Today we decided to tackle the back roads again, but this time we concentrated on the east side of Hwy 65. We had a great time, but we did leave a lot of blood along the trail. Normally, we leave a little here and there, but today we left a lot almost from the beginning. Poor Larry (L1), he really suffered in our quest to reach 4700.
We started the day at 7:30 AM. Our first stop was just outside the Gladding, McBean Company in Lincoln, CA. The company started in 1875 with the making of clay sewer pipes and progressed into clay roofing tiles, terra cotta, floor tiles, garden pottery, and chimney tops. They have an excellent worldwide reputation. You can check out their history at the Gladding Mcbean website . They hold a pottery fair once a year that draws people from all over. There is also an Earthcache (GC14YWC--Feats of Clay) that will give you the story and an opportunity to log another cache. The cache we found was a quick and easy one located near a power tower on the back side of Gladding Mcbean.
Our second cache of the day (GC14MFF--“This Could be a Wash-Out) really was a wash-out and we had to record a DNF. We had hardly started looking before Larry, trying to hoist himself higher up a tree to peer in a hole, slipped and slid his arm down the bark . Instant blood. A little bit later he turned his head into a branch and again started with the blood. We had already looked high and low and far and wide and tangled with more than enough berry bushes. By this time, we had had enough! Time to call it quits! Maybe we will return, but maybe not. The location is not the safest place for someone who seems to be injury prone! We went through a lot of Kleenex and sani-wipes on this one.
The rest of the caches were easy in comparison. We did encounter more berry bushes and a few slippery slopes, but we were able to extract the caches with only a little blood letting. Along the way we passed through vineyards as well as fields with a few antique tractors that looked very similar to the tractors tipped by Mater and Lightening McQueen in the Cars movie. We also traveled along the Camp Far West Reservoir and couldn’t believe our eyes. The water level was so low we almost didn’t recognize it.
One of the most enjoyable caches was the one hidden under the willow tree. I love willow trees, but I also know the damage they can cause if they are too close to a water source (pipes, sewers, swimming pools, etc). This one was far away from anything it could harm and it was a beautiful tree. Once we were inside the branches, we were in our own little world. It was cool and peaceful and we could easily have stayed a while. We were on a mission, though, so we prodded the leaves on the ground with our walking stick and eventually heard the correct thump as the stick struck the metal container. We signed the log and reluctantly headed back to the sun and the heat of the day.
We found several of ”luc pockets’“ caches and, like yesterday, jotted down new coordinates for some of them to include in our log. She seems to have a problem identifying the correct coordinates when she places the cache. One of the caches was hung in a tree near a pasture. At one point, after searching a while, Larry suggested we ask the bull on the other side of the fence. I glanced over and here was a huge bull sitting on the ground staring at us with his big brown eyes. He hadn’t made a sound and I had not known he was even there. I’m afraid he wasn’t much help but I enjoyed staring at him. We eventually found the cache and noted the correct coordinates before heading on to the next cache.
The Labor Day weekend is the perfect time for geocaching. We decided that all the rest of the people were out of town, picnicking in the park, boating on the river, or keeping cool by visiting the various malls. We pretty much had the roads to ourselves and didn’t have to worry about being stealthy at most of the cache sites. Unfortunately, we were out in the heat and we were in full geocaching regalia so that part was not perfect. And, we were the ones watching for rattlesnakes as we approached rocks and tree hollows. I guess you win some and you lose some. We were happy with our choice.
We were home by 12:30 PM and had 22 caches under our belt. We made it to 4700 and beyond. Will we make it to 5000 before 2008? Of course we will---with a little determination and luck!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Backroads
Today we followed the back roads from our house to Wheatland. The logical route would have been up HWY 65 but we chose to take the longer route via the back roads which took us through parts of Placer, Sutter, and Yuba counties. We passed some interesting spots as we traveled roads we had not been on before. We passed open fields, creeks, canals, rivers, and lots and lots of walnut orchards. It was so cool and inviting in the shade under the walnut trees, I almost wished we had packed a blanket and a picnic lunch. I’m not sure what the owner of the orchard would have thought about it, but we would have enjoyed our lunch.
Most of the caches along the way were quick and easy caches. We found a lot of “luc pocket’s” caches. Fortunately, enough people had found them that she had corrected the coordinates, if necessary, before we even thought about doing the caches. A significant number of her caches have incorrect coordinates when they are first published and we have stopped rushing out to find them. We did have trouble with one, but a quick call for help gave us the needed information and we found it within minutes and then headed on down the road.
We were looking for something different about now and decided to look for one of the “RetiredProf’s” caches--“kool cop (GC15BRX)”. He is big on puzzles and this particular cache happened to be a puzzle cache. I solved the easy puzzle last night and we figured we had the Prof all figured out so we should find this one quickly. HUH! The coordinates zeroed out on the street but we could see a possible geo-trail and it was in a spot that could be considered typical of an RP cache location. HUH! Larry headed in to the mass of oleander bushes! Within seconds he was covered with ants! They were everywhere! He rushed out and we brushed off all the ants--we hoped. Back he went, using a little more caution. Within seconds he was covered with ants again! The ants were on the ground and on every branch and leaf of the plants. There was no escaping them. Fortunately, I had remained on the perimeter to give directions and I escaped the ant attack! We brushed him off again and circled the likely spot. There was no way in without crossing the lines established by the ant army and they were ready for a full out assault if one of us attempted to enter their territory! We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, called it quits, and headed off to the next cache.
We changed our route a couple of times and we were glad we did. Had we followed our original plan, we would have missed a couple of caches. The Topo map shows roads that no longer exist or are private roads! Fortunately, enough of the roads were still there and we managed to find the most efficient way to each of the caches. The trip was fun and we did get to see some different locations.
By lunchtime, we had 19 caches and we were in the town of Wheatland. We decided to try out one of the local eateries. Actually, it was the only one we could find open on a Sunday afternoon. We later discovered a Mexican restaurant that was open, but for the moment we had to settle for TJ’s Deli & Java. We placed our order for 2 BLTs and sat down at a nearby table. When we heard the counter person ask the other counter person what goes on a BLT, we started to get a little concerned. Neither one seemed to know. We provided the necessary information and they started making our sandwiches. Then we heard the counter person ask the other counter person if this was mayonnaise! At least the other person knew what mayonnaise looked like and she responded with a yes! Soon we could smell the pre-cooked bacon being heated in the microwave. Maybe we would get a sandwich sometime soon. The whole process was taking an awfully long time and we were the only ones in the place! Finally, we got our BLTs. They weren’t bad but it was the first time I have had the bacon all crumbled on the sandwich. Every time I took a bite, I lost half the pieces on the plate! I’m not sure this will be our lunch place of choice the next time we are in Wheatland. There is a new strip mall down the road and a Subway is scheduled to open soon. There is just a shell there now so it may be a while. Maybe it will be open the next time we are in town.
We found a few more caches on the “city” streets in and around Wheatland and finally headed for home. The home trip still involved the back roads but these were familiar back roads and we had found all the caches along the way, so it was a quick drive. We were home by 2:15 and had found 23 caches. We had three on the list that escaped us this time, but we will be back to try again. Maybe next time we will pick a cooler day so we can take a little more time to search! And maybe the ants will have found a new frontier to inhabit when we go back for the “kool cop” cache.
Most of the caches along the way were quick and easy caches. We found a lot of “luc pocket’s” caches. Fortunately, enough people had found them that she had corrected the coordinates, if necessary, before we even thought about doing the caches. A significant number of her caches have incorrect coordinates when they are first published and we have stopped rushing out to find them. We did have trouble with one, but a quick call for help gave us the needed information and we found it within minutes and then headed on down the road.
We were looking for something different about now and decided to look for one of the “RetiredProf’s” caches--“kool cop (GC15BRX)”. He is big on puzzles and this particular cache happened to be a puzzle cache. I solved the easy puzzle last night and we figured we had the Prof all figured out so we should find this one quickly. HUH! The coordinates zeroed out on the street but we could see a possible geo-trail and it was in a spot that could be considered typical of an RP cache location. HUH! Larry headed in to the mass of oleander bushes! Within seconds he was covered with ants! They were everywhere! He rushed out and we brushed off all the ants--we hoped. Back he went, using a little more caution. Within seconds he was covered with ants again! The ants were on the ground and on every branch and leaf of the plants. There was no escaping them. Fortunately, I had remained on the perimeter to give directions and I escaped the ant attack! We brushed him off again and circled the likely spot. There was no way in without crossing the lines established by the ant army and they were ready for a full out assault if one of us attempted to enter their territory! We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, called it quits, and headed off to the next cache.
We changed our route a couple of times and we were glad we did. Had we followed our original plan, we would have missed a couple of caches. The Topo map shows roads that no longer exist or are private roads! Fortunately, enough of the roads were still there and we managed to find the most efficient way to each of the caches. The trip was fun and we did get to see some different locations.
By lunchtime, we had 19 caches and we were in the town of Wheatland. We decided to try out one of the local eateries. Actually, it was the only one we could find open on a Sunday afternoon. We later discovered a Mexican restaurant that was open, but for the moment we had to settle for TJ’s Deli & Java. We placed our order for 2 BLTs and sat down at a nearby table. When we heard the counter person ask the other counter person what goes on a BLT, we started to get a little concerned. Neither one seemed to know. We provided the necessary information and they started making our sandwiches. Then we heard the counter person ask the other counter person if this was mayonnaise! At least the other person knew what mayonnaise looked like and she responded with a yes! Soon we could smell the pre-cooked bacon being heated in the microwave. Maybe we would get a sandwich sometime soon. The whole process was taking an awfully long time and we were the only ones in the place! Finally, we got our BLTs. They weren’t bad but it was the first time I have had the bacon all crumbled on the sandwich. Every time I took a bite, I lost half the pieces on the plate! I’m not sure this will be our lunch place of choice the next time we are in Wheatland. There is a new strip mall down the road and a Subway is scheduled to open soon. There is just a shell there now so it may be a while. Maybe it will be open the next time we are in town.
We found a few more caches on the “city” streets in and around Wheatland and finally headed for home. The home trip still involved the back roads but these were familiar back roads and we had found all the caches along the way, so it was a quick drive. We were home by 2:15 and had found 23 caches. We had three on the list that escaped us this time, but we will be back to try again. Maybe next time we will pick a cooler day so we can take a little more time to search! And maybe the ants will have found a new frontier to inhabit when we go back for the “kool cop” cache.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
The Elk Grove Experience
It's been a while since I posted any geocaching adventures. Unfortunately, I still don't have any exciting adventures but I can tell you about our day spent geocaching in Elk Grove. Ann (Imawahl) and another caching friend, Don (Dstoye), went with us.
We left early this AM and returned home around 6:30 PM. We were a little shy of a 12 hour day, but we managed to find 44 caches. We covered the area of Elk Grove between the two major highways, I-5 and 99. We had moments of peace and quiet and moments of lots of activity. We enjoyed the peace and quiet in the parks we had all to ourselves. The rest of the world was staying indoors and out of the heat. We, on the other hand, were braving the heat and wandering around in the empty parks. The lots of activity occurred when we were finding caches in the shopping centers. We were almost run over by the people rushing from their cars to get into the air conditioned buildings. We were the ones sitting on the benches in the heat waiting for the mad rush of people to disappear into the buildings so we could quickly grab the cache that was hidden under the bench.
The four of us did enjoy a little time out of the heat. We managed to stake out a table at the BJ Brewery in Elk Grove and shared lunch and a pitcher of beer. We needed an afternoon nap after lunch, but we had to forgo the experience as we had lots more caches to find.
We finished in Elk Grove and started for home. But wait! There were two more caches in the Franklin-Hood area. We couldn't go home before finding them. OK, so they were 4 miles south (the wrong direction), but what's 4 miles when you are geocaching! Off we went, picked up the two caches and finally headed for home.
We were almost there when Don suggested we go get the new cache about 1 mile from our house. There was no way we could refuse! We signed the log and headed for home. The day was over, but we still had to post all our finds, take a shower, relax, and prepare for the next day. Who knows where we will be tomorrow but we will be geocaching!
We left early this AM and returned home around 6:30 PM. We were a little shy of a 12 hour day, but we managed to find 44 caches. We covered the area of Elk Grove between the two major highways, I-5 and 99. We had moments of peace and quiet and moments of lots of activity. We enjoyed the peace and quiet in the parks we had all to ourselves. The rest of the world was staying indoors and out of the heat. We, on the other hand, were braving the heat and wandering around in the empty parks. The lots of activity occurred when we were finding caches in the shopping centers. We were almost run over by the people rushing from their cars to get into the air conditioned buildings. We were the ones sitting on the benches in the heat waiting for the mad rush of people to disappear into the buildings so we could quickly grab the cache that was hidden under the bench.
The four of us did enjoy a little time out of the heat. We managed to stake out a table at the BJ Brewery in Elk Grove and shared lunch and a pitcher of beer. We needed an afternoon nap after lunch, but we had to forgo the experience as we had lots more caches to find.
We finished in Elk Grove and started for home. But wait! There were two more caches in the Franklin-Hood area. We couldn't go home before finding them. OK, so they were 4 miles south (the wrong direction), but what's 4 miles when you are geocaching! Off we went, picked up the two caches and finally headed for home.
We were almost there when Don suggested we go get the new cache about 1 mile from our house. There was no way we could refuse! We signed the log and headed for home. The day was over, but we still had to post all our finds, take a shower, relax, and prepare for the next day. Who knows where we will be tomorrow but we will be geocaching!
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