Cache Down! Cache Down!

Sweet! RayQix is hiding caches at my height again! #ods2

Outer Drive Redux

It's been a week since our phones dinged off the hook with 286 new cache notifications. 

RayQix and N8DXG  released Outer Drive 2.0

Outer Drive is a unique boulevard that encircles Detroit.  This grandiose parkway was supposed to be a 'necklace of Detroit' running through beautiful subdivisions, park areas and park ways. Today it is a route through some very urban and eclectic neighborhoods. You don't have to travel far before you see a historic relic or artistic revitalization.

This week TaGeez and I grabbed our first one: ODSv2.0:191. It is located directly south of the famous Michigan State Fairground and in the shadow of a house Ulysses S Grant resided in.

1 down - 285 more to go!

Cruising Outer Drive! Series Finale

We did it! 13 months from start to finish! TaGeez and I finished the 208 cache Outer Drive series yesterday.

208 geocaches spanning 40 miles around Deroit

Placed by RayQix and N8DXG in 2012, this power trail follows Detroit's famed Outer Drive.

Outer Drive is a bypass road which encircles both the eastern and western portions of the Metro Detroit area. It resembles a jagged horseshoe and was not originally intended to move traffic as much as to provide a pleasurable drive around Detroit.

Sept 8, 2014

TaGeez and I decided that finding all 200+ caches in a day/weekend wasn’t for us. We wanted a chance to explore the historic Outer Drive at our leisure so we would go out on a Friday evening or Sunday morning to grab 15-25 at a time. We did the entire 40+ mile span over 13 months.

It was fascinating that, mile-by-mile, you could see the changes in the neighborhoods. Some highly tended and some forgotten. We crossed paths with several colorful characters and neighbors coming out the help (“You looking for that thingy? Wrong tree! Those others found it at that one.”) In addition to some grand, old architecture, we saw some heartbreaking sites but never found ourselves in an unsafe situation.

October 25, 2015

After completing the 207 traditionals, we compiled the clues to find the final, SQ - ODS - Outer Drive Series Challenge.

October 26, 2015
seen at the final

Yesterday, surrounded by some of the most amazing Fall foliage, we earned one last smiley, capping off a fun year of cache runs.

The Last Word....Detroit's ODS Drive

I was flipping through the Sept/Oct issue of FTF Magazine when I came across an article on Detroit's Outer Drive Series (on the last page under the column The Last Word).

Outer Drive was a grand boulevard that encircled the outskirts of Detroit. Once the site of the Golden Era residences in their heyday, many of these grand homes have deteriorated or left abandoned as the area has fallen on hard times.

At this time, cachers RayQix and n8dxg have hidden over 200 caches along this 40-mile stretch. You can see their interesting write-up here: http://coord.info/GC393E1

So, I was excited to see an article about the ODS in a National magazine. Unfortunately, the contributor was a little more focused on the negative aspects of the area. Let's face it... If you make an illegal left turn and pick-up someone pretending to be a hitchhiker, a visit from a LEO shouldn't be too surprising.

Now don't get me wrong... I don't wear rose-colored glasses - there are some sketchy areas and burned-out buildings. But I am proud with the preservation and restoration of many of these beautiful homes, the community gardens, and the smiling neighbors. This area really has the Detroit Can-Do area.

TaGeez and I have completed over half of the series and have been greeted with a smile and wave from people out cutting their grass or sweeping the walks. If you take your mind off your numbers run, you can almost imagine the horse-drawn carriages and buggies that once inhabited this wide boulevard.

Outer Drive Series

TaGeez and I started the 206-cache Outer Drive Series http://coord.info/GC393E1 this week. 33 down and 173 more to go!