You Might Be A Geocacher If... DC Edition

You might be a geocacher if....

 

...you stand in silent reflection at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. when your significant other (and geocaching buddy) leans over and whispers in your ear, "Look! He muggled the cache!" And, of course, you look.

 



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You know when I've been absent from my blog for any period of time it usually means I'm road tripping. Yes, it's that season again. I've been delayed in posting about our recent adventures due to a sudden illness but watch this space this week!

If you trash it, we will come - CITO 2016

After a long and stressful beginning of April, the weather in Michigan is a glorious 70 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to head over to Dearborn's Patton Park for a CITO.

CITO 2016 Souvenir

Hosted by CITOcacher and SCOOK, local Southeastern Michigan geocachers joined members of The Greening of Detroit to pickup this popular park. I must admit I have a spot in my heart for this park as I planted trees here during my Volunteer Day with Greening - and they are thriving!

Why so serious, TaGeez? This is fun!

You can find beauty if you look

Maisie, a member of Golddogs, is an amazing cache sniffer

Two of my favorite fellows
TaGeez and Frito Bandito

This was just the beginning. This pile grew!

Thank you, CITOcacher, for my sweet reward.
Celebrating my 1500 CAD streak!
[SOURCE: SCOOK]

Afterwards, a well-deserved and delicious dinner at Tanqueria MI Pueblo
Dinner took longer than the CITO event

Had to share. I felt like I was being watched

Now THIS is how to recycle!

I must admit I'm feeling revived, volunteering and enjoying the sun. It's been a long, drab winter.

Take me on an Adventure!

Look at my new toy! A Garmin Nuvi 65LMT - just came in the mail. Sweet, isn't it?

6" Touch screen

Lifetime maps and traffic

Ability to move Coordinates as my primary search

Quick find of food, gas, and bathrooms

Now we just need an adventure...

Dreaming of the Open Road

It's been awhile since I posted, but it's not because I've lost interest in geocaching - quite the contrary! But we've had a series of 'life events' in the immediate family so we've had to stay close to home.

It doesn't stop us from dreaming so I thought I'd share some images from Roadtripper.com that has kept us motivated until our wheels hit the road again!

I'm geeked that I'll be using Roadtripper.com very soon! Watch this space!

1500 Days, Baby!

With all that's been going on over the last few days, I almost missed it....

DAY 1500 ON MY CACHE-A-DAY STREAK!

Phew.... the first 1500 are always the hardest! 

Talk About Taking Geocaching to the Next Level!

I read a fascinating article put out by Smithsonian Magazine called Cemeteries of the Future.  The premise is, with space limited and times changing, "Do you want to be buried in a coral reef, a skyscraper, or on an artificial island?

Imagine my surprise when I reached to end to read:

As “green” or “natural” burials, where bodies are buried in fields or other natural settings without being chemically embalmed, become more popular, the question remains: how will loved ones be able to visit the deceased, in the absence of a headstone. Several cities and cemeteries have come up with a potential solution: GPS. The deceased would be buried with a GPS unit, and families would be given a tracker to “find” them when they came to visit. 

Talk about taking geocaching to the next level! Imagine instead of finding Tupperware you're out searching for a loved one? I won't even make a joke about swapping swag.

Belle Isle 2016

It's that time of year again - the annual Belle Isle event in Detroit. Each year, the Belle Isle Cachers (Rattrak, Brummelbear, and Team Rumble) hide approximately 45 new caches on the Isle, located in the Detroit River. For one day only, you can enjoy a breakfast, a potluck and 90 caches (last years and this years). 

The caches range from small to large and run the gamut of Traditionals, Multis, Puzzles, and a Letterbox. They are hidden in breakwater rocks, along nature trails, under piers, along shoreline. Their is really a sense of camaraderie with everyone trooping along the trails, helping each other out.

Solo FTF at #17!

Unfortunately, this year the other members of Team Free Range Lobsters were no-shows. My own TaGeez had to work. So I went solo and spent time hanging with friends. I even scored 2 FTF's - a solo one and a group effort.

Group FTF at #15 with Team Talog and Team Larcee

I like how creative the caches have become. The ones shown below are a sampling from last year (archived on Saturday). I grabbed a few before they disappeared.

It was funny weather. Last weekend it was in the high 60's and this weekend is snowed! However, the daffodils didn't seem to mind. Some fanatical group of gardeners have been peppering the Isle with fields of yellow. Lovely.

Have you been to Belle Isle lately? Check out this fabulous video posted by the DNR. I've always loved this gem in the Detroit River, but the 102nd State Park has really shined the last few years under the care of the State.

Surrounded by Wormholes!

What a hoot! The geocachers of Southeastern Michigan decided to have a little fun with our fellow cachers. For April Fool's Day 2016 we released the third installment of the infamous 'wormhole series'!

What's a wormhole? It's a geocache puzzle series. Click on the cache page image and you will navigate to the next puzzle in line. Team Gates lined up around 15 geocachers from the lower mitten (plus one Canadian thrown into the mix for good measure).

Click it! You've been wormholed!

This one's mine: Ferndale Wormhole 2016 GC6CKP6. Wanna hear the funny part? I've been waiting for months for this series to release only to discover another cacher created her cache page the exact same day as mine and her solve it identical. What are the chances? I guess 2 in 15.

No April Fools joke here!