Where's 25? Locationless Cache

 Greetings from Michigan!

I’ve been excited for days since we heard the big announcement regarding Geocaching HQ's 2025 Locationless cache! I KNEW I wanted our picture on one of my favorite scenic drives: M-25 along the Lake Huron Circle Tour! ❤️

Yesterday the cache went live. TaGeez and I awoke to the warmest and sunniest days this winter so far. 

“Want to go for a drive?" LET’S GO!

We didn’t take the direct route. Instead, we headed due North first and drove widthwise across the thumb: looking for snowy owls, M-25 signs (hopefully with Lake Huron in the background), and flautas at our favorite Mexican restaurants! No snowies today, but we enjoyed the hunt along the way. 

We did find 4 different cache types including this Locationless, a long-forgotten puzzle, and a brand-new Virtual! Thank you, HQ, for creating this special cache, and we are looking forward to celebrating 25 years of geocaching!

Huffing and a Puffing

I was called out by a friend that, with all I've shared on this blog, I didn't share our funniest geocaching video! This is Huff n Puff (GC48DRE) near Holland, MI.

Facebook video

We shot this video for the Geocacher Vlogger/Cache Advance July GeoChallenge of the month (needed a cache with more than 30 favorite points - this one had 97!). Because of the size, I can't upload it here so I've linked to our Facebook video.

If this keeps up, should I open a YouTube account?

Big and Blue is Beautiful!

Seems like we have the Team Lareau seal of approval! We even scored one of his new path tags as a bonus! Woot!

Cachers Giving Back: CITO Weekend

Ah! Spring time! Time to get outside and join your friends in... gathering trash.

afishoutawater, TaGeez, Team Gates and Scrapcat

And caches.

This week is the annual CITO week. Cachers gather for Cache In Trash Out.

First event for last weekend was Scook and CITOcacher's cleanup in Rouge Park.

They both set the example for CITO's and rewarded us with 11 chances at First-to-Finds.

After spending an hour filling bags of discarded booze bottles, my group earned won a nice one called Doric, Ionic or Corinthian?

Groovy West Side CITO at Rouge Park GC7124J

It was great seeing TaGeez out in the sunshine. With his broken leg, he stayed close to the CITO table, being Mr. Social Butterfly. We did manage to grab a few caches on the way home.  

Sunday morning found us at DarrylW4's Bubble Tea event. He had a new Instamatic camera and sent us home with some souvenirs. These pics remind me of the old photos of my parents at their kitchen table - painted wall in the background and odd lighting not flattering anyone.

April Bubble May Bring Cachers GC7339F

We stayed long enough to earn our smiley, swap some trackables, and tell a tall tale or two. Upon South Lyon Trekker's suggestion, we went for burgers at the New Hudson Inn -- one of the 19th oldest restaurants in Michigan and definite biker bar. Burgers were good, though; they lined the lower bun with dill pickles and the spicy BBQ sauce had a peppery kick in the end. We watched bowling while sitting in the front window -- it was such a happy crowd.

Last even was South Lyon's CITO at the Milford Car Park. I understand this group of geocachers is the first organization in Michigan to adopt a car park and by gum! We are determined to keep it clean!

Spring Pool Party 2017 GC700JT

I think this CITO was better attended because everyone knew the car park was less work and there's ice cream up the road afterwards.

Nice surprise to get home and see three new souvenirs on my profile: CITO, the 3 Millionth hide (for finders) and the 3 Millionth active hide (for hiders). Looks as if the next souvenir is just another week away.

A Clever Cache: Large and Lovely

Ok, TaGeez and I stopped at an amazing new geocache, and I have to share!

You plop in a quarter (you get it back) and out pops a smiley! This beauty was filled with good swag, trackables, and even some geocoins to discover.

As someone mentioned online, I don't think I'm giving anything away since the CO clearly describes is in his write-up. However, at least for now, I'm going to keep all the specifics anonymous.

Let's just label this is someplace in Michigan...

The LARGE 1-0-0!

I finally did it! On our trip to Washington DC we stopped off at a WVTim cache for my 100th Large cache! Woo hoo! And that means I finally qualified for TaGeez's GEO-700 Club Challenge! You need 100 of each of the 7 sizes to qualify. I think when the challenge was first released I only had about 2 dozen.

Look how far we had to go!?!

It took several major trips over several years to grab them all. I LOVE this kind of challenge! So many memories while working to qualify for it. #BringBackChallenges

Thank you, TaGeez!

50 Shades of Ultraviolet

What a hoot! Team Gates decided he and his crew were heading north to experience this new(er) night cache in mid-Michigan (up I-75 at a rest stop near Clio). Being a beautiful day and this cache is on our bucket list, TaGeez and I joined them for some night time fun!

One of the fun stages

We finally get to use our UV flashlights!

As night fell, our crew headed out to the woods: scrapcat, TaGeez, Team Gates, Alona Spiegal, BSW2010, HelloLola, RayQix, PaRaDiZ, Kachhunter, and Team LTO. It was hard to act nonchalant as these flashlight-wielding weirdos moseyed into the woods hollering "Branch!" "Log!" "Bug!" I'm sure it caused a bit of confusion for the patrons of the nearby bathroom establishment.

Not giving anything away, but it was a fun adventure with several stages. We were victorious! Afterwards, we headed to Birch Run to visit 1/2 of the dynamic Yellowjeeperman duo! 

Awesome fun!

scrapcat, Mrs. Yellowjeeperman, and TaGeez

If you ever find yourself heading up to Traverse City or Mackinac Island or maybe moseying down to the Detroit area, stop in for a half hour of fun! But don't forget to bring your TOTTs!

Flat Packs - Also a Michigan Thing!

It’s a Michigan thing! Like PBN’s – we’re in inventive crowd.  If it’s said on a podcast, it must be true!

I was trying to explain “flat packs” to somebody outside of Michigan. Made using small resealable plastic bags (like the pill bags), duct tape and (optional) strong magnets, they are great for concealing behind signs, under power boxes or inside guard rails.

Inexpensive and quick to mass produce.  Easy to feel when reaching blindly but not thick enough to draw anybody’s attention.  I’ve seen them as small as 1”x1” and concealed in the cracks of a utility pole (often with a little hanger attached to grab it with).  I’ve seen them as large as 6”x8” and magnetized behind a green power box.

And with the plethora of duct tape colors and textures, they camo pretty well with their surroundings.

Pick an appropriate sized magnet to suit your bag size

Here is your winter tip (thank you, Mr. RayQix): After signing the log and sealing the bag tightly, replace the pack with the opening hanging upside down.  This is added protection from melting snow or drizzling rain from seeping in.

This is OUR DETROIT! An Urban Art Adventure

It was too bright and shiny to stay home so TaGeez and I decided to enjoy the urban caching in Detroit last night..  We came across some amazing sights on our tour.  It's was wonderful to see Detroit so vibrant and alive!

Here is a sampling of the hundred or so pictures we snapped along the way!

Detroit's Chimera GC57JKP

Mt Vernon Bridge Cache GC33D03

Mt Vernon Bridge Cache GC33D03

Beaubien Bridge GC56VF9

Splatter and Drip GC58E16

On the way to A Hidden Gem in the City GC5BDJX

Taken by TaGeez

Taken by TaGeez

Taken by TaGeez

And wrapping up at Share Your Candy GC4T88Q

And let's not forget the community gardens, urban art exhibits and fabulous architecture.  Special kudos to the cache owners and the time spent documenting the area's history in their cache pages.  It is worth a trip to Detroit's New Center area.

Can It Be THE Miguel Cabrera?

On Saturday, TaGeez and I did a fabulous Spirit Quest (SQ) puzzle at Holy Sepluchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI.  It was SQ - The Ghosts of Tigers Past GC5B7QT. It's a 10-stage puzzle where you visit the gravesites of 9 Detroit Tigers (players and owners).  It was well-written and a fabulous tour.

From my log: 

This was the first time in the Holy Sepluchre mausoleum, and the stained glass windows were fabulous! We [TaGeez and I] went down every corridor looking at them.

Afterwards we took our time snapping pictures at each gravesite. We particularly liked the Briggs Mausoleum (with it's Madonna window in back and a fan's Tiger ticket stuck in the grill). Fascinating history here. Each stage was easy to find and many were conveniently close together.

One rewarding stop was the Navin mausoleum. I had read RayQix's fascinating history of the Detroit Tiger's at Michigan and Trumball. I had also seen the tigers at this mausoleum before, but, until today, I never put 2+2 together. Great stop!

This puzzle took several hours, and it was well-deserved it's favorite point.

After updating the log and attaching (the above) picture, I also uploaded this collage to my Instagram account (gracie-bird).  I received several Instagram notifications for "new activity" and decided to check out who visited my pictures.  Do you see the second entry down?

miguel.cabrera24 - 2nd one down

Miguel Cabrera?  What do you think?  Could it really be him?

Can it really be him? Almost 10K followers? Maybe?

How cool would that be?  A Detroit Tiger!  I've decided to believe it is so... ignorance is bliss!

A Hider's First Attempt

I was so excited to see a new cache publish near home. Since Vante moved to Traverse City, my cache-a-day options have been limited.

I checked the map and saw it was in a nearby community garden. Hmmmm.... Unbeknown to this new cache hider, this garden has had a history of controversy. The next door neighbor kept stealing the last cache hidden there. Also, since the cache was continually muggled, some of our geo-friends kept mangling the landscaping looking for it. That just escalated the friction.

Wandered over today for the grab - I thought I'd better get it while it's here. I had heard that this one was "well hidden" so it shouldn't disappear. Upon finding it, I realized the new cache broke two cardinal rules:

1. It's BURIED under a paving stone. That wasn't a naturally-occurring hole. And I can just imagine new cachers mangling this flower bed, looking for it (HINT: It's under the paver with the X scratched into it).

2. It was hidden in a glass Ball jar. If the contents don't mold from the condensation, it may shatter during a winter freeze.

All-in-all, it is a pretty little site, and the local cachers have been very supportive of these new hiders. I hope these hiders have learned from this first attempt and add some more to our community.

Namesake Cache: Elisa

This past Spring Team *Aardvark created a series of caches named for the local female members of our cadre. As the cache is a bit distant, I didn't have a chance until yesterday to make the grab.

As we pulled up to the likely LPC, I mentioned to my boyfriend, TaGeez, that the prior logs mentioned the cache being 30 feet off.

His reply? "That's fitting as you're a little off." I made him pay for that one ((grin))