April 30, 2005

View From the Office: It's been a while since I've been caching with kids, and this one was a perfect fit. I was in this area a while back, but for some reason I didn't include multicaches in the PQ. Quite fortunate. Everybody traded, and then we explored the creek bank. TFTC.

Hetch Hetchy Trail - Hippity Hoppity: A little cache outing with the kids today; they really enjoyed this find, and had quite a suprise when they pulled it out of the hiding place. Oh, BTW, we found 4 red dots. TFTC.

Hetch Hetchy Trail - Purple Wisteria: A quick find and sign since people were coming down the trail. Thanks.

MiddleField Madness: We enjoyed finding this cache since there were all sorts of trails nearby through the bushes. I was a little worried what we might stumble upon, but the kids enthusiasm for exploration won the day. Thanks for bringing us out to the Stevens Creek trail today.

GeoBeads #2 – Creekside Park: Thanks for the cache here at a playground. The kids went off to play, leaving me to find it. By their glances, I think a couple of parents were wondering what the heck I was doing that could possibly be more interesting than watching my children. Fortunately, it was a quick find, and then I returned to parent mode (before rushing everybody off the the next cache!)

GeoBeads #5 – Teal Tressel: Nicely hidden. We continued on to the top of the bridge hoping to see a train pass underneath, but it wasn't to be. Not too many trains on Saturday. TFTC.

April 29, 2005

Olympic Wannabes: Nice. Thanks for bringing me to this park.

Along the De Anza Trail 8 - Los Altos: I struggled a bit for parking on this one, but having overcome that obstacle, enjoyed a pleasant walk and a quick find. Left a TB. TFTC.

Along the De Anza Trail 9 - Los Altos: TFTC.

Margarita Trail: I nabbed this one between cyclists and dog walkers this morning. Interesting reflective sculpture nearby. TFTC.

Crossings Circle: Given the traffic in this location, I'm amazed this large cache has survived. Good job everybody!

Parking Citation: There were two snails on the cover of the container, and, looking quite comfortable, I let them be. Too bad the camera was at home. TFTC.

Bridges of San-star Counties: Thanks for a fun, interesting, and informative cache. I was a bit concerned when approaching the final since there was a city truck parked on the path. Fortunately the worker was underground in a maintainance tunnel, and didn't disturb my search. TNLNSL.

April 27, 2005

Shields Orizaba Rocky Outcrop: Pretty tough to find, and in full view of the neighbor's windows. There were a couple of cars out front, so I hope nobody was watching me. The cache was hidden lid side down, which means that the cache contents were basically sitting in a dish. All of the water that seeped in had been adsorbed by the log book. It should be fine once things dry out, and so I left it out of the baggie to help that happen. Great view. Thanks for bringing me up here.

Brooks Park: Nice park and nice hide, but I felt a little guilty tromping through someone's efforts to establish a garden adjacent to the cache. There are lots of new plants and evidence that weeds have been pulled up. Future finders should take care. TFTC.

Car Be Chiffon: I waved to the windows, but couldn't see anyone waving back. Nice hide. With hint #2, I learned a new vocabulary word, but was still puzzling over the significance of hint #1 as I drove away. I'm pretty slow on the uptake, but now I get it.

April 26, 2005

Bay Area Multiple Hills - 5: I was hoping against hope that this really was a new cache, and not the unveiling of the bonus cache in the previous series. Alas, it was not to be. Congratulations to all of you who earned this find the way mhop intended. I had plenty of chances myself, but never seemed to get to the one down past San Jose.
In any case, thanks for a fantastic series. San Bruno mountain is an amazing place. I stopped counting different types of blooming wild flowers at about 20, and it goes without saying that the views are incredible. I sat for about 20 minutes after finding the cache just surveying the horizon.
TNSL; Left my sig item.

April 25, 2005

Greenhorn: This was a quick lunch-time find, and a cache that I could walk to from work. I could hear lots of coming and going close by, but enjoyed my own little hideaway during the search. Eventually I found the well concealed container, and then stuggled to open it since I didn't realize the purpose it served in a previous life. (Those scratch marks are my fingernails.) Eventually I got it right. Thanks for placing a cache on the peninsula, and welcome to geocaching.

Catamaran: Thanks for bringing me to this very pleasant park! The setting sun sparkled on the lagoon. After enjoying the water, I watched a very competitive soccer game with quite a few spectators. TFTC.

April 23, 2005

Flash of Inspiration: This one was a quick find on the way to the trail days event...after the casino bus cleared out. Frankly, I prefer my way of spending free time, don't you?

Alien Mother Ship: Lots of dogs and little league on a Saturday morning. A bit of stealth was required. A cone of invisibility would have come in handy, since it's tough to linger in this area without a dog. TFTC.

12 Months of Caches: I found this cache on the way to the trail building event nearby. An intersting place with friendly folks. I spent about 15 minutes talking to some future geocachers. (I hope!) TFTC.

Trail Days: Almaden Quicksilver: There were two logs;
one for the event: Thanks for organizing a fun event; What a pretty trail in a very pleasant canyon! I can tell my muscles will be sore tomorrow morning, but the sense of accomplishment is well worth it. Plus, I'm sure the goodwill extended by a great group of geocachers will have long-lasting impact. WoW pointed out several cacheless stretches of trail...I may have to poach a little, if someone else doesn't beat me to it. Thanks for a new icon on the stats page.
And one for the cache: I found it with WoW and Motorbug. Took the CKayaks coin, and left my sig item in return. Thanks!

Cone of Serenity: I found this cache with a group of diehards after the trail building event. Thanks everyone!

WOW! Look What I Found: What a blast! Especially after we found the right access point. The wrong one brought us to within about 150', but there was no way any of our group was going to bushwack the last stretch...too much PO! There was lots of trading going on, but interestingly enough for us, all of that could have been done down in the parking lot. Kinda makes you wonder why we hiked up here. TFTC.

April 22, 2005

The Professor's Cache: Like the previous finder, I had the place to myself this afternoon. The flowers were in still in bloom, and the cache was surrounded by a swath of little purple and white ones that I didn't recognize. Perhaps the Professor can enlighten me? Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera to show you a picture. In any case, thanks for bringing me out to this side of the bay for the first time. I would have lingered longer, but the skies were threatening rain. TFTC.

Forbidden Bridge: It just goes to show you what lengths a developer will go to put in a few houses here in California. "Look!" they say, "there's this funny little tract of land between the tracks and the canal that nobody wants. Let's 'create' a community." Amazing. I'll bet anybody $20 bucks that they were able to sell those houses for at least $100k more by building that overpass. Now everyone who lives out there doesn't feel like they live on the 'wrong side of the tracks'. Worth every penny, IMHO.

Union City Underground: "Tag Alley": Well, I didn't know I was going to feel like a 'tagger' while trying to find this cache. It was a bit uncomfortable, so I gave it one pass and then left. Everything cleanly painted within a couple hundred feet of the coordinates.

Ethel the Earwig: Scios was looking the other way for the 3 minutes this one took. I would have walked from the others, but rain was threatening. TFTC.

Whimsical Wonders: Nice. I was sorry the kids weren't with me on this one. After drawing an 'Eli-dile'...wait, no, it was a 'Crock-o-phant', I scrounged a tiny blanston12 signature button from the depths of the box. Cool. Thanks for the interesting cache activity.

Buelah the Butterfly: I couldn't search at first since there was a guy waiting for the bus. After returning from WW, I wandered around for a few minutes before the right angle gave me a glimpse. Somebody's feeding ferral cats just a few feet away.

Benny the Bedbug: Benny suggested I take one of those cool trading card sig items. I swear that thing's got more information on it than a baseball card. Maybe next time you could make one with a holographic image on it? Nothing seems too artistically challenging for you. Wow! Thanks.

April 19, 2005

Bay Tree Park: FTF!!! 7:15am. Thanks for the moment of quiet reflection. The sunlight streaming through the branches of the tree made wonderful patterns. Along the way, I met a couple of dogs, and watched a jogger stop and do a handstand against the trunk of the tree.

April 17, 2005

Around Ten Birds: This one earned it's two stars. No way I would have found it in the dark last night. Future finders: trust your GPSr.

Pacific Shores Point: Between the fishermen and the dog trainers, this was one stealthy find. That noise you hear is me...patting myself on the back. TFTC.

April 16, 2005

A few caches on the way back from a picnic with Emilie's Aunt and Uncle in Stockton.

Rip Van Winkle: Well, we finally got it...thanks for the hunt.

Altamont Silo: We found it, and then, with 4 kids trading, completely switched out the contents. Thank goodness there were 4 trade items in there! TFTC.

Halbert's Altamont: Quick find. Continued up the road a bit, and passed a CHP sitting on the side of the road. What's he doing out here? TFTC.

Forget me not: Kids inside for a bio-break, gas pumping, I check the GPSr...what?!? a cache nearby...GO! GO! GO! Ouch, $50 to fill the tank. Can I multi-task or what?

April 14, 2005

There Is A Safeway Of Doing Things: Plenty of coming and going, but everyone intent on their own business. I got a handful of spiderwebs grabbing this one.

Take A Rest: About 30 minutes behind first and second. There was an accident on the freeway, and while I was reaching down to grab the cache, a CHP whizzed by with siren on. It startled me, and for an instant I thought he was coming after me. It's my guilty conscience I guess.

April 13, 2005

Do I Need A New CD or DVD?: I came this morning. With a deserted parking lot, I thought, "Yes! an easy one!" Wrong! FYI, there's a security gaurd. I must have looked suspicious, but felt pretty tricky using the car as a shield. Thanks for the fun.

Hill View: I parked on Shasta. The climb up the hill was very nice. I never knew that there was a park here. Given the situation, my GPSr was bouncing around a bit, but finally I spotted a TPS sig item on the ground, and that led me to the hide. If you're interested in this one, come quick cuz the muggle index is extremely high, IMHO.

Crystal Springs: #3 of 3 from Navysparks this morning. I could feel your dental pain (mouth and wallet!) as I sat to sign the log.

April 12, 2005

Serpentine: FTF!!! 8:15am What a great cache, and great to take a guided tour through this park once again. From start to finish, this cache took about me just over an hour, with plenty of stops to snap pictures. I found the final location with no trouble, and took an Edgewood Park flower guide as FTF prize, leaving my sig item (#2) and a TB. The waypoints in the park were thought out well, and didn't ever tempt me to go off-trail to get from one to the next. On the way back, I took the Ridgeview loop / Franciscan trail, and suprised a trio of does along the way. Thanks!

April 9, 2005

Toyon Trail North: This was a great day for a family hike: a beautiful green trail, lots of flowers, and MUD! Several of the kids thought the object was to step in each and every bit of it. Poor reception in this stretch of switchbacks made the find pretty confusing, but eventually we got it. TFTC.

Green Finger Alley: Our second find of the day after making the loop the long way around on the Toyon trail. The cache was wet inside, and so we did our best to dry things out. Those alcohol wipes someone left were mush, so I packed them out to the trash. A very nice trail on a beautiful sunny day. TFTC.

Bay Laurel Curve: After a bit of a struggle to get the log out of the cache, we signed it and were on our way back to the car. There's more adventure out there, but the shorter legs were getting tired. Thanks for bringing us to this beautiful trail.

April 7, 2005

Cherry, Cherry pie. ohooo oohh oohhhh: 2nd time is the charm!

Marsh View Parking: Actually found this lot on the geek cache hunt, but only cuz it took me 4 trips to find it. That was probably the most frustrating search of my early geocaching days. Anyway, thanks for making this visit a two-fer.

Marsh View: It's nice and green out here compared to the last time I visited. The walk was very nice, although the wind was a little bit nippy. While signing the log, I noticed bullit bead #16, which I took. TFTC.

April 6, 2005

Monster Mountain: What a lot of fun! Parked within about 0.2 mi, but that was what seemed to be vertical distance, not horizontal. I followed the trail as far as I could, and then set out along the ridge line. Pretty quickly a little path developed among the flowers, and a spectacular view unfolded to both the north and the south! Fantastic! Thanks! Added a waypoint since the posed coordinates seemed a little bit off. N 37° 42.906 W 122° 23.615

April 5, 2005

Anchors Aweigh: Fun puzzle! My sister-in-law had the solution after 5 minutes of listening to the music on the web page. I solved it by brute force searching on the internet, which took a looooonnnng time. Finding the cache had me bamboozled for a bit, but then I remembered another one of your hides, and things fell into place. Thanks!

City on the Hill: Hmmm...cache site looks like a herd of WalruZ passed through. Either that, or it's crop circles.

April 2, 2005

Green Grass Cache: Thanks for the warnings about the water hazard; I would have stepped in it. TFTC.

Gotta Love It: I got skunked the first time around. After a shopping trip spent pondering the clue, I knew just where to look. TFTC.

Comic Relief aka The Big Cheese: Plenty of activity on a Saturday afternoon, however, most attention was focused on the orphaned dogs up for adoption next door. TFTC.

Kosher bacon soldier: TFTC, but the most interesting thing about this location was the home across the street, completely surrounded by office parks.

Whisman Whimsey: Deserted on a Saturday afternoon until a father and son showed up for a little pitch and catch. I was looking in all the wrong spots until practically bumping into the cache.

Stevenson Suprise: Busy, busy! In addition to about half a dozen T-ball games in the distance, a family was playing their own game of pickle right next to the cache. Eventually they moved over to the baseball fields, and I was able to make the grab before the next wave of families made the trek back to their cars.

House of the King: I cast about for a bit until noticing something close to the cache slightly askance. I was a bit nervous to retrieve it since it sounded like someone (who I couldn't see) was working in their backyard just a few feet away.

April 1, 2005

Piedras Mojadas: What a great adventure! After wending my way out to the cache, and decripting the hints one by one while searching, I began to dispair that I was going to have to go home without finding it. After another 10 minutes, and with the sun sinking fast, the hiding spot appeared. Ironically, it was only inches from where I had laid my GPSr down as I started to search. Plenty of people enjoying the sunset, including a guy with crutches who probably shouldn't have hiked that far. Thanks.

I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever: I found it in the dark. What a pleasant walk with the sound of the waves along the beach, and then the frogs croaking underneath the bridge. TFTC.

Still Standing: I was one of those people with a flashlight poking around at odd hours. Hopefully no one noticed. The place got it's revenge though...walking around the back of one of the buildings, I triggered a motion detector light. It scared the dickens out of me. TFTC.

HMB Hoosegow: Thanks for bringing me to this interesting building.

Ferrosaurus: Last one of the evening. I'm sure I looked pretty conspicuous poking around in the dark with my flash light. No matter, mission accomplished. TFTC.

March 30, 2005

Pomo Hollows: 1st of 5 on a Pacifica cache run after work. Two dads with daughters paid me no mind. TFTC.

The Four Lucky Charms: 2nd of 5 on a Pacifica cache run after work. I found it quickly, but took a while to sign the log. By the time I started to replace it, a bar patron had taken a seat on the steps in front of the door. He wasn't moving, and light was fading. I came back at the end to replace it under cover of darkness.

Beach Loafer's: 3rd of 5 on a Pacifica cache run after work. A very nice walk on the beach at sunset. The cache container is cracked. It'll be okay unless it rains hard. TFTC.

Secret Coastal View: 4th of 5 on a Pacifica cache run after work. Cool spot. I watched the sun drop into the sea. Very nice.

Secret Trailhead #13 - Pacifica: 5th of 5 on a Pacifica cache run after work. I hiked up the trail a bit before starting my search. Upon returning, there was a car parked right in front of the gate. It was just dark enough that I couldn't see inside, but it turns out there was a hiker watching me from about 20 feet away. Boy was I startled when she got out! After explaining things, we found the cache together. TFTC.

March 30, 2005

Dish Drink: A path in this area I'd never been on. Thanks for helping me work out the stresses of the day.

March 29, 2005

She blinded me with science: Since there are precious few puzzle caches I can solve, there was no way I was going to be denied a find on this one. Previous logs helped focus my search, and voila!, there it was. TFTC.

Trust in Rust: 2nd time is the charm. Noticed warning signs to stay away from the water since it is potentially contaiminated with untreated sewage. Accordingly, I skipped a dip in the creek.

Heritage Park: A quick find in the fading light. Nice park; nicer condos. TFTC.

Fair Oaks Cache: I was hoping for an echo, but ended up with a fish instead. TFTC.

The Station 2 Cache: I stopped by after work: Lots of activity on the street, but all quiet in the park. Thanks for showing me this nice park, and for hiding another mid-peninsula cache.

March 27, 2005

A couple of St. George caches on Easter.

Dixie "D" lights: Visiting from California, but Grandma lives just below the 'D' . We enjoyed the hike along the ridge and all of the spectacular views. The kids traded, and I dropped off Tinkerbell's frog that wants to visit all 50 states. TFTC.

Temple Quarry: After having a great time on the 'D' cache, I decided to try this other closeby Montana Pinenut cache. Setting out at dusk, I had a very pleasant walk in the failing light. I think this area would have been a prime location to view recent flood damage, had I come earlier in the day. In any case, the coordinates were spot on. I found the container withough a flashlight and appreciated the parallels to The Shawshank Redemption, which is one of my favorite movies as well. The trail is an amazing testament to pioneer determination that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for bringing me here. TNLNSL.

March 26, 2005

A bit of caching on the way to St. George for Easter.

Button Vector, C-58: Hmmm...cache site needs some CITO. Alas, no trash bags or gloves. TFTC.

Basin Road Cage: Pulled off; drove up; walked over. After taking care of trading and signing business, we returned the cache container to its inverted position. This technique is protecting things nicely. TFTC.

Baby Windmill: Thanks for a quick rest stop on the way to Easter dinner with the relatives. A few dry days have helped with the moisture problem, but a ziploc baggie would really be nice. TFTC.

"$15K Cache Creek Gold Coin Legend" Cache: A quick diversion on our way from here to there. The kids traded, and everyone stretched their legs. TFTC.

March 22, 2005

Jetty: 8am. Behind all the bustle and construction an oasis of calm and reflection. Okay! I'm ready for the commute now. TFTC.

March 19, 2005

Waterfall Cache: The clouds parted just long enough today for us to hike up the creek and see those waterfalls, which were pretty spectacular with all the runoff. I decided to make a dash down to this cache by myself, and got caught in a downpour! I opened the container just long enough to sign the log, then buttoned things up and raced back to the car. TFTC.

March 18, 2005

Bucky's Bad Bounce: I found this cache on my way into Glen Canyon. Thanks.

Meditation Rock: FTF!!! 1:30pm. I've always been curious about this park, and a new cache, with the FTF opportunity, was enough to lure me out even though it was raining. I'm really glad I made the trek, what a fantastic place. TFTC. TNLNSL.

Post log note: Evidently this cache is on top of a puzzle cache, so I am FTF and probably OOTF (Only one to find!)

(Son of) Glencache: A nice hike on a rainy afternoon. Although I slipped on the wet grass, thanks for bringing me to this beautiful park. TNLNSL.

March 13,2005

The Boulevard Bridge: We took the very pleasant stroll from the dog park to this cache. After poking around a bit, we found it. There was plenty of pedestrian traffic, but they paid us no mind. It was fun to watch the outrigger races on the lagoon. Very nice hide. TFTC.