Rock Island State Park

Rock Island State Park

Directions: From Nashville
Take I-24 to Murfreesboro exit 81A Church Street
Take Church Street to Mercury Blvd
Take Mercury Blvd to John Bragg Hwy (70 S)
Take US 70 south to Woodbury, Centerville, McMinnville
Near McMinnville Take 286 past airport
Watch for a small brown sign to turn left into Rock Island
Follow signs to the park

Important Info: Reservations are needed for sixty campsites, ten cabins, and ten primitive campsites. The campsites are grouped together around a shower house, open field, pavilion, and playground. There are a few hiking trails that lead off from the campsite area. The trails are rather short but contain a vast amount of scenic views and overlooks. In order to get an idea of what photo opportunities the park has check out our myspace page at www.myspace.com/venturetree. There are various activities that the park provides a listing of events for you and your group to participate in. Events such as a night hike, volleyball, flashlight tag, tie dying, Bone Cave Tour, worship service and cliff jumping 101. If you do not want to go with the ranger you can venture off on your own but be very careful the water can rise quickly.

We stayed at the campsite, which came with water supply, electricity hookup, campfire ring, picnic table on concrete platform, and a stand up charcoal grill near picnic table. The site had plenty of room for our party of four campers and one pet.

The cabins have three bedrooms, two bath, completely equipped for housekeeping including appliances, dishes, coffee pot, microwave, cooking utensils, dishes, linens, television, VCR, DVD, and charcoal grill. Each cabin has a fireplace with gas logs but this feature is only seasonal. If you have pets there is only one cabins that there are allowed in and that is cabin one. There is a $10.00 fee per animal per night. The campground is only one-half mile from Center Hill Lake.

Contact Info: Rock Island State Park
82 Beach Road
Rock Island, TN 38581
http://www.tnstateparks.com/
For reservations 800-713-6065 Reservations can be made up to a year in advance. This is highly recommended because this is a very popular place to camp

Camelbak Alpine Explorer Review

I am a gear head, gear junkie and the best of all a bag whore. I enjoy all the little cool features that the gear has out there. Bag whoring is a very complicated position to hold. I basically have a backpack or bag for almost everything or for any purpose. I like to be organized and like to have something that fits the sport in which I am participating. I hate having something that does not meet the standards of someone who expects ruggedness and durability. I often need a hint of more space for that one adventure that may go a little longer than expected. I like things to be multi-functional and I cannot force myself to cough up the big bucks if I cannot use a bag or pack for more than one event.

In my earlier years, I preferred to do lots of mountain biking, rafting and trail running. I used a Camelbak M.U.L.E. for most of my adventures. Nowadays my body has experienced too much trail carnage and I needed more space. There are things that I prefer to carry with me that I did not carry with me before such as FIRST AID KIT. The Alpine Explorer is a technical daypack/hydration pack that offers outdoor enthusiasts cargo organization and the ventilation they need for a one-day peak ascent. This also includes 3 hours of hydration as stated by their site. For the more space, I jumped from the Camelbak mule’s 549 cubic inches of cargo space to the Camelbak Alpine Explorer’s 1900 cubic inches of cargo space. Now I still have the 100-ounce water bladder that comes in very handy, but now I can possibly put the bladder from the mule into the outer large mesh pocket of my Alpine Explorer and carry 200 ounces. This would come in handy to share with my wife and our four-pawed friend. Even by doing this, I have two nalgene sized mesh pockets on the each side of the large one.

There are two cinch straps that run over the mesh pockets, which come from a medium sized organizer pocket in front of the bag. The bag has an enormous main compartment that has plenty of room. The day I tested the bag I put two beach towels near the bottom of the bag (to mimic my rain gear), two swim suits, two t-shirts, and still had enough room to stuff another towel or two if needed. This was just in the main compartment, not including the mesh. On the top of this main compartment pocket there is a small pocket that that can be used for sunglasses and could be converted to hold an mp3 player or iPod if needed.

So, Why this pack? If you need more space and like to carry a few more things than usual, or you just do not like stuff dangling from your pack this is the pack for you. The extra space and multi-functional compartments including the cinch down system made this pack the ONE! If you are looking for something smaller check out the review on the Camelbak M.U.L.E.

Here are some features that I was wanting in this pack. I wanted an equal amount of water storage to my mule but more cargo space to stuff my gear. After hiking or running for a period of time, the dangling gear from a pack can get really bothersome and annoying. I wanted a comfortable snug fit, a bigger waist belt, and space in my new pack and the Alpine Explorer was the answer. The Dynamic Suspension Harness system helps secure the load carried by the alpine explorer with increased stability. Another key feature is the Air Director. The Air Director allows for an air to travel between you and the back panel of the pack to increase comfort and to increase ventilation. Here are some important stats for the pack:

Capacity: 100 oz. (3L)
Cargo: 1900 cu.in. (31.1L)
MSRP: $100

In summary this is a great pack if you’re wanting more space for those unexpected extra things. The pack will cinch down tightly to keep things tied down and keep things from shaking all around. You will have to at least partially feel the main compartment to secure everything and would be able to leave the other pockets empty. This bag could be used for day hikes, long road trips, and bare bones overnight trip. The pack rides well and adjust to the small of your back. After adjusting the multiple straps you can get a real enjoyable fit. You barely notice that it is there. It has great loading options and can carry a heavier weight.

www.camelbak.com

Bentley | Venture Tree Team

Best Sandals Ever

The best money I’ve ever spent on my feet
Ah, my Chacos. Man I love em. Yes, it was hard shelling out 90 bucks for the pair but It was sure worth it in the end. I’ve had these things for over a year. They’ve been on 2 river trips and will be there with me on another one this summer. These fully adjustable sandals have been on multiple day hikes and afternoon Frisbee golf sessions. Needless to say, they are an essential part of my gear AND an essential part of my summer.

It’s good to come home after a hard day of work and slip these on. They’re made to be good to your feet by having a contoured foot bed that produces amazing comfort. The heel cup helps keep your heel centered right on the lug and the webbing dries fast and doesn't rub or chafe.

After much use, my Chacos have proven to be easy to clean. The Vibram tread is designed to shed mud and dirt easily and if you hand wash them and move the straps around to get the gunk out they come out looking like new so you can wear them out to town - without that nasty river smell, of course.

p.s.-a little WD40 at the straps entrance to the sole, pulled back and forth, will keep the straps easy to tighten.

For more info, check out: ChacoUsa.com

Pikka | Venture Tree Team