Fun at Crags View

      I'm getting my BSN in nursing online through Chamberlain College. Woo Hoo! So many years this has been my dream... I'm loving it!   But, I'm between classes this week, so geo-hubby and I headed for the 'hills' - Estes Park, CO.

It's about an hour's drive if we go the quick route, but today we took the long way and got there in about three hours.  The high mountains had their first snow, and the elk at Estes Park are in the bugling season.  Our mission today was to find the last of the shimmering fall Aspens in the Rocky Mountains!

We found the Aspens!



Oh, another goal was to find geocaches with the combined iPhone app when we had service, and our sweet little  Garmin 60CSx that we haven't quite figured out how to use yet when we don't have phone service!

We found the geocaches...

Watch 4 Wildlife by Bug Ranger (GC2AEHJ)

Almost a nano, but not quite... Too bad I walked up the hill instead of looking at the sign.

Nice shoe! The geocache is not what you see.

Crags View by Jenmjess (GC314AM)

I had hoped to get a little video of the bugling elk at Estes Park, but the busy herd was too far away today.  I found a video you can watch if you want to hear one. He gave a bugle like I've heard before at Estes Park. HERE

But, this blog is about geocaches, isn't it?

We have more fun today finding two geocaches!  Crags View had more than we expected! Leaving the car door open, and ignoring the obvious shoe-toten geocache, we met up with Princess, Your Highness and Ebony!




Princess, Your Highness, and Ebony greet us at Crags View Geocache!



I saw the visitors FIRST! I get first dibs on the apple!



See, the best grass is just out of reach.



I am Princess, and I'd like an apple, please.



I'm Ebony, and I'd like to be first, please.

Oh, thank-you, thank-you. I've been trying to reach that grass all summer!

Crags View Geocache...We added lots of swag and made it a Favorite!

Happy Trails!
Take Care on the Journey,
Starcatcher ... Linda



Email: geocaching55@yahoo.com

Marys Lake 2 at Estes Park, CO

We've never regretted for a moment our decision to pull up stakes in Columbus, OH and cross the Mississippi to another time and place. (We often miss those we left behind, though!)

Here in Denver, we're only minutes away from high mountains and always unknown sights and forces of nature. And most excitedly for me, thousands of geocaches!!!

Last week, we took an afternoon and drove up to Estes Park, CO to see what was happening with the little beggar Chipmunks at the highway entrance to Estes Park. We wondered where the elk might be grazing or just hanging out in town. Or, if the roadway through the Rocky Mountain Forest might be open. It's often closed to traffic due to high winds or a snow storm!




This elk was grazing all alone beside the highway at Estes Park.
He took a moment from his busy schedule to pose for a photo.

 I always have my iPhone app open to unexpected geocaches we might get close to, and today was no different.

After feeding the chipmunks some really special peanuts from Five Guys, and making a sweep of the town for the elusive elk, we stopped to hunt for a couple geocaches on the radar!

Marys Lake 2 was worth the climb and few minute search as we kept walking past it. 

We sat on the boulders and enjoyed the view after finding the cache.

OK. This is a spoiler blog...Here's the Marys Lake 2 cache!
Very nice one indeed. Lots of swag inside, and we left some of our favorite swag!

In case you're asking...You're right. I didn't think to get a photo of Marys Lake!  But if you're a geocacher, there are over 200 photos on the cache site GC1HN6E  Marys Lake 2.

Take Care on the Journey,
Starcacher55 & Catseye55
...Linda & James

BoyScoutTroop548-AdamsEagleProject and A Perfect Day

After an exhausting, 15-hour days, weekend of nursing, I was ready for a 'sleep late' morning today, but my Little Paws cat woke me up at 4:30 a.m. with his ritual of purring and kneeting (a cat word) my face.

"Good morning, mommy. Wake up and play with me."

Today he got his toenails clipped!

This afternoon it was such beautiful, mild, mind-clearing, Colorado Spirit, day that hubby and I took a drive to Longmont where he said they had a Five Guys Hamburger restaurant. Inwardly I grumbled slightly because (he knows) I don't like hamburgers, no matter how well they are cooked.  But, he is such a sweet, loving, do-anything-to-please-me, hubby, that I let this one slip by.

I found my sunglasses broken on the front seat where some mysterious bandit had sat on them during the night. That produced a few grumbles, but hubby quickly found another pair under the seat. :))

It doesn't take much driving for me to get very bored. I want to eat, text on my phone, read a book, listen to the radio, and clean up the bits of trash on the floor as I drive. (I said 'want".)

Mostly, I sneak a peak at my GPS for Geocaches we are missing as we keep on driving.  Today, as I wasn't looking at the GPS while driving, I discovered we were passing by Doughery Museum Geocache AND a  sign that said, "Doughery Museum", so I screeched on the brakes there on Highway 287 and swung into the little drive for Doughery Museum.

The geo-website indicated that someone found this geocache just yesterday, and it was an easy find next to a telephone pole (probably NOT a telephone pole anymore), but there was a long wiggly worm under the rock, AND the film-canister geocache was totally crushed. The log was soaking wet and dripping with water. I DOUBT that whoever found that geocache 'yesterday' even turned over the rock.   I looked again at my GPS to make sure it wasn't a dated year ago on September 19.  Oh well, to each his own. We indicated that this goecache needs maintenance and moved on toward Longmont.

Wow! Did we enjoy the delicious, mouthwatering, Five Guys meal. I got what I term a "messy vege" that was good to the last crumb!  We picked up a few peanuts for our friendly backyard squirrel, ignoring the sign at the door that said, "Do not take peanuts out this door". (Or something like that.)  Cinnamon the squirrel will never tell.

In the parking lot of Five Guys, I searched for Geocaches that were not micros. We prefer finding the containers where we can exchange from our special geo container the nice swag I've ordered online such as Oakcoins, our personalized wooden Buffalo coins, and other Geocaching treasures.

We located one of the most convenient caches ever!! It's in a parking lot of a car body shop repair place, and it's called A PERFECT LOCATION (GC196QY) in Longmont. I suspect the owner placed it there because he walked by while I was trying to look inconspicuous. He had a "I know what you guys are doing" smile on his face.

Pictured below:

A Perfect Location (GC196QY)



Perfect for us!!! (I didn't take any rocks for my rock polishing project.)




After signing the log book, I left a trackable here.
It's half a heart. The other half was left in my geocache called, "The Road Less Traveled" in Denver.
We'll see if these two sweethearts ever meet up!




We left several 'goodies' in this one including the golden Oakcoin and our wooden Buffalo coins!
The trackable is called Friendship Tag 2 of 2.

While I didn't take photos of the BoyScoutTroop548-AdamsEagleProject, (GC2DZ8Q) we drove to a church where this cache was placed right out front. Our geocaching sense provided enough clues that geo-hubby jumped out of the car and found it right away.

The description goes like this: "This cache was placed to mark a Boy Scout Eagle project from Troop 548's 20th Eagle Scout.  Please sign the log and help transfer its contents to the far reaches of the globe!. The initial contents consisted of 10 trackable bug tags, placed by a different Boy Scout, marked with one of the Scout Law topics. Each bug has since begun its worldwide journey. The boys and parents look forward to seeing if you leave anything in their place. Thanks for playing."

We hope other loyal geocachers  will help this Boy Scout Troop be successful!!! 

Lastly, on the way home, I asked hubby if he would go with me to a geocache I'd been eyeing for months near our local Wal Mart. It's called Mondo's Tunnel Vision (GC21MP9). It looked big, dark, wet, and dangerous. Funny, it was anything but that!!!  We named it our secret homeless shelter because there was a grocery cart full of stuff way back in there. If we're ever homeless, we're going to board up both ends of the tunnel and live off the items in that grocery cart.  (Don't tell anyone our secret!)

Sorry, I didn't think to get a photo but it's our secret anyway...

And, a day without a Mondou geocache, is not a complete geocaching day.

Take Care on the Journey,

Your Geocaching friend in life,

~Linda

email: bestnurse@usa.com

Mary Jane

Such a cute mini lunch box!
It was hidden under ONE rock.

I went geocaching twice today! Once with hubby (CatsEye55) after we took mail to, Linda, the lady who used to own our house. (We still get her mail.)  And, then back again after lunch while hubby read his Wall Street Journal.  He doesn't enjoy the micros very much, so I go after those on my own.

After taking Linda her mail, we found Mary Jane after almost giving up. It is a "rock pile" cache. The instructions said to only move one rock...but that is for when you FIND the cache.  Before that, the entire parking lot of rocks is game for a turn over!  We had given up and gotten back into the air conditioned car because the hot sun in 93 degrees was getting to us. Then, I said, "It has to be here somewhere!"

I followed my GPS and walked straight to it.  The cache was so cute, I decided to make it a favorite even though I do not usually like rock caches. We were able to add some favorite SWAG of ours including our personalized Buffalo Dollar wooden coins.



Isn't this cute?  I ordered 150 of them, so the local
Geocachers should start picking them up soon.
I also sent some to my sister, Sandy,
(Zeestarcaching) in Tampa, Fl.

I found some others including some new caches by Fork L. Man whom I hope to meet someday.

Take Care on the Geocaching Trail,
~Linda (Starcatcher55)

email: bestnurse@usa.com

Remembering Buster - A new Geocache by Starcatcher55

Buster

Since my sister's beautiful Siamese cat, Buster, passed away last month, I've been promising to place a Geocache here in Colorado in his honor.  It took me longer than I thought.

First, there are SO MANY Geocaches around here that it's difficult to find one within the guidelines of not being closer than .2 miles from another Geocache. And, I had some guidelines of my own to follow on this one.

Buster did not like the dark. So, I figured his cache must be in a well lit area.  And, in addition, I hoped to find a place out in the open where his spirit could feel free.  I also ordered a special geocoin for the cache and other swag to make it really special for the First to Find (FTF) and others.

A couple weeks ago, as I was driving in wider and wider circles when gas cost $3.49 a gallon, I did find a place that seemed to please Geocaching rules and myself.  You will see in the photos how we did it.

Tonight, hubby and I drove to the spot to get coordinates and see if our cache container would fit. Then I worked a couple hours getting everything ready for the dropoff!

I was so tickled when it was "published' only about an hour later.

Here's honoring Buster.  You are not forgotten.

The cache and the swag



The bottom cover of a street light...A perfect spot!




And of course, A Lighthouse!




Another memorial close by...



...and bright clouds in the sky.

Love, Aunt Linda & Uncle Jim
Starcatcher55 & CatsEye55

Top of the Town



Geocachers meet up on the trail to find Top of the Town in Thornton, Colorado.
Marsh1944, Golden B's, and Starcatcher55
(Posted with permission)

When the new Geocache, Top of the Town, got published today it sounded like a neat cache with a view!  "Come to The Top of The Town and see the magnificent view looking in all four directions for miles and miles," the description by Geocacher BaldEagleMan said.
So geo-hubby and I jumped in the car to check it out. We might have been First to Find except we stopped for gas. As we pulled up to the coordinates on our GPS, we saw the beautiful Golden Retriever with her owners. "The Golden B's" who we've enjoyed meeting on the Goecaching trail before were just signing the log as First to Find.  We didn't mind. It's always great to see this Geocaching family! 

Here we are all happy and smiling for a picture on the 'trail'.

Mrs. Golden B's, Marsh1944, Starcatcher55, CatsEye55, and the Golden
Thank-you Mr. Golden B's for taking the photo

Happy Geocaching Trails,
Take Care on the Journey
~Linda AKA Starcatcher55

Mondou2 - King of Geocaching - Shakes My Hand!

I met up with a Geocaching great today!  He's known for his teeming variety of Geocaches in the Denver area - and perhaps even more around the world!  He's found every type of Geocache there is to find for a total of 36,415 caches (compared to my 115 finds). He's attended 282 cache events, and has hidden (owns) 967 caches to his name, according to his web page at geocaching.com

He and I met unexpectedly near a Geocache hidden on a small walking bridge near Denver. We shook hands, and then he stopped to show me how to use my Garmin GPS for Geocaching!

Oh happy day!!!  I went back to work jubilantly walking on air, feeling absolutely 'ebullient' after that quick lunch-break geocaching spree and the unexpected, captivating, meeting with "Mondou".

It started simple enough. I was working a 12-hour shift today being "oriented" by a Registered Nurse who's been in nursing about six months. I really tried to stifle my yawns and hide my absolute boredom as I was shown the nursing processes I've been doing for almost 50 years. She was really sweet and worked hard to train me well.  But, I'm just saying...  When I finally got a lunch break, I tore out of that building as fast as I could run.

The universe rewarded me for my sweet patience and incredible tolerance by presenting "Mondou'.

A highly respected geo-person whom I never expected to actually see and touch. (You know, the "handshake".)  lol

Just before the precipitous meeting at the bridge, I had purchased a veggie sub from Subway, surprised and pleased they had drive-thou.  I asked for 'two pickles on the side" and got two pickle slices in a little plastic container...Ok this is Denver, Colorado, not Columbus, Ohio where when you ask for two pickles on the side you GET TWO PICKLES ON THE SIDE.

Then, instead of driving back to work and eating in my car or in the employee break room, I decided to see how close I was to a Geocache I'd seen on the geocaching website last night. I'd eat my sandwich while looking for the cache.

Driving to the back of the strip mall, I saw that this one should be an easy walk to a little bridge where I might find the small cache called, "Don't drop this one" (or something like that) because there was a rippling creek under the bridge.

Some kids were running around, but I also noticed an older man walking and holding what looked like a GPS in front of him. 

Yep, there was someone else looking for that cache too.

I waited in the car until "he" got back almost to his vehicle, rolled down my window and said to him, "Did you find it?" A surprised look of recognition came over his face, then a smile, as he walked closer and simply said, "Yep".

"I'm Starcatcher55. Who are you?"

"I'm Mondou" was the calm, drawling, reply.

"You're Mondou"? I asked incredibly with a mouth full of cobwebs and a head to match.

Actually, I can't remember what I stammered next. I tried to tell him about the Kiddie Cache my sister and I hid and he made a Geocache favorite, but all I can remember is that I couldn't remember the name of our Kiddie Cache!!!! 

Somehow I got on the subject that I was still trying to find more information on how to use the Garmin for Geocaching because Garmin doesn't have very much info on that.  I pulled out my Garmin from the glove box and handed it to him. (Speechless still, I think!)

He fiddled around a minute or two. Took it over to his jeep and put in new batteries, made some adjustments, and then proceeded to show me the steps. I wrote them down and thanked him profusely. I'm sure he was a bit amused. 

As he turned to leave, I was able to think clearly enough to pull out one of my angel cards about my book and write the words, "Starcatcher55" on it as I offered it to him.

"Thanks Mondou" I squeaked again.

"It's Bill" he responded with a smile.

Jubilant now, I didn't even eat my lunch. I savored the moment before heading back to 'work".

Miss New RN had never heard of Geocaching and didn't seem interested.

But, I managed to slip my iPhone out of my pocket and text a quick message to my sister on my Facebook. "I met the King of Geocaching today! He showed me how to use my GPS!"

This might bring home two lessons...

1) Always be kind and patient because you never know how the universe will reward you.

2) You never know who you'll meet on the geocaching path.

Take Care on the Journey,

~Linda