In reference to a recent post by a caver skipping the convention.
I am tonight pondering for the first time, what it would take to at least attend the convention for 1 or 2 days. Sunday and Monday ? My problem ( as if I only had one ), is that I seem to have a 4 day window right now, where I could make a serious road-trip, but that would leave me missing all the official NSS activities. I have mentioned this before here, but my first convention was the 1994 Convention in Texas, and that was a whole lot of fun, but some would say that it was just way too hot for such a gathering. My next convention spoiled me because I got to go on a real caving trip into Cass Cave, West Virginia before the convention, and since it was at the official OTR site, a whole lot of fun was had. At each convention, I had some mishaps of some kind, that offset the fun. In Texas, I got real sick after the convention, and spent a lot of money being treated and missed a lot of work. In West Virginia, I arrived at the airport in Charleston, totally unprepared to hitchhike to the campground, and I think when I got there I had trouble getting in because I had not pre-registered, and I had a difficult time getting back to the airport ( Roy Wessel came to the rescue ). In Maine, I had the very best time of my life. The only mishap I recall, is that a lot of effort was made to see Acadia National Park, but it was so foggy when I got there, that I might as well just stayed home and stuck my face in the car's exhaust pipe. In Marquette, I missed my plane, not realizing it was the last plane, that day, and a caver who is on this list serve went above the call of duty to rescue me. In Huntsville, 2005, my wife had an accident at the campground, tripping over the tent wire causing our 9 month old baby to fly thru the air and nearly landing on a tent stake hitting her head on the corner of a lounge-chair. In Porterville, I made the mistake of trying to pick-up a rider in LA on the way back, and drive them back to Houston. That was a nightmare. My road-trip to Vermont was just pure H*ll, there and back, and I was only at the Convention about 4 hours at most, an hour of that was just trying to get someone to let me in as registration had closed. Nevada would have been more fun, had I realized my car problems were simple radiator cap. And last year, my trip with cowpoke and Mystery Caver to Albuquerque was bad, until I blew a head-gasket only to learn that that requires replacing a V8 motor which was over $ 10,000 by the time I got my Sequoia back. In summary, I have a vague idea that even though I would probably have a hoot in Helena, that something bad would happen similar to the stuff above. I had a Craigslist ride offer today out of Houston, but it was very very shady. We played phone tag all day, and they were just too vague for my suspicions, and there was absolutely no way that I could get off work this afternoon. Anyways, Part of the nostalgia of going is getting to meet with cavers like Mr. Fleming, so if he and his friends or colleagues are not there, then that will be a bummer. The chances of me going caving on this trip are less than winning the 493 million dollar Mega Millions all by myself. On the subject of "Bang for the Buck" or value of what you get for the money spent, it is true, I could find something fun to do for a few hundred dollars closer to home, and not miss much work. I am guessing there will be 200 cavers from areas like Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and other PNW areas, along with Canadians. And that those cavers, would probably not come to a convention like the one in Florida. Florida was a mud pit, but the tubing was so awesome on the Ichetuckenee River. I decided on that float trip, that I was going to tell the machine shop foremen, ( where I had been temporarily working ) that he could take his job and shove it. That might have been a huge mistake, but I was about as senile that day, as I am today. And that is how I ended back up in the rut I have been in for the past 9 or 10 years. I could easily spend a few days in the Ozarks in Arkansas just chilling. I could head south into Mexico, and go swimming somewhere like Micos. I could be more sensible and do something around the Texas Hill Country. I purposely skipped the 1998 Convention, because my old friend Harry Walker ( R.I.P. ) and my new friend Victoria Arbizu-Sabateur wanted to climb 3 or 4 fourteeners near Aspen, and visit the hot springs, and go rafting thru Snider's Suckhole in Brown's Canyon on the Arkansas River and tour the commercial cave. That was one of the best road-trips of my life, although it was severely marred by transmission failure in Harry's old Ford Exploder, and in the weeks and months and years after the trip, none of us ever really spoke to one another again after the trip. I have plenty of valid excuses for staying home. Hurricane Harvey problems, being top of the list. A sane person, would stay home search for a better job, and try to find more stable living arrangements. I just can't picture me doing that. For those of you going, be safe and have fun. David Locklear
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