Come out and enjoy a day of free, family fun. A bird hikes with the Warioto Audubon Society, wild flower hike led by APSU botanists and a trail hike led by Suva Batsin from our local chapter of the Tennessee trails Association.

See a wide variety of raptors up close and overhead with the educational program put on by SOAR (Save Our American Raptors.) There are two opportunities to see reptile up close with APSU Biologist Micheal Fulbright discussing native fish, salamanders, frogs and snakes. Crowd favorite, Sherry and Donny Howell, are local reptile experts that always draw a crowd with their exotic and native snakes.

As always, the Spring Fling is the only opportunity the public has to canoe the lake. Get their early to sign up for this once a year opportunity.

Two canoes on Swan Lake

A new addition to the Spring Fling this year is author and cave enthusiast, Larry Matthews, will be on site from 11-3 to sign his recently updated book, “Dunbar Cave: Showplace of the South.” This second edition has six new chapters and nearly 100 new pictures. Books are available for a $30 donation, while supplies last.

The Friends of Dunbar Cave is a non-profit dedicated to preserving and protecting the park while enhancing park visitor’s experience. If you use the park, we could use you. A membership booth will be set up so you can join up a fast growing and active community group.

Websites

• http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/DunbarCave/
• https://sites.google.com/site/friendsdunbar/

http://www.soarsouth.org/Home.html

The group is still finalizing the schedule, but in past years, the Friends group has put on the following activities at Spring Fling.

Crowd watches Save Our American Raptors (SOAR)

Event List

1. Canoeing the lake
2. Save Our American Raptors (SOAR) presentation which allows park goers to see a wide variety of birds up close
3. Reptiliacs presentation which allows park goers an up close look at snakes and other reptiles
4. Tennessee Trails Association hiking/Camping Exhibit
5. Wildflower Hikes
6. Bird Watching Hikes
7. Much much more…..

One confirmed event is author Larry Matthews will be on site from 11:00am-3:00pm to sign his updated book, “Dunbar Cave: Showplace of the South.” This updated Second Edition includes six new chapters and nearly a hundred new photographs have been added.

This is an excellent chance to talk to the author about how this cave, first explored by American Indians 10,000 years ago, grew to become one of America’s major show caves. Books are available for a $30.00 donation, while supplies last.

Once the group has finalized the fun activities for the day, we will post the flyer at COL…so stay tuned. But please save the date, rain or shine, bring the family out for a good time!

Friends of Dunbar Cave is a non-profit organization with a sole purpose of supporting Clarksville’s only state park. In addition to putting on numerous educational events each year, the group supports the park by providing trail maintenance, computers and educational materials for park staff, commissioning interpretative signs, and advocacy for the protection and preservation and the park and the cave.

If you are one of the over 280,000 annual visitors to the park, please join our group and help preserve and protect Clarksville’s only state park!!

https://sites.google.com/site/friendsdunbar/

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/DunbarCave/

The quartet, Red River Breeze, provided the entertainment of traditional Celtic music, while children danced and the adults clapped. The Friends of Dunbar Cave provided ice cold lemonade, water, cookies, granola bars, and freezer pops. Many played a variety of board games, tapping their toes to an Irish jig. Back in the days before air conditioning, this is how locals cooled off and fellowshipped with others.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Although no official count was taken, but most of the 75 chairs provided by the Friends group were full while people migrated in and out; I would conservatively guess well more than 125 folks enjoyed the free event. In fact, several in attendance joined the Friends group.

The Friends of Dunbar Cave is a non-profit group that raises money for the city’s only State Park, as well as being an advocate group for the park’s historical and natural preservation. In the past the Friends have provided mulch for for the hiking trails, educational panels along the trails, computers for park staff, and much more. If you would like more information about the group, or would like to join or make a donation, please see the link at the bottom of the page.

Judging by all the smiles and laughter, a good time was had by all. It takes a lot of volunteers to put on such a large and successful event. We would like to thank all the volunteers that made this event happen, especially Ms. Barbara Wilbur, who coordinates the annual event.

Links

• https://sites.google.com/site/friendsdunbar/
• http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/DunbarCave/index.shtml
• http://redriverbreeze.com/

Photo Gallery

To view more images from Cooling at the Cave visit our Photo Gallery

Clarksville, TN – The weather is getting hotter, and the Friends of Dunbar Cave are gearing up to cool down!

Locals have always come to the mouth of Dunbar Cave in the dog days of summer to beat the heat. With a year round breeze of 56 degree blowing from the cave, the Friends of Dunbar Cave invite your family to enjoy Mother Nature’s air conditioning on July 30th from 3:00pm-5:00pm.

Cooling at the Cave

Come out and show your support, enjoy the natural air conditioning, and tap your toes to celtic music by Red River Breeze.

About the Friends of Dunbar Cave

The Friends of Dunbar Cave is a non-profit group that meets every third Thursday of the month at the Dunbar Cave administration building. We actively support Clarksville’s only state park. Among other activities, we have bought and spread tons of mulch on the trails, purchase interpretative signs for the park, purchase computers for park staff, as well as sponsor several educational events at the park through out the year.

Family memberships start at only $25.00, which includes a T Shirt so you can show the community you support the park. A membership table will be set up at Cooling at the Cave – stop by and see how you can help support OUR state park.

Readers may remember that last year Spring Fling was on the weekend of the historic flood. We are hoping that Mother Nature is more co-operative this year. But rain or shine, bring the family out for a good time!

Crowd watches Save Our American Raptors (SOAR)

Events start at 8:15am and continue all day long.

Spring Fling Activities

• A bird watching hike led by a local Warioto Audubon Chapter,
• A wildflower hike led by park staff,
• Canoeing on Swan Lake – the only chance to do so all year, donations welcomed for this activity. Show up early to sign up, since this event fills up fast.
• Raptors by SOAR (Save Our American Raptors) showing a variety of birds of prey. One of events more popular shows. Watch your kids eyes light up when a hawk flys over the crowd. This up close look at a variety of birds is always a crowd pleaser!
• APSU naturalist, Nathan Parker, will educate the audience a variety of reptiles and snakes – including showing the group live reptiles. Nathan’s presentation is extremely popular with the kids.

SOAR Eagle

A variety of organizations will have booths, including information on ways to be more green, uses of hiking and camping equipment, and as well as information about bats and white nose syndrome.

Although donations are welcomed to offset the cost of the event, all activities are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available for a donation.

Dunbar Cave State Park is located at 300 Dunbar Cave Road.

This event is an annual event put on by the Friends of Dunbar Cave. FODC has a variety of activities all year long, including the Spring Fling, Cooling at the Cave, as well as provide interpretative signs and helping ensure the trails are well maintained. It is a not for profit group that is very active in the park. If you use the park, please consider joining up and supporting the group’s efforts with a donation of time or maybe become a member!!

With the heat index passing 100 lately, it is perfect timing for the Friends of Dunbar Cave‘s annual Cooling at the Cave event. Bring your family out Saturday, July 31, from 4pm to 6pm and enjoy sitting at the mouth of the cave, which stays at 58 degrees year round.

Sitting in the shade at the mouth of the cave is how locals cooled off before the cave was a designated State Natural Area. Folks would bring tables, chairs, and board games. Some would play instruments, while others danced. This is the atmosphere the Friends of Dunbar Cave recreate every year.

Cookies and lemonade will be available for a small donation. We will also have sugar free options. The Friends of Dunbar Cave will also have a membership table to solicit your support of your state park, as well as T-shirts that are available for a donation.Tables and chairs will be provided, but we encourage everyone to bring lawn chairs and board games.

This year, we are happy to announce Cumberland Winds will be this year’s musical entertainment. Cumberland Winds is a jazz ensemble that will playing unplugged, while you cool off and enjoy some quality family time at your state park.

Cumberland Winds Jazz Project at Jammin in the Alley

We hope to see you and your family at Cooling at The Cave!

For a more historical article on Cooling at The Cave, see Debbie Boen’s article from last year.

“The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11″ (2006), by Lawrence Wright

This book is tireless in its details; but do not let that discourage you from giving it a read.  The book  is rather short at 373 pages; however, it is heavily noted and very user friendly. It contains a 10 page glossary of principal characters with brief descriptions of their importance; which is a invaluable resource in helping the reader keep track of the multitude of players with similar names.

Like most other histories of Muslim fundamentalism (such as the BBC video series “Power of Nightmares”), Wright starts with the story of Sayyid Qutb.  Qutb was an Egyptian writer and Muslim that traveled through America in the late 1940’s.  His experiences and perceptions, started the generational snowball that  led to 9/11.

A fascinating book for those looking for a way to “deal more wisely and effectively with continuing terrorist threat.”

This was hard read for me, but well worth the effort.  It did win a Pulitzer Prize, something I did not know when I was reading it.  It is available in hardback on the second floor of the Montgomery County Library ( 973.931 WRI), and they also have it on CD on the first floor (973.93 WRI).

“The Political Mind: Why You Can’t Understand 21st Century American Politics with an 18th Century Brain”, *(2008), George Lakoff

Lakoff, a cognitive scientist,  looks at 30 years of scientific research on the human brain, and asks some political questions.  What he finds is the political divide is “not just in geography, religion or even power”, it in our heads (no pun intended).

Our country was born from the age of Enlightenment when reason was king, and emotion  was irrelevant.  Emotions were seen as just cluttering the issue at hand.   The idea an educated, well informed, rational society will make rational, logical, fact based decisions and  be able to adequately self govern.  Rational being making rational decisions is an underlying foundation of our society, from the judicial system to the nightly news.  Lakoff shows us that we do not act rationally, and asks why.

Science tells us that 98% of our thought is unconscious.  We are only aware of 2% of our thoughts.  Lakoff demonstrates that this heavily impacts our society through word choice, metaphors, and the framing of issues..  A good example is when the Republicans discussed the Democrats plan of a timeline to exit Iraq.  Republicans used the term “cut and run.”  A person can’t hear “cut and run” without the feeling of cowardness or surrendering .  Another good example is using the term “surge” in the Iraq war, as opposed to using the word “escalation.”

Lakoff offers some constructive criticism for the “liberal” thought process.  Liberals argue by listing of facts like an encyclopedia and expecting people to digest them like a machine and arrive at logical, rational conclusions.  Sound familiar?  It did to me.  “Conservative” thought prefer to use emotions over lists of facts.  Now you’ll have to read the book, because the liberal thought process is not just used by liberals, and vice versa, with the conservative thought process.  Lakoff argues against the metaphor of politics being described as right and left.

Lakoff tempers the science of the brain with  bits with pop culture, which keeps the reader interested and makes them aware of the ingrained nature of what Lakoff is discussing.  He brings in the Anna Nicole saga, Reagan’s fictional “Welfare Queen”, the latest in neural science, and a analysis of framing and metaphors, to provide insight as to why reason alone is ineffective, that we need emotion, and new enlightenment.

Hands down this was the best book I read all year.   It taught me to listen to what people are saying during a politcal conversation, instead of thinking of what I will say next to refute what I think they are saying.  We all have more in common than we are lead to believe; that commonality should be the starting point for change, not the places where we differ.  This book will help you be a better communicator, listener, and thinker.

This is available on the second story of the Clarksville-Montgomery Library (320.01 LAK).

Resources:

http://cmc-websvr.clarksville.org/default.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Looming_Tower

http://www.amazon.com/Looming-Tower-Qaeda-Road-Vintage/dp/1400030846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230320238&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670019275/ref=s9subs_c1_14_img1-rfc_p_si2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=09NNQEXA7TMRRR2HZ6JY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383351&pf_rd_i=507846