Greetings to all my friends. To those of you who commented on my previous post, thank you. It's a little late to respond to each one, especially since I've returned.

As my subject title suggests, there was a little of everything from start to finish. First, the area (Red River Gorge, KY) is beautiful. There are great hiking trails, scenic overlooks, arches (natural bridges), etc.

The work site remained the same all week, requiring a 3 mile hike to it for four of us that couldn't fit in the 12 passenger van. Good exercise, I thought. We dropped a two foot diameter hemlock, split in half a 21' trunk section, "planed" it, set it on huge rocks and notched 6' log ends. That was the bridge. (Photos to follow later)

Of the 17 volunteers, only about half were capable of doing any real work. One couple was 85 yrs old, another man, 83. One youngster (27) was grossly overweight and out of shape. Another couple was entirely out of their element. I don't know why they sign up or are accepted to do these "moderately strenuous" trips. But we got the job done.

I only had two mishaps--a jammed thumb and two hornet stings. Must be my sweet personality.
The camp facilities were nice, the food great (although meal prep took a lot of work). My free day was spent hiking with one other guy. All in all, I'd give the trip a "B" grade. Building a bridge was different.

The really ugly part of the trip was my arrival home. Despite having my neighbor keep a watch over my house, it got broken in to. I'm not sure what they were looking for, but it was ransacked! Kitchen, bedroom, closets, computer room, etc. had all drawers emptied an contents strewn about. Nothing but some loose change was taken. They missed a couple of hundred dollars lying in a basket on top of the fridge! But the house was a mess. I began cleanup after the sheriffs left, and still have plenty more to do. Home, sweet violated home.