DNA Anyone?

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!