Geocaching Out West

We've spent the last three weeks out west: Arizona, California, and points in between.  It’s always fun to geocache away from your home base because you see a lot of different kinds of caches and you learn a lot of new stuff.

Mona wanted to geocache around Sedona, Arizona on her birthday.  We started with an Earthcache called Red “Rocks” (GC1DBA2).  This cache takes you to a location overlooking the valley and helps you learn to identify some of the beautiful red rock formations.  This is probably the best view in the valley that you can get to without climbing.  (Our climbing days were yet to come!)  Another neat cache we found on her birthday was Sedona Historical Marker (GC36JE1).  This is a cemetery cache that takes you to the grave of Sedona Schnebly, the city’s namesake.

A couple of days later we visited Jerome, Arizona.  At a nearby state park we saw a video depicting the town’s heritage.  The video was narrated by a ghost and a lot of it was set in an unusual cemetery.  We decided we wanted to find that cemetery.  We decided to look for caches that were probably in cemeteries.  We saw Los dias del muerto en Jerome (GCYXD6)and decided that sounded “cemeteryish”.  Sure enough, it took us down a little dirt road to an abandoned-looking cemetery…the same one that we saw in the video.  The graves here all around surrounded by iron fences and the graves are covered with rocks.  It’s very different from our Midwestern cemeteries!  (Not to mention it’s the perfect environment for rattlesnakes!)

There's a cache around here somewhere!

Two caches illustrate the wide variety of caches to be found in the Coachella Valley.  First up is Marilyn’s ASSets (GC3N8KX).  Here you are caching in downtown Palm Springs and trying to not attract the attention of the thousands of Muggles who are here to see Marilyn.  On the opposite side of the spectrum is Welcome to Palm Desert (GC331X0) where you’re trying hard to not attract the attention of the many rattlesnakes in the area.  Both were fun, but for totally different reasons.

We had been carrying a travel coin (Ocean Kami Geocoin) whose goal was to visit oceans.  We’ve been carrying the coin for about six weeks, knowing that we were going to visit Monterey.  Finally we got the coin to the Pacific at Monterey Bay View (GC36HA0).  Glad to have helped!

No wild horses, but no rattlers, either!

On the way through Nevada we stopped at a rest area hoping to find a cache to break up the monotony.  Darn, no signal!  We did some walking around to stretch our legs, read the signs about the wild horses that were in the area, then got in the car to leave.  Just then we got a signal and found that there was a cache (Break the Monotony of I-80 E1 (GC71BA)) up the hill 2 tenths above us.  Out of the car we went…hoping that the snakes and scorpions weren’t out because of the cold.  Got to the top of the hill and got a breathtaking view of the countryside…no wild horses, but we got the smiley!

We found two very interesting caches in Rawlins, Wyoming.  The first was at an old prison cemetery.  The Unclaimed (GCRREQ) takes you to the graves of prisoners whose families didn’t claim them.  All that is here are some simple stones with just names on them and a board outside showing their birthdays and the date they died or were executed.  At least one had “birthdate unknown”.

At second cache (Wild West Redux (GCG010)  we learned about Big Nose George Parrot, the Outlaw Who Grew to Be A Shoe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Nose_George) It’s amazing what you see/learn from geocaching!

Had lots of fun traveling and geocaching out west.  But, now we’re home and hoping to catch up on some new local caches. 

MOGA is soon and can’t wait to meet up with a lot of geocaching friends.  Hope to see you there!

Geocaching Safety

The View from the GZ (Ground Zero of the cache)

My heart is pumping.  I’m thrilled to be caching here…gazing at the mountains in the distance and listening to the roar of Yellowstone just a couple of hundred yards away.  I’m near the GZ of Electric Rock (GC1K5FJ) north of Yellowstone Park and there are wild buffalo, elk and bear in the area.  I’m quite aware of this and have taken the appropriate safety precautions.  Yep, got my bear bell on my walking stick, I’m making lots of noise as I walk and I’m approaching this huge rock with care…knowing that a buffalo could easily be hidden behind it. 

I was within fifteen feet of the GZ, but I wanted to make sure I was safe before I went for the find.  I decided I needed to peek over the truck-sized rock to see if there were any man-eating critters hiding behind it.  You know, just in case.  Just as I leaned over my tennis shoes lost their grip on the slippery rocks and I fell.  Hard!

As I lay there, gasping for breath, I had some extra time on my hands and thought it would be a good time to review the safety precautions published on geocaching.com and how well I had prepared.

Precaution #1:  Tell someone where you are going.  I had left our hotel room early in the morning leaving Mrs. M. sleeping peacefully.  I had not left a note as I planned only to be caching near the hotel.  As a bare minimum I should have left a note.  But even more so, this is an area where you shouldn’t cache alone.   Grade on this one: FAIL 

Precaution #2: Focus on your surroundings.  Yes, I was watching out for “lions, tigers and bears”, but I had paid no attention to the slippery rocks I was standing on.  Moreover, why was I wearing tennis shoes in this environment?   My hiking boots were in the car and I hadn’t taken the time to put them on.  Duh!  You need to be properly geared-up for your surroundings and you need to be aware of all the dangers.  Focus! Grade on this one:  FAIL

Precaution #3: Bring the right gear including extra water, batteries, etc.  I actually didn’t do too badly on this one.  My car was only a few hundred feet away and all the right stuff was in it, including a first-aid kit.  However, laying there on the rocks I could have used a drink of water.  Grade: Passed, but barely.

Precaution #4: Be mindful of where you are.  Be aware of local dangers such as poison plants or dangerous animals.  In my case, I was very aware of dangerous animals in the vicinity and I had brought my walking stick and bear bell for safety.  But really?  Would either of these have provided adequate protection had I encountered a buffalo or a grizzly bear.  I think not.  Grade: FAIL

Yes, laying there on the rocks I had plenty of time to reflect on my failure to take properly safety precautions.   I vowed to myself that I’d do better next time! 

About this time the shock of my hard fall was beginning to wear off and I was starting to feel another sensation.  Kind of prickly.  Made me think of an addendum to Precaution #4…something to do with plants….yes, plants, prickly….YEOW!!!!  I had fallen into a bed of cactus plants and my entire left side was covered with sharp, painful spines!  I jumped up and started using another piece of my geocaching gear…tweezers!

In the end, I got lucky.  I escaped with just bruises and “friendly” reminders from the cactus that I continued to pull out over the next four weeks.  But, it could have been much worse considering that I failed to follow so many safety precautions.  I’ve learned my lesson and I hope you will learn from my experience as well.  Geocaching is fun for everyone, but it can also be dangerous unless you practice safe caching.

Have fun and be safe!!!

(Note:  In the cache description the CO of Electric Rock warns of wildlife and cactus in the area.  Perhaps, Precaution #5 should be added:  Read the cache description and make note of any precautions listed!)

48 in 12

We retired on 1/1/12 and quickly set a goal for our first year; to geocache in all of the 48 contiguous states.  When we set the goal we were both skeptical…after all, that’s a lot of miles to cover in one year.

We began our quest in late February by driving from Illinois to California.  Our first new state was Oklahoma where we found Sleepytime In the Western World (GC2YFR9).  We were on our way!   On this trip we picked up nine states and saw some incredible sights including the Grand Canyon, cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde and alien exhibits in Roswell.  We even got to see our first Major League spring training ballgame!

That first trip was followed by five more driving trips and flights to Vegas and San Francisco.  In all, we traveled over 35,000 miles in 2012 finding over 1200 caches in 48 states and two Canadian provinces.  We saw many more sights, including Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Atlantic City and incredible New England fall foliage.

As always, geocaching took us to places we might have otherwise missed.  Just like Oregon Trail One (GC1DPYY) which took us to see the wagon wheel tracks from the 1800s. Another good example was  It’s a Long Reach Down (GC1R76F) which not only gave us a spectacular view of the Long Reach, but also took us along an enchanted trail with hundreds of tiny little fairy houses scattered throughout the forest.

And of course, Earthcaches really helped us learn more about the world around us.  One of our favorites was Hell’s Half Acre (GC15FHV) where we learned about Idaho’s volcanic past.  Another was Buffalo Pie – Badlands National Park (GC10RRP) which taught us how The Badlands were formed.  Not only that, but shortly after finding the cache we came across a prairie dog village and a herd of wild buffalo!

Another of our favorite caches was in Key West, Florida.  USA, all the way South (GC2C32) is located very near the southern-most point in the continental United States.  It is one of several caches that you can find while walking around Key West.  If you cache here you have to watch out for the chickens that roam the streets!

New York proved to be our toughest state to get.  Our first visit was brief and all we got was a DNF in Queens before we ran out of time.  After a few days in Maine and in Vermont we swung back through New York to see Ft. Ticonderoga.  Near there we found You Deserve a Break Today (GC2WJ3B) and accomplished our goal of 48 in 12!   

Of course we didn’t stop geocaching just because we hit our goal.  We kept traveling and caching, seeing more sights and making more friends.  Now, it’s 2013 and we can’t wait to see where geocaching takes us this year!

Geo-2012

Making the Naughty List on 12/12/12!

Yesterday we attended a mob event…more exactly, a geocaching flash mob event.  That’s an “event cache” where geocachers gather at a specified date, time and coordinates and “spontaneously” show up at the same time.  A picture is usually taken and you log it as a cache.  Yesterday’s gathering was a  Decatur Area Meet and Greet Event (D.A.M.A.G.E.) set up by Sixrows and titled “Making the naughty list.”  About twenty of us gathered at 12:12 PM on 12/12/12 in front of Santa’s House in Downtown Decatur.   It was fun catching up with old friends and making some new ones.

While at the event, Dr. Bill commented that I haven’t updated my geo blog in a while….hence this post! 

Since the last post we completed our 2012 goal of caching in the 48 contiguous states.  We put over 35,000 miles on our car and cached in each state, along with two Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia.  We had a blast…not only caching, but seeing many sights we’d only read of and visiting friends all over the country. 

Mona and Laura in the North Woods

In the course of our travels we found over 1200 caches and we cached for 250 days straight.  We found caches coast to coast…from San Francisco Bay to lobster docks in Maine…and then on down to Key West.  We cached in the mountains, deserts, swamps and prairies.  We cached in Yellowstone Park, Mesa Verde, the Everglades, the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks where we saw incredible fall colors.  We’ve been to the North Woods in Michigan, the Cadillac Ranch in Texas and even found a few caches written in French in Montreal.  Name a state (other than Alaska and Hawaii) and we cached there in 2012!

It’s hard to pick the most memorable cache….perhaps it was the one in Montana where I was so busy watching out for bears and buffalo and ended up falling into a bed of cactus.  Or maybe it’s the “cache” I found on Fisherman’s Wharf that turned out to be a rat trap.  Another contender is the cache we found by Ben’s Chili Bowl in downtown DC with Margaret and Pete…and then we went inside to sit at Obama’s table and have chili and half smokes! 

Of course there's a cache here!

And of course, Mona’s most memorable cache was the Web Cam Cache on Fisherman’s wharf…because of the bird “poo attack” that gave her the excuse to buy new clothes!  She also loved the one we found in Orange Beach under the Boardwalk.  Speaking of the Boardwalk, caching on the Atlantic City Boardwalk was really cool….just glad we were there before Hurricane Sandy!

Also we will remember our 2012 caching year for the different animals we have had to be careful of while caching.  Here in Central Illinois we watch for skunks, spiders and the occasional snake, but it’s a little different in other parts of the country.  In our travels we cached in areas that had rattlesnakes, jack rabbits, wolves, grizzly bears, alligators, elk, tarantulas, scorpions, panthers, crocodiles and buffalo.  Whew!  We also cached in several areas known for Bigfoot sightings.  (No, X, we didn’t see any!)  Oh….and can’t forget Roswell where we kept a keen lookout for aliens!

The map on the right gives you a general idea of where we traveled.  Our car, Red, has a travel bug on it and we logged it at many of the caches we visited.  The map doesn't show the two trips that involved air travel, because, of course, Red had to stay home.

2012 was definitely a big geocaching year for us…  Lots of caches, lots of miles and lots of fun!  I even got an article about Cable Car Caching published in FTF Geocaching Magazine!  Yep, 2012 was a big year for us….now we've got to figure out some new geocaching goals for 2013 to make it even more fun!

Happy Geocaching!

Tag for Dad

Tag for Dad Travel Bug

We started in geocaching in August of 2010 and it wasn’t long before the caching bug spread through four generations of our family.  Although we all love geocaching, we all keep talking about how another member of our family would have really loved this sport:  Dad.  Dad was an outdoor enthusiast and he loved puzzles and gadgets…a perfect combination for geocaching.  Sadly, he passed in 2009, before any of us had starting caching.

My sister, 5-Bears, wanted to include Dad in geocaching somehow, someway. She ended up creating a Travel Bug in his honor and named it “Tag for Dad”.  5-Bears wanted me to be the FTF (First to Find) for this Bug so she created a special cache just for me and sent me the coordinates specifying that I had to find it at night.  Turns out the cache was hidden in a cemetery…in fact, the cemetery where Dad is resting.   This was definitely a spooky place for a cache, but I made the find, in a flower urn on Dad’s stone.  Creepy, but Dad would have loved it!

In case you didn't know....a Travel Bug is a geocaching item that has a unique identification number and it's taken from cache to cache by geocachers.  Usually, it's a small item that can easily fit into caches and it has a tag keychained to it with its ID number or it has the ID number stamped on it.  Most often, the Travel Bug's owner specifies where the bug would like to travel.  However, in this case 5-Bears didn't specify a preferred destination.  

WES37 (Geouncle) Making the Find

I asked 5-Bears if she wanted me to keep the Bug or release it into the wild.  She answered, “Let’s see where Dad goes.”  Soon after, I took Tag for Dad to Missouri and dropped him in Out of the Loop (GC2178Y) to get him started on his journey.  It wasn’t long before “Dad” visited southern Illinois, quite possibly his favorite place in the world.  This was where he spent many weekends fishing, 4-wheeling and exploring the Shawnee National Forest.  Everyone in the family thought this was so cool that the Travel Bug landed here!

“Dad” continued his journeys, visiting Kentucky and Massachusetts, but it wasn’t long before he made his way to Florida, another of Dad’s favorite places.  Florida is where Dad loved to take us for family vacations, looking for alligators, shelling and enjoying incredible sunsets.  Wow, what a coincidence that “Dad” visited two of his favorite places in just a short time!

"Dad" and 5-Bears in the Glass Box!

Now, “Dad” traveled north, making his way to Minnesota and finally to Chicago, Illinois.  Dad lived here for several years and loved Chicago.  He especially loved the Sears Tower (now named the Willis Tower) and wonder of wonders….the cache was near there!  This was too much for 5-Bears!  She had always hoped “Dad” would find his way back home and now it was time!  She enlisted the help of our geo-uncle WES37 and together they drove to Chicago and found “Dad” in Corporate Soup (GC2R5TX).  “Dad” was back with the family again!

5-Bears and WES37 celebrated the reunion by visiting the top of Willis Tower, where 5-Bears took “Dad” out into one of the glass boxes hanging off the side of the building.  This was quite a feat for 5-Bears as she has a fear of heights, but she wanted to do it in Dad’s honor.  Dad would have been so proud!

"Dad's" Travels

Our family is still amazed at where “Dad” visited.  What a coincidence that in just a year and a half this travel bug was taken to three of Dad’s favorite places in the world, even though none of them was mentioned in his goal!  Or maybe…just maybe, Dad really got to go geocaching after all! 

P.S.  “Tag for Dad” has now been moved to 5-Bears’ collection, so no more traveling for “Dad.”  But who knows, maybe he’ll be put out into the wild again someday to revisit a few more of his favorite places!

San Francisco Caching

August 15^th, my birthday, and I was in San Francisco.  Of course, I studied in advance the maps on geocaching.com to scope out my caches for the trip. Can’t travel without knowing what caches are in the area!  In my studies I noticed that there were several caches along the cable car lines.  That gave me an idea for a perfect birthday present to me, from me.  Cable car caching! 

Turning the Cable Car Arouind

I got up early on my birthday, not just in anticipation of my big event, but also to avoid the big crowds that cram the cable cars starting mid-morning.  At about 6:00 AM I walked the three tenths of a mile to my first cache and to my first cable car stop at California and Van Ness.  The first cache of the day was to be “S.F. Cable Car - California & Van Ness” (GCX98GV).  This cache is a 1.5/1.5 so I was certain I could easily make this find.  Ten minutes passed with no smiley and my cable car was here!  Darn!

I hopped onto the cable car and off we went in search of my next cache and hopefully, my first smiley of the day.  I rode the car to the junction of Powell and California streets.  I hopped off the car to find “S.F. Cable Car – Crossroads” (GCX8ZN).  This cache is a 2.5/1.5, but I managed to make the find before the next cable car came along.  I jumped onto the Powell/Hyde Beach car and rode it to its turnaround.

Off the car I went and down the street for about a block where I quickly scooped up “Will You ***** Me?” (GC3CBMW).  This cache has a fun history as it was used by its CO to ask his girlfriend to marry him! 

I trotted back to the cable car and managed to board it just after it turned around.  Headed back to the hotel to pick up M&A and Mona and to do more cable car caching!

Sea Lions at Pier 39

We went back to “S.F. Cable Car - California & Van Ness” and my wife quickly made the find and got the smiley.  Then off we went on the cable cars to find more caches at Pier 39!

Pier 39, shops, sea lions, street performers and tourists...thousands of tourists....and a couple of geocachers.  There were two caches that I really wanted to get.  The first was on the plaza in front of the pier.  The cache description said you'd sit to the right of the cache, slip your hand down and pull out the cache.  Did that, and found a wedge-shaped black box.  But, the darned thing was soo hard to open.  I kept struggling with it and trying to be discreet but it just wouldn't open!  Then just as I opened it, Monte walked up and said, "That looks like a rat trap!"  It was.  Luckily no rat.  Talk about hand washing and sanitizer!!!!  (Oh, by the way, a millisecond later Mona found the actual cache 20 feet away.)

Mona at the Web Cam

Next, we wandered the Pier.  As I said, Pier 39 is crowded with shops, restaurants and people.  Not only that, but just outside the pier are sea lions.  After the 1989 earthquake, sea lions took over part of the marina adjacent to Pier 39.  They lay and play on the boatdocks within 50 feet of the pier.  They are so much fun to watch!  Better yet, there's a webcam geocache there, too!  You position yourself so that the web camera can see you with your GPSr (Global Positioning Satellite Receiver) and then you snap a pic.  You control the positioning of the web camera through your smartphone.  So cool!  Just as I had snapped our web pic, I heard a shriek from Mona.  A sea bird had bombed her with poo!  It was a direct hit on her white sweater and her iPhone!  Yet another side trip for sanitizing and washing, washing, washing!

Mona feeding seagull after the Pier 39 incident.
Note the change in attire!

Mona took it in stride...just another part of the experience.  She soon had purchased a new blouse and some scarves.  Once again geocaching had provided her with an excuse to shop!

210

Logging The First Cache
WES37, 5-Bears, Dizzy L

Recently, three new geocache series were hidden in Central Illinois.  A geocache series is a set of caches that can be found singly or in a "power run" to rack up some big numbers.  We decided to find all three series in a single day...with a target of finding at least 200 caches in a single day.  Our team consisted of five cachers, WES37, Dizzy L, 5-Bears and the two of us MNM1011.

We gathered at our house at 6:00 AM.  The van was filled with caching tools, GPS receivers, and plenty of cool drinks.  The temp was 75 so it was a perfect time to start the day's effort.

Logging the Finds

The first series we tackled was the IBE AUS (Named after the song, “I’ve Been Everywhere and using the names of Australian cities for individual cache names.)  The first cache was hidden beside a rural road just outside of Decatur.  The rest of the 90+ caches of the series were hidden along 15 miles of roads leading to Mt. Auburn.

You've got to hustle to find 210!!!

The next series, IBE US, stretched about 10 miles from Illiopolis north to near Mt. Pulaski.  The caches in this series were named after US cities and was placed by the same owners as the IBE AUS series.

The final series, Feed the Frenzy, was east of Decatur, near Bement, Illinois, and consists of 25 caches.  These three series totaled 210 caches.  We found all but 1, but made up for it by finding an individual cache.

Mona Hustling Down the Highway!

Our Log Stamp!

Finding 210 caches in 8 ½ hours takes a lot of coordination.  For our team, we had one person logging the caches, one navigator, on driver and two finders.  We rotated assignments to keep everyone fresh and to give everyone a chance to find caches.  Having two finders was important, not only to double the find speed, but also it helped to have two sets of hands help sign the cache.  Speaking of signing the cache….WES37 had a special rubber stamp made that had all our geocaching names on it.  This really helped speed the process…one person would unroll the cache log and hold it flat as the other would stamp it. 

5-Bears' 1000th Cache!

Mile after mile....cache after cache.  The day seemed to zip by.  We had lunch alongside a country road, eating our sandwiches, chips and tomates standing by the van.  Didn't want to take too much time eating because we had caches to find!

Is that a cache???

After finishing up the two IBE series we had to drive about 40 minutes to get to the last series.  It was over 100 degrees by now and yet there was still lots of energy in the team.  Only 25 caches to find!  On the nineth cache of Feed the Frenzy we had our first DNF (Did Not Find).  Not bad when you consider we had 193 finds in a row up to that point.

About 2:00 in the afternoon, we found cache #210.  We had done it!  It feels so good to set a goal and then accomplish it like that!  We turned the van homeward, cranked up the AC and cruised home to shower and relax!  But wait...relax?  Not yet, there was still the little matter of spending the next three hours entering our finds into geocaching.com.  That's not nearly as much fun, but it sure is nice to see those numbers!!!!

The photo below was taken at the end of the day...we're hot, sweaty and dirty...but happy with our 210!

210 At Last!