St George, the Heart, and Breakfast.

PeanutsParents in an underground cache.

Well the month is almost over and I thought I better write about my trip earlier this month. I am falling behind in my blogging so I better get at it.

Earlier this month I decided to head to southern utah for a breakfast event with PeanutsParents.   It was all a maybe trip, and we were never really sure of who was going, or when until about two days before. 

Well we headed down friday afternoon and really did not not do much on the way down.  We were trying to get to southern utah before it was too late.

We drove for three to four hours with only a few stops.  That surprised both of us.  Normally a three to four hour trip would have taken us most of the day.  However I got out of work pretty late, so our trip was rushed to get there with good time.

CITO pile of crap

The drive to St. George was great, faster than either of us shot.  When we arrived in town we got in touch with DrJay and family, and went to say hi.  Then got asked if we wanted to go work on some puzzles.  So PeanutsParents, Momthecook, cachinhubby, Jac0b, and I headed out in the evening to grab some caches that were around.

The next morning we got up early, really early.  Apparently there was a CITO over the border in Arizona.  Woo hoo one more state. So off we went.

It was really early and we were cleaning up an area that is a truck stop.  An unofficial truck stop. Apparently many of them just threw trash out of their cabs and made a mess.  So there we were to save the day. Much of it was in a pile, but without bags, so we spent a lot of time just bagging stuff.

After that we headed north. We grabbed a few caches on route. It was a good morning and normally I would not be out of bed at this time.  However this was for caches, breakfast, and bacon.  The event was the Spring Breakfast event.  Every year it gets bigger.  I counted 130 cachers (about).  It is hard to count with everyone mulling about.

It was a great event.  I do not know how many years it has been going on, but it seems to grow every year.

There were a number of people that traveled hours south to the event.  Chasing the sun, and others that headed up from St. George. 

I brought one of my limited edition coins to give away.  And who won it?  The guy that I drove all the way down with.  I thought that was really funny.  Out of 130 people, he was the one to win it.

It is funny how some events are just the right place at the right time.  Sunshine, while the rest of the state is usually still int he cold of late winer.

Last year my wife and I came down and we spent our time doing every virtual and earthcache that we could find.  That was a great trip.  I had nopes of going with my wife (no offence to peanutsparents) but with kids activites and stuff like that,  of course Peanutsparents had planned on going with his wife as well.  So it all worked out.

Well later that morning we decided to head out into the desert. It was time to start looking for caches. We grabbed a few caches. In fact I pulled my old trick.  There is a road on the map,so we followed that.  Unfortunatly the map on the road was a rough road, we did eventually make it to the location, but man it was a nasty ride.

We headed to billionj's mom heart int he desert. There were a lot of caches that made up the heart.  So we were actaully planning something rather long. There were about sixty caches in the outside of the heart that we were planning on doing. 

Actually we thought about doing the O in mom as well.  But more on that later.

We headed out into the desert and we had a number of us. About a dozen running from small 7 year olds to mid 40's all going for a nice stroll.  A stroll in the cactus and sand for 7-8 miles.

The group tended to stretch out as time went on.  What started out as all of us together slowly started to string out into a longer and longer line. By the time we got to the bottom of the heart (about 20 caches into it), we all knew that some were not going to make it.  Unfortunatly for those that gave up it was a two mile hike back to the cars.

As we crossed the road on the SE edge of the heart all of the kids gave up.  Jac0b started back at that point. He started with the rag tag band to head back ot the cars.

A bit later A few others felt like they had enough as well. So they headed back as well.  So with 35 caches and 4.5 miles of sand dunes and sagebrush ahead of us DrJay, Peanuts Parents, and myself continued to the quest.  It was a long long hike.

I had forgotten how much I hated hiking in the sand.  I grew up in southern Utah and we avoided sand.  You have to work twice as hard. It gets in your shoes.  In fact when I was done I had a lot inside my socks. It made for rough hikeing.  However even had we decided to give up we were going to be hiking past many of the caches that we were looking for heading back to the car.

I never did actually measure the length.  Five barbed wire fences were crossed, and many miles.  It was fun to go with the people that I went with.  They are a blast and I would not have enjoyed myself had I been caching on my own like I normally do.

The scenery was awesome.  Given it was mostly sand, and hills.  However it was really a nice break from what I see up north.  Like I said I grew up seeing sights like these.  Now as I get older I start to appreciate what I grew up with, and what people travel thousands of miles from around the world to see.

Needless to say the rest of the day was spent trying to pretend that we were alive.  Nearly sunburned, and wanting sleep we headed back to the hotel to sleep and get cleaned up.  I went to dinner later, but was pretty burned and just exhausted. So I did not eat a lot.

The next day was the drive back.  I actually found another fifty caches on the way home.  I really need to log them.  I have tried to make each log part of the experience this year.  So I put off logging (like blogging).  However I will get back to it.

In all it was a great trip.  Thanks for everyone that made it so enjoyable.  We saw many great sights.  Thanks for everyone in making it fun.

UTAG Event and Cache Day

Prologue

I received an phone call earlier in the week from Peanuts Parents.  He was wondering if I would go out to the event with him this last weekend with him.

Friday night. - The Drive

Well after a quick review of things with my wife, I got the green light.  So Friday night we headed south to Kanosh.  He has a little cabin there. 

The drive was a long one, about two hours.  Ok well it was not really long, but it was long enough for me.  I am not big on many hours in the car.  The plus is that I was able to grab caches on the way south. Normally that is a no no.  Kids are not fond of stopping for a lot of caches.  We took the time to find a mystery cache in Nephi, then stopping in Fillmore to grab another cache.

When we got to Kanosh, Utah just as it was just getting dark.  He showed me around the area, inside and out.  There is a great view of Utah's West desert with various cinder cones and old extinct volcanoes.

PeanutsParents had a ton of caches. And I do mean a ton.  So we spent a good part of the night talking and putting together many of the containers for his cache run.

Sunrise over Utah's west desert. Saturday Morning

The next morning is when the adventure began.  We left early in the morning. About 7:00 AM if my mind is correct. Things are fuzzy for me early in the morning.  We packed things up, and got everything ready.  Neither of us wanted to sleep too long.

There are no stores in Kanosh.  So food is what be had brought with us.  Well, that was some Jolly Ranchers and a few V8's.  what more could you ask for.

Our drive began and we stopped for one or two caches that Peanuts had never grabbed before even though he was nearby.  He had left them for the perfect moment. Now.

Then our drive included him placing a number of caches.  So as we headed into town and he took me to a few caches, we started to see many of the nice caches that I had never been to. 

Then off into the desert.

The desert west of Kanosh is pretty sparse.  This year as you walk around there are a number of desert flowers blooming, and a little green.  It has been pretty wet (for a desert) this year.

We headed to a string of caches that had been placed earlier this year down a little dirt road. Well that is where things got strange.  The road was no more than a few car tracks into the desert.  We needed to go three miles.  So off we went in our truck.  (Bad Idea #1) Those car tracks dwindled until we were on a ATV trail.  That was getting a little nerve wracking.  Then it turned into a cow trail only a few hundred yards from where we were going.  Then little by little a few tracks joined ours. (We did get the caches)

I am not sure that was the wisest choice, but it was not our last dumb one.

The race to the event.The roadless road.

We headed off to the event so we would not be late.  The event was about 30-40 miles to the north. Well we were heading west.  In the desert.  At one point we had a choice.  Head south, 8 miles to the road, or take a dirt road to the north. 

Well I voted for north.  It seemed logical, we were going that way.

Bad idea #2 - Eventually the road got nasty.  very nasty.  In fact it was not there.  You could see remains. It had been a road where they placed a power-line up out in the desert.  in the 70's.  but not much of one now.

I admitted that I had made a bad decision. Peanuts decided perhaps we would drive on. (Bad Idea #3).  So off we went.  I snapped a pic out the window.  You can see where the road was, but not much of a road, and few have traveled it in years.

Happily we reached the rail line and there was an option to go North or South (there was a road there).  Well once again, why go south to reach or destination in the North. (Bad Idea #4).  It was 7 miles.  but the roads were even worse.  I wish I had taken a photo or video.  Eventually the road turned into a two-track trail, then a single track. We could see where the road had been. It would have been in the 50's.  We traveled wash outs and horrible ledges. And eventually it faded to a cow trail.  Eventually as we came within a mile the road started to appear again. People had traveled it from the other end anyway.

We got to the event an hour late.  Oh yea... did I forget to mention we had a flat?  When we finally hit the highway we found out that we had a flat.  The tire was so hot I could hardly touch it. Same with the lug nuts.  Ahhh life int he desert.   Welll not many were at the event, but it was nice anyway.

Hunting for the benchmark.Drive home

The drive home was an afternoon with benchmarks.  Peanuts was putting caches near them.  We actually found three that were placed by other cachers doing the same thing.  So we were pre publishing ftfs on them.   Ahhh the joy of people with the same ideas.

We had fun hunting for them on the way.  Especially the ones buried, that we actually had to find. 

Benchmarks can be way off anyway.  A hundred feet or more. If you can find the sign marking them you may be in luck.  But even then they are buried in the sand in the desert.  So we had to work to drag them out.

That was the afternoon drive home.  We found another 10 benchmarks, making for about 20 benchmarks on the day, with about 50 caches. Plus Peanuts placed another 25-30.  So it was a long fun day.  We were tired when we made it back home.

Update on Monday, September 26, 2011 at 11:15PM by firennice

Geocaching Reflections

I decided to take a moment thinking about my caching experiences.  I was thinking of the times I have spent, the places that I had seen.

New GPS

When I first go my gps I sat down and looked at my GPS and tried to figure out what to do.  I loaded a few things in and began my quest across the street. I remember wandering around the baseball diamonds lost.  I could not figure it out. I did not have any idea what I was doing.  I wandered over to another and found it on a guardrail near the river, Generic Cache

I was not hooked yet.  Though I wanted to find another. I went out to find  a Country Road caches placed by peanuts parents.   I was hooked at that point. It was amazing and fun.  I looked at the map and wanted to find another one.  There was this thing called a letterbox and a few weeks later I went to grab it. Stargate cache.  It was on someones porch and I drove past it a few days before I saw that no one was there and I went up to look.  It was my first ammo can.

Of my first twenty only six or seven are still active. And they were all good and enjoyable. 

Placing caches

I had only found those three at that point. It went outside my work and hid my first cache.   It was DrJays note that cheered me up, and made me want to place more.

FTF this morning at 8:20. Fell sleep early last night so I didn't see the listing until I got up this morning. I thought for sure someone would have found it by the time I got there, but I was happy to find an empty log. When I pulled up I thought, "Great, there are dozens of places a micro could be here." But if you use the hint and name literally you can narrow it down. Finally came up with it after several minutes of searching. Neat little container. TFTFTF

I had expected some time before it was found.  The concept of within a day was not in my mind.  The other I placed the same day had these reponses

By Baldin Eagle

Ouch. Stopped by while dropping my daughter off at school. Searched, got poked, but couldn't find anything. I guess I'll bring some gloves next time.

Then DrJay

FTF this afternoon at 2:50. If you pay attention to the hint, this is a pretty straightforward hide. It's a good hide, but fortunately, I've found a few like this one before. Coords are pretty good too. TFTFTF

Then followed by Baldin Eagle Again.  I did not

Aaarrgghh. I had my hand on it this morning, but didn't think anyone would have a hide like that. Now I know differently. I just took the hint wrong. Good hide. TFTC

It made me chuckle I have rosebushes in front of my house by the road and had hidden it in a fake sprinkler.  The hit was to stay away from the thorns.

The first few months

The first few months were a rush of scrambling for caches.  I dragged my friend out with me a few times. He was helping me in our scout troop.  I did not realize that Cold1 would go overboard as well.  As much as I thought that about him, he showed his dad, Superhooper55.  So now I stand at over 2300, cold one is at 3300, and superhooper is over 6000.   I have hidden 200 though, and cold1 is still a looser that has not hidden any. 

I visited Maple Canyon for the first time, and many other smaller parks and canyons that I had never seen.  I found quiet places in the middle of a city, that lets me find little corners to relax. I spent many lunch times going out in to the fields, on dirt roads, and driving around the city.  I relish those places.

Events

I headed to Whiting campground that fall for my first event. I wandered in and still remember some of the people that were there.  I met Jac0b and Dorkteam6 for the first time, I remember Fire Elemental as well, but not anyone else from my time there.

I ran across the idea of a flash mob, and decided to read up on it.  Though I did not listen at that point, but I found Podcachers site and decided to host a World Wide flash mob.  They picked the date, and I picked the park.  I hoped for 15-20 people to show up.  Little did I realize it was a BYU game that day and many people would show up.  About fifty.

But it was a great experience and I had a lot of fun. 

I havce enjoyed events since then, even though I have not taken a lot of time to put them on. I have many ideas for contests, dutch oven events, or other events, I never get around to them.  There are so many that I just do not get there. 

That was what made up most of my first year. It was all fun.  As winter rolled around I did less and less. There was not much desire for me to crawl through the snow.

Thanks

I remember all the people that I met and the things I had seen from that first year.  As spring came that first year, I was enjoying what was going on.  I was starting to search for caches again.  I think I had about 1000 after that first year.  I never went with others, that was a side note, and I did not go to many events because I did not know many people.  However I was having fun.  My Lord of the Ring series had been put out and I had received many great logs and great notes from them.

Logs

I love logs.  I love logs that show the adventure that others take.  Here are a few that I have loved from that first year.

Baldin Eagle

They have been very fun and exciting to search for. I have explored more of Utah Valley because of you. This cache was an adventure. I called Art when I saw Lord Stirling posting caches and gave him a heads up. He called me shortly after this one was posted and we quickly figured out the coordinates. He came over and we loaded up in my truck (for once) and headed up the canyon. We parked pretty close (within .15 miles) and looked around. All we could see was uphill, so up we went. Within the first 50 yards my shirt was covered in stickers. I don't know if I'll ever get them all off. Now they are stuck on my seat covers. Well, up and up and through scrub oak, then down some, then up some and finally there was the cache. I quickly opened the box, well, maybe not quickly and it was hard to open, but got it open and was happy to see that we were the first ones there. But then I realized that in the rush to find the cache first, I had forgotten to bring the log paper. So back down to the truck, taking the easy way this time and then back up to the cache, signed the log, left a travel bug and then Art and I had to fight for the geocoin. I have a bloody nose, fat lip and black eye now. Not really. Art flipped the coin and I guessed tails. And it was tails, so he graciously let me keep the coin. I told him that he could have the FTF coin. Great adventures and fun. I think my wife will be happy that I am not staying up all night waiting for caches to be posted now.

from the Magpies

At 3 in the morning my wife noticed this cache had been published (don't ask why she was up). There was no way I was going to go out in the middle of the night for it -- hats off to Art and Baldin' Eagle for their committment!
Still, we wanted to try to find it next - so I took a long lunch (a REALLY long lunch - hope my boss doesn't find out ) and off we went.
We tried to learn from the previous logs, but we didn't do a very good job because we went up and then down. LOL. Then we found the easier path too. I can't imagine doing this in the dark!
Carrying 2 kids up to the cache made it feel like a terrain of 5! We were pretty well out of breath when we found it - but it was worth it to be the second ones to find the cache!

Blowstuffup

One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them."

Like Frodo and Sam, we climbed our own Mount Doom - except we did it with three little kids - only to see on the way out that we could have just gone around the mountain and found it a lot easier. But where's the fun in that!?! The view from the top of the mountain was beautiful and made the hike up the steep hill totally worth it. Even the kids enjoyed it too. After I got them to stop whinning.

A weekend of geocaching, my family, and LOTR - throw in an Oreo and I have found heaven. ..... Each one was placed so well and I loved reading the extra info that was put on the log page. Such a genius - or maybe just a big nerd like me! Thank you so much for a great series and for adding a bit more intrigue to geocaching. It has been so much fun for all of us!

(logs edited)

It is the logs like this that make it all worth it.  Many times a drive by may not have an interesting log, and I do not expect it.   I never expect a great log, but I love to get them, and I love to see these pop up.  These logs made me want to keep finding and keep placing.   I have to clean them up this spring, so that is my new project.  I am going throught hem now.  It has been a few years. 

Thanks again for all those who encouraged me in the first year.

Update on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 2:52PM by firennice

My Geocaching Getaway

This weekend was a fun one for my wife, we elected to take Friday off and head to Southern Utah.  Down to St. George to the event was the goal on Saturday, but I had no other plans. 

Great group of geocaching jeeps.. sorry about that chevy thing that made it in the picture.

I did have a few that I will throw lists on tomorrow night.  I made a list of all the virtuals and earthcaches on the way down and back, we made a trip down to Richfield to stay Thursday night, then over to Cove Fort, and south to St George on Friday.  Then Saturday was the event, and through Zions, and north up highway 89 until we hit Richfield to see family.  Then we came back on Sunday.

The even in St. George was great.  It had a ton of people in attendance at there breakfast.  I counted about eighty people in the photos.  It was a big crowd and I am sure the Golden Corral was happy for all the money that geocachers brought in for them.

I actually took some of the UNPC coins down to sell.  We had to scramble to get up and get over there.  So I forgot about them completely. 

There were so many that I wanted to visit with that I missed most of them. 

I should have grabbed a t-shirt that Tico Jeffrey had made and sold to many of the people that were attending.  I did not think of it until it was too late, maybe another time.

I want to give thanks to everyone that was involved.  It was one of the best events that I have ever been to.

There are a few events that are larger, one or two of the UTAG events have been near this size, and the Potters Ponds event calls out a group of people that is larger.  Some of the events up north in Logan tend to be near this size as well. 

However after a long winter and people dying to get outside and actually do something, the timing of this event, the nice weather, hosts, and people who attend make this the best getaway in Utah. 

I recomend it to all, and hope that schedules allow me to come down every year.

In the next few days I will post some of my other experiences on the trip south, It was more than I could list in one big pile, so if you want to see what else happened, stay tuned.

Update on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9:42AM by firennice

Heading South

Well tonight I am heading on a road trip.  Officially it is time away with my wife. We don't know when we are stopping or where, but we are heading south.  The only know stop is the event in St George Saturday morning.  I do have my big list of Virtuals and Earthcaches to grab, and explore.

I hope to see many of you there. I will post a follow up with pictures when I get a chance.