central / northern alabama

[sprite]

to make a long story short, my partner and i have just completed a cross-country trip from los angeles to birmingham to visit his niece, who he sensed was in some kind of trouble. (they have a very strong connection; she has been his best friend since the day she was born.) shortly after we got here, it became apparent that she was being abused by her boyfriend. this is not a new situation; at only 19, she already has a long history of abuse.
three nights ago, her boyfriend punched her in the face and scratched her up before we could move her to a safe hotel room for the night. we've offered her every type of help she could need, but she has already gone back to him, because she is unable to break out of the abusive cycle. after consulting with her parents and grandparents, we have decided that the best way to help her break these patterns would be to get her away from her town, her boyfriend, and every other distraction for a few days.
we love camping, and have all of the gear we would need to give her a week out in the wild to step back and see her life from another vantage point.
if you have any information about a cave suitable for a life-changing retreat, or any cave in the central/northern alabama area where camping is permitted, where permisssion to camp might be attained, (or maybe a spot where permission wouldn't be neccessary,) please respond. you would be doing a great service to my partner and his family. unfortunately, our time frame is limited to this week, so any leads you could provide would be a blessing.
i am not a member on nss, and also not an experienced caver. my partner is, and we would treat any spot we camp in with respect, not break anything, and pack out all we pack in.
thank you

[madratdan]

I would suggest taking her to Mammoth Cave for a few day. Great place to visit this time of year.

My other suggestion would be to take her to a hot springs in Colorado. Glenwood, Pagosa, or Cottonwood come to mind. You can't get much further away or a relaxed setting than visiting Colorado.

[L Roebuck]

I agree Mammoth Cave would be an awesome place for them to go. But a few closer places might be Alabama's Cathedral Caverns or Ruby Falls in Tennessee. ;D

[sprite]

hey, thanks for the reply! mammoth cave was a thought; we just weren't sure if they allowed camping inside the cave. but, since it's a national park, i guess they probably allow camping somewhere in the park. i'll look into it. =)

funny that you should mention colorado, because if we hadn't run out of cash on this trip, and if my partner's niece wasn't in such a mess, (to top it off, she just found out this morning that she might be pregnant!) colorodo is exactly where we'd be.

we passed through there a few months ago and completely fell in love with boulder and the nederlands. there's a free primitive campground in this old mining town there that is incredibly beautiful. i can't wait to get back there.

we'll probably wait out the winter here in the south before our "tour bus" makes the trek back to colorado. when we do, i'll definitely check out those places you mentioned. at 22, i've never been to a cave or hotspring either, but i have seen some awe-inspiring natural places, especially out west when we were in the desert.

in high school, my choir group was supposed to sing at crystal caves in bermuda, but the PTA cancelled the trip after 9/11. =(

anyway, thanks again. my partner just walked in the room and handed me another stack of campgrounds to look at, so i'll catch you later! =)

sprite

[sprite]

pretzlgirl said:

I agree Mammoth Cave would be an awesome place for them to go. But a few closer places might be Alabama's Cathedral Caverns or Ruby Falls in Tennessee. ;D

wow! ruby falls is incredible!

[L Roebuck]

Cathedral Caverns is really an awesome cave. Well worth a visit! And they have a campground.

[L Roebuck]

This link might be helpful to you. It's the link to the National Caves Association.

www.cavern.com

[sprite]

thanks for your help, both of you. the wilderness intervention didn't go very successfully. i guess his neice has chosen her path, and needs to f*ck this one up to learn something or for some reason in the furture that we can't see yet.

thanks for the link. i'll check it out, and maybe we'll get to see a few of these caves in our travels.

thanks again,
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