Lucky in Dublin - Riverboxes Geotrail

The Dublin Arts Council really know how to treat a Cacher!

Dublin, Ohio is now known for more than Cornhenge!

ShelleyJean and I headed to Dublin (a suburb of Columbus) for their Riverboxes geotour!  Located along the Scioto River, this series included 18 Letterbox stops (5 not listed on the app) plus a 5-stop Adventure Lab to earn a prized Chris Mackey geocoin + 2 path tags! 

Download their passport and pack your stamp & stamp pad (or Bingo dauber - cheap & portable ink!). 

Now, I don't normally post spoiler pictures, but so many of these Letterboxes are so special and widely photographed. If you wish to see them yourself and stay surprised, just scroll to the bottom of this post to see the really cool geocoins!

**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**SPOILER**

First stop (for us) was the Big Turtle, but be prepared to wait. This was a very popular park, and there were a lot of mini-muggles who stopped by to pet the turtle and his friends. This was a great start to our adventure!

Big Turtle Riverbox GC8KT24

While visiting the Big Turtle, make sure you stop for a visit with old "Leatherlips"! Last time I was here a pandemic sprung up - hoping this visit will reverse the curse!

Sha-Te-Yah-Ron-Ya Virtual GC7B8FP

After Leatherlips, we headed letterbox-to-letterbox, running along one side of the Scioto River and up the other side. This was a good plan because, after the last letterbox, we were in a great place to start the sequential Dublin Limerick Adventure Lab.

House of Spirits Riverbox GC9R8AC

Here is one of the new Riverboxes. They had a big roll-out event in August, and it's situated on such a lovely riverwalk - packed with pedestrians! Completed both Equal East and Equal West for a special path tag.

Equal East Riverbox GC9RFVN

Geocoin embedded in the base!

Next up was this beauty following a lovely boardwalk, where we spied blue herons perched in trees. Fitting, isn't it?

Vigilant Vegetation II Riverbox GC8KM4X

Don't get so fixated on the hide that you don't look around!

Didn't they always say that Ohio is flat?!? Climbing down under the road to this new beauty - I could really feel it in my calves at this point! There was a lot of ups-and-downs -- at another letterbox, it was 230 footfalls from the top of the stairs down to the river and then back up!

Equal West Riverbox GC9NAYM

Another coin in the base!

This big guy is 6 years old! He's looking pretty good, isn't he? Imagine our thrill when we spied him amongst the pine trees!

Sentinel Riverbox GC6TB7M

Caementum Charta II Riverbox GC8KM5B

I will admit I have one regret about this tour... we can only give 1 Favorite Point to a geocache! Finnian is my favorite (and final) find this year! Isn't he amazing? Well worth the trek to his hiding spot!

The Forest Witch and the Witless Fellow, Finnian GC6QAJH

It was a relaxing drive down, an enjoyable day of caching, and we ended it walking and dining downtown. Perfect adventure in such a pretty community!

Thank you to the Dublin Arts Council! We will be back!

Michigan Waterways Adventure - Lighting the Way

 

Labor Day weekend found the Super Sexy Trio (Scrapcat - ShelleyJean- TaGeez) on US 23 again! WOW! Can you believe it? Our first trip together was on US23 over Labor Day, too. We were out to complete several more Adventure Labs in the Michigan DNR Adventure Lab series.

First stop, though, was one of the weirdest stops in Michigan - a roadside collection of mini-chapels to stop-and-pray! We prayed we'd find the cache there, and we did!

Do You Believe? GC7TB6A

So, this is called the Michigan Waterways Adventure Lab - but THIS tour, from Presque Isle to Mackinaw to Muskegon, was LOVE our lighthouses! Look how amazing these are! Adventure Lab stops, Virtuals, and traditional caches.

Presque Isle Light Station

Old Presque Isle Lighthouse

The Range Light

After Presque Isle, we turned in towards Cheboygan to Mackinaw. The weather was with us!

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse

Crib Light - Cheboygan

Crib Light - Cheboygan

As we headed to Mackinaw and then our overnight stop in Manistee, we detoured to Cross in the Woods to find my parents' new paver and complete the new Virtual cache. My heart was full seeing their names - with the second anniversary of Dad's passing coming up. Truly surprised to find them outside the Saint Peregrine's chapel - patron saint of Cancer patients.

Cross in the Woods - Indian River

Is there anything more grand than the bridge? What is your earliest memory of it? I think it was visiting with my Dad and my brother Jim's family. It never gets old.

Mackinaw Bridge

TaGeez - Scrapcat - ShelleyJean

After a restful night in Manistee, we headed to Arcadia in the first leg of the next Waterways AL. One day we will return to experience their nature preserve.

Did you know that Michigan has giant sequoias? Michigan's Champion Sequoiadendron giganteum Virtual shares the tale of 6 of these giants transplanted to Lake Bluff. Visit to take pictures, walk the preserve, totter along the edge for another Adventure Lab, and, oh yes! Grab a final cache!

Michigan Champion Giant Sequoia GC9P53A

Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary GC7886T

Back on the trail for more Adventure Lab stops and LIGHTHOUSES!

Manistee Lighthouse

Oh, and a random cache to two...

Not Your Typical Lock-n-Lock GC7YJ93

This was a bit of a first for us. Finishing early but not willing to end this beautiful night, we followed the Manistee Riverwalk to complete several connecting adventure labs along the boardwalk. Beautiful night for a stroll.

Manistee Riverwalk

The next morning we headed to one of my newly-favorite lighthouse in Michigan - Petit Pointe. Isn't the brickwork beautiful? 

Petite Pointe Au Sable Lighthouse

We almost didn't complete the 3 targeted waterway adventure labs because the sign was missing at one in Muskegon - luckily a message to the MiGO FB page helped us to wrap that up!

3 Waterway Adventure Labs completed

8 Adventure Labs including 3 Waterways

18 geocaches including 5 Virtuals

2 Great Lakes and many fabulous lighthouses!

3 really good friends!

Midwest GeoBash 2022

 

Speaking of photos left unshared, TaGeez and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Midwest GeoBash 2022 - Feather Road!

Earlier in the week we realized we had an extra day off so we booked a second night in our hotel and set off to Bash Thursday morning. Lucky us because the Feather Road Geotour published! We were standing on the doorstep of the Quilt Foundry in Maumee when we realized the closest geotour cache had published 15 miles away. Trying to act all nonchalant, I tried to act indifferent, but TaGeez made a deep sigh and said, "It's just this far away on the map!"

FTF at FRGT - #13 - Pigeon

Do you know how long it takes to drive 15 miles through the small towns of Ohio? FOREVER! But we made it for our first FTF on a geotour! Being a steamy day and some distance between all the other caches, we decided to spend our first day on Bash driving stop to stop to earn our geotour coin and souvenir!

We made it! MWGB22!

Day #2 found us on the Poker Run, where we joyously ran into friends while terrorizing the Fulton County Fairground burbs!

Have you had Outlook Smokehouse in Napoleon? Outlook had a food truck that would stop at Bash every year - we are addicted to their barbeque baked potato. AND THEY OPENED A RESTAURANT! Truly impossible to go home hungry, and we kept running into friends dropping in for the goodness!

Before it got too late we had to head back to the Fairgrounds to turn in our Poker Run cards and our Silent Auction donations. We've enjoyed Bash for over a decade, and I've felt guilty about not donating sooner so this year I made two travel pouches.

Each one contained a 2.5" unactivated geocoin, my personal pathtag, some geoswag and a handmade thank you card. I have to admit I couldn't bare the suspense. What if nobody bid on it? I stayed away during active bidding, but I hung out (embarrassing to admit) when winners picked up their bids. Two ladies told me my bid sheets were full, and one said she had to give up bidding because it got too high!

I have no idea what they went for, but I was so happy to see that my friend, JSTEEL, was one of the winners!

Friday and Saturday afternoons found us caching the fairgrounds and working on a ton of Adventure Labs. 85 AL stops on and around the fairgrounds and even back across the Michigan border.

Never too old for a good Treasure Hunt - we didn't win anything but trackables this year, but it's always one of my favorite events over the weekend.

Have you been to Archbold? We had to stop at Mom's Diner in downtown for lunch and came across this very cool Multicache using this mural. Final adventure while racing through the raindrops is the quilt shop at Sauders Village (our third quilt shop of the weekend).

It was exactly the tonic we needed during a summer of double shifts, house buying, and doctor appointments. It was also great reconnecting with friends - hopefully something we can continue at Haunted Halmich in October!

See you next year at MWGB 2023!