Frog's a Jumpin'! and Friend's a Makin'!

Well yes, here in Colorado and all points east, the frogs are awakening. Crocus are blooming, and Daffodils are starting to spill across the forest floor!


The title of this posting (Frog's A Jumpin'!) is the name of a new Geocache that came out today. Since it was fairly close to home, I hurried over to see if I could be First to Find.  The following is how this cache was described by the geocache owner, "Broncoman61"


"On a beautiful day...the sunset will be awesome and give you a gorgeous view of Croke Reservoir with the mountains far in the background. On an average day...it's still a great view of the reservoir with the mountains far in the background. On a bad day...you might not see the mountains, but the relaxing calm of Croke Reservoir is still worth the view. Take a seat and relax for a bit. You'll be glad you did!"


You can hit me now for not taking a photo, but the strange story is as follows:  "Not FTF but found a new friend at this cache site! When a man walked up to where I was searching, I asked which Geocacher he was. He responded, "What is that?" As I explained what I was looking for, he (being at a lower level than I was), pointed and said, "I see something right there!" ha ha The non-Geocacher found my cache!!!! There's a story with every find!"


The Frog's a Jimpin'! Geocache was not a micro on the bench as I expected. (That's why I pack a small mirror in my geocaching kit.) It is actually like a magnetic business card attached on the bottom of the small trash can that's attached to a pole. 


It's a beautiful 70 degree day here in Denver, CO.  The cats beg to be allowed into the backyard, and the dog wants a very long walk. 

Our previous spring flowers in New Albany, OH (near Columbus)

Hubby has a job interview today at Home Depot. After almost three years of being unemployed, our fingers are crossed!


We hope this day continues to smile on us and all of you! <3 (that's a heart sign online).


Take Care on the Journey,
Your friend in life
~Linda


Linda's E-mail: geocaching55@yahoo.com

Heard It Through the Grapepine

When this new geocache came out today, I thought I'd be First to Find, because I didn't see any postings on the geo website that anyone had found it yet. Boy, was I wrong.  But, innocence is bliss.


Seems the greater part of the local geocaching community beat me to it an hour earlier!  While I searched up and down for over an hour all alone not finding a speck of it! My GPS said I was 'spot on", but all I saw was a great big pine tree with lots of tiny baby pine cones!


Finally, in desperation, I texted a plea for help on the geo website for the person who had hid it. Nothing. No response! I vowed not to leave that spot until I found it, but I was getting a little worried after an hour had passed. The neighborhood dogs had gotten so used to me that they went back their dog houses thinking that anyone silly enough to walk back and forth around a pine tree for an hour wasn't worth barking at anymore.


As I leaned on a large branch, I happened to look up - higher than before - and there it hung!!!! Way up there much farther than I've EVER climbed a tree! Wow! After all the hints in the posting! After all that time of not looking UP! I felt foolish and frustrated that now I couldn't even reach it. I figured this was a dead end. A disappointing DNF!


Stopping by to replace our Bib and Fibs geocache that has been muggled (stolen!) four times now, I headed home to bewail the Did Not Find to Geo Daddy Jim.


"Climb a tree?"


"Yes, it's way up in a TREE!"


"Why, I can still climb a tree. Let's go!"


The rest of the story is in the photos...

It's up there somewhere. He doesn't see it yet.

Don't catch your pants on the limb!

Success!!!

The bones aren't what they used to be!

Later, I discovered the funny story of how Geocacher, "Lord Mike" was FTF earlier in the day, but was happy to re climb the tree for other Geocachers who needed a hand up there. 


Geo hubby says this might be the last tree he ever climbs, but it was worth the trip for Geo Wifey!


We signed the log and left our swag. 


On the geocaching website, this one is called "Heard it through the grapepine" (case sensitive)


Take Care on the Journey
Your friends in Geocaching,
Starcatcher55 & CatsEye55

The Majestic Rocky Mountains
(Linda Meikle photo)

I absolutely love geocaching in Denver at sunset. I can always look over my shoulder and follow the setting sun as it lights up the majestic peaks with its golden beams of light!

Every sunset is vastly different and unforgettable.

Today was no exception, but there was an additional treat never before seen while gathering numbers in nature that Geocaching provides.

But, let’s follow the story from start to finish

.

View for the Birds (GC2B7C9) is described as the top location for bird watching in the State of Colorado. The East Lake Number 3 is profiled on the United States Geological Service (USGS) Eastlake Topological map, according to information posted on the cache’s website at www/geocaching.com.

It says, “This place can be crowded with good numbers and variety of waterfowl. It also boasts a cattail marsh large enough to host any marsh-loving species. To top it all off, there is a nice patch of thick, second growth cottonwoods to trap migrants. Take the time to read the signs to see what birds and animals you may see.”

Braving a brisk, cool, wind that comes straight from the Rocky Mountain Front Range that we live close to, I found this fairly new, small, Geocache container stuck in between the posts where photos of the birds are located. I was third to sign the log, and I added a small, plastic, yellow toy teddy bear to the container.

Walking back to my car, I noticed a group of a half-dozen boys playing a noisy game of basketball. Then, my cell phone rang, and I was delighted with a call from youngest son checking in with up-to-date news of how his new teaching job is going. (Great!)

As I said bye to youngest son, I noticed that the basketball players had suddenly stopped playing and stood together looking towards the lake I had just come from.

I opened the window to look and listen…

What in the world would stop a bunch of teenagers from an active game of basketball?

Then I saw him! The silhouette of a man walking against the setting sun on the park trail. He was playing a bagpipe! I quickly got out of the car and listened, entranced with the haunting melody of sounds floating across the lake!

Then, grabbing my cell phone (camera), I ran towards the young man who had no idea of all the interest he was attracting.

Taking short cuts across the field, and huffing through the trails, I finally caught up with him and breathlessly asked, “Can I please take your picture for my Geocaching story?”  He smilingly obliged and you can ‘see” the rest of the story.

Bagpiper Ryan poses for the Geocacher

What a stunning treat today. Just imagine with me, the haunting sounds of "Amazing Grace" and the evening, sunset, solitude of a man and his bagpipe.

Take Care on the Journey

Your Geocaching friend,

~Linda aka Starcatcher55

Angry Birds Cache (Down by the Bayou)

Today was such a cold, blustery, winter day here in Denver that I hesitated going on a second search for this new cache very close to our home. Geo hubby and I went after it yesterday, hiking down a walking trail to a lovely series of lakes we didn't know were so close by! But, we followed the wrong path, and our GPS said we had to turn around and go another direction. We decided we were far to hungry to wander around in Coyote territory any longer!

This afternoon, the Angry Bird cache continued to bug me. I asked hubby if he wanted to come along but I think it was a bit too COLD for him.  lol  He said he needed to take DeeDee for a walk and the Wall Street Journal beckoned.

The GPS indicated a false sense of security as it had a straight arrow toward the cache hinted to be near a bird house (in a tree?). Arriving at that location, the GPS coordinated indicated I had to turn left and follow the trail beside a small lake (or river). I'm not sure because it was frozen over!

As I got near ground zero, I practically crawled under a fallen tree and started down another path before realizing the cache was on the other side of the path!  (That's what happens when the GPS is slower than the walker!)

Turning around and scooting under the tree branch again, I crossed the path and headed through tall frozen grass toward the desired coordinates. Suddenly, it had the cache behind me again! Oh boy, I almost gave up. My hands were frozen from holding two GPS units in front of me for about 20 minutes in the icy Front Range Mountain wind.

Here's a photo of my surroundings...



I didn't see it yet, but the small light spot on the far left of the photo is the bird house where the cache was located!



This is one of the small lakes we didn't know about.
The cache is about 10 feet to my left, but I'm still walking in circles!

I enjoy Geocaching because of the challange (just wish it wasn't so cold right now). I love adding another find to my Geocache website at http://www.geocaching.com (Starcatcher55). This one should make #160 finds for me. Of course that's nothing compaired to my geo friends the Golden B's who have found 4,345, or our local geo master, mondou2 who now has 42,490 finds to his name!

So, I continued to circle closer and closer to my cache-of-the-day until I finally spotted the bird house in the thicket, and after plunging into the thick coppice of wood, thankful that it WAS winter and all the snakes should be sound alseep, I saw the cameod 'cache smiley" waiting for me in the neck of the tree just beneith the bird house!



Bird house at the top, and geocache container at the very bottom...



Angry Birds Cache!



I sure did hope there were no slithery snakes to crawl up my pant legs, or a hungry Coyote hiding there!



Bye-Bye Angry Birds Cache, slithering snakes and hungry Coyotes!



After all that, Angry Birds Cache, is one of my favorites!

 Enjoy the Journey
~Starcatcher55 aka Linda

Need Help With My Garmin 60CSx for Geocaching

When I met Mondou2 on the geocaching trail the other day, he suggested we go to some Geocaching Events for help in learning how to download geocaches and find them with the GPS on the trail. I work every weekend as a nurse 14-hour shifts, so that's not going to happen anytime soon, although I can't wait for the opportunity to meet some of our favorite geocachers!

So, I thought about asking for some help here on my blog.

I've figured out how to download geocaches from geocaching.com to the GPS, but can't figure out the specific buttons to push on the Garmin in order to bring them up and follow each one on the trail. 

We have a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx.  (Thank-you, oldest son!) There's not much in the instruction book on Geocaching. There are some YouTube videos, but it hasn't been quite exact enough for me to understand although I'm usually very computer literate and a fast learner!

After I download geocaches, how do I find them on the GPS to 'name' them so I know which are which.  IE: Page Key > Mark Key>Menu, ect...

Then, when we're on the road, how do I find them again on the GPS. What buttons do I press to get there.

Pretend you are at home downloading caches for an outing.
Show me the steps for downloading and naming them. (Or, however you do it.) (I think I know this.)
Then, on the road, please pretend you're finding the caches you want and what it will look like on my Garmin.  I need to know the keys to push in what order.

You can comment here at the word comment at the end of this posting, or send me an email from YOUR email at geocaching55@yahoo.com

If you are a geocaching member, you can find me on geocaching.com as starcatcher55 and send me an email from there.

I would be forever grateful.

Your Geocaching friend,
~Linda ... Starcatcher55

geocaching55@yahoo.com

Legends Tree and The Woodpecker

Bet you can't see the geocache.

Don't forget. This is a spoiler blog, so there are no secrets. We're assuming either you don't do geocaching in our neck of the woods, or you've already seen them and want 'the rest of the story'.

Legends Tree (GC35NMK) came out (was published) as I was leaving for a 12-hour day of nursing. It wasn't very far from our home, and I really would like to have been First to Find (FTF), but the geocachers who got there first are some very favorite geo-friends, so I felt better when they posted as FTF, and what fun they had with their friends and grandchildren tagging along.

I drove over the next day while waiting for some meds to be refilled.  At first, I couldn't find it. Either my GPs was off, or I was worried about the mailman who was eyeing me suspiciously as he delivered mail to an apartment complex close by.

There was a cold wind blowing, and I'd forgotten to bring a sweater so I got in the car and vowed not to leave until I found this one.

Suddenly, a lightbulb idea!  Hubby has been talking about being able to turn on the GPS when we're close to a geocache and then follow the coordinates listed on the iPhone. (How complicated is that?)  In desperation, I tried it.  WORKED LIKE A CHARM!

Bet you see it now!  How cool is that?
Legends tree by Granpa Tuggalong (GC35NMK)

I asked Geo 'Granpa Tuggalong' how he did that and he replied by email this:

As I thought of placing a cache in a tree, I thought, "Woodpecker". He makes his holes at such an angle that the acorn will never fall out. Instead of damaging the bark and nutritional source for the tree, I found a rotten knot just the right size. The rest is history. Glad you enjoyed it.

Now that is what I call a perfect Geocaching day...

Many great geocaches to you!
Your geocaching friend,
~Linda ... Starcatcher55

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