It's That Time Again!!

Time to hear Rene Rancourt sing the National Anthem.  I can't wait!!

We went to the NHL Rookie Tournament last weekend.  The Nashville Predators have a brand new training facility so they hosted a few other teams for the rookie tournament.  We went to the Bruins game on Sunday afternoon.  Yes we wore our jerseys.  You've got to show your team spirit, right?  Even if it is a mid-summer rookie game!

I took a video of the players when they were coming out of the locker room at the beginning of the third period.  I know even as I write this that some of these guys have been cut, but some are still there.  If you're as anxious as I am for the spoked B, take a look.

That last guy - the goalie Malcolm Subban.  He's the brother of the dastardly P.K. Subban.  Stay tuned kids, it could be an interesting year!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

It's football time.  Good old american football - pigskin, goalposts, chicken wings and cold beer.  Next to hockey, football used to be my favorite sport to watch.  But this year I'm not so enamored with it.  One some level, I feel like watching football condones the violence some of the players engage in.

I've been reading a lot about the subject -- it's hard not read about it, the media is on a full court press.  We have been fully informed about numerous players who have been arrested for assault, domestic violence,  child abuse.  Some, but not all, of these arrests led to charges being filed.  Some led to fines and/or suspensions.  All of these fall under the NFL 'personal conduct policy'.  The policy was created in 2007 by Roger Goodell.  It was his attempt to hold the players to a higher standard.  The policy itself won't stop violence, you have to back it up with action - appropriate action.  A punishment doesn't work if it doesn't hurt.  

It is a fact that Ray Rice knocked out his fiancé in an elevator and then dragged her out of it, unconscious, when the doors opened.  She has since married him.  What?!?!?!  I know she angered him, spit in his face, called him names -- then he punched her.  What in the world was she thinking marrying him after that?  What kind of a world do we live in when women think behavior like that is okay.  Of course I assume she's in the relationship for the money - and she can't get his money if she doesn't marry him.  Where is her self-respect?  It is sad to think that we live in a world where people have a larger desire for money than for respect.  What has her life been like to this point if she is allowing him to abuse her, and making excuses for him in public.

And Roger Goodell lied to us.  Outright lied about having not seen the footage of that attack.  It was not until the public saw it, and realized that he had seen it at the beginning and knew all along how serious this was, that he punished Ray Rice.  So first he chose inaction over action, and then he lied about it.  Of course Janae Rice thought it was okay for him to hit her - why would she think otherwise? 

Roger Goodell must go.  I think I agree with that.  But is it just Roger Goodell?  Maybe football itself needs to go.  We expect these men to turn on the violence on the football field, and then turn it off when they leave the field.  We see them as role models who are idolized by many.  They are paid large amounts of money for doing an extremely physical job.  We expect them to hurt people.  But only under certain circumstances.

I'm not excusing their behavior by any means.  But in addition to being violent, they are suffering head injuries.  The evidence that concussions have long-term effects is overwhelming.  We send these men out there every week to entertain us and they are suffering long-lasting brain injuries.  The effect of that on not only them but on their loved ones cannot be overlooked and I wonder if we should rethink football.   

Are you ready for some football?  Because I'm not so sure I am.

Spring Castle

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

On Monday we took a ride to one of the Tenneessee state parks - Rock Island State Park -  to check out the waterfalls and explore the trails.  Truthfully, we had a three day weekend and it rained for the first two days, so I had a little bit of cabin fever and went in search of something to do outside.  You can see that post here.  

One of the things that I found beautiful on that trip were these stairs.

I know they're manmade.  But they were built with materials that come from the earth, so they are rustic and appropriate and nature is claiming them back.  I love the way the moss has grown on them and the ivy climbs up the sides.  When I went to climb the stairs, I found them to be extremely uneven, but all of the stones were well-grounded.  

The stairs lead up to a spring house which was built in the 1890's.  The spring house is more of a spring castle, made of stone, and totally at home at the edge of the woods.  I think it's adorable.  You can't really see in this picture, but the stairs are to the right of the castle.

Back in the day, a spring house was built over a water source and used for refrigeration.  The constantly running, cool water would keep the house at a steady temperature, thus keeping food fresh.  In this case, the spring house was used for the workers at the cotton mill across the street.

A beautiful, peaceful place.  With a building built by man, but with a deep respect for the natural environment.

The Calming Nature of Rushing Water

Jim and I went and explored one of Tennessee's State Parks - Rock Island State Park.  We've been talking about how we should be getting out and exploring the state parks.  Tennessee does such a great job of maintaining and staffing them.  Quite a few have camp sites and/or cabins for rent, but for now we're just looking for a fun way to spend the day.  So on Monday we decided to check out Rock Island State Park, it's about a 1-1/2 hour drive from us.  We entered through the main entrance and found the Visitors Center, but of course drove by so we could explore a little bit.  We found the campgrounds and the cabins, but felt like we were missing the hiking trails.  So (you know when all else fails - ask for directions) we went back to the Visitors Center and found the map and took a few brochures.  You have to actually exit the main entrance to get to the gorge, falls and walking trails we were looking for.

A short way away we found the gorge.  There were numerous small falls and a couple of good sized falls.

Next to th was an old, abandoned cotton mill building.  Great Falls Cotton Mill.  According to the park ranger, down in the water is the turbine that ran the mill.  It ended up under water during the flood of 1902 and is too heavy to lift out of it.  I, of course, asked if we could go into the mill building.  He said no, the floor is unsafe and they don't allow anyone in there.  He encouraged us to go take a walk by it, and to be sure to go across the street from the mill and see the fresh water spring  and the spring house, or spring castle.


He also told us how to get to the trails by the falls, and said if we had to choose one, the Downstream Trail was the way to go.  It's a little under two miles and definitely worth the time and effort.



Much of the interior of the cotton mill was made of wood.  Not only the floors and walls, but the turbine shaft as well.  With machinery and oil, fire is always a danger so they made sure to always have a supply of water nearby.   Their spring was directly across the street.  The spring house was used to store and refrigerate food.

This house definitely looks like a castle and I expected to see Rapunzel looking out the window at any moment.

We found our way to the falls.  Amazing!  Beautiful!  Wow!

The further went, the more we thought - Wow!

 The trail was marked at 1.8 miles - it was a 1.8 miles you worked for.  The trail was a path through the woods, some of it washed out on the edges, wet, rocky, mossy rocks, tree stumps.  Some steps had been built in the really steep sections, but for the most part it was a more-pristine trail through the woods.  Most of the trail was above water level - some of it pretty high.  Every once in a while you'd get a peek through the trees to a view like this

 The end of the trail looped around (not back to the beginning but more like a lollipop) and at the every end it brought you down to the water.  We walked out on the rocks a little way and could see the bend in the river.

I feel like the pictures don't do it justice - but they seldom do.  It was beautiful and I'm so glad we went!