I am 3 days behind on my reports. I have been underground every day, and missed all of the sessions at the convention.
This is a personal report and contains no cave related information. Some local rednecks in Marengo were advertising a special lunch at the convention, and since part of the reason I was here was to investigate the local cuisine, I headed over there for lunch. They were grilling big chickens on a trailer pit. They may have bigger chickens than Texas. I think he said they were from Illinois or Iowa? [ I know for a fact that they have some sort of mosquito like creature that appears to be left over from the prehistoric period. It is orange and about 1 1/2" long with huge eyes. ] Ironically, the Indiana cavers I was with said they had never seen anything like that before. I left there and headed north to explore the scenic southern Indiana rural backroads. I ended up at Bluesprings Caverns. ( which I already reported ) After the tour, I was an hour north of the convention and it was late in the evening. The only productive thing I could do was drive around and see as much of the Hoosier National Forest as possible, before the sun set. So I headed southwest. My first stop was a very picturesque covered bridge over the White River. ( The river is not white ). http://www.psci.net/~drmott/cbL02.jpg http://www.psci.net/~drmott/cbSpcLaw.html 2 red-necks where bow-fishing. I have never seen that before. I drove thru the bridge several times just for the fun of it. One time at 45 mph, feeling like the Dukes of Hazard. You could probably hit 50 if you were certain no traffic was coming. This was the "Williams Bridge." I saw a fox along the road. I stopped and had a milkshake at a curb-stop where a cute girl comes out to your window and takes your order. We don't have that in Houston. They made my shake just how I like it. Chocolate-Banana-Peanut Butter. My next stop was "Jug Rock." http://www.visitmartincounty.org/images/jug_rock_R.jpg This was the geologic point of interest on my vacation. Nobody seems to know about this place and the locals in Shoals do absolutely nothing to let tourist know about it. It is much more impressive than the picture. I would say it is about 40 feet tall. If you had some tree climbing boots you could easily get to the top of it as there is a straight tall tree next to it. However, the top is covered in ivy looking plants. I had dinner in downtown Shoals at Velma's Cafe. It doesn't look like I am going to find any unique food on this trip, unless you count fried pickles. In town, I walked across the White River on a bridge, and I saw a school of large fish about 3 to 4 feet long. There were at least 6 of them. I guess they were catfish. One may have been over 4 feet. My next stop was Spout Spring. It was just a 3 inch pipe coming out of a cliff, but the water coming out looked crystal clear. My next stop was a scenic place on the White River where the entire river suddenly drops 3 feet over a few sloping cliff. The water looked nasty. A sign read the town of Hindostan was once here but in 1848 1,200 people died of the Great Sickness. I have a feeling they all went swimming there. I spent awhile driving on the Lawrence County Scenic Byway. There was a deer crossing sign so I slowed down, but suddenly a deer darted right out in front of me and I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting it. I stopped in the town of French Lick to get more information about there old train excursions. I don't see how to fit that in this trip. Across the street was a casino. I was on a tight budget and vowed that I was going to leave after I lost $ 3.00. I quickly was ahead by $ 24, so I left. I drove around the roads at Lake Patoka. I saw a very large beautiful red sunset over the lake. I had a late night dinner in Marengo, and the local dairy queen-like restarant. They had a good meatball sandwich. After getting back to the convention campground, I watched some of the live entertainers, and socialized with cavers, but then went to bed to get ready for a big caving day the next day. David Locklear --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
