[Nmcaver] BoG Meeting in Tucson 17 March

[Carol Belski]

Steve Smith asked me to post this information on the NSS BOG meeting  
coming up.
--Carol Belski

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Steve Smith" <stevenlsmith at usa.net>
> Date: March 3, 2007 10:07:39 AM MST
>
> Subject: BoG Meeting in Tucson 17 March
>
>
>
> My fellow cavers, I'm Steve Smith and I'm the guy who sweet-talked  
> Escabrosa
> Grotto into hosting the Spring NSS Board of Directors meeting here  
> in Tucson.
> As we're only a couple of weeks out, here's a final overview on  
> Escabrosa
> Grotto’s plans to host the NSS Board of Governors (BoG) in Tucson  
> March
> 16/17/18 2007.  You have probably seen a lot of this info before,  
> but, hey,
> cutting and pasting is easy and E-Mail is cheap!
>
> If anyone would like a set of annotated maps clearly showing the  
> locations of
> all the venues in Tucson over the BoG weekend, please E-Mail me  
> with your
> mailing address and I'll immediately fire the maps out to you.
>
> So… to give you an overview one more time:
>
> The actual BoG Meeting will will be Saturday, March 17th, 2007, and  
> all cavers
> are welcome to attend.  The meeting will be held Saturday morning,  
> beginning
> at 9:00 am, at Wakefield Middle School, where I am the Band &  
> Orchestra
> Director.  Wakefield is at 101 W. 44th Street, near the Tucson  
> Veteran’s
> Hospital.  Wakefield is actually fairly easy to find, with the key  
> landmark
> being the intersection of 6th Avenue and Interstate 10 (I-10 exit  
> 261).  On
> the southwest corner of 6th and I-10 is the Southgate Shopping  
> Center; 44th
> Street/Wakefield MS is directly behind (to the south of) Southgate.
>
> Coffee/Tea/Juice/Donuts/Bagels will be available during the morning.
>
> Full audio-visual will be available, to include PowerPoint, overhead
> projector, slide projector, and white board.
>
> Catering for the Saturday lunch will be in the school’s cafeteria  
> and will
> be provided by one of the finest authentic Mexican restaurants in  
> all of
> southern Arizona.  Serving concept will be a buffet line in the  
> Cafeteria,
> forty feet from the Band Room.  The menu includes Pork Carnitas (in  
> my humble
> opinion, the best in southern AZ), Chicken Enchiladas, Beans, Rice,  
> Tortillas,
> & Salsa.  Cost will be $8.75 per person.
>
> Escabrosa will, of course, host a party Saturday night for all to  
> socialize
> thoroughly.  The party will be at my house, address 8900 E. Bears  
> Path (Tanque
> Verde & Catalina Highway area).  To get to my house, get on Tanque  
> Verde Rd
> and follow the signs for “Catalina Highway/Mt. Lemmon”.  After  
> crossing
> the bridge over the Tanque Verde Wash, the area becomes very rural  
> and wooded.
>  Go .7 mile and civilization returns with a fire station on the  
> right.  Go
> past the fire station about two hundred more yards and turn right  
> on Bears
> Path Rd.  My house is about .3 mile, on the right.  Look for red  
> and white
> Christmas lights and NSS signs.  My casa will offer revelers an  
> array of
> choices: indoor frivolity within the walls of my manor, or  
> carousing outdoors
> on my large backyard patio.  I’ll have three chimineas fired up, as  
> well as
> an open campfire in my benched backyard fire pit for Speleo-BSing.   
> As per
> Joanne Staley’s excellent suggestion, we’re asking all Arizona caver
> attendees to bring some chow: a small pot-luck covered dish, a  
> medium pizza,
> a
> bucket of chicken, etc., so that the BoG members and everyone else may
> thoroughly stuff themselves.  Beer/wine/soft drinks will be  
> provided, but we
> think it’s more than reasonable to ask any cavers to kick-in a few  
> bucks in
> a donation jar to cover the cost of the libations.
>
> On Sunday, 18 March, we'll be able to chauffer folks to the Airport  
> for those
> who must leave for home on Sunday.  We do hope, however, that most  
> of you can
> stay through Sunday evening or Monday so that you may enjoy  
> partaking one of
> our Sunday field trips:
>
>      (1) A visit to the world famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, one
>          of the country’s finest zoos/botanical gardens (with, as
>          many of you know, the finest, most accurately constructed
>          artificial cave anywhere on the planet).  If you visit the
>          Desert Museum, be sure to bring sunscreen and a hat that
>          provides ample shade.  Admission cost is $12.
>
>      (2) A caving trip to the very well-known and celebrated Onyx Cave
>          in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.  Onyx is widely
>          recognized as one of the finest caves in Arizona, and, with
>          massive formations, over 80 shields, and thousands of soda
>          straws and helictites, we feel it's easily a contender for  
> one
>          of the finest caves in all the U.S.  Since 1974, Escabrosa  
> has
>          been steward and protector of this remarkable underground
>          ecosystem and we are looking forward to leading you all on a
>          tourist trip.  The cave is mostly horizontal walking/stooping
>          passage, although there are numerous areas requiring climbing
>          or short crawls.  So, bring your standard caving gear along,
>          along with basic vertical gear (harness/rappelling/ascending)
>          sufficient to negotiate a few against-the-wall short-drop
>          (<18-foot) areas.  There will also be a rope traverse  
> rigged to
>          laterally cross the upper side of an 18 foot pit.  If you  
> have a
>          roller, bring it; if not, locking biners will work.  You
>          DON'T need to bring a monster Rack; a Figure 8 or Petzl-type
>          Stop is sufficient for any short drops you might have to  
> make.
>          At least one Petzl/Jumar-type ascender can be really helpful;
>          if you have your climbing rig, you'll be fine.  The  
> temperature
>          in Onyx is about 68 degrees F.  Some folks wear shorts and
>          short-sleeves, but I recommend jeans and a long-sleeve shirt
>          (helpful to protect your arms from small scratches in the FEW
>          crawl areas).  I would definitely NOT wear caving overalls as
>          is common in more northern reaches of the U.S.; in Onyx  
> you'll
>          sweat like a horse.  But as it will be mid-March, it might  
> be a
>          little cool on the .3 mile hike to the cave, so you may  
> want to
>          bring a light jacket.
>
>          Our primary focus will be on getting the BoG members into
>          Onyx; other cavers will be welcome to tour Onyx on a
>          space-available basis.  I ask all other cavers to understand
>          that while Escabrosa is arranging for Onyx trip leaders,  
> we’re
>          going to concentrate our efforts on the BoG, but will try to
>          accommodate a REASONABLE number of other visiting cavers  
> after
>          we see how the numbers shake out.
>
> Lastly, the Tucson Visitors Bureau has a web page which will give  
> you scads of
> info on the Tucson and Southern Arizona area and attractions.  Try:
> www.visitTucson.org
>
> So that's a brief overview on how we’ll pull off this little  
> operation.
> For more info please don’t hesitate to contact me at (520) 749-3573 or
> stevenlsmith at usa.net
>
> See ya soon!!  Steve
>
>