man. Made a lot of stops...”

“You could have hiked the beginning of the Pine Mountain Trail which starts at Breaks. It is KY's newest state park and will be a linear park going to Cumberland Gap NP when finished.

So far the first 30 miles are complete.”

“Right. And I appreciated the information which you provided previously.

The people at Breaks Interstate Park need to be educated to this alternative. However, there was more than enough for me to do there without going on a longer hike. I do want to return and do more.
last edited: 10/30/04 4:51:44 PM”

“Sounds like a fantastic trip. Great reporting!”

“Nice report, look forward to the pics”

“Great trip and, do I always get the bad rap? LOL! I didn't kick you out of the office. You had to go to St. Paul... and I had to finish political candidate profiles. phhhhhhhhhhhht!!

Thanks again for having the tarp up. That was great in the rain! And for having your company. :-)”

“Oh yeah, and did you ever find the tent bag you were looking for, or whatever it was?”

“No, I did not find things. At Breaks I emptied the car without any luck looking for the tent bag, pole bag and stake bag. I believe I still have an old set in storage. I found the thermo underwear bottom, a different color, and bought it at $General. Then I discovered the top missing. I was able to buy both top and bottom in white, as I wanted, at a Walmart near Breaks.

I enjoyed seeing you again, Lizs. It's always a pleasure. And I apologized to Snake Eyes on the get up! thread. It appears he went hiking or something and has not been posting. I'm worried that if I get locked up again, he'll tell them to throw away the key.
last edited: 10/31/04 10:43:12 AM”

“LOLOLOL!”

“Naahhh, just went to Madison for the weekend. I still can't figure out what you're apologizing for, but go ahead if it sets you free from something. Must be a guilty conscience.”

“Hiked there very slowly on Tuesday. Arrived very tired. One person was there trying to hog the main area for two friends expected to arrive soon. He sugggested that I use the first area, but there was nothing there on which to sit. I wandered through on a path and came out at the area which he was trying to save. There were two logs there that I could use, so I set-up camp. He still had open spots near his tent and the fire ring. He returned from collecting firewood and I pointed out the other areas that he had available. Told him that I needed a place where I could sit down and get back up easily. He was not happy, as he felt his friends wanted a place where they would not see anyone else. I told him that when they arrived I would fight the three of them for the spot, but warned him about my martial arts training. Well, things worked out OK, although I know his friends were not happy.

We did talk some and found our backgrounds overlapped___Chicago, Minnesota, Math majors, etc. He tought Math at an Asheville College. His friends arrived___a guy and a woman. This guy taught Biology. I left them alone and went to bed early. He played some soft guitar around the fire and the three of them sang a little, while I kept dosing-off.

They left the next morning planning to hike the Boogerman Trail. It had rained during the night. I worked on my diet and read "Dynamic Aikido" most of the day.

It rained some more last night and again while I was eating breakfast this morning. I finally packed up my D-4 Jansport and headed-out. Jansport recently repaired it at no charge. They put new zippers on all seven compartments and provided new shoulder straps. My Jansport Alaska 115, while heavier, is still easier to carry. It rides much nicer on my fanny. Got a little wet from some showers and then from the wind blowing water off the trees. I came out slowly, just as I entered. Each way it took about twice as long as my longest previous hike there. It was only 1.5 miles each way.

Based upon speed and comfort, I'm afraid I may be headed for surgeery on my knees.”

“Claimjumper!
lol, I'd probably just set up too. I'm not a fan of sitehogs. My opinion is if there ain't a tent there already, then mine will fit just fine.

Well, maybe the kness just need to get done. It should really improve your quality of life. But that's a hard decision, best of luck with that.”

“I told him that when they arrived I would fight the three of them for the spot, but warned him about my martial arts training.

I'm sure he was panicked, realizing that you also had trouble standing up and sitting down. LOL!

Was about to say I read Dynamic Aikido, but upon looking it up, I have "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere". Perhaps I confused to two. Also, Aikido by Kisshomaru Ueshiba and The Spirit of Aikido.”

“Standing is not always necessary. Many techniques can be done from a sitting position. In fact, we sometimes take turns sitting on a chair near the center of the mats and practice applying techniques to classmates as they attack from all different angles.

I no longer sit down. I fall down.”

“Dynamic Aikido by Gozo Shioda.”

“NS, sorry I missed lunch. I got derailed in Gatlinburg that day and didn't have a way to get in touch with you to reschedule.”

“you the man ns.”

“chili - You could have called me at Hooter's. I had told two of the waitresses that you were coming and they were on constant lookout for you. They were more disappointed than I was.

LOL.”

“paul, i won't be coming up, have fun at trail days!”

“Thanks, cyndeee. It would have been great to see you.

Hope your knees are feeling better. I've been having a few good days, many bad days and some mixed days.
last edited: 5/17/06 1:14:21 PM”

“This will be revised, but my library time is almost up.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006, I broke camp at Deep Creek Campground and left Bryson City on my way to Trail Days. At Ashville, NC, I switched to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive, when, wham, I saw a detour sign. But good luck was with me. The road was not blocked until two miles later just past the Price Lake Campground. However, the lake level was down about six feet. After recent hurricanes sand bars have been developing in front of the campsites and the boat rental areas. So they lowered the lake and have a dredging project in operation. And a very negative change since 1998 or 1999 is vegetation has blocked the views of the lake from the shoreline campsites. Only two or three campsites (9, 10 and 11) have partial view of the water. The Ranger said there are no current plans to change this situation. The first two of these sites had reservations, but not until after two nights. So I took one.

I made a visit to Boone. ASU has beautiful, large, new Convocation Center for basketball games and other events. There was not much action, so I returned to camp. I miss the old, billiard hangout, Rafter's. It had become run-down and was closed a number of years ago.

Friday morning I rushed out of my tent, but could not make it any further before messing up the campsite. But I cleaned-up things and broke camp.

Arrived at Damascus about 1 P.M., found "Disabled Parking," located Hyway and others and set-up my tent. Kind of funny as at Price Lake with plenty of room, I used my one-man tent, but here, with limited space, I used my 2-man, family tent.

The Big Bust - On Friday night a teen-ager passed-out, apparently from weed or dope. So, on Saturday night a raid on a nearby group resulted in at least three folks being taken away by the police.

The only incidents I have to report are that I fell, when walking on some rocks at the edge of our group area. Six or more TT people wanted to help me up, but I did it myself. And on Saturday morning I left early for some sight seeing and to get a waterproof spot from which to watch the parade. When I returned to camp around a dozen or so TT folks expressed their concern for my whereabouts, etc. It's sure nice to know that when you get old, TT friends are concerned for you and willing to help. So, thanks to all of you, I love you.

Oh, yes, I did get off one or two good one-liners at some appropiate times. If I was taking my memory pills, likely I could recall them for your reading pleasure, but ...!

During my return to GSMNP I did stop at Linville Gorge, but Refrigerator and PhantomSoul appeared to have departed down into the Gorge. At least I believe I found their vehicle at a trailhead. It had a sticker on the back window with "www.thebackpacker.com" on it. I almost hiked down to tell them that their right-rear door window was open about halfway!

This will be revised, but my library time is almost up.
last edited: 5/22/06 3:59:05 PM”

“nowslimmer, it was good to see you again. Enjoy the Smokies”

“Nice to see you back here.”

“NS, when everyone thought you might be dead, I told them not to worry because I had walked by your tent and I didn't smell anything. See, I got your back.”

“sounds like you had fun, hope to see ya there next year.”

“Nowslimmer is the official "Dean" of TT.”

“I wish I had a www.thebackpacker.com sticker. Where do you get them?”

“Stomper, Birch has a few leftover from when Matt sponsored his and Dhutch's racing team last summer. I'll send you a few if you drop me an email with your snail mail addy. My email is in my profile.
last edited: 5/23/06 7:12:23 AM”

“The revision consists of the underlined portions.

The Big Bust

Wednesday, May 17, 2006, I broke camp at Deep Creek Campground and left Bryson City on my way to Trail Days. At Ashville, NC, I switched to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive, when, wham, I saw a detour sign. But good luck was with me. The road was not blocked until two miles later just past the Price Lake Campground. However, the lake level was down about six feet. After recent hurricanes sand bars have been developing in front of the campsites and the boat rental areas. So they lowered the lake and have a dredging project in operation. And a very negative change since 1998 or 1999 is vegetation has blocked the views of the lake from the shoreline campsites. Only two or three campsites (9, 10 and 11) have partial view of the water. The Ranger said there are no current plans to change this situation. The first two of these sites had reservations, but not until after two nights. So I took one.

I made a visit to Boone. ASU has beautiful, large, new Convocation Center for basketball games and other events. There was not much action, so I returned to camp. I miss the old, billiard hangout, Rafter's. It had become run-down and was closed a number of years ago.

Tired, I slept good until the dredging activities woke me shortly after 7. I returned to Boone, where I found some good banking news and my new prescriptions had arrived at Walgreen's. Great service at the Visitors Info Center allowed me to locate the only bakery in town, Stick Boy. They had great coffee, which I enjoyed with a cinnamon roll. Walmart was not a Supermarket, so I was unable to purchase a supply of Danish Sweet Rolls for our TTT crowd.

The day turned rainy, but I saw a number of interesting things by driving around and, eventually, arrived at the Country Retreat - Family Billiards & Grill, about 9-miles south of Boone on Highway 105. I renewed an acquaintance with the owner, Chris. He has a unique place - 9-beautiful tables from Belgium that are widely spaced, and no smoking or booze of any type. The air was clean and fresh.

The rain kept me from attempting one of the trails in the Park at Price Lake. They have several:

Price Lake Trail - an easy, 2.7 mile loop that circles the shoreline of 47-acre Price Lake.

Green Knob Trail - a moderately strenuous 2.3 mile loop, diverse in scenery.

Boone Fork Trail - a strenuous, 5.5-mile loop.

Tanawha Trail - a 13.5-mile, meandering through field and forest trail.

I spent some time reviewing "The Atami WAZA," a chapter in Combat Jiu-jitsu by Norman Leff.

Friday morning I rushed out of my tent, but could not make it any further before messing up the campsite. But I cleaned-up things and broke camp.

Arrived at Damascus about 1 P.M., found "Disabled Parking," located Hyway and others and set-up my tent. Kind of funny as at Price Lake with plenty of room, I used my one-man tent, but here, with limited space, I used my 2-man, family tent. (My 1-man tent does not require standing as many times after hooking things or inserting tent pegs. This is important to my knees.)

The Big Bust - On Friday night a teen-ager passed-out, apparently from weed or dope. So, on Saturday night a raid on a nearby group resulted in at least three folks being taken away by the police.

The only incidents I have to report are that I fell, when walking on some rocks at the edge of our group area. Six or more TT people wanted to help me up, but I did it myself. And on Saturday morning I left early for some sight seeing and to get a waterproof spot from which to watch the parade. When I returned to camp around a dozen or so TT folks expressed their concern for my whereabouts, etc. It's sure nice to know that when you get old, TT friends are concerned for you and willing to help. So, thanks to all of you, I love you.

Oh, yes, I did get off one or two good one-liners at some appropiate times. If I was taking my memory pills, likely I could recall them for your reading pleasure, but ...!

During my return to GSMNP I did stop at Linville Gorge, but Refrigerator and PhantomSoul appeared to have departed down into the Gorge. At least I believe I found their vehicle at a trailhead. It had a sticker on the back window with "www.thebackpacker.com" on it. I almost hiked down to tell them that their right-rear door window was open about halfway!
last edited: 5/23/06 9:51:50 AM”

“Copied from:
"Backpacking in GSMNP - trip report"
http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/44341,1.php#1410447


Meig’s Mountain Trail to CS#19

This hike was just like all the others in GSMNP. No matter which way you’re headed on a trail, it is mostly uphill!

6/9/06 Friday – Crossed the Mountains and hiked to CS#20. It took about 5-hours for me to backpack the short distance. The downhill to the creek at the end was exceptionally difficult for me and took me about 1-hour. Every stone seemed to want to throw me. They would roll under my boots or catch in them. Finally, in the dark I took a fall. A hiking stick, my faithful companion of six years, was broken in my fall. I could not see in the dark well enough to cross the creek, so I hollowed for help. Four young guys had passed me an hour previously at the start of the down-leg. I felt one or two of them could have come back looking for me, since it took so long for me to arrive. Two of them did respond and helped me across and into a CS near cables. They, from Knoxville, knew nothing about cables or the campsite post identifier, but had found a bunch of unofficial campsites by going downstream from CS#20. I set my tent up w/o the fly and, in my exhaustion, fell asleep quickly.

6/10/06 Saturday – Today was rougher. The trail became boring with repetitions. Had to go around about 12 folds of Meig’s Mountain. Between each one were water shed areas. About half of them were dry. Finally, I reached the junction with Curry Mountain Trail. Part of a downed tree provided a good place to rest. I knew it was only about a 10 minute hike for Karma police, so I should be there within an hour. Karma police and I met along the trail. He is a real gentleman. He hiked in to CS#20, then to 19 to meet everyone and back to 20 to meet a friend. Unfortunately, no one was at 19, just woodzie’s tent was there. MDShiker and his daughter pasted me along the trail. She was beautiful and very polite and helpful. They filtered some drinking water for me. Thanks to you both. It took me 7-8 hours to reach CS#19, where I was the last, or next to the last, to arrive. It was a great group, except for the bee that stung me. While I fixed myself a meal, two, beautiful, TT women set-up my tent. That was a real treat___a welcome surprise! Thanks to both of you. Cottonsocks prepared enough pudding for the group. Thanks, Cottonsocks. I’m sorry I was not polite enough to try some. It did look good. I stayed up late after midnight by the campfire, which was well attended by Matt.

6/11/06 Sunday – For most, it was time to break camp. Matt, DSDhiker and busybee were the first to leave. I considered staying another night, but finally packed and headed back to CS#20. I was the last one to leave. The bees, feeling like champs, rejoiced at having cleared out another group. By the time I reached the Curry Mountain Trail Junction, I was wishing that I was done. .After a rest I continued, counting the dry and wet water run-off spots between the mountain folds. The dry outscored the wet, 6 to 5. A family of 4, two of them young children, passed me twice. They went to CS#19, but decided there were too many bugs. So they returned to CS#20. Thinking I had another hour to hike, I was happy when I saw their tent close ahead. I had taken a nasty fall just as I was finishing the last water crossing, while experiencing a shower. The family, from Cincinnati., Ohio, had an alternative reason. They wanted a shorter hike out on Monday as they were going to visit some relatives in SC.

6/12/06 Monday – I watched the family leave, while I nursed the bee and bug bites. They had bothered me during the night. I decided to rest a day here at this beautiful site. However, I spent the day thinking how nice a number of showers would feel at the Grand Hotel in Pigeon Forge. But the rest helped one knee, which was not feeling good. As Matt expressed it, “These woods are beautiful. It’s great to be here.”

6/13/06 Tuesday – I started to pack, but then decided to have breakfast. I gambled on the bears and left everything on the ground, while I took a few minutes to get some water. Later, on the trail I met a nice, young (maybe 55-60) woman. She day-hiked to CS#20 and returned. The trail dragged on and on, but, finally, to my left I saw one of the last Elkmont homes to be evacuated. However, the downhill to a log bridge crossing over Jake’s Creek was slow going for me. The uphill to Jake’s Creek Trail and on to Cucumber Gap Trail were followed by a long 0.3 mile + of downhill to the trailhead. My memories returned to days when I used to hike the 6-miles Cucumber Gap Trail Loop from Elkmont Campground three times a day. I got some water at the campground, saw my newest friend seated at a picnic table, but I was too tired to hike to her walk-in campsite, so I headed for The Grand Hotel in Pigeon Forge. A single was $25, higher than the $18.88, for which I was hoping. But I stepped inside, where I was told the $25 rooms were across the street at the Family Inn, which The Grand owns. Their rooms here were family rooms for $35 and up. So I went up the street to another place with rooms at $19 according to their sigh. The girl there said they had no more at that price and tried to get me to spend $40 or $50. Finally, she said she had one left for $25 on the back side. I had stayed there previously. They were the normal $19 rooms, but hardly worth it. I left.

I went to Walgreen’s, bought some pills and crossed the mountains back to Deep Creek Campground. It was a rough night due to lots of itches and a need to go quickly. I did so outside the tent pad. At the same time I was hit by some leg cramps. This made it difficult to put on my boots so that I could walk on the gravel to the toilet paper in the car. (I strongly dislike gravel tent sites.)

6/14/06 Wednesday – McDonald’s was closed again this morning, except for the drive-in. This appears to be about two weeks running that they have had some sort of problem. So I went to Bojangles, where they had some decent coffee. However, their sweet rolls were not too hot, though. Many of the regulars from McDonald’s were here.

All in all it was a great trip. I enjoyed seeing everyone. Wish I had found an opportunity to talk more with busybee. She seemed like a wonderful girl, and as pretty as my own daughters.
My bee sting is healing. There were a few bees at CS#20.
last edited: 6/15/06 12:17:41 PM”

“Florida - California - Chicago - Florida

Tuesday my daughter, granddaughter and I are heading out. ROAD TRIP - SIGHTSEEING - VISITING.

The trip is still subject to modifications and rerouting. Your sugestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

Our general routing:
Melbourne, Florida
New Orleans, LA
Daingerfield, TX
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX
Carlsbad, NM
White Sands, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Route 66 Campground, AZ
Grand Canyon, AZ
San Diego, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Sequoia National Park
Valley Visitor Center
Yosemite
Salt Lake City
Yellowstone National Park
White Bear Lake, MN
Chicago, Il
Loami, IL
Melbourne, FL
last edited: 6/10/07 5:07:46 PM”

“That's the kind of drive around the block I used to love...have fun!”

“Let me know when you get near Chicago. I'm betweeen chicago & White Bear Lake, but alot closer to Chicago. Know of some good eateries NOT in the City.

Happy trails.”

“You'll be heading right past Stovestomper.”

“Yep!



LOL.”

“why don't you stop by and see tango in az. camp at her koa.”

“"Route 66 Campground, AZ"

That's just before the Grand Canyon.”

“Have fun.”

“Enjoy!”

“Forgot to mention the squirrels during the first evening at Paisley's Lake Hart. Three of the squirrels were playing together, but mainly one was chasing a smaller one. All of a sudden the smaller squirrel did a front flip all the way to a landing on its feet. Later, on four occasions, I saw it do a side roll completely over and back to its' feet. Never have I seen a squirrel do any of that stuff previously.

It rained all afternoon. The tent went over twice. My daughter is busy learning about securing things to protect them from the rain as well as how to secure her new tent. She was going to buy a hammer to pound in the tent stakes as the ground at our tent site is very hard. I pointed to a pile of firewood and told her that any of those pieces of wood could be used to drive in the stakes. I expect her to be a real good camper by the end of this trip. It seems that I did most of the chores on our backpacking trips. This time I'm playing the old man thing on her all the way, but with good reason. Almost any exertion causes me to puff hard. This is not good. So I'm avoiding most of the work and leaving it to her.

I tried to see my cardiologist before leaving, but he canceled two appointments. This happens often, so I'm going to suggest that he leave some blocks of time to see patients whose appointments get canceled. As of now they go to the bottom of the list, which sometimes means months of waiting.
last edited: 6/18/07 7:36:27 PM”

“`good to hear from you paul, sounds like things are going welll. have a great time with the D and GD. i rode 100 miles last week on my bike. tomorrow will be a long day biking, will try and do 30 miles. having surgery on june 28th, partial knee resurfacing. sure would like to backpack this fall.”

“I hope you're able to do so.”

“me too...”

“Both yesterday evening and this morning we took my granddaughter to Perdido Kid's Park, a free playgound. She had a ball. It is a free, large, childrens' playground with loads of equipment for them, swings, slides of all kinds and sizes, even a carpet to walk across from one platform to another. The carpet is securely fasten at each end and I bet the kids get a funny sensation walking across it. It is very unlike walking on a solid floor or platform.

The local library was used for an election yesterday and, also, had a sale. I bought three CD's for a dollar each. One is "The Sammy Kaye Collection." It features Tony Alamo, The Kaydets, Judy Johnson, Roy Roberts, the Glee Club, Cliff Ayers, Tony Russo, The Kaye Choir, Jeffrey Clay, Barry Frank, Sandi Summers, Lynn Roberts and Larry Ellis.

The songs include: Joe, Joe, Joe, Mary Lou, and How Good Can A Good Girl Be. Does this bring back memories to any of you?

A second CD is "From Fife And Drum ...," Celebrating the 190th Anniverfsary of "The President's Own" United States Marine Band. The third CD is a computer program, "Jump*Start Kindergarten," with 16 games and puzzles that teach over two dozen fundamental skills. My granddaughter's birthday is approaching in early July.

This morning I saw 7 modern jet fighters fly overhead in formation. There is a military base nearby, as well the Pensacola Airport. Also, there is a Pensacola Naval Air Museum close by the campground.
last edited: 6/19/07 10:23:44 AM”

“We're in southern Mississippi tonight.

Alabama showed us southern sand, just like Florida. Also, their shoreline is loaded with large buildings just like Florida.

We put the car on a ferry boat today for a 40 minute trip past oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Then we hit lots of rain, so we picked a Best Western Motel for tonight.”

“I enjoy reading about your trip, NS..keep posting and take care of yourself...”

“Hey Paul, great to hear your reports, we (my wife and I) will be there is a couple of weeks.”

“OMG....NS....you had to come thru Mobile......I wish I had known :(”