searcyf@mac.com – Page 102 – Travels with Fred

Torreya State Park – Day 4

20 September 2016

So much for gentle raindrops on the tent lulling you to sleep. Around 9 pm the bottom fell out. I doubt Noah was subjected to this amount of rainfall in so short of time. It was deafening inside the tent. It finally tapered off around 4 am.

I was more worried about the wind. You could really hear it roar in the tree tops but for some reason, it never reached ground level. I had staked the tent and fly fairly securely but the one complaint given about the tent on the REI website was the lack of stability in wind of over 50 mph. Everything was ship-shape when I checked the tie downs this morning.

The good news was the rain had stopped by the time I got up. I had to pack a wet tent but at least I didn’t have to do it in the rain. Tomorrow will be dry out day for the tent – if it doesn’t rain here.

The great news is the tent never leaked! I’ve been in downpours in tents many times and all of them leak. This one didn’t let a single drop in. I even kept the screens open for ventilation and I still didn’t get any rain inside. More importantly, there was no condensation inside. I’ve never seen the inside of a tent after a rainstorm that didn’t have some inside condensation. This tent was dry to the touch.

I always learn something new on each trip. The one thing I should have packed was door mats for the tent. It got really dirty and gritty inside with all the rain and foot traffic. I thought to bring rugs for the inside but not for the outside.

The table I purchased from REI was great. I may even purchase a second so one will hold cooking gear and the other will serve as a reading table (for the lantern) and to hold my wine glass.

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On the way in to the park the first day, I saw a single whitetail doe along the side of the park road. The same occurred the second day. On the way out this morning, a herd of whitetails crossed the road in front of me.

Although this is bear territory in Florida, I never saw one but did see several trees that had been clawed to get grubs. I assume it was a bear since the trees were rotten and pretty much shredded.

The trip back was uneventful except for the area around Palm Beach. It seems everyone on I-95 is trying to get to the Florida Turnpike and everyone on the Turnpike is trying to get to I-95. My GPS wanted to route me to I-95 at Jupiter, Florida (you can see I-95 from the Turnpike there) but decided there were traffic jams on 95. It then kept me on the Turnpike until there were traffic jams on that. I opted for bumper-to-bumper 6 lanes of traffic from Palm Beach to home on 95 rather than bumper-to-bumper traffic on 2 lanes of the Turnpike. I’ll never know if I made the right decision.

Added to the traffic problem was five cars were in a race south on the Turnpike and really put everyones’ lives at risk. They were even trying to pass each other on the right of the traffic lane just to get ahead of the other car. The speed limit on the Turnpike is 70 mph and I figure they were weaving in and out at 90 mph.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. The hike was great, albeit a little long, and the camping part was a lot of fun. Even dishwashing was not too onerous of a chore. I actually learned to relax, sitting in my REI folding chair, chilling with a glass of wine and listening to the wind in the trees, the owls calling out to one another, and getting to see constellations forever occluded in south Florida.

Torreya State Park – Day 3

19 January 2016

…or I should say Falling Waters State Park and Florida Caverns State Park. I copped out of hiking Torreya today and did these state parks.

I first headed to Falling Waters. I wanted to see the tallest waterfall in Florida (67′) into a sink hole. No water pools at the bottom – it simply goes underground thanks to our Karst topography. It is impressive as it tumbles into the sink hole.

The path to the falls is all newly done walkway and steps to the fall for optimum viewing. There are numerous sink holes along the way, prepping you for the falls.

You can then walk through a wire grass/long leaf pine community (again, all on boardwalk) and see the first oil drilling in Florida (they struck gas, not oil, and sealed it). Wiregrass is interesting in that it must have fire to produce seed. There is a close association with longleaf pine which also needs fire to reproduce successfully.

From there, I drove through their campsite to see what the sites looked like in case I wanted to come back and camp. This park seems relatively up-to-date with new facilities everywhere. Other than the falls and a few nature trails and a lake for swimming, there’s not much to it as far as entertainment. Just quiet and solitude. My kind of place.

From there I traveled back east along I-10 to Mariana, Florida and Florida Caverns State Park. I used to exit I-10 at Mariana when I would return to Mississippi and pass the park every time. I’d always wanted to see the place but was in too big of a hurry to stop. I’m glad I did this trip. I had an hour to wait for the tour and so quickly walked a trail near the cave.

Apparently, wildflowers did not receive the memo on global warming. Carolina jasmine was blooming. This is a Fall plant. You could always see it after the trees lost their leaves.

Carolina jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Trillium and rue anemone, both Spring flowers, were either in bloom or about to do so.

I added to my “never seen but heard of” plant list with Allegheny Spurge. My major professor thought this plant should be within my collection area and I knew he would be disappointed if I did not collect it in Tishomingo State Park where I did my thesis work. I never did. The damn stuff was growing like a weed in Caverns State Park!

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Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)

Most of the caverns were prepared for public viewing by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 30’s. I was told it is the only cavern system in Florida you can tour. The others are mostly under water and even this one flood periodically.

I was surprised at the myriad of formations and the pristine condition of the cave. We had a guide and guide-in-training, so we got some interesting perspectives from each.

Guides said this was where the floor sank and created breaks that eventually resealed.

These were called sweet potatoes because of their shape. Apparently the CCC was always hungry and most of the formations are named after foods.

Floor of cave where water has etched the pattern

The guide said newer formations were white in color with calcite.

We did see one inhabitant of the cave.

Both of these parks are well worth a visit so put them on your Florida bucket list.

One other aside. There was a guy on the tour that looked exactly like my friend Chris – in height, hair color (and amount) and even the way he stood and the mannerisms. I spoke to him briefly and he and his wife were from Canada (Chris originally from England). A true Doppleganger.

For the past two mornings, we’ve been socked in by fog. One of the park volunteers told me he had been working here six months and had never seen it like it has been. I have to admit, the fog has been nice. It kept the temperature down and it would condense on the tree branches and drip softly on the tent all night long. It was very soothing and peaceful.

It is predicted to rain all night and all day tomorrow, so I’ll be packing up a wet tent for the trip back. I don’t mind since I need to clean the inside anyway and will need to air it out when I return.

From the dripping of fog condensate to rain on the tent, it has made for excellent sleeping weather!

Torreya State Park – Day 2

18 January 2016

I got a great night of sleep last night in spite of not having received my queen size air mattress. Sleep didn’t look too good earlier in the evening. The camper next to me was watching movies on tv with his windows open. The camper is not much to look at but the TV has surround sound. However, the movie was over around 8:30 pm and I slept well.

Again, park trail maps lie. Either that or my Garmin is badly misreading data points via satellite. There are two trails in the park with several connecting trails. The first trail, called the Torreya Trail, starts at the Gregory House and follows the Appalachicola River and then breaks away into the park. It is a 6.5 mile loop.

The second trail is the Torreya Challenge Trail. To get to the trail head, you have to hike in 1.03 miles (there calculation, not mine). Once you reach the trail head, it is a 6.5 or 6.75 mile loop, depending on the map or the bulletin board.

My Garmin said I did over 9 miles today. It felt like 9! I’ve hiked over 9 in a day twice last year: Grand Canyon South Rim and Point Reyes National Seashore – Glen Camp trail. I was as tired today as then.

The hike started out foggy and very humid. You could barely see the trail markers at first.

Florida State Parks have a convention for trail markers. Blue blazes on trees (actually blue spray paint) are for connecting trails and red/orange is for main trails.

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I met one hiker starting out. He went counterclockwise around the trail and I went clockwise. We met again at mile marker 3. He was a much faster hiker than I and he intended to do both loops today.

On my last leg of the trail, some young adults stopped where I was resting. One young man lives directly across from Broward College, South. His girl friend is majoring in marine biology.

The last two hikers I met are staying in the campsite. In talking with them after the hike, they started the hike at 11 am and finished before I did. I started at 10 am and met them on the way out. They also said their phone measured over 9 miles.

It seems I start out strong, but have to catch my breath (and get my heart rate down) on the hills. I’ve learned breath control in hiking and when I get to the top of a climb, I rest 45 seconds to 60 seconds – enough I don’t hear my heart pounding in my chest.

As the hike wears on, I end of resting part of the way up a climb. Towards the end of the hike, I may have to stop 3 or 4 times in a climb to get my heart rate down.

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I’ll either do the Torreya Trail loop or drive to Falling Waters State Park to see the tallest waterfall in Florida.

Torreya State Park – Day 1

17 January 2016

I left Lakeland around 8:30 am. It takes forever to get anywhere in Florida – either due to traffic or the length of the state. It takes less time to drive the length of California than to get to the panhandle.

All during the drive I was contemplating checking in at the park and then driving further west to Falling Waters State Park to see the tallest water fall in Florida. As I drove, it kept getting cloudier, so I decided to check in and pitch camp. I can do the other park later in the week. It was a good call.

Last Friday, I did a dry run on pitching my new tent. It is a Kingdom 8 from REI and will sleep eight people. More importantly, you can stand upright.

The tent is tall enough to stand upright plus more.

My reasoning was if I were to do state parks this year, I would want a little more comfortable camping experience, especially since I wouldn’t be back packing into a campsite. The Kingdom 8, to quote someone, is “YUGE”.

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Today, I got the tent up in under an hour and feel confident it will only take he about 30 minutes from now on. This is luxury camping. I have a living room, kitchen and garage as well as a bedroom and bathroom!

I checked in much later with the ranger/host and met a couple of campers. Dinner was prepared inside because of the slight chance of rain turning into a deluge.

I had a pork chop sautéed in butter and rosemary and cabbage sautéed with baby Bella mushrooms and garlic. To toast the occasion, I had a Chloe Chardonnay from Sonoma. Life is tough.

Sautéed cabbage with shrooms and garlic and pork chop with rosemary. Wine was a Chloe Chardonnay from Sonoma.

As you can see, I really do have all the comforts of home. I don’t even have to get up and hike to the bathrooms in the middle of the night. The toilet has a chemical compound that solidifies any liquid waste and deodorizes any smell. It comes with its own disposable bag.

Tomoorow, I plan to hike the Torreya Challenge, a 6.5 mile hike in the steepest terrain in Florida. I suspect I will be walking up and down hills the whole way.

On the Road Again

16 January 2016

The itch to travel got to be too much so I planned a three night camping trip to Torreya State Park in the Florida panhandle. For those who followed my cross country blog, this was the park I packed out of in the middle of the night due to a hurricane warning, near Bristol, Florida. The park has 12 miles of challenging trails (for Florida) and I wanted to try my hand at some of the most difficult hiking in the state. It’s the elevation. Relatively speaking. The highest elevation in Florida is near the park at a staggering 345 feet above sea level. That is the lowest, highest elevation of 50 states.

I decided to divide the drive to the panhandle into two parts and put in at Lakeland, Florida for the night. I’m at The Terrace on Main Street.

I stayed here last year when a friend and I toured the Frank Lloyd Wright campus of Florida Southern. The Terrace is listed as an historic hotel of America. The hotel was renovated and it’s centrally located to downtown.

Lake Mirror is directly across the street and is famous for its swans.

The original population was wiped out by 1954 but the Queen of England donated a pair and now over 80 live in and around Lake Mirror.

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The lake is the centerpiece of the town and is a beautiful walk. It’s equally impressive at night.

Near the hotel is Harry’s Seafood and Bar where I ate last visit and this one. They specialize in New Orleans cuisine and I have to admit it is pretty close to the real thing. Tonight was blackened redfish with collard greens.

Tomorrow I hit the road for Torreya and three nights of tent camping. Let me explain. It’s actually tent camping from a car. I realized this new year I wanted to explore more of Florida’s state parks (also to save a little money and not do another cross country trip so soon). I invested in a new tent that is large enough you can stand upright. As I get older, this becomes more important. Once I get it set up tomorrow, I’ll send photos so you can see.

Cross Country Tour – Day 49

16 October 2016

I hate goodbyes and especially to good friends. I tried to get Joe to go with me but he wasn’t having any of it. Smart dog to stay with Stephanie.

The trip from Greenville, Florida was about 7 1/2 hours drive time, first via I-10, then I-75, then the turnpike. Later, around Jupiter, Florida, the GPS shuttled me off to I-95 and I and I appreciated it. The turnpike was getting some rain and people were stopping dead in the rain and blocking traffic. You would think Floridians would know how to drive in the rain since we get 50 inches a year.

I stopped at the local Publix to get milk and other things for breakfast the next day and then pulled into the driveway with the trip odometer reading 11, 090 miles for the entire trip. I’ll certainly need my next 10,000 mile checkup on Wednesday (assuming I don’t get picked for a jury on Tuesday).

Below is a summary of my hikes. I did over 64 miles of trails and cumulatively climbed 8, 896 feet (and it felt like it). Thanks to Robert Buford, I found out I was not 66 years old but 67, so I’m even more impressed since I’m older than I thought.

I’ve learned that 6 miles is pretty much my limit with a full size pack. I’ve also learned that every time you think the rest of the trail is downhill, it isn’t. I don’t like public campgrounds (national or state) because the people generally are there to party, not camp. You are not necessarily any better off if you go primitive and have to hike into the campsite because some people just don’t get it.

Even with the above complaints, this was a wonder trip. I will eventually post some albums of the trip on my personal website (see the link at the top right of the page) along with some videos.

Thanks for following my blog. I hope I wasn’t too boring.

DATE	Park	Hike	Distance	Max Elev	Elev Gain
Aug 29	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek State Park	Campsite 1	4.6	59	30
Aug 30	Torreya State Park, Bristol, FL	Rock Bluff Primitive Camping	2.0	150	30
September 6	Lost Maples State Natural Area	Campsite A	3.26	538	490
Sep 8	Big Bend National Park	The Windows	6.7	5447	945
September 12	Grand Canyon	South Rim from Angel Falls Lodge to Hermits Rest	9.73	6820	1300
Sep 13	Joshua Tree Narional Park	Skull Rock	1.7	4360	121
September 15	Sequoia/Kings Canyon	Moro Rock	0.3	6725	150
Sep 15	Sequoia/Kings Canyon	General Grant	0.5	6350	9
September 15	Sequoia/Kings Canyon	General Sherman Tree	0.8	7000	154
Sep 19	Point Reyes National Seashore	Point Reyes Light	1.3	535	314
Sep 20	Point Reyes National Seashore	Glen Camp	7.19	1270	1156
Sep 23	Crater Lake	Sun Notch	0.5	7054	82
September 22	Crater Lake	Castle Crest	0.4	6434	276
September 23	Crater Lake	Godfrey Glen Loop	1.0	6102	102
Sep 24	Columbia River George	Multnomah Fall	2.0	420	784
Sep 25	Columbia River Gorge	Wahkeena Fall	0.2
Sep 25	Columbia River Gorge	Latourell Fall	2.1		659
September 25	Columbia River Gorge	Bridal Veil Fall	1.0		127
September 27	Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC		0.5
Sep 29	Olympic National Park	Ruby Beach	0.5	68	68
Sep 29	Olympic National Park	Spuce Nature Trail	1.2	2493	135
Sep 29	Olympic National Park	Hoh Rainforest Hall of Moss	1.0	2493	75
Oct 2	Glacier National Park	Avalanche Lake	5.8	3905	715
Oct 5	Yellowstone National Park	Observation Point	2.3	7555	200
	Yellowstone National Park	Mystic Fall at Biscuit Basin	3.5	7600	315
October 7	Rocky Mountain National Park	Bear Lake	0.7	9450	39
October 7	Rocky Mountain National Park	Emerald Lake	3.6	10110	620
Total			64.38		8896

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Cross Country Tour – Day 48

15 October 2016

I left Birmingham around 8:45 am after bidding Lynn and a Robert goodbye. They stoked me full of fresh fruit, yogurt and coffee before I left and I admit to reluctance to leave such good friends.

The drive southward was uneventful. The road took me down via Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is where Fort Rucker is located and where my father was stationed for a period in our U. S.Army nomadic existence. I remember Dad driving my brother and me around the base roads when soldiers were on maneuvers and the soldiers would run across diamond back rattle snakes. After they killed them, they would drape them across the base road signs. It was not unusual to see three or four snakes draped across the signs and I’m not talking about small snakes. These almost reached to the ground and they were often as big around as a man’s forearm. At least it seemed so to my eyes.

From Dothan it is a short drive to I-10, the state of Florida and the eastern time zone. I made it to Stephanie’s by 4 pm.

I’ve know Stephanie for many years now. We met through her husband’s cousin Ed. George and Stephanie were wonderful hosts when they lived in Fort Lauderdale and I admit to eating many meals in their home. One year I won an award at the college and George and Stephanie threw a surprise party for me.

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Stephanie is amazing. She just recently won her age group in a 20 kilometer marathon. What she does puts my exploits to shame. I don’t know that I would have the discipline to do what she does (nor the knees).

She welcomed me in and I got to meet Joe, her boxer. I’ve seen photos of Joe on Facebook but his pictures don’t do him justice. This is one cute dog.

Stephanie and I caught up on each other’s lives while Joe was figuring me out. We had a great dinner that Stephanie prepared and by my bed time, Joe and I had become friends. I also like to think I brought Stephanie some rain. While we were eating dinner, it poured.

Since you are reading this a day late, you’ll know I have no phone reception in the wilds of the panhandle. By the time you read this, I’ll be getting ready for jury duty on Tuesday.

Cross Country Tour – Day 47

14 October 2016

My first trip to Birmingham was as a kid. My grandfather owned and ran Agnew Hardware in Morton, Mississippi and I went with him and my grandmother to a hardware convention in Birmingham. My grandmother won first prize for some contest where you had to make something unusual and she mad a pair of ear rings out of fish hooks.

It was also at this convention that they picked up an advertisement for some paint company that was given away by the company – an electric clock. That thing lasted over 40 years. I finally lost track where it ended up but it may yet still be keeping time somewhere.

My next trip was still as a kid. My grandmother took me to Bessemer, on the outskirts of Birmingham, to see my great Aunt Ernestine and great Uncle Bivin Johnston and their son Terry and daughter Amanda. Terry was all grown up and in the military, so I didn’t see him but I fell in love with my cousin Amanda. She was an absolutely beautiful girl and although I was much too young for her, I never missed a chance afterward to see her. It was like she got a hefty dose of beautiful genes in the family.

Aunt Ernestine doted on me and made a very shy little boy feel welcome. I remember her playing the piano and singing me the song “Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer, how many monkeys are there here? One can read, one can write, one can smoke his pawpaw’s poopoo pipe.” I know, I know. Totally silly, but those were the words to the song and she played it with great relish over and over to entertain just me – to heck with the others in the room. Come to think of it, I remember my great Aunt Deliah singing that song, so it must have been something in their childhood.

Since then, I’ve been to and driven through the city many times and it has always been a place of good memories.

You can’t drive through Birmingham (at least you couldn’t) without noticing Vulcan, the largest cast iron statue in the world, and the steel mills. When I was young, many were still in operation belching smoke and making steel. Later, after they closed, you saw the rusting hulks of the mills and saw how it devastated the city of Birmingham. For many years, the city was dirty and decaying.

After a great breakfast with Lynn and Robert at a newly discovered place, Robert and I headed for a tour of the town. I have to admit, the city has come back a long way from the last time I drove through the city streets. Robert showed me where he went to high school, several of the significant civil rights landmarks and several of the places he and Lynn frequented as kids, teenagers, and adults. Some were still there and some weren’t.

We then drove to Tannehill State Park, the site of the original foundry for iron in the region.

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To make iron, you need the red iron ore abundant in the hills of northern Alabama, charcoal (also abundantly made from the trees in the area) and limestone (abundant throughout the South). Not far from the original foundary, three blast furnaces were eventually constructed with the aid of the Confederate government on site and which supplied a major part of the pig iron used to make steel for armaments during the War of the Rebellion.

Reconstruction of the three blast furnaces at Tannehill State Park.

Wilson’s raiders, a mostly Iowa regiment of some 14,000 soldiers, destroyed the foundries in 1865, just before the end of the war. However, after the war, Birmingham became a major center of steel and iron production, particularly for World War II.

Chimney and door to feed in iron ore, charcoal and limestone.

Robert took me to the museum in the park and one exhibit was very poignant. It listed every steel and iron mill every in operation in Birmingham (I think I counted at least 12) and sadly, their closing dates. Robert says there is one mill still in operation. These were companies that ran company towns with company script good only in company stores. Eventually the companies recognized the importance of insuring the health and well being of their workers and began schools, housing, and social services for their workers.

Birmingham has a fascinating history. Robert took me to Ensley, the original “Birmingham” and showed how it spread out from this tiny community into the city it is today. It was also the city of Bull Connor, the bombing and death of three little girls at the 16th St Baptist Church, and the KKK. It is also the city of culture and arts in the South and a city in renaissance.

After we returned home, Lynn and Robert cooked us a steak dinner with salad, potatoes and all the accompaniments.

This has been a great visit. Robert and Lynn have been steadfast friends over many years and we have laughed, joked, relived good and bad times. And Lynn, I promise never to bring up the word “camper” again! Thanks for everything!

Cross Country Tour -Day 46

13 October 2016

Well, that was a luxurious stay at the Capital Hotel! Strangely, there was something wrong with their shower. It would run hot, then cold, then lukewarm, then cold again. It took a lot of running around in it to get the right temperature. Not only that, they placed a soap dish in the shower about head high and I was constantly hitting my head on it as I showered.

It took me 2 1/2 hours to drive to Memphis to meet Sturart Sineath. I haven’t seen him in 3 years and it was good to catch up. We had lunch, talked old times and new times and too soon, it was time to get on the road again.

My next stop was Hoover, Alabama to see Lynn and Robert Buford. Highway 78/I-22 pretty much takes you direct to their place. I have to admit that this section of Mississippi and Alabama are really attractive.
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I made it to their door by 6 pm and we immediately fell into conversation as old friends do. I’ve known them for over 35 years through the college and we picked up right where we left off. I did tell them that I was upset they had retired before I did, but now that I’m retired, it’s OK.

They treated me to dinner at a really nice Mexican restaurant and I had my favorite, steak fajitas. I really like the house they have. I’m particularly jealous of Robert’s fully finished basement.

Tomorrow we plan to tour some sites in and around the area.

Cross Country Tour – Day 45

12 October 2016

Today has pretty much been a travel day of six and a half hours, most of it along I-30. I have come to the conclusion that drivers in Dallas/Fort Worth are actually worse than south Florida. I’ve never been cut off so many times in so short of a time.

The consolation was pulling into Capital Hotel in Little Rock. This is really nice. The room isn’t terribly large but everything is first rate.

After relaxing a moment, I called Shawn Leary to see about meeting up with him tomorrow in Memphis. I’ve known Shawn since I first taught at Itawamba Junior College in the early 80’s. Unfortunately, Shawn thought as was arriving in Memphis today and his schedule is full tomorrow. We had a nice long talk and I got to speak with his partner Greg. We promised to stay a little better in touch than we have in the past.
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Next I called Stuart Sineath who I’ve known since the late 80’s from BCC. We plan to meet in Memphis tomorrow around noon. It’ll be good to se Stuart again. Unfortunately, I’ll have to meet him at work and miss seeing his wife Nikki and their kids.

Later tomorrow, I plan to head to Hoover, AL to see Lynn and Robert Buford for a couple of days.

I finally added up my hikes and found that I hiked 68.3 miles and climbed 8,896 feet with a range of elevations of 59 feet in Florida’s Broussard State Park to 10,110 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park.

As I contemplate this, I wonder where I got the determination to hike the miles and climb the elevation. I think it comes from my maternal grandmother, Ruby Agnew. She had stamina. I remember one time she was late for church but arrived late and took her place in the church choir. Later we found out she had wrecked her car on the way to church, found out she was OK and the car was driveable and came to the church service anyway. Only later did the wreck affect her.

I don’t anticipate any more hikes, so this is probably my final total. Once I get home, I’ll produce a spreadsheet of the hikes and the data associated with them.