Woooo Spring Break!!!!

We had a plan for spring break this year: drive down with a bunch of graduate students to St. Catherine's Island and hang out on the beach. It was rock solid and on the calendar... so naturally it didn't happen. Turns out the island is more or less privately owned, and our friend who lives and researches there got word that the owners would be vacationing there during the break and wouldn't be pleased with a bunch of vagrants camping out on the beach.

So there went that plan. Evan and I came up with a brilliant backup plan: visiting Unicoi State Park near Helen, and camping out in a Squirrels Nest. A Squirrels Nest is one of 16 roofed platforms that are all connected and sit on the side of a very steep hill. They're actually cheaper than a camping spot, and apparently they had just reopened for the season a few days before we got there.

It was cold and rainy, and the "comfort stations" (restrooms) by the Squirrels Nests had not actually been unlocked yet. We also forgot to bring a flashlight, but there was a giant fire ring by the Nests that provided a little background illumination. In nicer weather a multi-mile hike to Helen and back would probably be in order. Overall, I can recommend a stay in a Squirrels Nest, but it's probably best to time a visit when there's not, say, a troop of boy scouts visiting, as you can easily hear everything that's going on nearby.