Back from camping at Fall Creek Falls. It was fun. The 2 things which had been a downer last year – the rough sleeping and the cold showers – were eliminated this year. I came prepared. I got an air mattress…left over from my El Salvador trip. This made sleeping much more comfortable. Also I was able to get a warm shower each morning as long as I got up at 7AM.
On Friday night we found out a 61 year old man fell 65 feet to his death around the Cascade area. He was from Alabama. It was a sad story. I think the last time I heard of someone falling was when 2 student from Lipscomb High School fell a few years ago. That made big news in Nashville since there were Nashville ties. But I’d be pretty sure someone fell inbetween those times. Seems inevitable.
We had 120 for services on Sunday morning. We just had worship on a campsite. Everyone brought their own chairs.
During a ballgame Sean Speight pulled his ACL when stepping into a hole. Went to the hospital for it. Came back with a brace and crutches.
Rained on Sunday afternoon. It always rains. I guess that’s camping for you. This year the rain lasted longer than last year.
We did have racoons to visit us each night. Some of them were quite strong. We saw them tipping over the metal trash can lids to get food.
Overall I’d say I had a good time. It was great to spend some quality time with church friends.

I’m going camping with some church friends at Fall Creek Falls this weekend. Last year we had about 30 or so to go….maybe more. I couldn’t keep up. Usually not too much happens. We usually sit around and solve all the problems with whatever is wrong with the world/church/life and vow to make things better. We do have a rule that whatever is said at camp stays at camp.
It’ll be cold this weekend. Lows of 50 some nights. We’re bundling up and taking some hot chocolate. The problem with hot chocolate is that it is usually too hot to begin with, so you end up burning the roof of your mouth when you first drink it.
I’m glad to be going. I enjoy the comraderie. I’m not necessarily looking forward to the cold showers that seem to plague us.

I saw a sticker for sale at the Love Truck Stop. On it, it was written “Without Trucks, America Stops.” How true that is.
There’s a certain brotherhood/microculture whatever you want to call it – of truckers. The communication process happens through the virtual CB radios….or in person at truck stops. Its also unfortunate that most of America wasn’t made for these trucks. Then again, it probably is the best or all the restaurants would be 5 acres. Property values would be pretty high.
I had heard that RV sometimes use Walmart parking lots to sleep at. But unfortunately many times these parking lots specifically say “No semis,” so it isn’t much use to us.
These truck stops…many are like microcities. Giving you anything you could think of needing during a cross country trip. I was amazed at the amount of phones at those places. Several small rooms just for talking on the phone. I would have thought cell phones would have made these obsolete. Not so. Many cell phone companies offer local coverage, while roaming rates are outrageous, unless you havea nationwide plan. So phone cards and truck stop telephones are the best deal.
I had a plan to take pictures of people at these truck stops. Such as the people behind the counter. But I decided not to after arriving at the first truck stop in Kentucky. There were two women behind the counter and a creepy guy sitting on a stool watching my every move nearby. I figured if I took pictures inside the place, they would have thought I was casing out the place.
Actually manuvering around the semi was interesting. Many times I thought we’d clip the curve, but Jim knew what he was doing. The first time we pulled out of the Disaster Relief parking lot, I thought we had clipped the fire hydrant on the other side of the road. But we didn’t. Never had a problem hitting anything.
Springfield? Somehow that’ll always be the city the Simpsons live in. Such a generic sounding city. Nondescript. Yet this Springfield was the largest city within miles. A regional metropolis. And before this trip I didn’t know too much about it. After the trip, I still don’t know too much about it. I checked out the church’s webpage. Seems like a great church. People seemed pretty involved to arrive at 7PM on a Monday night to unload a truck.
We passed though towns in Kentucky…like Lovelaceville, Cunningham, Bardwell….I did see the church of Christ in Bardwell. And I found its webpage.
In Missouri, we drove though towns like Van Buren, Birch Tree, Mountain View…places like that. Litterally in the middle of nowhere – Halfway between Springfield and Poplar Bluff. Where did these people do their shopping? What did they do for a living?
We made good time back to Nashville. The night before we did drive about 2 hours east of Springfield before stopping at the hotel, so we did make up a little time coming back.

Almost home. Jim and I are listening to Johnny Cash via my mp3 player. Good music. I discovered Johnny did a cover of U2’s One. Good cover.
We stopped at a Love Truck Stop around Jackson. It had a Hardee’s attached to it (as most do). While we were there; they were testing the truck scales. These truck stops seem to have these test scales so truckers can see how much they weigh before they get to the weigh station.
The highway between Dyersburg and Jackson might as well be an interstate.
And I’m still trying to figure out how Bucksnort got its name.
We’ll be home in 90 minutes or 2 hours.