2008 NSS Convention, Lake City, Florida
By: Wm Shrewsbury (St. Petersburg, Florida)
Hello Everyone,
As many of you know, the 2008 NSS Convention will be held in Lake City
Florida, August 11-15. This is the first time an NSS Convention has
ever been held in Florida, and we promise you a Convention like no
other before.
Many think of Florida as a cave diving state. While it is true that we
have an incredible amount of limestone under water, we have many caves
above ground too. Check out our website at
www.nss2008.com/EventsAndTrips.html for details on trips before, during
and after Convention. TAG's own Alan Cressler and Matt Kalch will host a
camp in Northern Florida (details to be posted soon), and the TBAG
grotto will show that even as far south as Orlando there is plenty of
caving to go around.
This Convention will be unique in that it will feature an enhanced view
of the relationship between our underground spring sources and the
environment. The Cave Diving Section (CDS) will host a mini-workshop on
Sunday before Convention on the same campus. Their focus, while
primarily on cave-diving, will be talks about this relationship.
There will be special session by Art Palmer and Lee Florea on the
Geology and Origin of Florida Caves. We've all see photos of the vast
underwater systems here, and they have the same stalagmites &
stalactites we see above the water table. Art & Lee will fill us in how
this happened, and where the future of other karst beds may be.
The JSS kids will get to take a trip to the seashore and explore grass
beds while examining sea life. They are also spending some time
underground, as well as swimming in some of the area's many crystal
clear, cool springs. In fact, they're going to have such a great time I
tried to sign up myself! (I think my gray beard gave me away...)
There are now several clips on our website about caving in Florida -
http://www.nss2008.com/PicsandVideos.html. One of them shows how little
caving gear is needed to block out the sun, another some of the beautiful
formations to be found in a state literally dripping with limestone.
The pre-registration deadline is fast approaching - this coming Monday, June
2nd, is the last day to take advantage of the pre-registration discount. Go
to
http://www.nss2008.com/Registration.html to download the registration
form in PDF and mail it by 6/3, or even better, register online with our
Secure Server at
https://nss2008.com/register.
For those worried about driving the length of Florida (and current gas
prices!) we are only 45 minutes from the Georgia border! If you've ever
visited Glory Hole in South Georgia, you have been practically in our
backyard. Instead of turning off I-75, just continue on South for about
the same distance and you're in Lake City. We are just south of the I-75/I-
10 crossing.
There are many, many other things too numerous to mention here. It's
better to come and experience the "1st NSS Convention in Florida"
for yourself.
We hope to see you at the 2008 NSS Convention!
Wm Shrewsbury Vice-Chair, 2008 NSS Convention Lake City, FL
www.nss2008.com vicechair@nss2008.com(Permission is granted and Encouraged to reprint this in other forums,
on-line discussions and caving related electronic and print formats)