June 30 -- July 5, 2006

We took a road trip to Joes Valley for the Olsen Family Reunion. Along the way we found some caches. It was seven days of dust and dirt and few showers. FUN! Oh, and it was great to see lots of cousins.

Day 1: Redwood Shores to Elko

pride of winnemucca: I found it at dusk before quickly moving on. TFTC.

MEMORIES: This was a really interesting spot. The smell reminded us of garlic fields back home in California. TFTC!

K7XC #7 - NV Crossroads - Hwy 80 & Hwy 95: My son spotted a TB laying on the ground shortly before we found the cache. Thanks for breaking up our trip!

Day 2: Elko to Joes Valley

Break the Monotony of I-80 E1: The thermometer at the trailhead read 90°C, which I figured was pretty cool for this spot. The warning about scorpions and snakes added a bit of excitment to the trek. Thanks!

Between a rock and a hard place: On our way down to Joes Valley for a family reunion. The kids really appreciated all the great swag in this new cache, and we traded like crazy. I think it was Ted (6) who made the find. Thanks!

Electric Lake Overlook--Partnerships Benefit All: On our way to a family reunion in Joes Valley, and taking the route through Scofield which is new to us. A very pretty spot. TFTC!

4 Generations at Schofield: Our first time on this road. Thanks for the chance to stop, stretch our legs, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Day 4: Around Joes Valley

Shaw's Shower: We were visiting Joes Valley for a family reunion, and this was one of the closest to our campsite. A very interesting diversion and quite unexpected in such an arid spot. TFTC!

Day 5: Joes Valley to Cedar Hills

What Is This?: The family reunion is over, and we're on our way back to civilization. Our urge to cache is only slightly stronger than the one for a nice hot shower! Thanks for tempting us to stop and enjoy the view.

Shinob stash: On our way back to civilization after a family reunion. Everyone's along except the oldest, who's attending girls camp herself back in California. TFTC.

Potter's Pond: 'Only 0.25 mi to the cache? How difficult could it be?', I thought to myself after concluding there was no trail. (If there was one, I don't want to know!) It turned out to be a fun challenge with plenty of obstacles (a stream, a bog, dozens of downed trees, mosquitos, horse flies, stinging nettle, sharp branches...need I go on?) SL LN, but took one picture (there are 6 remaining) and plenty of memories. When the film gets developed, I'm the sweaty one covered with bugs and sporting the completely contented grin. Now, put that track up on the GPSr so I can find my way outta here!

Potter's Pond is the oldest cache in Utah, and the one I'd been counting getting since the start of the trip. Everyone else stayed back at the car, and thankfully so since it was a bug-infested bushwhack of the highest order. Lots of fun and good memories.

FAIR~VIEW?: So, we're driving down the canyon after a family reunion at Joes Valley, and I notice some folks climbing up the hill in a pretty strange spot. After a quick glance at the GPSr, there's only one conclusion: geocachers. So we stop and join the fun. Pretty soon, we realize that it's 4 star fun. And I'm wishing we were down on solid level ground. Thanks for the smilie, and nice to meet other cachers in the field.

Welcome to Fairview, Gateway to Skyline Drive: After that 4 star up the canyon, we decided that some refreshment was in order. Hey look! A cache only 150' away! Thanks for something more our speed. I picked up FamilyFun geotoken #136 which will travel home to California with us. TFTC.

Day 5: Cedar Hills to Redwood City

film set 04 "THE PHILIDELPHIA EXPERIMENT": A rest break on our way home to California. TFTC.

Launch Pad #3: We were looking for a bug to take back to California, but unfortunately found that the countdown on the launchpad had been halted. Thanks for the stroll in the sagebrush!

No swimmin' pools, No movie stars...: Well, we thought we knew where this one was going when we saw the freeway exit sign, but caching always throws some interesting twists. Oh, there was nothing out of ordinary about the hide, and we laughed at the joke, but just as we were getting ready to leave, the proprietor of the local establishment came out to greet us. It seems that he has noticed some unusual activity in the last few weeks: 'There's sure a lot of folks stopping by recently, and I wondered what's going on?' Well, I proceeded to give my best GC.com PR speech, showing him my GPSr, PDA with cache description, cache container, log sheet, etc, etc, etc. I figure you can consider the guy fully informed now. He was pretty suprised that all of this has been going on under his nose for over a year now, though, and did mention that he didn't appreciate the person who was digging around the base of his sign. Perhaps you should mention in the cache description that it isn't hidden on private property? TFTC.

Beowawe Rest Break I-80 Westbound: A quick break on our way home to California. We had the place to ourselves, and the only animals we saw in the 'Pet Area' were three huge crows. After making the find, we dashed back to the car since it had just started to rain. Thanks!

punto del hierro cache: John and Ted (6) made the short trek to the cache with me. There was great swag, and we traded! Thanks for the diversion.

OFF Agin(or on?) 2: I was hunting caches in different Nevada counties on the way home to California. I'm not exactly sure which one this one is in, but hopefully it isn't Washoe because I've already got that one. Thanks.

Give a man a "GHOTI"- corollary 1 to "OFF agin": I looped by this cache on the way back to the road home. I found it camouflaged by an old shirt. That's a first! Thanks for the diversion.