Olive Branch, MS - 9/10/2011

I met up with jbgreer at the usual time on Saturday morning and we had an excellent breakfast before heading out for a morning of caching.

Our first destination was South Ridge Community Park where there were three caches waiting for us. Because of poor routing on my part, we approached the park from the wrong direction and had to backtrack around until we found the entrance. If not for one of the online cache logs, I wouldn't have known that we were looking for the park itself.

[ South Ridge Community Park ]

The park has a paved trail that runs nearly the entire length, so there was little bushwhacking to be done. Our first cache (and primary goal of the morning because of its rating) was Day of fire by fzxfazer & littlebiker (GC1N46R). I had hunted this cache before, approaching from the wrong direction and searched fruitlessly. It turned out that not only were the coordinates roughly 30 feet off, but the correct approach was from the park to the north. Using the updated coordinates found in the online logs, we made a fairly quick find of the cache. Of course, the terrain could have been much worse had it rained recently.

Back in the park, we headed east to the next cache on our list - South Ridge
by Fairchase (GC1GK0K). What made this one an easy find was the fact that it was laying opened on the trail with its contents scattered around it. After signing the log and putting the contents back in the can, we replaced it a good looking spot at the coordinates.

The third cache was just a bit to the east and possibly outside of the bounds of the park. Did you take your medicine? by BEAVERSHARK (GC32XP8) was a micro that was placed in a surprising spot. After signing the log, we walked back to the car. We had no problems with muggles here, even though I'm sure this park is well-used.

Our next destination was Olive Branch City Park where we hoped to find City Park Travel Bug Hotel by jbgrissom (GC2KGB4) because of its unusally high terrain rating (4). We found the approximate spot, but no cache. We then hunted two other caches nearby and only found one - Take a Walk, But Not On The Track by mimi1967 (GC271ZV). This park was teeming with visitors, so I can understand how a cache might get discovered by kids.

[ Some serious erosion took place here... ]

Next up was Lan Do-Do You by Gooberploch (GC1Q6JV). It was just off of an industrial complex south of the park and across the highway. We got lucky on choosing the right roads to get there and the hike itself was short. Lots of growth to fight through at the entry point, but once in the woods, we got to the coordinates pretty easily. The cache was well camoed and may not have been in its original spot. I found it, though. Exiting the woods was easier than entering.

Our last cache of the day was OH FRAP!!!! by fzxfazer (GC1MW92). I was originally of the opinion that the cache was accesible from outside of the City Park, but after a few failed attempts to get close, we found that the park had the best access. This was an interesting hunt. We found the right trail to start on, then shortly afterwards ran into a 30-foot stretch of chain-link fence that did little more than block the trail. After walking around that, we discovered a zipline overhead with a couple of platforms for accessing it. A few hundred feet from the cache, we came across an elevated climbing wall with a rope ladder. The rest of the journey was bushwhacking as we saw no discernible trail. I walked right up to the cache, which was a cool hide. The log however, was soaking wet. After leaving the cache, I climbed the rope ladder (harder than it looks), but decided against climbing the wall.

[ Don't fence me in... ]

[ Hmmmm... ]

We had a nice uneventful walk back to the car. No more caches were on my list, so we headed back to Memphis.

"The General" - 8/30/2011

The General by ace61502, badcooky81 (GC33209) is the third geocache placed in Forrest Park near Downtown Memphis over the years. The first cache - Forrest Park by ArkansasBugman (GCEAF2) - was the first cache I found by myself back in 2004. I found that cache by using a map and the cache hint to figure out where it was. That cache was archived.

The second cache -That Devil Forrest by Chasseur (GCWJAW) -was hidden in one of the small trees that surrounded the monument. Those trees were later cut down, I believe to discourage the people who liked to sleep next to the monument.

The newest cache was approved only a few days ago and has had a couple of visitors. Since it is located not far from where I work, I decided to go after it after work.

[ Run Forrest, run... ]

As with the previous caches here, I used satellite imagery to gauge where I should look. When I got near the statue, I saw a gentleman planted on the bench near the search area, as well as three visitors to the statue itself. I decided to go have dinner and then come back.

After dinner, the park was empty. It was about 90 minutes before the park's closing time and the sun was still up. The cache wasn't tough to find, but I did find several objects before finding the cache container. I found two empty vodka bottles and a pair of rusty vice grips. The cache was bigger than any in the area before and held several trade items.

[ This bench near "The General" frequently hosts "day residents" of the park ]

International Geocaching Day - 8/20/2011

I had discovered only a few days beforehand that Saturday, August 20 was being declared the first International Geocaching Day. I read that people who attended an event or found a geocache on this day would get a "special" souvenir on their geocaching.com profile. Since my local geocaching organization chose not the host an event on this auspicious occasion, I figured I'd step out and hunt a single cache. When jbgreer called me and said he wanted to hunt a few caches, I made plans to hunt three or four caches with him, and then go with him to Millington where he could hunt a couple of neat caches I had found the weekend before.

When Saturday came, we met for a delicious breakfast before beginning the hunt.

Our first find of the day was Rueda Vieja by thefamilybush (GC2N34E). It had a nice wet log for us to sign. Camino y Árbol by thefamilybush (GC2VA3Q) was nearby and we found it in good order. Since it was so hot out, and I wanted to make sure we had time to head up to Millington, TN, we skipped over some caches, stopping only for ones I thought would be out of sight of muggles.

Plantation Park by aschrack (GC2WDMR) was on our way and was in a nice new park in the Davies Plantation area. After finding the cache near the parking area. I climbed a small hill to survey the rest of the park.

[ There was a winding walking trail around the lake ]

She hates nature by kasitay (GC2TB9M) was in I. H. Managerial Park in Lakeland, TN. I have been after this cache twice before. New coordinates made this trip out there a success. The cache was 30 feet or so west of the area I searched before. It made a big difference.

[ Only two people out fishing today... ]

Wisteria Gift Attic & Tea Room by magicrock (GC22539) was our next goal. Both jbgreer and I always enjoy magicrock's caches and this one was no exception. The coordinates were a little rough, but I finally found the unique camo on this nanocache.

After finding the last cache, I was ready to head to Millington and Edmund Orgill Park. I was certain the jbgreer would find the two caches there as interesting as I did. It was getting very cloudy as we approached Edmund Orgill Park - George Washington was here??? by poetintenn and Alex Layne (GC2THX2). This was a tough hide, but jbgreer walked right up to it. As he signed the log, I noticed nearby fishermen gathering up their stuff. The wind was starting to pick up and rain was on the way. We decided to go ahead and try the last cache on the list - Edmund Orgill Park Working Out the Numbers. by poetintenn and Alex Layne (GC2VXHK). This cache had been moved by the owner due to muggles and someone (probably the owner) had written additional clues on the container that made it too easy to get into. Still, jbgreer had trouble with the container just as jackthebear, peanutpapa and I had the week before. The rain didn't help. Fortunately, he got to the log, signed it and then we got back to the car as quick as we could. We had lots of rain and even some small hail as we were leaving the area.

The rain cleared out by the time we got back to Memphis. I had a great time as always and a few days later saw an "International Geocaching Day" souvenir show up on my geocaching profile.

Mid-South Fairgrounds - 8/14/2011

It was a beautiful Sunday and I had some time to kill before having to be somewhere. I knew there were four new caches on the property of the old Mid-South Fairgrounds I could get. Since that area is not far from where I run in the evenings, I had originally planned to hunt them one afternoon after work. One of the caches, though, was at the Children's Museum of Memphis. I knew they closed at 5pm, so I decided that if I went today, I could get all four caches.

I entered the Fairgrounds from the north entrance. I drove to the site of the new Kroc Center, where Mid-South Fair Grounds: Future by Nvisible (GC30PQK) was hidden, but the presence of a parked car near the hide spot forced me to move on.

The first cache I would end up getting was Mid-South Fair Grounds: Present by Nvisible (GC30PBZ). It was near a new fountain that is part of that area's transformation into "Tiger Lane". The area was mostly empty on this day, but it seemed like wherever I went, there was one car parked within sight of me. I hadn't seen "Tiger Lane" before, so I took a few pictures. It is basically a tailgating area for University of Memphis football games.

[ Nice clean fountain ]

Next, I went after Mid-South Fair Grounds: Past by Nvisible (GC30J50). It was in an area that once was home to Libertyland, a theme park at the southwest end of the fairgrounds. I drove around the area looking for close parking, but ended up having to walk a few hundred feet. The cache, itself, was easily found. I thought the camouflage was exceptional, though.

[ The Mid-South Coliseum as seen from where I parked ]

[ This area once held a big roller coaster called the "Revolution"]

I headed back north to Mid-South Fair Grounds: Future by Nvisible (GC30PQK) and saw that the guy parked in the lot was still there, although he had moved a bit. He was parked about 50 yards north of the cache. I got out of my car and took a few pictures of the Kroc Center construction site across from the cache and noticed that I could grab the cache without being spotted.

[ Is this what they mean by building "green"? ]

As I left the fairgrounds, I decided to check and see if the nearby Children's Museum of Memphis was open. There was a fairly new cache on the grounds and I figured I'd make a sweep. It turns out that it was open and while busy, the crowds were sparse enough so that I had no problem getting to SPARK an imagination by LMuseW (GC30HQ6) and singing the log. 4 for 4, I called it a day and headed home.

[ Interesting music playing outside of the building ]

Edmund Orgill Park - 8/7/2011

With the temperature being so hot this summer, I've pretty much been in hibernation from geocaching. That being said, when I saw The SBC goes to Tennessee by The SBC (GC30CK), an event cache in Millington, TN come up, I figured I'd go to the event, eat breakfast and talk to a few folks, and then come straight home.

The event was at 9am on Sunday and by a miracle, I made it to the restaurant on time. I met up with jackthebear in the parking lot and we went in together. I was surprised to find that everybody else was already there.

[ Not a bad group for a Sunday morning ]

As the event came to a close, jackthebear and peanutpapa suggested hunting Edmund Orgill Park Working Out the Numbers. by poetintenn and Alex Layne (GC2VXHK). I thought it would be fun to hunt a cache or two with these guys, so I invited myself along. Since the park was only a few miles away from the restaurant, jackthebear offered to drive us over in his car. Peanutpapa ended up taking his own vehicle, because he had to run a quick errand before meeting up with us at the park.

When jackthebear and I got to the park, we first stopped at Edmund Orgill Park - George Washington was here??? by poetintenn and Alex Layne (GC2THX2). Both he and peanutpapa had found the cache before, so I hunted it alone while we waited for peanutpapa to meet us. The immediate area around the cache was teeming with gnats, making it very tough to search. During a pause in the search, I read the cache description more closely and made a guess about the cache which turned out to be correct.

Right after I found the cache, peanutpapa met up with us and we headed as a group to the next cache - Edmund Orgill Park Working Out the Numbers. We parked in a lot about 400 feet away from the cache and headed for the coordinates. The cache page states that the cache has a combination lock and that there are at least two ways to come up with the combination.

One way (listed in the hint) involved finding a nearby water tower and measuring 3 distances from a set point (described in the hint). The other way involved some creative thinking. Since it was hot, we just decided to try to come up with the combination ourselves. After a few failed efforts, I observed something that gave me a clue what needed to be done. Peanutpapa followed up on it and came up with the combination. Jackthebear opened the lock. I'm not sure how long it took us to get it open, but it was before we could break a sweat.

Having no other caches on our list, we parted ways, with jackthebear taking me back to the restaurant so I could get my car and drive home. I gave some thought to picking up an additional cache or two on the way home, but decided to wait for cooler weather.

The Desoto Trail - 7/23/2011

I was reading the Mississippi Geocachers Association forums (before their last site crash) and stumbled upon mention of a short series of geocaches that were put out by the Desoto County Tourism Board, in Northwest Mississippi, as a way of bringing geocachers to Desoto County. There are seven caches in this series that are located in small towns throughout the county. I mentioned this series to my caching buddy, jgreer, and he agreed to hunt them with me at some point.

I don't enjoy geocaching in the summer, but since this series looked pretty easy, I made arrangements with jbgreer to hunt them on this particular Saturday. We met up at my place just before 8am, and after having a nice breakfast in Midtown Memphis, set off south for Mississippi.

Our first stop was just across the state line in Southaven, MS. DeSoto Trail #6 - Southaven
by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W36H) was at a cemetery we found a cache at once before. It was an easy find and we discovered a really cool logbook and a strip of paper we were supposed to take from each cache the the Desoto County Visitor's Center at the final.

[ A familiar cemetery in Southaven ]

The next stop on our list was DeSoto Trail #2 - Horn Lake by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W36B ) in Latimer Park. The cache was a short distance from both parking and a skate park. The cache was easily found and had possibly been muggled as the information strips for this location were no longer in the cache. There were two other caches nearby in the park, but it was so hot that we decided to stay focused on our goal of find all of the Desoto Trail series.

Cache number three took us west to Walls, MS. DeSoto Trail #5 - Walls by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W33Q) was at a small cemetery next to a church that was outside of town. This particular cemetery was where Blues artist Memphis Minnie was buried. A roadside plaque nearby told a little about her history and is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail.

[ The cemetery where Memphis Minnie is buried ]

Next, we headed south to Hernando, MS for two more caches in the series. The first of the two we hunted was DeSoto Trail #3 by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W33H). It was located in the Town Square just outside of the courthouse. There was some sort of farmer's market going on here on this day, so we tried to be stealthy in getting and replacing the cache. After that was done, we went inside to get a drink of water and check out the famous murals that cover the walls inside.

[ One of the half a dozen murals in the Hernando Courthouse ]

After leaving, we drove about a quarter-mile to DeSoto Trail #4 - Hernando by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W33N). This cache was in an old building next to the Desoto County Museum. I wished that we had been able to visit the museum itself, but we are usually single-minded when geocaching.

[ A building spanning several eras next to the museum ]

Next, was a trip to Olive Branch, MS for DeSoto Trail #1 - Olive Branch by SoDeSotoMS (C2W337). I have cached in Olive Branch a number of times, but had never been to this particular area. Again, Olive Branch had some caches nearby that I would have like to have hunted, but will wait for the weather to cool off.

[ The Visitor's Center off in the distance ]

Finally it was off to the Desoto County Visitor's Center and DeSoto Trail #7 - Final Stop
by SoDeSotoMS (GC2W36K). When we arrived, the first thing we noticed is that the Visitor's Center was closed. It turns out that they are only open Monday through Friday. The cache was a short distance away along a paved trail. After signing the final log, we decided to call it a day. It took around 4 hours to hunt all seven caches and we had a great time. I look forward to my next expedition into Mississippi sometime in the Fall.

Caching in Virtue Flats - 6/30/2011

Today, my Dad and I decided to hunt a few caches in the Virtue Flats OHV that is located a few miles to the east of Baker City, OR. I can't stop in Baker City without having breakfast at the Baker Truck Corral. I always enjoy their corned beef hash and eggs and today was no exception.

After breakfast, we headed over to the Baker Interpretive Center to hunt Rest Stop on the Oregon Trail by DocDTA (GC2W8BE) . This cache was not too far from the parking lot area, but required hiking down a windy trail called the "Ascent Trail". Since my Dad doesn't care for hiking, I made the hike alone.

[ Exhibit near the parking area ]

[ Nice scenery along the Ascent Trail ]

[ A covered wagon awaits at the end of the trail ]

The entire length of the trail is only 0.8 miles, and there is an old covered wagon to visit for those who make the entire hike. Unfortunately, I only had time to hunt the cache, and since my Dad was waiting for me at the top of the hill. I made it a quick hunt. The Baker Interpretive Center is a cool place to visit. I've been inside the museum once, many years ago, and hunted a cache on the grounds two years ago.

--

I cached in Virtue Flats last year around this same time, so I knew what to expect in terms of terrain. It was at least twenty degrees cooler than the last time I was here. That made a big difference in this desert-like terrain. I didn't have a good map of the area, so I didn't know how close to the main road any of these caches would be. We found a parking area near Broken Valve Stem by rebel502 (GC2FG1B) and I hiked along an ATV trail about a third of a mile to that cache. After that, we drove the main road through the area and would stop as close as we could get to a cache. I would then drink some Gatorade, then set off for the cache. Most were within 1/3 of a mile from the road, and all involved some hill-climbing.

[ It seems to go on forever... ]

[ My dad prefers to wait by the main road ]

[ This would be so much fun on an ATV! ]

I ended up finding 3 of the 4 caches that are available, including An eagles nest view of the Eagle Caps by pete-n-repete (GC1BPQX) and Above the boulders by rebel502 (GC2TYF9). I didn't get the fourth cache in the area, mainly because of the hiking distance. Next time, I am in the area, I'll try to bring an ATV along.

[ more to come including my hunt for the Sawtooth Ridge volcano cache ]