Can a time traveler be late for an appointment?

Today was a day of travel. Without a lot of thought, last October I jumped on a cheap flight deal to Italy. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing and a purchase I wish I hadn't made since I had no idea or planning of what would happen later in the year, but the time finally arrived and though I was on the fence for a while, I finally decided to go ahead and make the trip. I spent the past 2-3 days planning out the trip, making hostel reservations, and figuring out train schedules. Google Earth has always been a great resource when planning this stuff so to get an idea of what to see and where to go. I went through my daily schedule and made whatever museum reservations, train tickets, and walking/hiking plans. I was able to download maps of Italy into the GPS, record way point of particular sites to visit, and the hostel locations. Since I wasn't going to be camping, I fortunately didn't have to carry a tent, pad, or sleeping bag, but I still had a decent amount of clothes to take or wear. I usually take a lot more clothes and materials with me on the way to a destination than I do on the way back. I had a few months of magazine subscriptions and took them for the flights so when I was finished they could be left at the airport for others. I also take a lot of old socks and T-shirts so I can wear them a couple of times and then just throw them away instead of having to take the time to wash them. It allows me to clear out some of my closet and save a bit of hassle.

I ended up taking my hiking pack since I could cinch it down but the other camera bags I had either didn't have any space for an extra lens or was designed only to be carried on the back. Thankfully an old friend was incredibly courteous and gracious enough that, even with a last minute request and interruption of previous plans, was willing to meet up with me to allow me to borrow their personal sling-style camera bag. I was able to get in all of my lenses, batteries, memory cards, and still have a little room to attach a few things such as my water bottle and tripod. Without that bag, it would have been a lot of pain and hassle to try to carry all of my stuff securely when on the move. Thank you.

Originally I thought of taking the train from Tampa to NYC (my departure point) so I could have a nice layover in DC, but it would have taken at least 20 hours in travel to get there plus the time and money to get to the airport and back, so I decided to just fly in and out as needed. Since I didn't have any other options, my father was great enough to come pick me up at 5:30 in the morning so I could get to the airport in time. After breezing through security, I headed out for what I figure is my last big travel adventure for a while.

Every man reaps what he sows, except the amateur gardener.

I decided to try putting in a summer garden since it had been many years since I last had something set up. I spent part of the afternoon clearing out the sunny spots in front of the garage and pulling out old elephant ear plants and a few shriveled up pineapple plants that never really produced much. I put down some old window screen to hopefully make the weeding more manageable and hope that I can remember to keep them watered. I'll probably hit Home Depot on the way home and pick up an automatic water timer and hope it can do some good. If things work out, then by the middle of June I should have tomatoes (large and even cherry size), cucumbers, and bell peppers.

If things don't work out I'll put in a Japanese rock garden since I don't think I'll be able to kill that.

I don't know if we'll ever cure proverty, but the way prices and taxes are going we're sure to cure wealth.

I finally got my taxes finished last night at 3AM and am glad to have been able to catch up on one of my biggest, 'need to do' items on my list. I'd let a lot of things lapse over the years, so it was good to have this beast finished. I was even able to get in my maximum $5000 IRA contribution (money I won't see again for 35 years but helps save a good bit in current taxes) set up at my new favorite banking institution, Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Not only did they have about the best current rates on CDs, but I also just picked up a credit card through them that has the best cash rewards program right now. My old Citibank dividend credit card simply gave me a basic 1% cash back on my purchases, however I had to wait until $50 worth of rewards accrued before I could request a check. This new card not only provides 5% back in gas purchases (saving about 11 cents a gallon at current prices) but also 2% in grocery store and drugstore purchases and 1.25% on all other purchases. The nice part is that the cash back is applied to the credit card balance every month, so I don't have to wait any period of time to get the benefit.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been busting out the home cleaning and repair projects that have been put off for far, far too long and cost me more than I would have expected in terms of the delay. I've caught up on finishing the kitchen cabinet baseboards, repainting most of the baseboards in the house, scrubbing the floors and cleaning out old grout, repainting/touching up the walls, and various other things. I've also been spending my days at a new potential job location and even traveled to Sebastian for a day trip to get involved with a property management project on Monday as my first official task, pics below. On Tuesday I attended a pre-audit as an opportunity to learn a bit more and participate in the process. Sometimes the small things have to be fixed before the bigger things can sink in, but I do have a certain optimism for the future; which right now is pretty much all I have. I'm a bit excited and saddened at the same time; excited for the opportunities that might be coming up soon and saddened for the things lost, even old free time, but it is indeed progress.

Cave women all belong to the same club.

Most of my traveling in the past had always been solo endeavors, New Zealand, summer trips in 2007 and 2006, Tex-Mex 2007, etc. I decided to check out and become more aware of events and activities hosted by local groups. I had previously heard of some local event groups and found the Tampa Adventure Group (TAG) through the meetup.com website. I learned on Thursday about a planned trip to the caves in the Withlacoochee State Forest, just north of Brooksville. When I got there after some parking-lot traffic on I-75 due to an accident, the group was already over by one of the cave system. I didn't know a single person there but just introduced myself to a few and started chatting. The caves, like most of the dry caves in Florida, were pretty small and not really extensive; in fact, there wasn't much that one could penetrate more than a few dozen feet in most places. In most of the areas, only 3-4 people at a time could go in and crawl around before things got too small to go any further unless you were a Smurf. While the group was in a cave, I went over to check out Dames Cave (aka vandal Cave)nearby that was a large pit with a small side access. One of the rooms in here reminded me of the powder rooms in different old forts where there was a small entrance to a larger room used for storage.

After everyone was done at one cave the group headed a little bit north to Peace cave (given the name due to the peace symbol painted on the nearby tree). This was the site of a cave rescue of two young boys in 1999; http://www.mejeme.com/dive/articles/withlacoochee_122799.htm The entrance after the rescue had been blocked, as is typical of administrative knee jerk reaction to some public event where the elected feels that the population needs to be protected from itself, however from what I understand it is never really locked. There is plenty of room inside the chambers for a fair amount of people to stand up and hang around while others explore some of the off-shoot crawl spaces.

For those interested in visiting the caves, they are fairly easy to reach. Use 10522 S Lecanto Hwy, Lecanto, FL 34461 as your Google Maps, Google Earth, or GPS address to get you close. After finding the trail head, it is just about a half-mile from the road to reach Dames. You'll see a fairly obvious clearing to your right that has some poles and cables up to prevent vehicles from getting too close. From here, Peace Cave is to your left and up the path northward about .3 - .4 miles or so away.

Pretty much all you need are some clothes you can get dirty (there isn't any water in the caves, so all you'll get will be a bit dusty) and a couple of headlamps or flashlights. Have at least one extra light for each person if you can (or at *minimum* 3 lights for every two people) as you explore a little bit. Peace cave has two decent sized rooms, but only one of the tunnels really allows one to travel very far before it pinches off into smurf sized offshots.

Here is some information concerning the geology of Dames cave: http://www.karst.usf.edu/Publications/SWFWMD2003/DamesCave.pdf Dames cave is located around ( 28.709289° -82.442893°) for those using a GPS or want to plug it into Google Earth.
Here is some good HD video someone shot during a different trip trip: http://wahoohiker.com/2009/04/09/vandal-cave-in-the-withlacoochee-state-forest/

Peace Cave

Peace Cave

Dames Cave

If you found any of the information to be useful, the feel free to add in a comment. I enjoy outdoor travel and sharing information, so if you have other recommended sites or stories, then include them as well. If you are in the Tampa area and enjoy a fairly wide range of outdoor and adventure activities, then check out the Tampa Adventure Group (TAG).
If you have time, check out some of my other outdoor or travel blog posts and let me know what you think. http://mikeblitch.blogspot.com/search/label/travel http://mikeblitch.blogspot.com/search/label/Italy http://mikeblitch.blogspot.com/search/label/Aussie%20%2F%20Kiwi%20trip http://mikeblitch.blogspot.com/search/label/photography

♪♪"Crashing, in a small airplane, Don't think I'll be coming back again"♪♪

After doing about everything that I had wanted to do on this trip, I decided to head home from Vegas a couple of days earlier than planned. I was a bit drained from all the activities and events and didn't really feel like hanging around any longer; so Southwest was able to get me a new flight booked early. I figured that I had a bunch of things to do for work and also wanted to help a close friend move some stuff before I started work during the week. After dropping my travel companion off at the convention center, I headed downtown a bit to hit one of my favorite geocaches as well as quickly check out Fremont Street during the day. After a few pictures I drove down the strip one more time and stopped by one of my favorite stores, Fry's Electronics, before heading to the car rental place to drop off the car prior to catching my flight. Unfortunately, after arrive in Houston I learned the flight to Tampa was delayed for over 2 hours, so all I could do was listen to my 'Angels and Demons' audio book and read some of my tech manuals. After an uneventful flight home, I was ready to get some much needed rest and recovery in my own bed. Ahh, the simple things in life, there is nothing bigger.

Time is the fire in which we burn.

Last night after a quick bite to eat I slept for a couple of hours in the car in a gas station parking lot before waking up and deciding to drive a bit from Mesquite, NV to the Valley of Fire State Park. I pulled over just a few miles from the park around 3 o'clock and threw out my sleeping bag and pad and slept under the stars next to the car. This way, I was able to get a relatively early start in the park. I spent the morning exploring a few of the slot canyons, roadside pull-offs, and various trails. A lot of people have recommended this park and I can see why and am glad I took the time to stop in. I passed right by the entrance on my last trip to the area, however I just didn't have enough time left to make stop in. The weather was comfortable and I got a bunch of neat shots throughout the park as I started to play with different exposures so I could try my hand at HDR processing when I returned home.

After staying for most of the morning and early afternoon, I headed back towards Vegas. Since I had time before my evening plans, I decided to head to Red Rock canyon one more time (my third visit) so I could do the driving tour once again. If I lived in the area, I think I'd definitely try to make it here on a regular basis and get into rock climbing a lot more. After meandering my way through and stopping at the various vista, I headed back towards Vegas and went to the Pinball Hall of Fame. This is a Mecca for a pinball fans and serious players and I would rather spend more money here than nearly any casino. After a few games I headed off to find the elusive $7 steak dinner (with beer) before finally heading back to the Monte Carlo to get a shower and some rest. My travel companion's cousin was quite gracious enough to get tickets to the performance of 'Ka'. We were joined by one of my travel companion's work contacts and enjoyed a good performance. I was still as enthralled with the stage work during this event as I was the first time I saw it in 2007. Since it was already a bit late when the show ended, I was only barely able to make it back prior to collapsing from a pretty exhausting, and worthwhile, couple of days.

I am not the Devil's Advocate... I am the Devil.

After dropping my travel companion at the convention center for the business conference, the reason she had come out here, I headed up the interstate towards the Gold Butte area. I had found this place when scanning the Vegas area with Google Earth when planning the trip and decided to check it out. Previously when I had rented a compact, I got something like the PT Cruiser, but this time it was a small VW bug with pretty much the most minimal ground clearance possible. I think a Segway could go over larger rocks than this car.

It was a long dirt road drive just to reach this pretty well known geologic feature. Devil's Throat didn't end up being much more than a sinkhole-style hole-in-the-ground, but it was pretty big at least and interesting enough for me. I had wanted to visit a nearby area known as Devil's Fire (also called Little Finland or Hobgoblin's Playground). The pictures that were posted on Panoramio and displayed on Google Earth reminded me a bit of the Escalante area when I traveled the mid-west in mid-2007. The shortest directions had me driving along a small trail from Devil's Throat until I got to a mud wash and then driving along it for a good bit further. Due to the lack of ground clearance, I wasn't even able to go that far before I had to turn around. The GPS had another route that seemed to take me closer, but it involved another 40 miles of dirt road around a mountain range, but I decided to give it a try. After traveling all the way around I got to another road that would lead me up to the place I wanted to go, but that too was pretty much blocked after a short distance by just a few rocks less than a foot tall; uggg. I ended up just exploring a few side roads and then hiking up some random hill near Gold Butte itself and taking a few panoramic pictures. After hitting a couple of geocaches in the area, I headed back to Devil's Throat. I really wanted to get to Devil's Fire, so I ended up parking near Devil's Throat and just hiking my way in. The GPS had a straight line distance of a little less than 4 miles, but unfortunately a few mountains would end up getting in the way. It took about 5.2 miles of cross country hiking and route finding to finally reach the area I intended.

After finally getting to the area, and taking a lot of pictures along the way, I spent a little time exploring the area and found myself constantly back tracking when I got to a fragile area. On the way back I decided to simply walk along the Mud Wash so I could cover ground a little faster as I didn't want to be caught out after dark without additional water. The walk back was a bit faster and neat since I could see some of the petroglyphs that were on some of the rock walls. After finally getting back to the car, I headed out of the Gold Butte area, stopping around Whitney's Pockets for some last shots as the sun went down and headed back towards civilization to get resupplied with food and water. Overall it was a moderate 11-12 mile hike (on top of the other bits I had done that day), but it was worth the effort.

Here is a Google Earth KML that shows the hiking route I took; Devil's Fire Hike.

Famous last words in Las Vegas..Give me the money I told you not to give me!

A month or so ago I had planned on going to Vegas for a few days to hang out for a little while and until just a couple of days ago I wasn't sure if I would end up going. The plans I originally made changed a bit, especially in light of a new potential job coming up, however it was still a good opportunity to enjoy some of the activities I had planned and maybe have a surprisingly relaxing time (as much as one can in a city that doesn't sleep and only turns out the lights for 5 minutes during Earth Day). After getting to the airport, my travel companion and I had to wait what seemed to be the longest amount of time I can ever recall for the bags to start showing up. After what seemed like 30 minutes, I finally decided to take the transport to the car rental agency and let my travel partner grab the bags so that I could deal with the paperwork and selection of the car in order to reduce total waiting time. Timing worked out well since just as I finished my travel companion arrived with the bags and we were ready to go. We headed to the Monte Carlo where a room had been booked as part of my friend's business trip, dropped off the bags, and then headed for a quick bite to eat on the strip. The last time I was in Vegas it was over 100 degrees out, so the cool weather was a nice change. After dinner and a few drinks, I decided to head out for a few hours to take in the sights and do some photography and play with some of the setting on the camera. I headed over the Bellagio to watch the fountain show and then over to the Luxor for a few shots, taking time to sneak into one of the hotel elevators so I could get a nice few of the inside of the pyramid structure.

Since I only planned to be in town for a few days, I didn't want to drastically change my sleep cycle so I turned in relatively early so I could get a fresh start in the morning and dome some hiking before it got too hot.

My machine isn't old, the relays still do the job.

This was the weekend for the annual American Cancer Society 'Relay for Life' event in Temple Terrace. The hashers have had a team for a long time and worked hard to raise money this year with the auction, fundraisers, and team meetings. The event usually involves a 16 hour walk where one person from the team has to be on the track at all times. I wasn't involved with the team much outside of assisting last weekend with construction of the pirate ship for their pirate theme and also in providing transportation for a few supplies. I did decide to hang around for a while and check out the festivities and different events. I wasn't much in the mood or energy level to stay up the entire evening, but did somewhat enjoy seeing some out-of-town friends and watching the overall chaos.

Team Go-Go, and as part of that Kristen, was extremely active in every event held and was competing in about everything possible including scavenger hunts, hula-hoop contests, and costumed laps around the track. Besides raising the most money, over $15,800, they also won for the umpteenth time in a row, the coveted 'Spirit Award', which is a pretty big deal in consideration of all the hard work that went into it all. I did end up going home Friday evening and returned Saturday to sign-up for my own lap and help break down and transport the supplies. The team donated the pirate ship to a nearby community theater for an upcoming children's production of 'Peter Pan', so that just add to the overall generosity of all those involved.

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.