June 2023 - Roadside America in Indiana

I'm not sure what Team Gates expected when he planned on this Jasmer run to Indiana, but it was definitely an interesting adventure! Saturday in June found myself, TaGeez, afishoutawater, and Team Gates packed into a Yugo. Ok, maybe not a Yugo... our goal was a roundtrip adventure to Indiana so Gates could work on his Jasmer while TaGeez & I worked on our double. 

Now Gates has been doing a lot of geocaching with the Cool Crew, who loves a number run. We, on the other hand, are a different crew. Everyone, meet the OK CREW!

TaGeez, afishoutawater, Team Gates
scrapcat

Instead of numbers, we focused on the obscure, the quirky, the old. And we have all the pictures to prove it. 

First stop: the Grave of Johnny Appleseed in Fort Wayne!

Apple of My Eye GC890MY

Let's avenge a DNF!

Island in the Fort GC6PBKM

And visit a dark alley 77 steps long....

77 Steps GC9P64H

We had to stop and pose at the Rotary Jail Museum. How odd is this? 

Rotary jails were a unique innovation in penitentiary design where the cells were wedge-shaped spaces arranged around a central hub. The entire hub could then be spun by a mechanism beneath the cells that was controlled by a hand crank. The cells would spin around so that the door could only be accessed from one opening.

Rotary Cellblock GCHXCT

We finally made it to Turkey Run Stash GCC6. Long walks, steep paths, narrow trails hugging rocky cliffs. A scrapcat terrified and having a panic attack - heights are not my friend. Luckily, there was a TaGeez nearby to talk her down. 

The Victorious!

Suspended Until Further Notice GC88YZE

Narrows Covered Bridge GCX3AW

The trip back just got weirder. We spied some 'keepers of the cache'.

Indiana Spirit Quest GC65YHQ

Found some Bow Tie Brothers...

The Bow Tie Brothers GC9P548

And detoured to the Indianapolis Speedway. 

Louie's Motto GC941B

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway GC7A1E5

Did you know the Indianapolis Speedway is down the road from the City of Speedway? Stop in at Dawson's for crab cakes!

And retro candy. YUM!

It's getting weirder. I'm taking a picture of TaGeez photographing Gates next to fish taking a picture of a giant bunny.

And here is the bunny! The cache nearby was in a Nestle Quik container! Fave point!

A Guard for the Rabbit GC95QWY

Grab a picture of the Muffler Man while exiting the freeway... 

... and on your way to an Artesian Well.

Anderson Area Artesian Earthcache #2 GCZDB2

HEY! We're in the area! Might as well stop at the World's Largest Ball of Paint. We were the record holders for almost 36 hours, I believe!

Big Ball of Paint GC12FPA

With the timeline blown, we might as well detour to the birthplace of James Dean...

James Byron Dean Birthplace GC9P4VF

... and Garfield, in Marion.

Who had a very good time? Well, THIS GIRL!

I'm not sure if there will ever be another trip like this one!

Labor Day Weekend: On the GeoTrail in Coshocton

 

It's become almost a tradition. Labor Day and geocaching with TaGeez & ShelleyJean. This time we headed down to Coshocton, Ohio for the Coshocton Ring GeoTrail. 

The Coshocton Ring Trail offers fun, free, family-friendly activity you can do any time of the year! There are 45 NEW caches placed for you to find. In order to earn the coin, you must log a total of 16, including the Cache to Rule All Caches, complete the passport, and get a cool Coshocton Ring Trail Coin.

Seen on the way! Such a good sign!

We were limited on time so we headed out Friday afternoon to grab some Ohio counties on our way. Did you know Switzerland is in Ohio? At least Little Switzerland is! Sugarcreek is home to the Guinness Book of World Records "largest cuckoo clock in the US". 

Tick Tock Virtual GC9P769

We were lucky enough to be present during the mid-hour entertainment, occupying ourselves beforehand with a nice little Adventure Lab across the street.

Lovely adventure into the town of Coshocton, where we spent a night at the Coshocton Village Inn. Jacqueline at the front desk gave SJ a heads-up that the onsite cache was kept behind the desk. And, with that, we grabbed CCR #45: Council of Elrond GC9RXM0. 

Since we only had the day, we got an early start. The fog was out and there was a bit of a chill in the air. It lent an air of mystery for a beautiful day ahead!

First stop was the Old Fort. 

"Located just south of the present-day south bank of the Tuscarawas River, near West Lafayette in Coshocton County, stands Ohio's oldest building. It is a small (16' X 16') sandstone structure, with rifle ports, known as the 'Old Stone Fort'. That the 'Old Stone Fort' is Ohio's oldest existing building, and one of the oldest European-built or early US buildings west of the Appalachian Mountains, is not in question. The question and the mystery is, who built the 'fort'?"

Dew covered

Now to start the geotrail. Caches are laid out into 3 rings: Narya, Vilya, and Nenya. You need to complete a total of 16: minimally 3 from each ring plus the CCR #01: The Cache to Rule All Caches. 

To simplify, I ran a pocket query for the series and then color-coded each ring. Voila! We had a plan of attack!

We spent 4 fabulous hours driving the backroads of Coshocton County. Farm stands, Amish Markets, cemeteries, libraries, and several of fabulous local businesses. We also detoured for a Carnegie Library and a local quilt shop. 

TaGeez and Scrapcat

Low-flying planes

And the final cache was impressive! CCR #01: The Cache to Rule All Caches included the final stamp we needed to complete our passports. Afterwards we visited the Coshocton Supply Company, where we met the indomitable Mindy! Lovely lady who enthusiastically awarded us our coins, sold us our t-shirts, and directed us to the local sites (including the horse-drawn canal boat). 

The Coshocton Supply Company is situated in historic Roscoe Village, a fabulous brick-lined downtown situated amongst other shops and down the road from the Warehouse Restaurant, "home of the legendary onion rings". And, MAN! They smelled and tasted delicious! More than enough for 3 hungry cachers!

Sadly, it's time to head home, but we had a little time to grab a few more counties and enjoy a little more sightseeing. My favorite stop of the trip was the Mount Vernon Dog Fountain! What a hoot! SJ, can we go back when we do Belmont? 

Must Love Dogs Virtual

TaGeez having too much fun!

Scrapcat and TaGeez in Mount Vernon

TaGeez is such a trooper! Another county down!

Swartz Creek Covered Bridge, Wyandot

In the end, we checked off 8 more Ohio counties and making plans for more on the way to the Belmont Geotrail this Fall!

Another fabulous adventure with the Super Sexy Trio (SST = Scrapcat, ShelleyJean, and TaGeez)! Coshocton is a friendly little town, nestled in small hills, and steeped in history.  We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the backroads but, more importantly, spending time together!

Coshocton Geocoin and Discover Tags

If you decide to visit, Mindy from the Coshocton Supply Company said they still have about 100 geocoins left. One Trail to Rule Them All!