A note from the Webmeister:   Succumbing to nature's call...are rather, to the call of Nature Dave...Seven hardy souls met for breakfast at Windell's Cafe in Dale, IN, on the morning of November 23.  In an effort to describe the captivating nature of such a call from Nature Dave, it should be explained that when I left the house, my thermometer was reading 20°F.  (Yes, you read that correctly...degrees Fahrenheit.)  Steve and Dan reported seeing temperatures as low as 18°F on their ride over.  Fortunately, by the time we got our fill of flapjacks and bacon and eggs at Windell's, the temperature had risen to a comparatively balmy 35°.  By early afternoon, the mercury hit the low 50's, making for an enjoyable day of riding.  Enough of the build-up.  Here's the rest of the ride report in the words of Nature Dave himself...

You can't start a ride on an empty stomach so the first stop was Windell's.

Next we mount up, ready to leave Dale.

What's up with the bridge pic, you ask?  We're waiting on Steve to hot wire the tractor so that we can get past.  I guess when they say "bridge closed," they mean it.

That's not sand the bikes are parked on at Hindostan Falls, it's rock.

Yes, that's Nature Dave sampling the water at Spout Springs.

My reaction to the water at Spout Springs.  I would say it tasted like filtered water...filtered through a cow patty, that is.

Next was our visit to a rather large sink hole, part of the karst system around Orangeville.  No, that's not a pond I'm standing in front of.  It's a river rise; where an underground river reappears on the earth's surface.

Rick doing some cave exploring at the sink hole.

Lunch at Cuzco (eat your heart out, Big Dave).  And they were worried about me drinking spring water!?

Glad that the port-o-pots were handy after the Cuzco dining experience.