Watermelon Hill: A couple of streets over was getting all the attention: 50 tourists snapping pictures, and a cop directing traffic. Naturally, we liked this one better. Thanks for the alternative.
Sounds of the Bay: We have wanted to find this cache for a long time. Memorial day seemed like the ideal opportunity to make the trip. The weather was perfect and the kids enjoyed playing on the beach adjacent to the cache so much that they forgot there was a treasure somewhere nearby. At somepoint, I slipped away to make the find, and left a bunch of swag for future finders, silent tribute on my part to the magnificence of this spot. Thanks for the adventure.
Columba: The appropriateness of this cache for a Memorial Day outing in San Francisco was completely lost on us until we arrived on scene. A huge American flag filled the dome from ceiling to ground. We weren't sure if it's always there or specially placed on this weekend to honor those who have served our country. Thanks for providing us with the opportunity to explore a wonderful and unique place and to teach the kids more about love, loss, honor and respect in a very effective way.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
May 29, 2005
Prickly Garden: The whole family made this trip, and we spent quite a while looking at all of the interesting plants in this garden. Thanks for pointing this place out, and sharing the history with us. Really cool. After awhile our thoughts returned to geocaching. Eventually the kids made the find, but not before I told them to stop searching in the bushes. Thanks again!
Free WiFi #2: Still pretty busy at 10pm on a Sunday night. TFTC.
GeoBeads #1 – 'Round the Corner: I was so close to the folks at the outdoor table for the nearby restaurant that I could smell their food: It's gotta be some sort of personal record. Fun. Thanks.
Why?: I could hear the people protected by this structure talking in their backyard tonight. It's fun to wonder in situations like this whether or not they have any clue what's going on. TFTC.
Portkey: I stared right at it for about a minute before I realized what I had. Thanks.
Proposal Point: What a lovely spot. Congratulations!
Free WiFi #2: Still pretty busy at 10pm on a Sunday night. TFTC.
GeoBeads #1 – 'Round the Corner: I was so close to the folks at the outdoor table for the nearby restaurant that I could smell their food: It's gotta be some sort of personal record. Fun. Thanks.
Why?: I could hear the people protected by this structure talking in their backyard tonight. It's fun to wonder in situations like this whether or not they have any clue what's going on. TFTC.
Portkey: I stared right at it for about a minute before I realized what I had. Thanks.
Proposal Point: What a lovely spot. Congratulations!
Saturday, May 28, 2005
May 27, 2005
Secret Trailhead #6 - San Francisco: Thanks for pointing this access-point out. I found the cache on the way to the top.
Take-a-Peek: Beautiful view, even with the fog streaming in today. I found the contrast between the shady and the sunny sides of the hill very interesting. TFTC.
Take-a-Peek: Beautiful view, even with the fog streaming in today. I found the contrast between the shady and the sunny sides of the hill very interesting. TFTC.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
May 26, 2005
This Old Tree: NavySparks, Anotherone, and I found this cache together. Too bad we missed RR by a few minutes. Nice hide, and very pleasant to catch up with you guys. Okay, on the next one I'll bring the donuts.
Rengstorff Rätsel: I was sorta perplexed with this for a minute or two. Then the little light bulb popped on. I love that! Somebody walked by while I was signing the log, but they didn't notice me, of course. TFTC.
Creekside: Claire and I found this cache tonight. Thanks!
Relax for Awhile: A pleasant night for a little father-daughter bonding. Thanks for providing the opportunity.
Rengstorff Rätsel: I was sorta perplexed with this for a minute or two. Then the little light bulb popped on. I love that! Somebody walked by while I was signing the log, but they didn't notice me, of course. TFTC.
Creekside: Claire and I found this cache tonight. Thanks!
Relax for Awhile: A pleasant night for a little father-daughter bonding. Thanks for providing the opportunity.
May 25, 2005
What a View for a Bug Hotel: This was a nice little hike on a clear and balmy morning. Great views! Deafening traffic noise! I was quite curious to hike to the end of the dirt road, but, alas, I'm late for work as it is. I swapped a geocoin for a TB.
Gateway & Portal: FTF!!! 9:15p I solved the puzzle, made the grab, and looked for a place to sign the log. After sitting down, I realized that someone had been watching my every move from the shadows. I attempted to strike up a conversation with him, but he wasn't too talkative, and so I went back to the car. After 20 minutes, he was still right next to the hide, and there was no way to replace the cache. I'll put it back tomorrow morning. Sorry, sorry, sorry to anyone else who goes out tonight to look. I was pretty creeped out. It's suprising the area doesn't have a street light. It probably should. Anyway, TFTC. May 26: 7:30 a.m. Cache is back in place. Sorry for any inconvenience. The coast is now clear...
Gateway & Portal: FTF!!! 9:15p I solved the puzzle, made the grab, and looked for a place to sign the log. After sitting down, I realized that someone had been watching my every move from the shadows. I attempted to strike up a conversation with him, but he wasn't too talkative, and so I went back to the car. After 20 minutes, he was still right next to the hide, and there was no way to replace the cache. I'll put it back tomorrow morning. Sorry, sorry, sorry to anyone else who goes out tonight to look. I was pretty creeped out. It's suprising the area doesn't have a street light. It probably should. Anyway, TFTC. May 26: 7:30 a.m. Cache is back in place. Sorry for any inconvenience. The coast is now clear...
May 24, 2005
Ryder Park Trail: I swung by this nice, new park on the way home from work. Very interesting. Thanks for showing it to me. It does appear that they will be charging an entrance fee, however.
May 23, 2005
Don't Feed the Ducks: I had to wait out the maintenance guys who were having a long and animated discussion of a serious malfunction in the sprinkler timing system. Note to future finders: Stay on the sidewalk until they get this worked out; the grass is swamp-like! After that, it was a quick find. TFTC.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
May 21, 2005
Day Starting Line GBES ’05 Rally: The second part of the adventure begins...Who was that guy who helped out with getting everyone in starting order? He didn't seem to have a GBES officials' tee-shirt on.
Day Course Challenge 1 GBES ’05 Rally: Away we go!
Day Route Cache 1 GBES ’05 Rally: Our goal was to get all of the day rally caches. So far so good. Hmmm...could we possibly be heading for that bumpy levee again???
Day Route Cache 2 GBES ’05 Rally: I'm going to log this one a find. We were headed towards this cache on the correct side of the canal when we got turned around by 'The Flood'. Whew! A detour on a course that already seemed pretty round-about.
Day Checkpoint Challenge 1 GBES ’05 Rally: After doubling back quite a distance, passing what looked to be some sort of equestrian version of the rally, and crossing that #!$ levee...AGAIN (did we miss the turn off to the easier route, or was it flooded???), things appear to be back on track.
Day Course Challenge 2 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey! I'm getting good at these. I think I did this one in just over a minute.
Day Route Cache 3 GBES ’05 Rally: I can't remember exactly when we started up the canyon, but it was somewhere around here. Pretty flowers! Dangerous rocks!
Day Route Cache 4 GBES ’05 Rally: Lotsa fun going up where we came down last night. I'm still not sure which was scarier. The driver says, 'UP, definitely up was scariest!'
Day Route Cache 5 GBES ’05 Rally: I can't remember exactly where this one was, but we got it.
Day Route Cache 6 GBES ’05 Rally: High speed road caching: It almost felt drive-up micros back home.
Day Route Cache 7 GBES ’05 Rally: We played leapfrog with Team NorSoCal (and others) in this stretch.
Day Route Cache 8 GBES ’05 Rally: Did the Nevada Tourism board put up those signs? Did I tell you I love those guys???
Day Route Cache 9 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey! This is getting a bit boring...can we get back to some off-road stuff?
Day Checkpoint Challenge 2 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey, those porta potties were a good idea. I think we grabbed a bite to eat about this point too. Ever tried to hold a clipboard, work a GPSr, and eat a sandwich on a bumpy road all at the same time? It's tough.
Day Course Challenge 3 GBES ’05 Rally: Kicking butt and taking names.
Day Route Cache 10 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey, crossing that little stream was fun!
Day Route Cache 11 GBES ’05 Rally: Alright, so if you've been reading our logs in race order (not sure if anyone will ever do that...except us), you'll realize that we're feeling pretty good about ourselves through this stretch. Even cocky perhaps. Pride: will I ever learn?
Day Route Cache 12 GBES ’05 Rally: Somewhere around here we passed the team with the flat tire. A couple of the team members were underneath the back where the spare was. The navigator was reading the vehicles' instruction manual. Never a good sign.
Day Multi-Cache GBES ’05 Rally: This cache was the high point of the day rally (literally and figuratively!) With the incredible views, it seemed like something out of the 'Sound of Music' (...only dustier, and with more bugs, a lot more bugs!).
Day Route Cache 13 GBES ’05 Rally: Ahh yes. Lucky number 13. Why did we ever decide to go down that wash??? After walking down to survey the situation, and deciding that it would be okay (we were a little daft by then), we comitted ourselves a course that just never seemed to end. After quite a bit of angst, though, it did end, and we made the grab.
Day Route Cache 14 GBES ’05 Rally: All I remember about this stretch of the race was that I learned the meaning of the word speleology (the study of caves) from Davis Duo.
Day Route Cache 15 GBES ’05 Rally: That guy Doug sure must have loved it up here.
Day Checkpoint Challenge 3 GBES ’05 Rally: We passed through here. I'm sure of it.
Day Route Cache 16 GBES ’05 Rally: I must be turned around. It's the home stretch, but we seem to be heading the wrong direction.
Day Route Cache 17 GBES ’05 Rally: We're getting warmer!
Day Route Cache 18 GBES ’05 Rally: It really seems like we're the only ones still out on the course.
Day Course Challenge 4 GBES ’05 Rally: The course workers were so supportive! Thanks. I'll bet we looked pretty wrung out at this point.
Day Finish Line GBES ’05 Rally: Wow, we made it. Thanks for taking us across that dry lake bed in the car. COOL. With the checkered flag waving and the crowd milling around the finish line, we really felt like champs. What a great experience.
GBES 2nd Annual Navigational Cache Rally: We had a great time, and, for a couple of city slickers, handled ourselves pretty well, thank you very much. Through the race our emotions ran the gamut from anticipation (before the race), exhileration (both day and night multi caches), extreme frustration (I don't know exactly where we were, but it was about 1:30 in the morning), and a fantastic sense of accomplishment (when it was all over). Thanks for all the hard work putting the rally together! Winning a white jeep in the raffle was icing on the cake. This rally really exemplified what I love about geocaching: the opportunity to explore places you'd never visit otherwise, and learn more about yourself in the process.
Day Course Challenge 1 GBES ’05 Rally: Away we go!
Day Route Cache 1 GBES ’05 Rally: Our goal was to get all of the day rally caches. So far so good. Hmmm...could we possibly be heading for that bumpy levee again???
Day Route Cache 2 GBES ’05 Rally: I'm going to log this one a find. We were headed towards this cache on the correct side of the canal when we got turned around by 'The Flood'. Whew! A detour on a course that already seemed pretty round-about.
Day Checkpoint Challenge 1 GBES ’05 Rally: After doubling back quite a distance, passing what looked to be some sort of equestrian version of the rally, and crossing that #!$ levee...AGAIN (did we miss the turn off to the easier route, or was it flooded???), things appear to be back on track.
Day Course Challenge 2 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey! I'm getting good at these. I think I did this one in just over a minute.
Day Route Cache 3 GBES ’05 Rally: I can't remember exactly when we started up the canyon, but it was somewhere around here. Pretty flowers! Dangerous rocks!
Day Route Cache 4 GBES ’05 Rally: Lotsa fun going up where we came down last night. I'm still not sure which was scarier. The driver says, 'UP, definitely up was scariest!'
Day Route Cache 5 GBES ’05 Rally: I can't remember exactly where this one was, but we got it.
Day Route Cache 6 GBES ’05 Rally: High speed road caching: It almost felt drive-up micros back home.
Day Route Cache 7 GBES ’05 Rally: We played leapfrog with Team NorSoCal (and others) in this stretch.
Day Route Cache 8 GBES ’05 Rally: Did the Nevada Tourism board put up those signs? Did I tell you I love those guys???
Day Route Cache 9 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey! This is getting a bit boring...can we get back to some off-road stuff?
Day Checkpoint Challenge 2 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey, those porta potties were a good idea. I think we grabbed a bite to eat about this point too. Ever tried to hold a clipboard, work a GPSr, and eat a sandwich on a bumpy road all at the same time? It's tough.
Day Course Challenge 3 GBES ’05 Rally: Kicking butt and taking names.
Day Route Cache 10 GBES ’05 Rally: Hey, crossing that little stream was fun!
Day Route Cache 11 GBES ’05 Rally: Alright, so if you've been reading our logs in race order (not sure if anyone will ever do that...except us), you'll realize that we're feeling pretty good about ourselves through this stretch. Even cocky perhaps. Pride: will I ever learn?
Day Route Cache 12 GBES ’05 Rally: Somewhere around here we passed the team with the flat tire. A couple of the team members were underneath the back where the spare was. The navigator was reading the vehicles' instruction manual. Never a good sign.
Day Multi-Cache GBES ’05 Rally: This cache was the high point of the day rally (literally and figuratively!) With the incredible views, it seemed like something out of the 'Sound of Music' (...only dustier, and with more bugs, a lot more bugs!).
Day Route Cache 13 GBES ’05 Rally: Ahh yes. Lucky number 13. Why did we ever decide to go down that wash??? After walking down to survey the situation, and deciding that it would be okay (we were a little daft by then), we comitted ourselves a course that just never seemed to end. After quite a bit of angst, though, it did end, and we made the grab.
Day Route Cache 14 GBES ’05 Rally: All I remember about this stretch of the race was that I learned the meaning of the word speleology (the study of caves) from Davis Duo.
Day Route Cache 15 GBES ’05 Rally: That guy Doug sure must have loved it up here.
Day Checkpoint Challenge 3 GBES ’05 Rally: We passed through here. I'm sure of it.
Day Route Cache 16 GBES ’05 Rally: I must be turned around. It's the home stretch, but we seem to be heading the wrong direction.
Day Route Cache 17 GBES ’05 Rally: We're getting warmer!
Day Route Cache 18 GBES ’05 Rally: It really seems like we're the only ones still out on the course.
Day Course Challenge 4 GBES ’05 Rally: The course workers were so supportive! Thanks. I'll bet we looked pretty wrung out at this point.
Day Finish Line GBES ’05 Rally: Wow, we made it. Thanks for taking us across that dry lake bed in the car. COOL. With the checkered flag waving and the crowd milling around the finish line, we really felt like champs. What a great experience.
GBES 2nd Annual Navigational Cache Rally: We had a great time, and, for a couple of city slickers, handled ourselves pretty well, thank you very much. Through the race our emotions ran the gamut from anticipation (before the race), exhileration (both day and night multi caches), extreme frustration (I don't know exactly where we were, but it was about 1:30 in the morning), and a fantastic sense of accomplishment (when it was all over). Thanks for all the hard work putting the rally together! Winning a white jeep in the raffle was icing on the cake. This rally really exemplified what I love about geocaching: the opportunity to explore places you'd never visit otherwise, and learn more about yourself in the process.
May 20, 2005
Rally School Cache GBES ‘05 Rally: Man, are my nerves churning.
Night Starting Line GBES '05 Rally: That wind was pretty fierce!
Night Course Challenge 1 GBES '05 Rally: Our optimism was still riding high!
Night Route Cache 1 GBES '05 Rally: Okay, we're starting to figure this thing out!
Night Route Cache 2 GBES '05 Rally: It was dry on Friday night, but based on Saturday, something tells me that won't last for long.
Night Checkpoint Challenge 1 GBES '05 Rally: Like someone else said, 'Hey, we're not lost yet!'
Night Course Challenge 2 GBES '05 Rally: It's a lot tougher to tell which way to go without that arrow.
Night Route Cache 3 GBES '05 Rally: Just another brick by the road. Wasn't there a Pink Floyd song about that?
Night Route Cache 4 GBES '05 Rally: We really liked this part of the course: smooth with no vehicle poking rocks.
Night Route Cache 5 GBES '05 Rally: Did we really do 6 caches along this road? I lost track.
Night Route Cache 6 GBES '05 Rally: Hey! We went into another county? Where's the 'Y'all come back soon' sign?
Night Route Cache 7 GBES '05 Rally: At this point, my eyes were starting to get a little blurry.
Night Route Cache 8 GBES '05 Rally: Oh, sure, now you tell me that there's a tough place to navigate in the dark coming up.
Night Multi-Cache GBES '05 Rally: This was probably the best part of the night rally for us. The moon shining brightly on the lake bed gave a sort of a glowing light to the place that was magical. It's also one of the last places on the night course where we had a clear idea what we were supposed to be doing! Thanks for dragging us out here!
Night Checkpoint Challenge 2 GBES '05 Rally: I'm going to log this on the 20th, but frankly, it could have been past midnight. Madness! It's all madness.
Night Course Challenge 3 GBES '05 Rally: This is where things really started to get confusing. Are you sure the Navy wasn't jamming GPS signals tonight? Is that even possible?!?
Night Route Cache 9 GBES '05 Rally: I remember this one. We were so screwed up with the route that I just gave up and just followed the arrow to the nearest cache.
Night Route Cache 10 GBES '05 Rally: We were starting to think that things were back on track. WRONG. Well, we did find this cache.
Night Finish Line GBES '05 Rally: Everything between route cache 10 and the finish was a blur. I think we went down that steep section. At some point we came across some checkpoint or challenge volunteers. I couldn't tell you which one. In any case, we begged them to point us in the direction of a main road...to give us any help at all in fact. It was a husband / wife team. I think the wife was feeling sorry for us, but the husband was determined to follow contest rules: 'Sorry, no help', he said. And that was that. So, we waited. After a few minutes, another team came by, and we followed them...across that gosh darn levee. After bouncing around for what seemed like forever, it was over, and we limped to the finish.
Night Starting Line GBES '05 Rally: That wind was pretty fierce!
Night Course Challenge 1 GBES '05 Rally: Our optimism was still riding high!
Night Route Cache 1 GBES '05 Rally: Okay, we're starting to figure this thing out!
Night Route Cache 2 GBES '05 Rally: It was dry on Friday night, but based on Saturday, something tells me that won't last for long.
Night Checkpoint Challenge 1 GBES '05 Rally: Like someone else said, 'Hey, we're not lost yet!'
Night Course Challenge 2 GBES '05 Rally: It's a lot tougher to tell which way to go without that arrow.
Night Route Cache 3 GBES '05 Rally: Just another brick by the road. Wasn't there a Pink Floyd song about that?
Night Route Cache 4 GBES '05 Rally: We really liked this part of the course: smooth with no vehicle poking rocks.
Night Route Cache 5 GBES '05 Rally: Did we really do 6 caches along this road? I lost track.
Night Route Cache 6 GBES '05 Rally: Hey! We went into another county? Where's the 'Y'all come back soon' sign?
Night Route Cache 7 GBES '05 Rally: At this point, my eyes were starting to get a little blurry.
Night Route Cache 8 GBES '05 Rally: Oh, sure, now you tell me that there's a tough place to navigate in the dark coming up.
Night Multi-Cache GBES '05 Rally: This was probably the best part of the night rally for us. The moon shining brightly on the lake bed gave a sort of a glowing light to the place that was magical. It's also one of the last places on the night course where we had a clear idea what we were supposed to be doing! Thanks for dragging us out here!
Night Checkpoint Challenge 2 GBES '05 Rally: I'm going to log this on the 20th, but frankly, it could have been past midnight. Madness! It's all madness.
Night Course Challenge 3 GBES '05 Rally: This is where things really started to get confusing. Are you sure the Navy wasn't jamming GPS signals tonight? Is that even possible?!?
Night Route Cache 9 GBES '05 Rally: I remember this one. We were so screwed up with the route that I just gave up and just followed the arrow to the nearest cache.
Night Route Cache 10 GBES '05 Rally: We were starting to think that things were back on track. WRONG. Well, we did find this cache.
Night Finish Line GBES '05 Rally: Everything between route cache 10 and the finish was a blur. I think we went down that steep section. At some point we came across some checkpoint or challenge volunteers. I couldn't tell you which one. In any case, we begged them to point us in the direction of a main road...to give us any help at all in fact. It was a husband / wife team. I think the wife was feeling sorry for us, but the husband was determined to follow contest rules: 'Sorry, no help', he said. And that was that. So, we waited. After a few minutes, another team came by, and we followed them...across that gosh darn levee. After bouncing around for what seemed like forever, it was over, and we limped to the finish.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
May 20, 2005
Desert Skyscraper: On the way to the gbes rally, we saw this cache from quite a distance. Back home, there's a very similar type of tower. It was used to transmit TV signals a long time ago, but for some reason no one saw fit to tear it down. TFTC.
Ambrose: We found this cache on the way to the gbes rally. Cool little spot! Thanks for the warm-up.
Ambrose: We found this cache on the way to the gbes rally. Cool little spot! Thanks for the warm-up.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
May 18, 2005
Scrabble Cache: This was a fun puzzle to solve. I'm not much of a scrabble player (I did get a 7 letter word once), but we have a board at home to work with. The cache was nicely hidden too. Thanks.
Imperial History: A quick find on a misty day. It looks like someone (park / homeowner?) has sprayed vegetation killer to beat back the encroaching iceplant. This has adversely impacted the hiding spot. Sorry, I'm drawing a blank on my favorite royal figure. TNLNSL.
Imperial History: A quick find on a misty day. It looks like someone (park / homeowner?) has sprayed vegetation killer to beat back the encroaching iceplant. This has adversely impacted the hiding spot. Sorry, I'm drawing a blank on my favorite royal figure. TNLNSL.
Monday, May 16, 2005
May 16, 2005
Going to the Dogs: A quick find since I knew exactly what the cache container was going to look like. Some of the contents looked familiar too. TFTC. again.
Take me out to the...: I had to wait for a golfer to finish practicing his chip shots, but made a quick find after that. The cache is hidden in a cool little hide-away! TFTC.
Night Vision Not Needed: 2TF by about 10 minutes @ 12:50p. I think I saw the others drive off (Rufus the Cat? and Blue ii's?). In any case, I followed their trail to the cache, overshot a bit, and then found it on the return. I definitely got a few looks from people passing by. I'll bet the view is great at night, but think seriously before trying to find it after dark, IMO.
Take me out to the...: I had to wait for a golfer to finish practicing his chip shots, but made a quick find after that. The cache is hidden in a cool little hide-away! TFTC.
Night Vision Not Needed: 2TF by about 10 minutes @ 12:50p. I think I saw the others drive off (Rufus the Cat? and Blue ii's?). In any case, I followed their trail to the cache, overshot a bit, and then found it on the return. I definitely got a few looks from people passing by. I'll bet the view is great at night, but think seriously before trying to find it after dark, IMO.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
May 14, 2005
An 11 cache outing in Los Altos with Maggie.
Square News: Suprisingly quiet on a Saturday morning given the nature of the nearby establishment. It's good to see a bit of healthy FTF competition: Congrats Rogue Ramblers! TFTC.
Mountain View's Smallest Park?: Yup, pretty small. My favorite micro park is Rosek Park (with micro cache: Rosek Triangle, GCJBCH) up in San Carlos. Amazingly, it's about 1/3 the size of this one! TFTC.
Cooper Duper: Maggie (8) and I found this cache on a warm Saturday afternoon. Very creative camoflauge! We traded and then moved over to the playground to play. Things were going fine until I decided it was time to move on to the next cache...funny how she's not as entertained by smilies as I am. Thanks.
Permanent Diversion: Maggie (8) was most excited about the fact that I decided to ignore the no parking signs. She said, "I get to tell Mommy we broke the law." Hmmm...TFTC.
Great Masters: This was a really interesting cache. Thanks for showing us these murals.
Convolute of the Square: Interesting sculpture. TFTC.
Park it in the Park: Tricky hide! We looked in a bunch of places until finally noticing that something looked a little out of place. TFTC.
Grant Park: A good one! There was a huge potato bug on the cache container. Cool. TFTC.
COMMANDO BIRD! Woodland Headquarters: We were poking around cluelessly when the cache owners showed up. (Nice to meet you!) We tagged along while they made the bug drop, and got to admire this finely crafted cache. I just realized that I dropped a bug that I hadn't logged into my possesion. Sorry. TFTC.
Burning Brightly: Saturday...hmmm...IMO, A brazen attitude works best in these situations. Seriously, though, nobody was watching for the 10 seconds it took to get in and out.
Cupertino Foothills Walkway: A quick find. TFTC.
Square News: Suprisingly quiet on a Saturday morning given the nature of the nearby establishment. It's good to see a bit of healthy FTF competition: Congrats Rogue Ramblers! TFTC.
Mountain View's Smallest Park?: Yup, pretty small. My favorite micro park is Rosek Park (with micro cache: Rosek Triangle, GCJBCH) up in San Carlos. Amazingly, it's about 1/3 the size of this one! TFTC.
Cooper Duper: Maggie (8) and I found this cache on a warm Saturday afternoon. Very creative camoflauge! We traded and then moved over to the playground to play. Things were going fine until I decided it was time to move on to the next cache...funny how she's not as entertained by smilies as I am. Thanks.
Permanent Diversion: Maggie (8) was most excited about the fact that I decided to ignore the no parking signs. She said, "I get to tell Mommy we broke the law." Hmmm...TFTC.
Great Masters: This was a really interesting cache. Thanks for showing us these murals.
Convolute of the Square: Interesting sculpture. TFTC.
Park it in the Park: Tricky hide! We looked in a bunch of places until finally noticing that something looked a little out of place. TFTC.
Grant Park: A good one! There was a huge potato bug on the cache container. Cool. TFTC.
COMMANDO BIRD! Woodland Headquarters: We were poking around cluelessly when the cache owners showed up. (Nice to meet you!) We tagged along while they made the bug drop, and got to admire this finely crafted cache. I just realized that I dropped a bug that I hadn't logged into my possesion. Sorry. TFTC.
Burning Brightly: Saturday...hmmm...IMO, A brazen attitude works best in these situations. Seriously, though, nobody was watching for the 10 seconds it took to get in and out.
Cupertino Foothills Walkway: A quick find. TFTC.
May 13, 2005
Edgewood's Back Door: FTF!!! 7:45am. I knew the way since there used to be a cache nearby. After dodging joggers, I made the find. TFTC.
Crystal Springs Dam: A fun multi with a nice view. I'm proud of myself for resisting the temptation to root around in the PO for the container. After a few minutes of looking intently (not touching!) in all the wrong places, the hiding place came to me. TFTC.
Crystal Springs Dam: A fun multi with a nice view. I'm proud of myself for resisting the temptation to root around in the PO for the container. After a few minutes of looking intently (not touching!) in all the wrong places, the hiding place came to me. TFTC.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
May 12, 2005
Cache me if you can!!!: Quick find once I got to it: There's construction and one-way traffic control along the approach now. I was suprised to notice that there are still some branches with leaves. The old tree still has some life; from a distance you wouldn't think so. There's some nice goodies in the cache, but I TNLNSL. TFTC.
West Hillsdale Park: First visit on May 9. In the interest of cache preservation, I decided to suspend my search when the homeless guy on the bench accross the way actually sat up to get a better view of what I was doing. Second visit. The dinner hour proved to be fairly quiet. Only one family, and they weren't paying any attention to my sneaking around. That beer was an FTF prize right? TFTC.
West Hillsdale Park: First visit on May 9. In the interest of cache preservation, I decided to suspend my search when the homeless guy on the bench accross the way actually sat up to get a better view of what I was doing. Second visit. The dinner hour proved to be fairly quiet. Only one family, and they weren't paying any attention to my sneaking around. That beer was an FTF prize right? TFTC.
Monday, May 09, 2005
May 9, 2005
Genen-cats: I came after work. There were lots of people leaving in their cars, and quite a few on the patio that looks out on the cache site. Don't they have some fermentors (or something) to check on? Despite all this activity, I was able to retreive and return the cache. It's amazing to me that there's no doggie daycare or kitty healthcare at Genentech. Isn't it a progressive and forward thinking company??? As I was leaving, I noticed an Abbott parking sticker on one of the cars, which caused a rush of memories to come flooding back, since I used to have one of those too. TFTC.
Hidden Coast: FTF!!! 1:45p. The best yet! This is my 4th GoToStJoseph hiking cache, and the most spectacular. What a great hike and an incredidble view at the finish. Today was perfect since the storm had cleared out the haze. I met up with a self appointed park ranger, who greeted me with, "Do I know you?", and seemed genuinely disappointed that I had ruined the solitude of his hike. Actually, I was suprised to see him there since my car was the only one at the trailhead. I suppose the mystery of alternative enterances will have to continue for now. Notes to future seekers: (1) The trail on the south ridge eventually takes you to the cache, just bide your time. (2) There are little sprigs of PO all around the cache. The next finder would be doing everyone a service by bringing clippers to cut it back. This cache was a fantastic experience. Thanks.
Hidden Coast: FTF!!! 1:45p. The best yet! This is my 4th GoToStJoseph hiking cache, and the most spectacular. What a great hike and an incredidble view at the finish. Today was perfect since the storm had cleared out the haze. I met up with a self appointed park ranger, who greeted me with, "Do I know you?", and seemed genuinely disappointed that I had ruined the solitude of his hike. Actually, I was suprised to see him there since my car was the only one at the trailhead. I suppose the mystery of alternative enterances will have to continue for now. Notes to future seekers: (1) The trail on the south ridge eventually takes you to the cache, just bide your time. (2) There are little sprigs of PO all around the cache. The next finder would be doing everyone a service by bringing clippers to cut it back. This cache was a fantastic experience. Thanks.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
May 8, 2005
Under the Bridge: I decided to come back this evening after pondering the area and realizing that I'd jumped to a couple of conclusions. A more thorough search revealed the cache pretty quickly. It's a nice decoy set-up. Upon returning to log my find, I noticed that the name of the cache and the clue have changed, and that the hide has possibly moved (???...or is going to move???) so now I'm not sure it was in the same place as this morning. As I was signing the log, I heard the VDBs approach. I quickly rehid the cache and we talked for a few minutes, then they made the find. Nice to meet other cachers. Thanks.
Marina View: 10:30a Only minutes ahead of Rogue Ramblers (nice to meet you!), we started searching in earnest together. As luck would have it, I laid my hands on it first after a short search. Thanks for showing us a new stretch of the marina. The kids traded, and we took the geocoin. I left my sig item. Thanks!
Marina View: 10:30a Only minutes ahead of Rogue Ramblers (nice to meet you!), we started searching in earnest together. As luck would have it, I laid my hands on it first after a short search. Thanks for showing us a new stretch of the marina. The kids traded, and we took the geocoin. I left my sig item. Thanks!
May 7, 2005
BADGES Picnic #2: Good weather, great food, fantastic company, and fun games. Three raffle tickets and three prizes: the drawing must have been rigged. That's just too much good fortune for one day. Thanks for putting together a great event.
BADGES Picnic #2: This park rules!: Another group grab. Once again, others did all of the heavy lifting to figure out the final location. I love group caching.
BADGES Picnic #2: Above Par!: That guy who was actually playing frisbee golf probably wondered what our group was doing. I'll bet we looked (and sounded) pretty strange. All those oooohhhs and aaahhhhs when the cache was finally found probably carried quite a bit. TFTC.
BADGES Picnic #2: BADGE over troubled water: I think I spotted this cache for our group. Marky put his waterproof boots to good work and retrieved it. I think this is where I picked up a CA 2004 geocoin. Claire and Maggie had fun running along the creek banks with the other kids. Thanks!
Cache to Eagle #4: Part of a big group after the BADGES picnic. Lots of socializing, prizes, and fun! Thanks for making this such a great park!
dump run: Others did most of the dirty work, but I was close by when they re-emerged on the road triumphant. Despite all of the complaining, I knew that a group with close to 10,000 finds between them wasn't going to just walk away from this one.
BADGES Picnic #2: This park rules!: Another group grab. Once again, others did all of the heavy lifting to figure out the final location. I love group caching.
BADGES Picnic #2: Above Par!: That guy who was actually playing frisbee golf probably wondered what our group was doing. I'll bet we looked (and sounded) pretty strange. All those oooohhhs and aaahhhhs when the cache was finally found probably carried quite a bit. TFTC.
BADGES Picnic #2: BADGE over troubled water: I think I spotted this cache for our group. Marky put his waterproof boots to good work and retrieved it. I think this is where I picked up a CA 2004 geocoin. Claire and Maggie had fun running along the creek banks with the other kids. Thanks!
Cache to Eagle #4: Part of a big group after the BADGES picnic. Lots of socializing, prizes, and fun! Thanks for making this such a great park!
dump run: Others did most of the dirty work, but I was close by when they re-emerged on the road triumphant. Despite all of the complaining, I knew that a group with close to 10,000 finds between them wasn't going to just walk away from this one.
May 4, 2005
No Undertakers or Blacksmiths: First visit. Easy, huh? Lotsa stares from drivers passing by. I'm not sure when would be a good time to avoid those, but in retrospect, 7:45 on a weekday morning was not a good choice. There's always next time. Second visit. Well, duh. I found it tonight in the dark without a flashlight. I suppose the sense of feel can be better than sight. Amazing I overlooked the spot the first time. One question: why is there a sign on the rock gateway that says, "SOLD OUT" ??? TFTC.
May 3, 2005
Grace's 9th Birthday: As I got out of my car at the trailhead, the GPSr indicated I was about a quarter mile from the cache. Given anotherone's log that he walked 1.6 miles, I was understandably confused. So, up the trail I go. Shortly, there's a choice. Hmmmm....I pick the one that seems most direct. Nearer, nearer, farther, farther, nearer, nearer, farther, farther, nearer, nearer, got it! Now I consider my position. Hey, there's my car way down at the bottom. Retracing my steps seems a bit boring, so I set out in the other direction. Lots of winding around, and plenty of interesting things to see. Pretty much the same distance back. All in all, anotherone was right. Thanks for the adventure. Oh, a very nicely stocked cache, but I TNLNSL.
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