Midwest Ghostcam Adventure

After the fun of Milwaukee's webcams and the joy of Benny the Beard Fisher Troll in Michigan's UP, plans were afoot to visit more, especially since both were special and in limited supply. With Halloween on the horizon, what would be better than an October Ghostcam adventure? 

Aullwood Audobon - Dayton, OH

After picking up the rental and stopping at the obligatory stop at the local donut shop (Dutch Girl in Detroit), we headed to Dayton! Now, we've been to Dayton a few times, but not in the northern burbs. There we found a family of Dambo Trolls frolicking in Aullwood Audobon park.

It was a nice set of trails, if a little confusing at first. For two hours we navigated marked paths to visit Bo, Bodil, and little Bibbi [featured in their personal story: The Troll that Hatched an Egg]. Even after our Benny adventure, I'm amazed at the construction of these trolls! Look at the curves of their legs & bellies and the uniqueness of each face made from... planks and bits of wood!

This troll story included a nest, which we found at the southern end of the park. This seemed to confuse a lot of visitors who were just there for an afternoon walk.

Satisfied but a bit tired from the climbing paths, we headed to a nearby Earth Cache for International Earth Cache weekend to earn our souvenir. Maybe this one as seen better times or maybe Ohio has suffered a drought, but the waterfall was not as raging as anticipated.

Historic Waterfall GC190MT

Louisville, KY

Night found us back in Louisville! We LOVE Louisville, and we were stoked to see the Irish Rover on (the very hip, very happening) Frankfort Street still open. We stopped here after seeing an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives during the 2017 solar eclipse outside Nashville. This time the food was still delicious, and they even seated us at the same table!

Even though it was late, we did a giant detour on the way to our hotel to see the famed Louisville Slugger! FINALLY, somebody made it a virtual!

The second day of our trip was filled with beautiful sunshine on a very quiet Sunday morning, so we headed back downtown to explore without the crowds. Naked David was still standing watch over Main Street, and we passed him as we enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with the local businesses. There are a lot more bourbon places than before, and they were beautiful in the old storefronts with their gleaming giant windows, dark wood, and brass. 

We headed back to the Slugger just a few blocks away to complete the Virtual.

Louisville Slugger - Batter Up! Virtual GC7B6AP

Then, before heading out of town we detoured to a brand new virtual in Oak Hill, Cemetery. This was our second visit to see Muhammad Ali at his final resting place.

The Greatest Virtual GCAJFHN

And, this time, we had company.

About 45 minutes south of Louisville is Clermont KY. We TaGeez and I found different types of natural wonders to enjoy!

Bernheim Arboretum - Clermont, KY

First up? The Bernheim Forest Giants!

Spending about an hour and a half, we visited with their Forest Giants in a Giant Forest: expectant Mama Loumari and her two children, Little Elina and Little Nis. We have now met 7 giants, and I'm still as fascinated by their uniqueness and construction. Look how beautifully placed they are? 

You can read the Story of the Giants and Thomas Dambo's Fairytale "While the Weather Got Better" here.

As unspoiled as Aullwood was, I preferred Bernheim. Located in Clermont, KY, it was a beautiful mixture of paved pathways, pretty lakes, woodland trails, wooden bridges, prairie, and parkland.

Jim Beam Distillery - Clermont, KY

I was wondering why TaGeez was so excited about going to Clermont. It seemed to me like it was more than just the trolls!

Could it be the caching? 

Jim's Driveway GC468YN

Geocaching is thirsty work!

After a little sipping and a lot of shopping, time to head out to the main objective of this trip: The Ghostcam. We took the two-hour drive from Clermont, KY to Evansville, IN with just a quick detour in Owensboro for 4 unexpected first-to-finds!

Willard Public Library Ghostcam - Evansville, IN

Willard Public Library boasts that they have ghosts! A favorite being the Grey Lady! 

We visited all 6 ghostcams, but no presence made themselves known while we were there!

Ghostcam Webcam Cache GCA4C4

Afterwards, we next headed over to the Webcam Challenge Cache GC44E1R not even a mile away! With time to kill, we enjoyed several local virtuals and adventure labs (including a very nice historic cemetery) before turning in for the night.

Johnson Island Virtual GCAJGT9

Time to rise & shine and head to Casey, Illinois!

Big Things in a Small Town - Casey, IL

We've been so close so many times, and we were determined to make it this trip. You know how we feel about Roadside Americana! And this town is covered in it!

World's Largest Wind Chime, Golf Tee, Pitchfork, Rocking Chair, Wooden Shoes, Mailbox, Gavel, Truck Key, Barbershop Pole, Teeter Totter, Golf Driver (now missing), and Swizzle Spoon. Plus, as advertised, many "Big Things"! 

We spent a wonderful few hours walking up and down downtown, taking pictures and completing Adventure Labs. We drove out to see the outliers, too.

We grabbed a fun traditional cache - meet Dave!

Say Hi to Dave GC6QXA6

And claimed quite the populate Virtual, too. Yes, the mailbox is large enough for someone to stand in.

BIG THINGS Are in Store! Virtual GC7B8KF

Lucky for me, TaGeez is always willing to get into the act!

This was a fabulous 3-day adventure, perfect right before Halloween. Now it's only inspired us to see more Trolls, find more webcams, and make take a bourbon tour in our future. 

Total Eclipse of the Cache - Heading Home

Last day of our adventure. Honestly, even though this was the big milestone day, geocaching was the last thing on my mind. It wasn't until TaGeez brought it up (we had some trackables to drop) that I took my mind off our recent bad news and started to search my phone for a likely cache.

I couldn't have planned it better! At the next exit was a regular cache.... the Kentucky Cache Across America.... at the National Corvette Museum! 

2000 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF GEOCACHING!

WOW! That put me in a better place. We grabbed the cache, dropped our trackables, and had some fun posing for pictures. What a neat place!

This REALLY made me crave a hot dog! Doesn't it look like...

... the old Plochman's mustard bottles Mom used to buy?

Cheered we returned to the road and started heading North. Traffic wasn't bad, but we decided to cut through Indiana versus Ohio to avoid that Cincinnati blockage. As we were cruising along, TaGeez said to turn off the road. He thought a pleasant drive through some woods would lighten things up. He was right!

Mammoth Cave National Park is beautifully picturesque with its winding, tree-covered country roads. We did stop at the Visitor Center but didn't take time for the caves (something to do with the teaming masses of tourists, long lines, and my irrational fear of heights). 

Ghosts & Goblins Virtual GC843A

I don't, however, have a fear of cemeteries, and we crossed paths with two in the National Forest.

This sign confused me. Is this LITTLE HOPE Cemetery or LITTLE Hope Cemetery? The first sounds so bleak!

Shortly, thereafter, we crossed paths with another Virtual. This time in Louisville where we were drenched with the only rain of the trip. 

Old Rough and Ready GCG7FT

President and Mrs. Zachary Taylor are buried the Zachary Taylor Memorial Cemetery. It's a military cemetery which dead-ends (no pun intended) on this lovely memorial site to the President.

President Zachary Taylor's Final Resting Place

I don't think I've truly appreciated until this last year how many Presidents were born or buried in the Midwest. We've visited quite a few in Ohio and now Kentucky.

President Zachary Taylor's Original Resting Place

One advantage to this last minute detour Louisville is the County Clerks office is open! The lady behind the counter knew exactly what we were up to! The lobby looks much nicer on the camera than in person!

Funny thing is that one of the joys of hotel-stay is FOODPORN! 

With no cable at home, TaGeez and I like to settle into our hotel at night and flip on the Food Channel. To my joy last night they were airing Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri. And, coincidences of coincidences, the first episode they aired was this little place... in LOUISVILLE... called The Irish Rover!

We had to stop and, at 2:00 in the afternoon, it wasn't busy.

OH MY GOSH!

The food was FABULOUS! We shared the Beef & Bleu (a cold beef tenderloin and bleu cheese plate), Crab Cakes, and the Country Pie (featured on the show). The Country Pie is a beef stew with large chunks of potato and carrots in a crusty bread bowl; it's topped with the best homemade mashed potatoes and cheese. 

The restaurant had character, the waiter was friendly, the food was absolutely delicious and the prices very reasonable. It'll be worth the detour on another trip!

Satisfied with our tummies and our trip, we knew we needed to get home. A long highway under clear, big blue skies. We cached at rest stops, passed a Muffler Man near Fort Wayne, and made one last stop.

Why did they build this?

One more webcam, this one near Fort Wayne, in the books. It was iffy whether we would get there (and find the spot to stand and get the VLC app to work) before the sun finally disappeared on the horizon. 

As we pulled into the driveway, friends were already posting the dates for the next Total Solar Eclipse.  This one will pass over lower Ohio in 2024. And, yes, we will be there.