My 100th Geocache Find

Yep! I climbed way up there. A first for me!

I wanted my 100th geocache find to be special, and it turned out to be just that way!

On June 21, 2011, we took advantage of the first day of summer for a free pass to the Rocky Mountains National Park. We thought it would be an afternoon drive, but instead got home 11 fun-filled hours later. The only thing missing was family and friends to share it with. I'll try to do my photo-best here.

Not only did I find an awesome "high-altitude" 100th cache, but parts of the 12,000 foot high Rocky Mountain highway was lined with 20-feet layers of snow; and a big, black, hungry, moose ignored us as we took photos of him.  Then, he sauntered across the highway directly in FRONT of us while we had front-row (free) seats!

We got a lot of photos of this guy before he decided to change course.

Before that, we stood in the edge of the forest almost an hour catching glimpses of a huge, brown mama moose and two lighter brown babies forging along a small creek. (I ran out of film on my 300 mm lens camera except for one photo of the baby moose.)



Mama moose going after her babies who had ventured too close to the photographers.

When we turned around to head back to the road, we discovered about 30 elk standing there just WATCHING us. Too funny.

The elk watching us watch the moose.
If you click on the photo, you might see the ones in the background.

 Okay, about my cache. When we arrived at Estes Park, we didn't see any of the usual herds of elk. But, checking for geocaches in the area, I thought we found one in a small field in center of town surrounded by inlets of water from the mountain thaws. (Photos of that and more, at Linda's Notebook ((later)).)


We followed this lazy, ice-cold, mountain water run-off looking for a path to the cache.



We thought the cache would be around here someplace.



Boy, was I wrong!  Instead, it was up on the big HILL overlooking Estes Park with the snow-covered mountains in the background.

Here's what my geocaching website had to say about the site:

“In 1904, Albert Birch engaged Carl Piltz, a blacksmith and a talented local stonemason, to build a small, one-story bungalow atop a rocky crag just north of the main street of the village of Estes Park.’ With a stunning view of Longs Peak and a dramatic location atop a perhaps 150 feet high rock outcropping, the stone bungalow with a massive fireplace, wrap-around porch on the south and west sides, and large window openings must have been a showcase jewel of turn-of-the-century rustic stone masonry craftsmanship. Unfortunately, on a bitterly cold night of December 21, 1907, the stone bungalow burnt because the floor joists under the fireplace had ignited. The massive stonework walls, fireplaces, porch and a staircase that partially descends the rock face remain. However, the ruins continue to be a cherished and romantic Estes Park skyline landmark since the unfortunate fire of 1907.” (Register Nomination, 2001).

If there is a short path, we didn't find it.

Instead, we took a huffing-puffing trail around and up the side of the hill. I had to stop and rest every few minutes, but it was absolutely worth every step!

The trail below - where we just came from



That's a cabin and an outhouse we passed on the way up, but I didn't use it!!!



I told hubby, ours was a two-seater. Remember the days, Sandy?





Whew! We made it! Still looking for the 100th cache, though!





Oh Look!!!  THERE IT IS!!!! An ammo can cache!!!



What we found...



What we left behind...



...and memories of a very good day...

Take Care on the Geocaching Journey
~Linda AKA Starcatcher55

Root Canal (It's a Geocache!)

WE TOOK... a little Colorado road trip this afternoon. Driving from Denver to the Red Rock Amphitheatre (where we did not stop because we've been there before, and that was not our mission today) on Highway 74 (or Bear Creek Road) over to Morrison. The mountain views were mighty awesome!  We stopped for a few minutes at a lazy little park bounded on one side by a rambling mountain stream and dozens of trails and picnic tables!

At Morrison we finally had Internet service on the iPhone to check for geocaches nearby. We also got stopped at a DUI check station where hubby showed the officer my Dr. Pepper and said, "This is the strongest we've had."  Okay, my eyes were clear, and my speech wasn't slurred, so he let us pass on by.

We did discover this geocache titled Root Canal, and as we expected, it was at the area of a local dentist close to our highway.  I was absolutely positive that the cache was hidden in these rocks on the side of the property, but I was absolutely wrong. (pictured below).

We almost gave up finding this cache!  It was the most unusual cache we've ever come across.

The logs posted on the website indicated that many had searched and failed!!!  Now we know why.

WE WERE STANDING ON IT.

Geo hubby said, "That can't be it!"

We picked it up from ground and shook it. We got out the pocket knife and tried to open it. We decided it WASN'T the geocache, and we put it back. We walked back to the big rocks and looked some more.

Then, I said to myself, "I KNOW that has to be it."

I went over and pulled it out of the ground again and BANGED it on the curb.

The top popped right off and out fell the container (black tube in center of photo) with the log in it.

 I held it way away from me as I unscrewed the top because of what it says on the red top...

"Stand Clear While In Use"

I think geo hubby was a bit miffed that this geocache was constructed in such a way that it might have been harmful to us. I told him to let it go and enjoy the day.

For compensation, I took the pretty rock on the left, and we placed another rock on top.

After all, geocaching rules say if you take something, you should leave something.

We also placed a Spirit of Sheba wooden coin inside the containter.

Be safe on the geocaching trail...

~Linda AKA Starcatcher55

Two Sisters' Kiddie Box - Geocaching With Sandy

My little sister came to visit this week from Tampa, FL. It was a birthday trip and the first we've been together in a couple years. We were both so excited that we couldn't sleep! 

While she's a geocaching.com member, she hasn't been able to learn how much fun it can be until we set out as a geocaching team while she was here. We re-visited local favorites of mine, discovered new ones, and today we hid our own new geocache called, "Two Sisters' Kiddie Box".  It hasn't been approved and posted yet, but we expect it to go online any minute.

Hiding a geocache takes thought and time. We had to decide what kind we wanted. What to name it. Where to hide it. How to get the most accurate GPS coordinates, and how to post it online for approval. It took most of the day before she had to catch her plane back to Florida.

Here are some photos of our "Two Sisters' Kiddie Box" and how we hid it!



Our "cache", "Two Sister' Kiddie Box" we hid at a small park near 144th and Zuni in Broomfield, Colorado.
I'll be checking on it and adding new goodies!





Sandy tried to make the opening bigger... Our cache wouldn't fit there.
 We had to find a better spot.



New spot. This one fits nicely!



Can you see it? (We hope not.)
P.S. I took down my GPS down after the coordinates averaged 955 times.
The coordinates better be SPOT ON!



Hint. It's close to this sign on the path.



Another hint. It's near the edge of this path to the lake.

 Take Care on the Journey
Happy Trails,
~Linda & Sandy