Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Urban Adventures Trackable - Got One!

WE GOT ONE! 

We got one of the free trackables! It arrived in TaGeez's mailbox on Monday. Now, what to attach it to? And where to drop it?


From the trackables page:
Urban Adventures shows travelers the stuff that only locals know in more than 150 destinations around the globe. From stuffing your face with the best street food to discovering the coolest underground street art, Urban Adventures is about finding the fun local spots, the fascinating local culture, and the friendly local people that make every city unique. Show off your own local knowledge by leaving this trackable luggage in a hidden corner of your own city –– or show your ultra-caching skills by planting it in an Urban Adventures city anywhere in the world! 

Be sure to snap a photo with your favorite spots, and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #localsknowgeocaching. Urban Adventures will pick the 25 most intriguing snaps to win a free tour anywhere in the world! 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

A Thanksgiving Eve Tragedy 1901

File this under the interesting places geocaching takes you to....

A few days ago I mentioned TaGeez, ShelleyJean and I explored Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian, MI looking to solve Necropolis Ruins. On this dreary, overcast snowy/sleety day, one monument caught my attention.


Lovely, isn't she? What tale did she have to tell?


On the back, there was a plaque with four black and white photos.


Beneath is read:
On Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 1901 6:45 pm Trains No. 4 and No. 13 collided head on between Seneca and Sand Creek. Train 4 was east bound to Detroit carrying residents going home for Thanksgiving Holiday. Train 13 was west bound through Montpelier Ohio to St. Louis Missouri carrying a large group of Italian Immigrants on contract to work for mining companies in Colorado and California. On impact, cars on Train 4 exploded but were saved from fire by the quick thinking of the Train’s engineer Aaron T. Strong. Train 13’s cars were shattered on impact and instantly caught fire when an overhead kerosene lamp fell to the floor of one of the cars blocking the escape of those trapped inside. One-hundred plus Italian immigrants lost their lives and their remains were placed in five coffins and buried in unmarked graves here in Oakwood Cemetery. This tragedy remains one of the worst railroad disasters in Michigan History.
Railroad spike embedded at the base of the memorial
So sad. But geocaching brought us here and gave us the opportunity to read this. 115 years later I sit here thinking about those lost souls.

I am thankful.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Sorry Out of Service: Saginaw Urban Art

I love urban art, and WikidKriket and I saw quite a bit while in Saginaw yesterday.


This one encompassed the entire building!


I had to take a tour of the whole thing.  No side disappointed.


Funny thing is... as I rounded the last corner I thought this would be a good place for a cache. Pulling out my caching app - VOILA! GC6R3PE Get Your Gas Somewhere Else. Only problem is... I couldn't find it. The hint was You're not looking for a container and several of the prior finders confirmed it.


Kriket joined the search and found it out in the open (log was resting up against a curb). We signed it, snapped a picture, and then I lost it. We didn't know where it went so I bent to replace it where I found it. It fell down a crack and into the deep, dark, scary darkness!

OOPS!

Original and Replacement
Luckily we had replacement logs. The worst part was hearing Kriket chant, "I found it and you lost it" over and over again for hours - ugh! 



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FAVORITE TRAVEL SITES

So, why were we in Saginaw? It was WikidKriket's birthday. We take each other's birthday off and spend a day adventuring, seeking out interesting museums, cemeteries, experiences, and (of course) caching. 

 

In planning the day, I had a little help from my friends:

TripAdvisor.com
Roadtrippers.com
AtlasObscura.com
MyScenicDrives.com
OnlyInYourState.com
RoadsideAmerica.com
PureMichigan.com
trips.furkot.com

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Necropolis Ruins

This is the time of year I dread. It's getting darker earlier, and the adventures are further and further apart. We decided it was time to take one more adventure before the snow so. on Saturday, ShelleyJean, TaGeez, and I headed to Adrian for the Necropolis Ruins GC3F1PA



Such a cool cemetery cache in Adrian, Michigan. And not your typical puzzle. Using snippets of pictures and just bearings, you have to follow a trail of locations within Oakwood Cemetery. Then throw in an extra puzzle, another stage, and a difficult terrain for the final... voila! An adventure!

ShelleyJean, TaGeez and Scrapcat
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we showed early. Now, if we could just beat the snow.  
We didn't. Not by a long shot.
I'm very proud to say that between us we found all the important markers (using the Sight n' Go on our Garmins and logic), the clue at GEO, and the coords for the-final. That last one took two attempts (with lunch in between - WOW! That snow is coming down!). Sloshing in the sleet, the pools of water and mud - practically kicking ourselves because we had each handled the important clue. We were definitely in this together.

We didn't, however, actually find the final. DRAT! TaGeez made a valiant slide down a hill side and did a thorough search. After a recon, a breather, and messaging some previous finders, we reconfirmed we were in the right place and looking in the right spot. Shelley and TaGeez decided to make one last go (we came such a long way!) but all for naught. It's starting to get dark, and the dropping temps chilled us in our wet clothes.
Discarded monuments?
I suspect we will not make it back before the heavy snow hits, but we will be back. This cache is brilliant and our new 'nemesis cache'. Aching to sign the log and award it's justly-earned Favorite point.
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GARMIN'S SIGHT 'N GO

This is a nifty app on some of the Garmin models. I wrote a blog post about it while doing the fabulous Dem Bones puzzle by TheGrundalows. This app is great for this type of puzzle, but it takes a little getting used to. Even if you step off a little to the right or left, that might be enough to miss your target completely. 



We found the best way to use the app is to setup the projection (example: 168 degree bearing), align your arrows so you are looking directly at the path you need to walk, select a landmark along that invisible line (like a tree or a distinctive headstone), and then walk a straight line towards the selected landmark. Much easier walking directly towards a point ahead then stumbling around while looking down at the GPS (which keeps recalculating anyway).


Thursday, November 10, 2016

GIFF 2016 at the Library


It seems like Geocaching.com has been giving out souvenirs like Halloween candy - very generous this year. Attending the Commerce Township GIFF event I earned my 110th so far. 

Did you go? My favorite was Spitting the Dummy by Seemyshell (bummer, no YouTube video yet)

We started the event with a special library cache - fun!


Thank you, Redbud's Family and Captain Obvious, for a fun event and the 4 event caches. LOVELY day for a walk!


Monday, November 7, 2016

Free Urban Adventures Trackable

If you have not seen it yet, Urban Adventures has teamed with Geocaching.com for another free trackable. Enter to win one of 1,5000 free mini-luggage tags. Drawing for trackable winners is in 6+ days. 


Even if you don't win one of the trackables, you may win one of the 25 geotours in their Instagram contest. Share secret spots that only locals know about. Submit your best photo on Instagram using  #localsknowgeocaching

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

More Pictures from Mars (Rover)

I released the traveling cache tonight, but not before grabbing a few more pictures with my friend, Signal.


This cache was released in June 2001!


Wishing you many safe journeys, my friend!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Fly... MARS ROVER Traveling Cache GCC6B


Happy Dance! Doing the Geocaching Happy Dance! 

We got it! Fly... Mars Rover GCC6B has landed in Michigan! Team Gates posted a note that he dropped it in a cache located 4.5 miles from home. Off we went, in a mad tear in the Michigan darkness, to make the find! Up to the last second... even when we had it in our hands.... I couldn't register we got it. 


It is SO cool! And I'm geeked that it still has the toy Rover in the container. 

The messages have already started - friends wanting the skinny on our plans for it. TaGeez and I decided to keep it mum and release it tomorrow before it becomes an issue. 

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Just checked and this is my 6th traveling cache!