Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Happy Anniversary, Geocaching!

TaGeez and I are on our way to Camp MiGO’s 25th Anniversary Block Party, and we knew we wanted to detour in the area for the new State Park cache.

If you haven't done these caches yet, there are spoiler pictures but no code words.

MSPGT2-SL: Pinckney Recreation Area GCAPW59

We arrived very early this morning to the sight of the beautiful lake. What an amazing mist hovering of the glass surface of the water! 

Quiet walk to the GZ, where we were eventually joined by a couple other Cachers on their way to the block party.

We stopped on our way to the next one for a little bit of fun in Hell! Hell, Michigan, that is! Here we enjoyed a Virtual and an Adventure Lab!

MSPGT2-SL: Waterloo Recreation Area GCAPW5E

The hardest part of the cache was the approach. Glad we targeted it from the road. Not much else we can see here unless you are into mountain biking!

Afterwards we headed out to Camp MiGO 2025 Block Party, where I claimed my 14,000th find!

Alas, after that we had to cut the day short with car problems so no Hayes RA for us today!

Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Mid-Michigan Roadtrip!

 LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ LOVE THE STATE PARKS SERIES!

TaGeez and I were in the area for the All Michigan (Quilt) Shop Hop and visiting whiskey distilleries. It was too late for one and too early for the other. So, time for us to geocache! We had a great time grabbing 4 more state parks - all in the middle of Michigan!

MSPGT2-NL: Lake Ann Pathway GCAPW40

We had a fear that we would revisit the same parks as the last tour, but this was another example of "off the beaten path" and "new to us". As we made our way to the GZ, we were transported back to a more rural time during Michigan's lumber days - unfinished roads, trees crowding our path, and nobody for miles!

Admittedly, this is NOT what we were expecting to find here! What a hoot!

It feels like extra efforts were made to hide really interesting or creative caches this round!

MSPGT2-NL: Mitchell State Park GCAPW43

We woke early in Traverse City and headed to Cadillac. Lovely area surrounded by lakes, and we started this adventure by communing with nature lakeside. 

Then we got down to business!

First, we headed down the wrong path. Then we found the right path, but so did all the skeeters! Finally, we found the container and had fun opening it up!

Then off to Burke's Waterfront Restaurant for breakfast! What a view!

MSPGT2-NL: North Higgins Lake State Park GCAPW44

We were heading from one quilt shop to the next on this gorgeous day, and we decided to detour here for the state park cache. Stunning weather - sun on our faces - such a great day to be out!

Quick find of the container right off the parking lot, but it took us a little longer than necessary to open it. I think we would’ve been faster if we had both hadn't been standing on the same side. Good fun! Great gadget cache!

MSPGT2-NL: Tawas Point State Park GCAPW4D

We had finished the North zone of the shop hop, which ended about 2 miles from here. We were excited to detour here to end our day.

Lovely walk down the trail, so many birds! We had a quick find at the GZ. Container was FILLED with ants! Wowwee! We signed very quickly and headed out. 

This is one of our favorite parks, and a beautiful way to end our adventure.

 

We wrapped the day by sitting lakeside and eating cherries before turning home.

Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Dipping Our Toes into State Park Caches

I've lived in a number of states as a former military wife, but, ah! Michigan! What a gorgeous state! And the Michigan State Park GeoTour really highlights some of the best areas!

I will do my best to share our state park beauty without posting anything that's truly a spoiler. I will not share any photos of the actual code words. 

MSPGT2-SL: Lexington State Harbor GCAPW4Y

Today is the first day of the All Michigan Quilt Shop Hop, and TaGeez & I went to Imlay City. We had a lovely time exploring the shops and grabbing puzzle caches. But I was in need of seeing some beautiful, blue water.

We decided to turn to Lexington. Not only an area we love but the MSPGT2 geocache that we sponsored!

Nearby is a cute downtown with restaurants and shops, but one street over is the boat launch on the "sugar-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters". Perfect day to drive across Michigan's thumb for this drive.

We turned up with high hopes, and we found the cache immediately. Oh fun! We quickly had the solve at hand, but there was a problem… we couldn’t get the second lock to open.

What did we do wrong? We tried the puzzle again, tried the lock again, tried the puzzle again, went to lunch, came back, tried again, and left unsuccessfully.

Now, this cache is nowhere near home, so we turned around and headed back one last time. Someone else had just opened it today so it must work!

This time TaGeez entered in the code and snap! Unlocked! Looking confused, TaGeez kindly told me my answer was correct, but I wasn’t pulling g hard enough on the lock! DOH!

Lake Huron is cold, but it is beautiful. We enjoyed our beach-views at the cache, and then we decided to drove down the coast through Port Huron and Marine City.

MSPGT2-SL: Island Lake RA GCAPW4R

Several days later found us at Island Lake Rec for the MSPGT2 - Southern Lower Edition Kickoff GCB78ZM. Again, we were blessed with good weather. We hang out with friends, snapped pics of the Sandhill Cranes, and then group cached the nearby State Park cache. 

After a work-filled winter, it felt great getting out into the parks again!

Have You Been to McCourtie Park?

I'm sure every Michigan geocacher will say "yes", but have you been to McCourtie Park in Hillsdale County?

In 1924 William Herbert Lee “Herb” McCourtie began to transform his family’s 42-acre farm into a gracious summer home fit for a gentleman and his both illustrious and somewhat shady friends. It was in Somerset Center, and he called it “Aiden’s Lair.” The cost for the renovation and expansion of a simple farmstead into a rich man’s hideaway exceeded $500,000, an impressive amount in those days. [Hillsdale County Historical Society]

The main estate house is gone, but the parklands are amazing. It's dotted with a series of bridges, the country's largest collection of "el trabejo rustico". This is the Mexican folk tradition of sculpting concreate to look like wood.

Yes, these are all made of concrete!

For a geocacher, it's a bit of a paradise. There's a traditional, a county challenge, a Virtual, the Michigan "cache across America", and an adventure lab!

We were there early yesterday morning to finally grab the Historic Caches of Hillsdale County Challenge cache - FINALLY! Checking our logs, we posted our requirements 10 YEARS AGO! I bet you it wasn't as overgrown back then! But one more puzzle/challenge off our list (47% of our "solve list" found!)

If you are ever cruising down US 12 south of Jackson, McCourtie Park is worth a detour.

Geocaching Turns 25 [Detroit Puzzle Series]

What a lovely surprise to wake up on May 12th to discover that STNolan has published 28 puzzles in downtown Detroit for our enjoyment! Creating a geoart in the Detroit River, it was his way to celebrate Geocaching turning 25 this year. 

This series ran the gamut between obviously-so-easy to let-me-come-back-and-think-about-it. I scored 10 FTF's as I competed with HookedOnYou in a race to these finals.

My favorite one is this fiendishly clever #3: GCB47VQ. 

I love how much I learned from this series! If you want to get started, here's #1:  Geocaching Turns 25 #1

Puzzle Happy In Clarkston

No matter how crazy the world is, a little geocaching goes a long way!

TaGeez and I are still working on our "solved but not found" cache list - we're at about 45% found since New Years! Today we knocked off 7 more in the Clarkston area. 

Hard to believe there is such beauty alongside the very busy, very noisy Dixie Highway.

Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: New Caches have published!

Yesterday was a glorious day! Not only was I off work, but the Michigan State Park GeoTour caches published! It's not one but three geotours spanning upper and lower Michigan!

• MSPGT2 Southern Lower Peninsula Edition (GT4F6)
• MSPGT2 Northern Lower Peninsula Edition (GT4F7)
• MSPGT2 Upper Peninsula Edition (GT4F8)

Complete the series for a Geocoin, geocoin inserts, and virtual souvenirs. But, more importantly, complete the series to see some of the most beautiful views Michigan has to offer!

Official Passport

So, when the caches published, I had hoped for one first-to-find (FTF), but we were able to score three!

MSPGT2-SL: Milliken SP and Harbor GCAPW53

I love downtown Detroit, and I was lucky enough to get FTF on the Detroit cache in the first series. After dropping off TaGeez at work, I headed south for the adventure. 

Ferry, Ambassador Bridge, and Ren Cen

This is the first time all gloomy week the sun was out so I made sure to enjoy my time on the Riverwalk. I'm so glad this series will bring more visitors here. 

The Detroit Riverwalk has been voted the best riverwalk in America by USA Today for the third year in a row.

Detroit Riverwalk

This cache was an easy multi and a nice, well-hidden container at the end. Don't overthink it! This was my first FTF for the day! What a view, eh? 

Lighthouse and Freighter

Afterwards, make sure you visit the nearby harbor, Michigan Outdoor Adventure, carousel, and Belle Isle for a full-day adventure!

MSPGT2-SL: Maybury SP GCAPW50

I picked up TaGeez from work, and I told him I was itching for an adventure. It's the beginning of a holiday weekend, and I feel like I had been working all my week off. He suggested a nice leisurely stroll through Maybury State Park as that cache had been unfound to date. 

Turns out it was a lovely day, and the park wasn't very busy. We parked close to the trailhead, and we decided (FTF or not) that we were going to take our time and enjoy the experience. Now, we did a similar puzzle like this before - with these very same signs in this very park - so we knew what to expect. It was a pleasant walk with passerbies smiling at us, birds making a racket, and squirrels darting underfoot. It wasn't long before we had the final solution in hand. Then, an easy walk to the final.

Second FTF for the day!

MSPGT2-SL: Highland RA GCAPW4P

"Hey, did you know that Highland hasn't been found yet?" We're assuming it's because many of our friends are either vacationing out of town or at GeoWoodstock.

We detoured this way (OMG! The traffic!), and we were resigned to the idea that someone most definitely will get here before we can reach the park. We pulled in, though, and the park was very quiet & peaceful. I spied Sandhill Cranes, nuthatches, Bluejays, ducks, and Canadian Geese. 

I was enjoying its bucolic beauty as we strolled to the cache (engulfed by the amazing smell of the Autumn Olive bushes) until TaGeez exclaimed, "Oh, look! A 🐍!” Then I stepped up my game to this fabulous cache.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it is this type of care in cache creation that sets this geotour apart from many others we completed. LOVED this container! Even better? The clean log inside that made for our third FTF for the day!

☼

Thank you to everyone who had a hand at the creation of the cache and the MSPGT2 series - we really look forward to all the future finds!