After last weekend's short caching expedition, I expected to get a full day or two in this weekend. There was frozen precipitation predicted for Friday so I wasn't too surprised when the weekend turned out to be a complete bust.
I will say though that as far as I am concerned, this was the worst case of icy roads and sidewalks that I have experienced in a long time. I was pretty much stuck in the house on Saturday. It could have been much worse, though. I had power all weekend and nowhere in particular to go.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Caching in Collierville, TN - 1/23/2010
After wasting last weekend at home due to a water leak, I was looking forward to doing a little geocaching this weekend. Saturday had a forecast for rain in the late afternoon, so I decided to stick relatively close to home. Collierville, TN has a lot of nice caches in it as well as good places to eat. I decided to hunt mostly easy caches and save the harder ones for my next trip with jbgreer.
My primary goal was the three new(ish) park and grabs in W.C. Johnson Park. I knew that they were in heavily muggled areas and since they were just replaced - now was the time for them.
My first mistake of the weekend was to forget to bring home my most recent pocket query for the area. This meant that I missed three brand new caches.
My first stop was at Weeds by Doug Wilson, CPA (GC1KX87), a cache near a neighborhood. I parked at the end of a cove and ducked back into the woods. I ran across a possum near the location of the cache (within 40 feet). It freaked me out how it didn't move until I got close enough to take the below picture. My first DNF of the day, but the possum(s) made up for it.
[ Playing possum? ]
My second stop was at Collierville High School to hunt Leonarda Two by LeonardaDaArtsi (GC1NF70). This cache is near the greenbelt. There was a school team practising something on the upper field, leaving me alone to hunt the cache below. I got my feet a little wet near the cache, but it was a quick find. Afterwards, I climbed the small hill behind the cache looking for a drier way out and discovered a nice lake. The way out was not drier, however a fallen tree made a nice bridge.
[ Lake / pond near GC1NF70 ]
Next stop - W.C. Johnson Park - home of a number of great wetlands caches. My first stop here was Rest Here by MorWoods (GC1YG9Q). Not many folks in the area today, but a passing runner was disappointed by the non-working water fountain. I walked east to Ripstick Rampage by MorWoods (GC1Y15H) which while not far off of the walking trail, proved to be a little more difficult terrain-wise. It was hard to avoid muggles and the sign that said "no climbing on the banks" made me feel a little awkward.
Onward, though. I walked west to get the last of the PnGs in the park - Shadey by MorWoods (GC1YFY8). Nice clearly labeled containers were a pleasure to see.
After leaving the park, I hunted 3 more caches before stopping by Marvin Poole, an adventurous grandpa by MP5171 (GC14D29). This was a 4.5/5 rated cache with a lot of recent DNFs. The logs said the container was 100 feet off, and I found a suitable container with a slip of paper in it exactly 100 feet SW of the cache 1st stage coordinates. The paper appeared blank and if it had any writing on it, it would have taken some advanced forensic techniques to recover it. I didn't waster a lot of time here, but it would have been nice to get at least the coords to the final.
Lunchtime! A chicken club at Zaxby's - not as good as the ones I had in Marion, AR, but passable. The last cache I hunted on this day was Halle New Year! by fayfinders (GC189ZK). This was a nice two-stage multicache at Halle Park. I bumped my head getting the coordinates to the final, but that is par for the course for me. No blood this time, though. The final stage was a tough one for me, even though I found it uncovered. I had been suffering from some stiffness in my left hip all morning and for some reason when I stood up and backed out of the wooded area where the cache was, I couldn't straighten up. When I finally could stand up, I couldn't walk without severe pain. I managed to limp slowly to a nearby bench where I painfully managed to sit down. I rested for a while, looking out over a nice lake until the pain subsided enough for me to walk slowly back to the other side of the lake to my car. Getting back to my car was tough as was the drive home. I went straight home missing my planned after-cache treat at Dairy Queen.
[ A relaxing view before going home ]
All-in-all, I had a great day (except for the end). I look foward to returning to hunt the remaining wetland caches - hopefully while it is still cold outside. My hip is doing much better today (the day after).
My primary goal was the three new(ish) park and grabs in W.C. Johnson Park. I knew that they were in heavily muggled areas and since they were just replaced - now was the time for them.
My first mistake of the weekend was to forget to bring home my most recent pocket query for the area. This meant that I missed three brand new caches.
My first stop was at Weeds by Doug Wilson, CPA (GC1KX87), a cache near a neighborhood. I parked at the end of a cove and ducked back into the woods. I ran across a possum near the location of the cache (within 40 feet). It freaked me out how it didn't move until I got close enough to take the below picture. My first DNF of the day, but the possum(s) made up for it.
[ Playing possum? ]My second stop was at Collierville High School to hunt Leonarda Two by LeonardaDaArtsi (GC1NF70). This cache is near the greenbelt. There was a school team practising something on the upper field, leaving me alone to hunt the cache below. I got my feet a little wet near the cache, but it was a quick find. Afterwards, I climbed the small hill behind the cache looking for a drier way out and discovered a nice lake. The way out was not drier, however a fallen tree made a nice bridge.
[ Lake / pond near GC1NF70 ]Next stop - W.C. Johnson Park - home of a number of great wetlands caches. My first stop here was Rest Here by MorWoods (GC1YG9Q). Not many folks in the area today, but a passing runner was disappointed by the non-working water fountain. I walked east to Ripstick Rampage by MorWoods (GC1Y15H) which while not far off of the walking trail, proved to be a little more difficult terrain-wise. It was hard to avoid muggles and the sign that said "no climbing on the banks" made me feel a little awkward.
Onward, though. I walked west to get the last of the PnGs in the park - Shadey by MorWoods (GC1YFY8). Nice clearly labeled containers were a pleasure to see.After leaving the park, I hunted 3 more caches before stopping by Marvin Poole, an adventurous grandpa by MP5171 (GC14D29). This was a 4.5/5 rated cache with a lot of recent DNFs. The logs said the container was 100 feet off, and I found a suitable container with a slip of paper in it exactly 100 feet SW of the cache 1st stage coordinates. The paper appeared blank and if it had any writing on it, it would have taken some advanced forensic techniques to recover it. I didn't waster a lot of time here, but it would have been nice to get at least the coords to the final.
Lunchtime! A chicken club at Zaxby's - not as good as the ones I had in Marion, AR, but passable. The last cache I hunted on this day was Halle New Year! by fayfinders (GC189ZK). This was a nice two-stage multicache at Halle Park. I bumped my head getting the coordinates to the final, but that is par for the course for me. No blood this time, though. The final stage was a tough one for me, even though I found it uncovered. I had been suffering from some stiffness in my left hip all morning and for some reason when I stood up and backed out of the wooded area where the cache was, I couldn't straighten up. When I finally could stand up, I couldn't walk without severe pain. I managed to limp slowly to a nearby bench where I painfully managed to sit down. I rested for a while, looking out over a nice lake until the pain subsided enough for me to walk slowly back to the other side of the lake to my car. Getting back to my car was tough as was the drive home. I went straight home missing my planned after-cache treat at Dairy Queen.
[ A relaxing view before going home ]All-in-all, I had a great day (except for the end). I look foward to returning to hunt the remaining wetland caches - hopefully while it is still cold outside. My hip is doing much better today (the day after).
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Geoaching Resolutions for 2010
I'm not big on resolutions, but here are a few things I resolve to do in 2010.
1) Continue geocaching in small towns all over Arkansas.
2) Attend my first Geowoodstock.
3) Attend more events. Particularly in other states.
4) Finally visit the Reelfoot Lake area of northwest Tennessee.
5) Minimize posting on the GOWT forums until they get a new webmaster.
----
Mildly interesting statistics:
I found my first cache on 11/26/2004.
I found my 1000th cache on 3/12/2006.
I found my 1000th Tennessee cache on (or around) 3/24/2007.
I am approaching my 1000th Shelby County, Tennessee find (821 as of this date).
How long will it be before I have found 1000 caches in Shelby County?
How long will it be before I have found 1000 caches in Memphis?
Given the relatively few number of caches in Memphis in 2004, it would have been hard to fathom back then eventually finding 1000 caches in Memphis.
1) Continue geocaching in small towns all over Arkansas.
2) Attend my first Geowoodstock.
3) Attend more events. Particularly in other states.
4) Finally visit the Reelfoot Lake area of northwest Tennessee.
5) Minimize posting on the GOWT forums until they get a new webmaster.
I don't appreciate any of my posts disappearing without explanation. Especially when they are being deleted by anonymous cowards.6) Clean up some of my snarkier blog posts.
Nobody cares about the lack of personal integrity of the leadership of the local geocaching organizations of West Tennessee (GOWT and JAG).7) Find ways to better document my geocaching adventures.
----
Mildly interesting statistics:
I found my first cache on 11/26/2004.
I found my 1000th cache on 3/12/2006.
I found my 1000th Tennessee cache on (or around) 3/24/2007.
I am approaching my 1000th Shelby County, Tennessee find (821 as of this date).
How long will it be before I have found 1000 caches in Shelby County?
How long will it be before I have found 1000 caches in Memphis?
Given the relatively few number of caches in Memphis in 2004, it would have been hard to fathom back then eventually finding 1000 caches in Memphis.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Jaybirder's Roost - 1/2/2010
I've been on a run of numbers hunts recently so I appreciate it when I can hunt a single good cache that involves a long hike in the woods. I especially like it when I get to hunt caches with my good friend jbgreer.
Jaybirder's Roost by Jaybirder (GC209W3) is a multi-stage cache that takes you all over the "Wolf River Environmental Restoration Greenway Trail System just north of Collierville, Tennessee. This area is approximately 2200+ acres of bottomland hardwood forest with old cotton fields to the north.
Hunting the cache first requires that you hunt six addtional caches, each with a letter-number pair that aids in the creation of the start coordinates for Jaybirder's Roost. We had hunted five of the six preliminary caches a month before and for stopped cold around 160 feet away from Noisey Crows Cache by Jaybirder (GC20Y8J) by high waters typical of this time of year.
On this day we met at casa de jbgreer at 8am and made it to the park around 8:45am. It was a short and uneventful walk to Noisey Crows Cache. The water we had encountered earlier was all gone. I left a "When Pigs Fly" geocoin at this cache and we pieced together the coordinates for the start of Jaybirder's Roost and began what would end up being a long day of hiking.
---
We encountered tall grass and spots of iced-over water while hunting the first few stages of the cache and I was glad I had worn my high-rubber boots. We passed by the truck after 4 stages and stopped for a quick drink. If I had taken off my boots at this point and put my tennis shoes back on, I would have had a perfect rest of the day. There was, however, no way we could have anticipated the conditions for the rest of the hike. Besides, I initially had plans to hunt a few other caches I knew would be in water if time permitted.
I can't go into great detail of the rest of the hunt at this point because it is a relatively new hide and I'd prefer not to spoil it for the few people who might stumble across this blog. I can say that on this day the sky was clear with a few snow flakes early. I don't believe the temperature ever got above freezing, although I was warm enough that it wasn't a problem. We didn't carry food or water, so the only place we rested was at the truck after stage four. I had a big breakfast, so I wasn't overly hungry and the cool temps didn't cause me to get overly thirsty. In summary, it was a great day to hunt this cache!
One big topic of conversation we had was how many stages could this cache have without ruining the experience. Did too many stages dampen too potential hiding spots for more caches? At one point, I correctly guessed the number of stages this cache had. Definitely some luck involved in the guess.
Upon arrival at the final stage, I dropped off two coins and took the time to write a legible entry in the logbook. The hike back to the truck was long! It took approximately 5 hours to hunt all of the stages. In the GOWT forums recently, I had posted something to the effect that it would take a great deal of motivation to get me to hunt a cache with more than four (known) stages. I am glad I was sufficiently motivated to hunt this cache at this time, because in the summer it would be AWFUL!
[ jbgreer arrives at the cache first ]
[ Mackheath breathing a sigh of relief ]
[ The coins I set free today - two are in Jaybirder's Roost ]
Jaybirder's Roost by Jaybirder (GC209W3) is a multi-stage cache that takes you all over the "Wolf River Environmental Restoration Greenway Trail System just north of Collierville, Tennessee. This area is approximately 2200+ acres of bottomland hardwood forest with old cotton fields to the north.
Hunting the cache first requires that you hunt six addtional caches, each with a letter-number pair that aids in the creation of the start coordinates for Jaybirder's Roost. We had hunted five of the six preliminary caches a month before and for stopped cold around 160 feet away from Noisey Crows Cache by Jaybirder (GC20Y8J) by high waters typical of this time of year.
On this day we met at casa de jbgreer at 8am and made it to the park around 8:45am. It was a short and uneventful walk to Noisey Crows Cache. The water we had encountered earlier was all gone. I left a "When Pigs Fly" geocoin at this cache and we pieced together the coordinates for the start of Jaybirder's Roost and began what would end up being a long day of hiking.
---
We encountered tall grass and spots of iced-over water while hunting the first few stages of the cache and I was glad I had worn my high-rubber boots. We passed by the truck after 4 stages and stopped for a quick drink. If I had taken off my boots at this point and put my tennis shoes back on, I would have had a perfect rest of the day. There was, however, no way we could have anticipated the conditions for the rest of the hike. Besides, I initially had plans to hunt a few other caches I knew would be in water if time permitted.
I can't go into great detail of the rest of the hunt at this point because it is a relatively new hide and I'd prefer not to spoil it for the few people who might stumble across this blog. I can say that on this day the sky was clear with a few snow flakes early. I don't believe the temperature ever got above freezing, although I was warm enough that it wasn't a problem. We didn't carry food or water, so the only place we rested was at the truck after stage four. I had a big breakfast, so I wasn't overly hungry and the cool temps didn't cause me to get overly thirsty. In summary, it was a great day to hunt this cache!
One big topic of conversation we had was how many stages could this cache have without ruining the experience. Did too many stages dampen too potential hiding spots for more caches? At one point, I correctly guessed the number of stages this cache had. Definitely some luck involved in the guess.Upon arrival at the final stage, I dropped off two coins and took the time to write a legible entry in the logbook. The hike back to the truck was long! It took approximately 5 hours to hunt all of the stages. In the GOWT forums recently, I had posted something to the effect that it would take a great deal of motivation to get me to hunt a cache with more than four (known) stages. I am glad I was sufficiently motivated to hunt this cache at this time, because in the summer it would be AWFUL!
[ jbgreer arrives at the cache first ]
[ Mackheath breathing a sigh of relief ]
[ The coins I set free today - two are in Jaybirder's Roost ]Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bells, TN - Dyersburg, TN - 12/29/2009
I decided that today I would pick up a string of caches between Bells, TN to the east and Dyersburg, TN to the north. I left the house around 6:15am and made it to the Pilot Truck Stop (40 miles east of Memphis) for my first "break" around 7am.
My first cache stop was Nathaniel Williams Cemetery by vettebabe5 (GCQMM0), just east of Bells. I had struck out on this cache twice before more than 4 years ago, so it was a trip down memory lane to come back to this area. I found the cache quickly and believe that its coordinates have been changed over the years.
Most of the caches I found were along Hwy 412 with a diversion here and there. A majority of the caches on this route were put out by JimmyLogan and Bashful of JAG. After finding a couple of these caches with torn or missing bags for the logs, I dug around in my bag and found a couple of good small ziplock bags to replace the next two bad baggies I came across.
Some of the noteworthy caches I found were:
Ishteiodo (ish-tee-oh-doe) by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GC1474F) - I DNF'ed on this when it was put out just prior to the Ice Cream Social by jimmylogan & B@shful (GC12CPM). On this day, I walked right up to it. Anti-climactic, but it had been on my mind since the summer of 2007 so I was glad to get it off my list.
Where Friends Lie Resting by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GCYAF2) - Nicely tucked away, I almost gave up on it. When I found it, I saw the log was unbagged. I bagged it so that my signature would remain unsmeared - the log was damp.
Up hill where the water runs by Midsouth Runners (GC1V2M3) - not really hidden, but it was in an interesting spot - I took a ingot coin from here to move on.
Cemetery Walk by Bashful and Jimmylogan (GCYD16) - I found a lot of cemetery caches today. This one was interesting because a puppy from across the road came over to help me find the cache. I nicknamed him "Titansfan" because he kept getting in my way. The church had a time capsule that I was going to take a picture of before I left, but the dog had distracted me, so I had to spend effort making sure I didn't run over him as I was leaving.
Boondocks by tnicemgr & M@verick (GCRPE8)- This is an older cache (2005) which sparked much discussion on the GOWT forums when it first came out. There were two other caches in this immediate area, but I was focused on this one.
I found a couple more caches, including find #3100 - Little Bitty by tnicemgr (GCTNJM) before gassing up and heading west on I-155 across the river to Missouri. I still had a little bit of daylight left so I headed to Blytheville, AR to pick up a cache I missed on my last trip through.
My last cache find of the day was Walking the Line by kjw0169 (GC1W9M7) - a pretty interesting sight at the border between Missouri and Arkansas on Hwy 61.
I had only minutes of daylight left so I headed to Grandpa's Challenge by Doug&Di (GC1ARRA). I was reasonably sure I stood no chance of solving the physical puzzle involved, but I at least wanted to give it a try. I spent at least 20 minutes on it before moving on - defeated.
The above object is "Grandpa's Challenge", an example of a monkey puzzle.
Blytheville was a good as place as any to eat dinner so I ended up stopping at Perkins restaurant for a meal before heading the rest of the way to Memphis.
My first cache stop was Nathaniel Williams Cemetery by vettebabe5 (GCQMM0), just east of Bells. I had struck out on this cache twice before more than 4 years ago, so it was a trip down memory lane to come back to this area. I found the cache quickly and believe that its coordinates have been changed over the years.
Most of the caches I found were along Hwy 412 with a diversion here and there. A majority of the caches on this route were put out by JimmyLogan and Bashful of JAG. After finding a couple of these caches with torn or missing bags for the logs, I dug around in my bag and found a couple of good small ziplock bags to replace the next two bad baggies I came across.
Some of the noteworthy caches I found were:
Ishteiodo (ish-tee-oh-doe) by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GC1474F) - I DNF'ed on this when it was put out just prior to the Ice Cream Social by jimmylogan & B@shful (GC12CPM). On this day, I walked right up to it. Anti-climactic, but it had been on my mind since the summer of 2007 so I was glad to get it off my list.
Where Friends Lie Resting by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GCYAF2) - Nicely tucked away, I almost gave up on it. When I found it, I saw the log was unbagged. I bagged it so that my signature would remain unsmeared - the log was damp.
Up hill where the water runs by Midsouth Runners (GC1V2M3) - not really hidden, but it was in an interesting spot - I took a ingot coin from here to move on.
Cemetery Walk by Bashful and Jimmylogan (GCYD16) - I found a lot of cemetery caches today. This one was interesting because a puppy from across the road came over to help me find the cache. I nicknamed him "Titansfan" because he kept getting in my way. The church had a time capsule that I was going to take a picture of before I left, but the dog had distracted me, so I had to spend effort making sure I didn't run over him as I was leaving.
Boondocks by tnicemgr & M@verick (GCRPE8)- This is an older cache (2005) which sparked much discussion on the GOWT forums when it first came out. There were two other caches in this immediate area, but I was focused on this one.
I found a couple more caches, including find #3100 - Little Bitty by tnicemgr (GCTNJM) before gassing up and heading west on I-155 across the river to Missouri. I still had a little bit of daylight left so I headed to Blytheville, AR to pick up a cache I missed on my last trip through.
My last cache find of the day was Walking the Line by kjw0169 (GC1W9M7) - a pretty interesting sight at the border between Missouri and Arkansas on Hwy 61.
I had only minutes of daylight left so I headed to Grandpa's Challenge by Doug&Di (GC1ARRA). I was reasonably sure I stood no chance of solving the physical puzzle involved, but I at least wanted to give it a try. I spent at least 20 minutes on it before moving on - defeated.
The above object is "Grandpa's Challenge", an example of a monkey puzzle.
Blytheville was a good as place as any to eat dinner so I ended up stopping at Perkins restaurant for a meal before heading the rest of the way to Memphis.
Blytheville, AR, Hayti, MO, Dyersburg, TN - 12/27/2009
I had been to Blytheville once before, so I was somewhat familiar with the layout of the land. My goal here was mainly to got after the four caches in the "Blytheville 4" series as well as avenge a DNF or two from my previous trip. I left early and arrived in Blytheville around 7am.
My first stop was at Wal-Mart to take a bathroom break and hunt the nearby cache - CAA I55 - Wally Pole by Doug&Di (GC14YQ0). Security was patrolling the area so I had to leave and save that cache for later. I headed east to pick up a few outside of town and only managed to get to Sleeping in the Carr by Doug&Di (GC14Z6X).
I avenged a DNF on Dead Center Field by Doug&Di (GC14Z2K). This was made possible by the fact there were no muggles playing baseball on this cold winter day. In fact, the entire park was empty.
The B'Ville 4 - #4 by Doug&Di (GC16JV9)
This required finding three caches in the series and writing down tow letter-number pairs from each one to be used in completing the coordinates for #4.
[ ammo can ? ]
The B'Ville 4 - #1 by Doug&Di (GC16JWT) was at a cemetery in an ammo can about the size of my thumb. Nice!
The B'Ville 4 - #2 by Doug&Di (GC16JWN) was a bust because even though I had solved the associated puzzle, I just could not find the nano.
The B'Ville 4 - #3 by Doug&Di (GC16JWV) was an easy find near the local YMCA - abandoned on this day.
So, since I needed six digits to complete the coordinates for B4 and I only had 4, I had to move on. Hopefully I won't lose the data I collected from #1 and #3.
I decided to skip past Grandpa's Challenge by Doug&Di (GC1ARRA) on this trip and missed Walking the Line by kjw0169 (GC1W9M7) due to an incorrect approach. So at this point I was northward bound.
I crossed the border into Missouri and picked up a couple in the tiny town of Cooter. Next, I visited Steele, and found gateway to fun by cheapthrl (GC1ZQPQ) in a nice park with a veteran's memorial (and a bathroom).
My next stop was Hayti, MO where I picked up 8 nice caches; most done by Midsouth Runners whom I met outside of Home Is Where The Heart Is by Midsouth Runners (GC1REX7).
[ The owners were watching me ]
My favorite hides here were History Class by Midsouth Runners (GC1RVFC) and Reflections of Vacations Present by MightyDee (maintained by MidSouth Runners) (GC1ZKC8).
[ History Class ]
My next stop was a KOA park where I found Sleepless Nights by Midsouth Runners (GC1WE36). I got my feet wet here as well which made the rest of the cold day somewhat more miserable.
I took the back roads north to Portageville, MO - finding a cache or two along the way. At the cemetery I picked up a TFTC geocoin that I later dropped off at a cache in Collierville, TN.
Since it was still early and only 15 miles out of my way, I went after What's Shaking? - New Madrid, MO by CUSEC (GC1DRVR) next. This was a nice cache outside of a museum and gift shop that is open 7 days a week normally. When I got there the place was closed due to storm damage. So much for warming up...
[ Museum and Gift Shop ]
[ Looking out over the Mississippi River ]
What to do with so much time left in the day?? It was time to turn back south . I headed for Carruthersville, MO where I found two more veterans-themed caches and took I-155 across the Mississippi River into Tennessee. I picked up a few caches along the Great River Road before heading into Dyersburg.
[ A view from a cache ]
--
Two caches that stood out in the Dyersburg area were:
1) Huck Fin---ley by Midsouth Runners (GC1WJNZ) - a guard rail cache that had a large dead dog next to it. It was laid out in such a way that I didn't see it until I got to the cache site.
and 2) Gone for a swim by Midsouth Runners (GC1W1CT) - This was at Okeena Park, a place I hadn't visited since the "Ice Cream Social" hosted by JAG in July 2007.
--
Leaving Dyersburg, I headed south on Hwy 51 and picked up two more caches. The first was Flowers from the Storm by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GC1474X) in Halls where I had a DNF previously) and the second was in Gates. I finished the last cache as it was getting dark so I continued south towards home.
When I got to Atoka, TN, I decided to catch a movie at the Cineplanet 16. I arrived just minutes before the start of Sherlock Holmes. I liked the movie, but I was so cold it was tough to stay focused. I made it home around 9pm.
My first stop was at Wal-Mart to take a bathroom break and hunt the nearby cache - CAA I55 - Wally Pole by Doug&Di (GC14YQ0). Security was patrolling the area so I had to leave and save that cache for later. I headed east to pick up a few outside of town and only managed to get to Sleeping in the Carr by Doug&Di (GC14Z6X).
I avenged a DNF on Dead Center Field by Doug&Di (GC14Z2K). This was made possible by the fact there were no muggles playing baseball on this cold winter day. In fact, the entire park was empty.
The B'Ville 4 - #4 by Doug&Di (GC16JV9)
This required finding three caches in the series and writing down tow letter-number pairs from each one to be used in completing the coordinates for #4.
[ ammo can ? ]The B'Ville 4 - #1 by Doug&Di (GC16JWT) was at a cemetery in an ammo can about the size of my thumb. Nice!
The B'Ville 4 - #2 by Doug&Di (GC16JWN) was a bust because even though I had solved the associated puzzle, I just could not find the nano.
The B'Ville 4 - #3 by Doug&Di (GC16JWV) was an easy find near the local YMCA - abandoned on this day.
So, since I needed six digits to complete the coordinates for B4 and I only had 4, I had to move on. Hopefully I won't lose the data I collected from #1 and #3.
I decided to skip past Grandpa's Challenge by Doug&Di (GC1ARRA) on this trip and missed Walking the Line by kjw0169 (GC1W9M7) due to an incorrect approach. So at this point I was northward bound.
I crossed the border into Missouri and picked up a couple in the tiny town of Cooter. Next, I visited Steele, and found gateway to fun by cheapthrl (GC1ZQPQ) in a nice park with a veteran's memorial (and a bathroom).
My next stop was Hayti, MO where I picked up 8 nice caches; most done by Midsouth Runners whom I met outside of Home Is Where The Heart Is by Midsouth Runners (GC1REX7).
[ The owners were watching me ]My favorite hides here were History Class by Midsouth Runners (GC1RVFC) and Reflections of Vacations Present by MightyDee (maintained by MidSouth Runners) (GC1ZKC8).
[ History Class ]My next stop was a KOA park where I found Sleepless Nights by Midsouth Runners (GC1WE36). I got my feet wet here as well which made the rest of the cold day somewhat more miserable.
I took the back roads north to Portageville, MO - finding a cache or two along the way. At the cemetery I picked up a TFTC geocoin that I later dropped off at a cache in Collierville, TN.
Since it was still early and only 15 miles out of my way, I went after What's Shaking? - New Madrid, MO by CUSEC (GC1DRVR) next. This was a nice cache outside of a museum and gift shop that is open 7 days a week normally. When I got there the place was closed due to storm damage. So much for warming up...
[ Museum and Gift Shop ]
[ Looking out over the Mississippi River ]What to do with so much time left in the day?? It was time to turn back south . I headed for Carruthersville, MO where I found two more veterans-themed caches and took I-155 across the Mississippi River into Tennessee. I picked up a few caches along the Great River Road before heading into Dyersburg.
[ A view from a cache ]Two caches that stood out in the Dyersburg area were:
1) Huck Fin---ley by Midsouth Runners (GC1WJNZ) - a guard rail cache that had a large dead dog next to it. It was laid out in such a way that I didn't see it until I got to the cache site.
and 2) Gone for a swim by Midsouth Runners (GC1W1CT) - This was at Okeena Park, a place I hadn't visited since the "Ice Cream Social" hosted by JAG in July 2007.
--
Leaving Dyersburg, I headed south on Hwy 51 and picked up two more caches. The first was Flowers from the Storm by Bashful & JimmyLogan (GC1474X) in Halls where I had a DNF previously) and the second was in Gates. I finished the last cache as it was getting dark so I continued south towards home.
When I got to Atoka, TN, I decided to catch a movie at the Cineplanet 16. I arrived just minutes before the start of Sherlock Holmes. I liked the movie, but I was so cold it was tough to stay focused. I made it home around 9pm.
Marianna-Helena-Tunica - 12/6/2009
Not being able to hold off any longer, today was the day I would attempt to hit 3000 finds. I'm not sure why, but the closer I get to a major "milestone", the more restless I become. I only needed 29 caches and I had become accustomed to making that many finds in a day. I decided that I wanted my milestone to be in Arkansas. This would mean that I hit a big milestone in three different states: Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
It was just after sunrise and 27 degrees outside when I headed for West Memphis, Arkansas. I had 9 caches marked out and I made 9 finds - all park and grabs. The coolest find of those was Location, Location, Location by Abiectio (GC1X6BR) - mainly because of (and getting to) the location.
My last stop in West Memphis was at the Welcome Center on the way out of town. It gave me another chance to use the restroom as well as warm up a bit before hitting the road.
My next stop was Crowley's Ridge Rest Area by kingmedic (GC20R0X), just outside of Forrest City. I then picked up a handful of new caches in Forrest City, including one at the local Wal-Mart - Forrest City Tram Law by kingmedic (GC20ZMC). This one had worker muggles in the general area, so I went inside and bought a few DVDs. There were still worker muggles when I came out so I had to reach around and feel for the cache.
After cleaning up most of Forrest City I headed south to Marianna, new territory for me, and found 4 nice caches.
[ Delta Heritage Trail ]
[ West Helena Fallen Firefighters ]
Helena was probably the most interesting town I stopped at. Most of its caches were history-related. Cache find number 3000 came at Helena #1 by grzz51 (GCYD0C).
After signing the log, I thought about celebrating by having dinner at the Mexican restaurant next to the station. I still had a few more caches listed on my map, though, and since I probably wouldn't be back this way, I decided to finish up the remaining caches.
Fans of Confederate Civil War history would appreciate the cache at the Helena Confederate Cemetery - Remembering the Past by kjw0169 (GC1W4M6).
My last find before leaving Arkansas was Coffee with Us by tm007 (GCVW9K) - another rest stop. I arrived too late for the free coffee. After crossing the bridge into Mississippi, I found two nice caches before heading north on Hwy 61.
My last stop of the day was the Tunica Museum. There were two caches on the property and I managed to find both just as the sun was setting.
It was just after sunrise and 27 degrees outside when I headed for West Memphis, Arkansas. I had 9 caches marked out and I made 9 finds - all park and grabs. The coolest find of those was Location, Location, Location by Abiectio (GC1X6BR) - mainly because of (and getting to) the location.
My last stop in West Memphis was at the Welcome Center on the way out of town. It gave me another chance to use the restroom as well as warm up a bit before hitting the road.
My next stop was Crowley's Ridge Rest Area by kingmedic (GC20R0X), just outside of Forrest City. I then picked up a handful of new caches in Forrest City, including one at the local Wal-Mart - Forrest City Tram Law by kingmedic (GC20ZMC). This one had worker muggles in the general area, so I went inside and bought a few DVDs. There were still worker muggles when I came out so I had to reach around and feel for the cache.
After cleaning up most of Forrest City I headed south to Marianna, new territory for me, and found 4 nice caches.
[ Delta Heritage Trail ]
[ West Helena Fallen Firefighters ]Helena was probably the most interesting town I stopped at. Most of its caches were history-related. Cache find number 3000 came at Helena #1 by grzz51 (GCYD0C).
After signing the log, I thought about celebrating by having dinner at the Mexican restaurant next to the station. I still had a few more caches listed on my map, though, and since I probably wouldn't be back this way, I decided to finish up the remaining caches.
Fans of Confederate Civil War history would appreciate the cache at the Helena Confederate Cemetery - Remembering the Past by kjw0169 (GC1W4M6).
My last find before leaving Arkansas was Coffee with Us by tm007 (GCVW9K) - another rest stop. I arrived too late for the free coffee. After crossing the bridge into Mississippi, I found two nice caches before heading north on Hwy 61.
My last stop of the day was the Tunica Museum. There were two caches on the property and I managed to find both just as the sun was setting.
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