buckyd's Geoblog

Apr 30, 2007

Coffee Anyone

By: Rocket Girl Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Came by just before the lunch rush, but there was still no way to mount a complete examination of the required areas. Well, I suppose I could have pulled a WalruZ, but then that wouldn't be nice... I saw several places within coordinate range that I could have tied my shoe, so I guess I'll have to bring more feet next time, as I'm not sure when I'm ever going to be in the central Sunnyvale area not during business hours. I remember when this location was all cherry trees and "keep out" signs. I think I liked it better that way.

Somewhere Hiding and Waiting

By: catomcat Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Knowing this area pretty well, I timed my visit to be in that lull between the start of late-morning Kindergarten and early lunchtime recess. I had horrible GPSr reception here and so spent way too much time looking at items reminiscent of other Somewhere... locations. As I was just about to give up, I thought I'd look around for any sort of other place one could hide something. I thought I was way off what should probably have been my zero point (everywhere in that walkway was 135 feet away from the cache, apparently), but I decided to examine things anyway. I touched, but didn't see, something that was a bit odd and just about didn't go much further when I saw what I'd done. Luckily, after some pause, I kept going... TFTC!

Mall Death

By: airshadowshow Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

I remember when they bulldozed large parts of the Town and Country center to build the mall, ostensibly to show that Sunnyvale was a viable and interesting town ("Cupertino has Vallco, Mountain View has Mayfield Mall, shouldn't Sunnyvale have one too?"). At the time, I thought the only thing remotely interesting was the arcade that it included. Today I viewed the yang to the yin of its birth. Certainly, death was progressing quite well before the lunch horn sounded. After reading the pre-emptive defensivness in the description, I was worried that I wasn't prepared for such an ominous-sounding cache hunt. I'm not tall by most people's definitions, had just left the dentist and was picking up a few caches on the way in to work without any sort of tools to speak of. Luckily things were placed in such a position that with a little effort I could sign my name to the log. Thanks for the cache!

SHOEFLY'S 4TH HOME

By: ingmccleary Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Found the replacement cache with very few problems after consulting the caveat in the description. Boy, there sure is a lot of ivy around here -- flourishing to pretty impressive heights! I used to frequent this park as a youngster, so it was nice to revisit on a very pleasant Monday morning. Found another item nearby in order to cover it just a bit better than I found it. TFTC.

Twisted Strands

By: Rocket Girl and DuckeyLee Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Came by to rectify a really really old DNF. Still had to search the title object quite a bit to find what I was looking for. This visit I was pointing about 70 feet away from the last visit, 'course I've changed GPSrs since that visit, so who knows what's going on there. The cache, indeed, needs a replacement container as others have mentioned. Its innards won't last for long like it is... Area was really clear of cars and people this time around. Did the nearby establishment go out of business or something? TFTC.

The Wall

By: WeBeDnD Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Wow, I haven't been to this location in at least 20 years. Back in the day, I used to work at an insurance agent's office right across the street from the cache location. I did silly adolescent stuff like putting things in alphabetical order and filing claims papers that no one would ever see again. Presumably they would be warehoused for a decade and then shredded. And I was paid like $3 an hour to do it! What a deal. Anyhow, the wall wasn't there back then (although the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce building looks much the same now as it did then). It looks like a chiropractor has moved in now. They probably don't have nearly the volume of paperwork these days... Thanks for the cache.

Apr 29, 2007

Tides

By: MotorBug Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Geo Baby did a bunch of walking around this area, now in pants since she had managed to skin her knee falling down between Fennel and Helen Fairborn. She was getting pretty tired of sitting in the stroller and looking at stuff. WalruZ was supervising, so I took a look around first and found the cache pretty quickly. This was the end of the line for us at this location today, so back we went (and on to another location, go figure). Thanks!

Helen Fairborn Memorial Bench

By: bullit Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

I examined the Palo Alto Baylands cache map directly on GC.com last night, and so when we got to this area I couldn't understand why I didn't have this cache in my GPSr. We haven't been around these parts in about 6 months, so I was expecting plenty of nice new caches to get. Anyhow, since WalruZ's query was a week old too, I got lucky and was able to call up the cache on the treo. WalruZ actually spotted it as we walked up. It was a sunny and warmish day, even on the bay, and Geo Baby had fallen down and skinned her knee (wearing shorts) just before arriving at this cache, so it was time to get Geo Baby's all washed off and covered with some sweatpants. Fishies serve to distract well during that sort of thing... TFTC!

Tear Down This Wall!

By: MotorBug Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Usually when we're out as a family, we only stop for what we all need, unless we're going right by something that's in someone's GPSr. That is, the route will typically include the most expedient for the most people. Anyway, I mentioned to WalruZ what my area map still contained, and he insisted that we head a bit out of our way to let me see this. Very nice! Thanks.

Dislocater, Jr.

By: MotorBug Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Glad I could solve this one onsite! For a minute there, you had me worried, what with all that Googling advice... We calculated, pondered, then continued on our route for the day and picked this one up along the way. Thanks for a nice walk out in the sunny and breezy baylands today!

Somewhere in the Baylands

By: MotorBug Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

We took a nice long Sunday stroll out by the water today, starting in the late morning and ambling around the bayland areas. I think it has probably been about 6 months or so since our last visit out here, so there were plenty of caches to contemplate without even having to try and solve puzzles to see if there were more we could get! This cache was the start of our journey, so we hit it fairly early on and Geo Baby was in top spirits with a full belly and lots of new stuff to look at. Early on seems to be a popular time to be out here!

Three Towers

By: digitalfish Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

A nice little find down an almost forgotten trail in an underused area! They might as well call this "Digitalfish Regional Preserve" now... We were about halfway to our final cache of the day, and Geo Baby was seemingly humoring us for this part of the walk. She was over her geocaching time limit, but the blooming mustard gave her something to hold onto (okay, well, pull apart) during the stroller ride. TFTC!

Ravenswood Parking

By: Pal_Al (adopted by digitalfish) Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Lots of places to look for a cache in the immediate zero point. After a little bit of searching in the wrong vein, I broke out the hint and read it to WalruZ, who immediately shifted gears and found the cache in no time. The signs nearby had us feeling a sort of ominous feeling about hunting caches right there, but all is well... Some strange old truck with two guys drove 'round as we were signing the log, then parked just outside the preserve gates and started climbing fences. Weird. TFTC!

View With A Bridge

By: digitalfish Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

That was a longer walk than I think either of us realized when we started out. Distance is deceptively shortened around here, heck I could even see my car parked at Ravenswood Parking for most of the walk and I certainly could at this location! Lucky for us, the goose on the trail made the whole trek out this far a worthwhile effort for the lagging Geo Baby. I don't think she's ever seen a birdy *that* close. It was a few feet from being eye-to-eye since it was about as tall as she was in the stroller! The real bonus was when Daddy got the fishy crackers out... In the meantime, we'd walked right by the cache site in favor of a man-made structure, so I did some backtracking while the goose filled up on goldfish crackers. I'm told this particular species has a pretty hearty digestive system, so I didn't feel too bad about it. I'm sure glad I buy those crackers in bulk at Costco...

Ravenswood Trailhead

By: digitalfish Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

While we were out at the Parking cache and then at Marsh Catwalk, this really old white pickup truck came around the parking area and ended up parking just outside the brown gates just near where this cache was. Then the truck occupants got out and climbed up the nearby fences, presumably to see what was going on in the yard of the nearby establishment. It seemed very weird. They were gone by the time we made our way to this cache, thankfully. We finally got Geo Baby out of the stroller here, after getting really tired of hearing "up, up"... Turns out she didn't really want to walk, she really wanted "up". Neither of us was game to carry her the rest of the afternoon, so after a little disagreement with me, WalruZ put her back in to stroll. I think she got over it... Thanks for the cache.

Marsh Catwalk

By: digitalfish Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

I know I checked that area twice, and in the same manner that WalruZ did when he ended up seeing it. I have no excuse. Geo Baby kept saying "up, up" from her seat in the stroller. Here? Not for a few, well, okay, maybe 10 more years... Fun little stroll out to the cache site. One can only guess what sort of commentary was going through Geo Baby's mind as we sheparded her stroller over and around many obstacles. Hopefully it isn't emotionally scarring.

Apr 28, 2007

No Right Turn

By: Lil Devil Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

Um, yeah. I'm just a tiny little itty bit too short. And parked just a eensy weensy tad too far away. And Geo Baby is just a wee bit shy of being old enough to understand how to be helpful on this one. I'll be back. With tall people.

Coyote Creek - North McCarthy Entry

By: DavidT21 Fisherwoman Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

Out with the baby after naptime, with the idea of expanding my clean boundary and running a little energy out of her. It was pretty hot out there, and Mallory wanted to get out of her stroller to look with me. I guess I'll have to come back without her to actually search properly. I found a very interesting hiding place, but a sweep of my hand didn't prove fruitful. Maybe two sweeps is in order...

Coyote Creek - Cottonwood Entrance

By: WalruZ Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

After nap Geo Baby was feeling a bit, um, active, so we went out to take a walk. I figured it was a nice afternoon out, so it would be wasted playing indoors. It was hotter on this stretch of the trail than I was anticipating, but we did about a mile, all told, from this trailhead. When we arrived, the paramedic team was napping in their ambulance, but I had plenty of distracting activity going on with the baby around to grab the cache. When we returned from our walk, they were gone. The cache was being lived in by a couple of spidery-looking things. Off to a nab few DNFs, and then to Costco (figured that my mood couldn't get much worse after the subsequent two DNFs)...

Apr 25, 2007

Somewhere within a Cache

By: catomcat Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Not chosen

The area looks pretty manicured around here, down to the nicely pruned ivy and no litter, so I was surprised that this cache has lasted! I spent quite some time at this park in my high school years mostly just passing time, but sometimes up to no good... It brought back some memories to walk past the picnic tables. Back when Panama School still existed, Ortega was a middle school, then it was closed (along with Panama -- I don't know where the elementary schoolkids went for those years!), now it seems to be back as an Elementary school. After finding the cache, I quickly signed the log and went on my way, as Ortega was just getting out. Can't quite keep up with the pace of progress sometimes... Thanks for the cache!

Hidden Sports Complex

By: stbk Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Part of the sports complex area gives the term "in the rough" a whole new meaning! Thanks for bringing me to an area I didn't know existed!

Reflexivo

By: Sharkz Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

It definitely blends in quite well, I got it on my second pass through. Silly me. I had originally anticipated quite a different search area, and so parked a ways away and took a nice long walk before going back to where I had parked my car to get to the cache site. I have a good friend that lives in the nearby complex, so perhaps I just assumed too much since I knew the area! Thanks for the cache!

Paced Hunter

By: The Petoskey Stones Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I used to spend a lot of time in this neighborhood when I was in high school. Back then, this was the site of Panama Elementary School that had just closed its doors to become a park. I guess they decided that there were too many open spaces around here, because they seem to have turned the school building area into houses now. Too bad...

Apr 22, 2007

Pacific Valley

By: Florian and Iron Chef Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

We were on our way up, per the description's instructions, but my street tires just wouldn't cut it on the dirt (mud) road after the rains last night. WalruZ and I got within .12 and then I was just losing control of the vehicle going uphill, so I had to back it down (swerving and sliding all the way). I felt the challenge of 4wheeling again, only this road would have never been a challenge with the right equipment! Even though my Jeep isn't 4wd, I know I coulda made it if I'd had all-terrains! Another, drier, time perhaps!

Tanks for the Memories

By: wendycat Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

From our nice illegal parking spot, there were no "No Tresspassing" signs on the way to the cache, but from the shape of the building I think some people have made a new home despite the signs posted at the other direction one could take to get to the cache site. I didn't see any one out and about, which made it all doubly creepy, but found the cache in good shape and in a relatively nice area (for that area). The roar of the freeway was almost deafening, though. TNLNSL, TFTC.

The Hills Are Alive...

By: WildmanJ E Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Quick grab for WalruZ on the way out of town. Thanks for the cache in Ft. Ord!

Albino Sempervirens

By: Touchstone Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

We had a rough caching start to Day 2 of our Big Sur weekend. It started just fine, including the free abundant coffee and some really great fresh fruit for breakfast at the Lucia Lodge. We decided to head south a bit from there, with the intention of checking out Limekiln SB. Unfortunately, there was no one manning the booth and we couldn't figure out where we could get a trail map without driving through the campgrounds, so we decided to save that trip for an "outing". Then we decided to head farther south and ended up getting my 2wd Jeep almost-stuck halfway up the muddy road to Pacific Valley. It was quite the harrowing and zig-zag slide down the road in reverse, once I figured out that I had lost most of the steering control that one would need to safely drive up. Next time: all-terrain tires that aren't due to be changed... So we read the descriptions a little more carefully and continue on to some spectacular views at roadside caches. However, this cache was the gem of the day. I thought the area would be a neat place to stay with the whole family, maybe even have a group of geocachers camp together, and the tree was very cool. I've never seen one before, and I've seen a lot of Redwood trees in my time. Thanks for capping off a great trip to Big Sur!

Great Wall of Gorda

By: Iron Chef and Eep! Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

We set out from our accommodations this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to find some caches (the free coffee at the lodge didn't do much to hamper our spirits either). Our first attempt of the morning was a rather disheartening DNF since the tires on the Jeep decided that they were too bald to do a muddy dirt road. This cache, however, was completely do-able after the rains last night and was able to pick my spirits back up from our harrowing drive in reverse gear while sliding and zig-zagging back down the aforementioned muddy road... There were a few interesting coins in there, but I didn't have anything nearly as interesting to trade with so I TNLNSL. Cache container was a little rusted shut, but I would imagine that folks coming this way would be used to that. Thanks!

Just Rock-N-Sea

By: Just a Short Walk Iron Chef Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

WalruZ and I made this our southern-most stop on our anniversary weekend. We were all pepped up from the free coffee at the lodge, an adrenaline-providing DNF and a nice easy cache find just before coming to this cache. Initially we chose poorly for parking, but there wasn't much traffic and it was easy to see and get to where we should have been. The cache was in a great spot -- and I was happy to see it was a place that we could get out and wander around a bit. The rock formations nearby were very interesting, and we pondered the prior uses of the general area for some time on the walk to the cache and back. It is always nice to find a nice old cache that has weathered the elements and eluded the non-cachers! TFTC.

Apr 21, 2007

Single Bridge

By: Dynamic Duet Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

I had a blast taking my wannabe-4x4-but-high-clearance-at-least vehicle down the full length of this road on a beautiful and dry Saturday afternoon. WalruZ didn't seem to quite have as much fun as I, but I at least got to relive the days back when I did own a 4x4 and used to tromp around dirt roads in the backcountry just like this one, although then I was looking for fishing spots rather than caches. At the cache site, WalruZ did the honors and we took a largish TB to venture on in the world with us. I was very very glad that we did this cache Saturday because we got ourselves in a slippery spot on Sunday morning (after it rained Saturday night) trying to do the dirt-road thing in road tires with no 4wd... Thanks for the stop!

Most Beautiful Spot Ever

By: esquimaux Lovesreward Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

A cache to start off our trip south to Big Sur for our anniversary weekend. This was a busy area on a Saturday morning, but people weren't loitering much and we were able to find it and be on our way quickly. Dropped a diabetes TB, but I neglected to pick it up to my account since it wasn't dropped the cache I got it from (Thirsty? in Cupertino) and now I have no idea what the number was to fix any of it. Maybe whomever finds this cache next can help straighten that mess out? Thanks.

OCR 36

By: richchips Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

We were just about done with driving the length of the Old Coast road and were happy to get to this cache site. We parked the car in a reasonable (?) spot and started searching for the regular cache. We didn't find it. Then, just as we had all but given up for the DNF, I started scrolling through the logs to find it was replaced with the micro cache, and WalruZ jumped back out of the car and had it in no time! Glad we didn't see any of the property owners today, all those signs along the 6 mile length of this road from the Coast road intersection seem like they mean business about staying on the legal property easement (e.g. road only). Maybe that would have something to do with the first missing cache?

Fly Like an Eagle

By: compass_bearing_north Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 5.0 Container: Micro

WalruZ and I were heading down to Big Sur for a nice anniversary weekend trip. We decided to stop at the caches we passed on the way, if only to check out the environs for a return trip someday. We thought, based on the ratings and log history, that we'd just run down and see what the area was like and had no intention of doing the deed to get this cache. Well, we were just about there and then it seemed like a waste to just leave without at least attempting to retrieve the cache. We couldn't spot it from our vantage point though, so WalruZ went up one direction to a promising spot and I chose another point that was a likely candidate. WalruZ' climb was a bit slipperier, but mine was a bit more sandy and prone to loose rock. After I got to one point, I was just not comfortable going much higher even though there were some tempting ledges there. I was just kicking down too many rocks (and losing my footing in the process). So, I wimped on back down to supervise. Turns out I could spot another candidate ledge and was able to direct WalruZ to it from his egress point. Yay! Cache was a bit, okay well a lot, wet and the log apparently is now what Hidey Hunter signed rather than the original sopping piece of paper. Thanks for the chance to watch the pelicans fly by!

Iron Ivy

By: Just a Short Walk Iron Chef Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

WalruZ and I were headed down the coast to the southern portion of Big Sur where we were going to celebrate our anniversary sans Geo Baby. We left Monterey at a nice early time in the morning so that Geo Baby could accompany Grandma to the PG parade and get a good curbside spot to see the firetrucks and clowns firsthand. So, we were heading down the coast with plenty of time to spare before check-in... We stopped to scope out this area and the d/t ratings of the cache looked like a promising jaunt for the morning. We weren't disappointed. This was a great walk from the turnout along a trail that was overgrowing with blooming mustard. A beautiful field of yellow dots popped up as far as the eye could see on the walk out, and even encroached into the narrow trail area. The trail itself, while a bit narrow, was well-defined by the guideropes and sloped gently down to the beach through a few switchbacks. Once we arrived at the cache site, it was seconds before we uncovered the logical hiding spot. Thanks to cache medic for replacing this worthy cache! Dropped a TB, too.

What's in the Box?

By: Just a Short Walk Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

I was puzzled by the puzzle listing for the cache, but WalruZ convinced me that he was certain that the cache was actually at the posted coords and he could find it without any puzzling, as I usually do our puzzling for us and like to take my time in doing it, too. But, we were here and the trailhead to this one looked really cool, so off we went. I enjoyed the walk out to the cache site; there was just the right balance of bush/tree/grass and not much elevation to worry about. When we got to within about 8ft of the coords according to my GPSr, I found a dead-ringer for the hiding spot and the hint confirmed that it really should have been there. Gingerly stepping around the poison oak, we widened our search radius in case some of the local wildlife that might frequent this seemingly forgotten part of Andrew Molera had dragged it elsewhere. I went one direction, WalruZ went the other. I had no luck in my direction, so I came back around to check on WalruZ where I found him sitting down in a nice green leafy patch of three-leaved stalks. "Oh, that's just maple" he said, grabbing a very nice specimen of poison oak by the neck and waving it around his arm and shirt. Um, yeah. Okay. Don't touch me until you get those hands washed. Anyhow, turns out the cache was by him, sitting on the sister-bush of the poison oak that he was strangling. I was just thankful that we weren't going back to hug Geo Baby before he got a shower. Of course, thats the perfect lead-in to my Sunday afternoon WalruZ v. poison oak story... Another time, perhaps? Thanks for the cache.

Gem of Big Sur

By: Team Jelly Belly Leap Frog Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

We visited this virt on our way down to the southern reaches of Big Sur (aka Lucia/Limekiln SB area) for our anniversary weekend and took this opportunity to visit the scenic spots on Hwy 1. I've been down this way many many times, but never stopped at this particular spot to view the waterfall! Thanks for showing us a neat view! I'm the one with the GPSr in the photo included with WalruZ' log. TFTV!

Twin Bridges

By: The Lazy A Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

WalruZ and I were headed south in the morning, and had plenty of time before arriving at our destination. It was a dry day, and had been dry in the region in the recent past, so we headed onto the road for a bit of caching. Turns out we went down the entire length of Old Coast road to where it hits Andrew Molera from here. It was beautiful and a fun drive. Made me all nostalgic for when I drove a vehicle that actually was a 4x4... Anyhow, I had a little trouble at this cache site initially, since the GPSr was pointing right into the private property areas, but WalruZ read me the hint and I found it immediately. I swapped TBs and untrackable geocoins here, then we opened up our roadside lunch bag to munch and bump along the way!

Apr 18, 2007

Monkey's Lair

By: ppp06059 (maintained by xmts) Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

I was here a few months back and didn't find this cache, although I neglected to post a DNF for a variety of reasons. Today I came back, having allotted something like a half hour to search, and walked right to it. My GPSr led me to a totally different spot than last time! Go figure. Anyhow, I had some serious caching mojo going on today, but I didn't want to spoil it by going to caches that I hadn't planned for, so I decided to follow my typical route after finding this cache. The TB listed on the cache page Froggy-something is not in this cache. Seeing as it was placed here in June of 06, either the TB owner or cache owner might want to mark this guy as missing now. Thanks for showing me the ample free parking in the area, and a nice little walkway.

A Real Looooong Walkway

By: garyhenry Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Wow - you weren't kidding about the length of that walkway! Oddlly enough, it was also very very very straight. Made for an interesting visual perspective on the looooong walk there. More creepy was the vacancy of the adjacent building. I thought the economy was doing a little better these days? Thanks for the nice walk, and the cache.

Thirsty?

By: stbk Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Like escooby, I take UCSC extension classes nearby, and when my schedule permits it, I often enjoy leaving early to beat traffic to this area and pick a cache or two to find before class. Today I really had some caching mojo or something, because for the three caches I targeted I found them in 20 minutes instead of the hour I had allotted. I didn't want to mess with that, though, so I headed on to my class after that to avoid any unplanned failures. This was one of those caches at a location you'd never know about or find if it not for geocaching. It was great! Peaceful, pretty, and made for a nice extended walk. The cache was in okay shape, although the log was a bit damp, and as advertised in the description. Thanks for showing me this little slice of semi-developed nature!

Apr 17, 2007

Fremont Owl Sanctuary

By: Blanston12 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Came by on my way to BART this morning after dropping Geo Baby off at daycare nearby. There was lots of construction traffic and the gardeners were landscaping on the other side, but I went ahead and did the retrieval anyway. Everyone seemed to be too busy and making enough noise to cover for me. That hiding spot has definitely seen better days. I liked Spoons' food, too.

Apr 16, 2007

Fremont Owl Sanctuary

By: Blanston12 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

[Call me an anti-environmentalist, but I was opposed to having this sanctuary established so close to our home. I drove by the site this morning between my normal coffee stop and BART, but saw lots of cars and assumed construction was still going on. From the times listed on today's logs, I guess it was a geocaching unevent and I should have stopped. Anyhow, I decided that after work on my way home was probably better to avoid con struction traffic, but wouldn't you know tonight the "wildlife" was nesting outside the front door in pairs of pairs in preparation for the opening of the sanctuary] smoking their way to oblivion. It may be just my offense at the sexism implied by the establishment and the final lines of your "clever" description, but [I suggest using the anti-kid-friendly attribute for this one.]

Apr 15, 2007

Top of the World

By: JimmiGee and PeggiGee Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Small

It was a very nice day to be hiking around Garin! Geo Baby thought it was a little too breezy, but with a well-placed towel around her neck she was good to go. Actually, she was a good sport all day, considering all the in and out of the backpack, the bad step into the cow patty at Gossip Rock, and the inability to walk after having said shoes quarantined in one of our last spare bags for those sorts of things... I came to the cache site from a little detour stop at the Ready for Caching site that took longer than I had planned. As I walked around I came up behind WalruZ and Geo Baby having a great old time sitting on the grass (note to self, check baby for ticks...). At least she was able to enjoy herse lf (she still had her shoes on at that point). Thanks for the cache!

Gossip Rock

By: dandm Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

We enjoyed a great day out in Garin today. This was our stop for lunch by the grinding holes, oh and the little matter of a cowpie-covered toddler. Well, maybe just her shoes and pant leg were covered... It basically meant that when we got really tired toward the end of the hike we couldn't let her out to do a little of her own walking, which was a little annoying seeing how she was a little annoyed at having to sit in her seat for that long. Ah well, builds character I suppose. Thanks for a great day of hiking!

Ready! for caching!

By: Royal Rangers Outpost 89 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

Today was a great day to be out hiking in Garin. The hills were green and I didn't notice a single tick all day. The only snake we saw was a teeny little garter snake on the Pioneer trail. From the looks of this container, I think I'm going to have to do an encore Garin performance if the owners can't maintain this cache. I cleaned out the tupperware, and removed the bulk of the "toxic" waste (which, save for the swimming batteries, mainly was mud). A freezer ziploc (thanks to Geo Baby's diaper stash) full of muddy toys and ruined swag was CITO'd out and only the most hearty and clean toys remain. Of course, that means there's like 5 things for trade in there. I took the old logbook, which is feeling a little slimy at the moment, in or der to dry it out. The Jimme and PeggieGee-provided sticky notes in the ziplock remain as a temporary logbook. I hope to return in a month or two with an ammo can and the old logbook. If you'd like to adopt this cache out, I live nearby and I'd be willing to take it on. Just fill out GC.com's form and indicate my username. Thanks for a nice hike.

High Road to Simba Rock

By: Todd Larsen (maintained by WalruZ) Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

I came up with WalruZ and Geo Baby for a nice day of hiking in Garin. I found the cache (it was in great shape -- almost like someone had recently replaced it...) and then WalruZ set to fixing things up for its relaunch as the original multi. I think he even found the other stage when working on it. I'm not sure how things ended up though, as I was entertaining Geo Baby with an embarassing rendition of "Old Macdonald had a farm" to keep her happy without taking her out of the backpack (she had lost her shoes in an unfortunate incident with a cowpie at the previous cache). As we were getting ready to leave the area, WalruZ caught a stray kite up here, and I had the right tools in my pack to help CITO it out. That was some fun! Thanks for the cache.

Apr 14, 2007

Old City Hall

By: WalruZ Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Nicely done! Although I still get the feeling that you are channelling JoeSpaz in some ways. The log might benefit from a ziplock... Thanks for the cache close to home!

Haunted DugOut

By: TeamAlamo Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

We socially-engineered this puzzle, and WalruZ had decided to pick it up on his way here and there, so I was left with this lone cache out there to grab. Today we had some family stuff to take care of, then Geo Baby conked out for her nap, so I ran out and did a little home area cleaning. I had to be careful getting this one since a patrol car was taking an unhealthy interest in why I was parked there on a Saturday. I think he passed by me three times. Pretending to sit in the car and text on my phone seems to be a reasonable strategy...

Apr 8, 2007

Picnic Area May Be Reserved

By: the_navigator_25 and fence_climber Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

If you drove by the park this Easter Sunday afternoon, you'd know that there was no way anyone was finding any caches in any part of this park... It was crawling with people. As for the cache site, I think there were people within 15 inches of this one. Maybe even closer. I took a pass.

A Rascal Ant

By: soupercamp Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

I think WalruZ had his caches mixed up on this one, but it was still mighty impressive to have a small hidden here! I enjoyed watching a set of parents hide Easter eggs for their little preschool girl to find in the grass. Thanks!

H.R.S.

By: soupercamp Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Geo Baby needed to get out and stretch her legs for a bit, which was good because a person was sitting nearby with nothing to do, and once our little girl came bounding around the side of the car he got up and went on his way. That left us free to search, and search we did. As soon as I could get Geo Baby away from the pebbles on the ground, we managed to find the cache! Nice! Thanks.

Ash Street Park

By: fox-myers Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

WalruZ and I took turns searching and watching Geo Baby on the playground. It wasn't too busy at the park today, but busy enough that we were glad that Geo Baby was in the mood to run around a park. I found my zero quite a bit off the actual cache find and hinted area (didn't call up the hint via web browser of my phone until quite some time after looking), so I took some alternate coords that are included in the log. I would definitely agree that it wouldn't make for a fun night cache, but it was fine on this Easter afternoon!

Longwood

By: soupercamp Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

This was incredibly well-done and is now to be considered as one of my all time favorite park hides! We were being watched, although we had Geo Baby as a good distraction, but I'm sure that those watching wouldn't be able to find it if they came poking around afterwards. And Geo Baby really liked the bucket swings too... Thanks.

Mom, can we go to the park???

By: clu5150 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Well, I had my chance to nab this fast, but then WalruZ walked right up to it. Not too busy around here for Easter Sunday, Thanks!

Three Little Fishies

By: Geo Baby Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

This cache has been at the top of my closest unfound list for some time, and because the cache owner is so cute and starting to talk so much better, I thought I should celebrate my 2000th cache by taking the owner, co-hider, and the stroller out for a nice Easter Sunday of playground caching capped off with this nice walk. It is very satisfying to see the cache owner able to do so much of the walk out to this one now; when she placed the cache I don't think she could take a single step. She's also reading much better and has m oved on to such works as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?" and "Goodnight Moon". She can even say "moon" and "bear"... {sniff} She's growing up so fast {sniff}. I had solved the puzzle, minus that 11th word, shortly after it came out to see what all the controversy was about. My conclusion was that there were two ways to count for that particular point, but even if there was some confusion, it was pretty easy to brute force that one digit using maps. Th e cache hide was vaguely familiar, resembling the cache owner's first joint hide with me (now archived due to progress in Pleasanton parks {sniff}). The weather was wonderful and the trails were busy. Thanks for a great day, and sorry about the shortened nap.

Penny For Your Thoughts

By: the_navigator_25 and fence_climber Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I had a few different types of evil hides I had in mind for this and started out going through them pretty systematically where the GPSr was pointing. I spent enough time looking in the wrong area for WalruZ to give me a nudge to the right area. Once I was within 15 feet, I came up with it fairly quickly; it was the second hide style on my list of things to look for. I was still reading 60 feet away, though. I've posted coords that might help someone else.

Comp your Cache

By: TeamAlamo Difficulty: 4.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

We were on a nice Easter Sunday drive this afternoon, in preparation for nabbing my 2000th cache today, so we swung by to finish this little guy off. Thanks for the puzzle, even though the cache page is awfully puzzling :D

Apr 5, 2007

Napping at the Salt House

By: GeoWomyn_SF_CA Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I saw the notification last night and figured that I could alter my normal commute just a stop or two to pop on by. When I got off BART, I popped out the GPSr and set it to acquire some satellites. Well, by the time it had I was already at the cache site from my memory of the map. Of course I was on the wrong side, but I could use the exercise anyway and I strategically wore my comfortable shoes in case of such a situation. Log was a bit tough to get out, but I found that donating some skin off my finger s did the job! Thanks for giving me a reason to delay getting to work this morning!

Apr 4, 2007

Kiss Of The Oceans

By: image415 and joescales Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I did some studying up a few weeks ago in case I had the extra time to stop by before or after a Parnassus day. I even took some notes and transferred them to my Palm since my noggin' doesn't quite work as well as I think it once did for stuff like this. I spent a little time on possible interpretations at Stage 1, but fairly expediently got some coords that could be considered in theme in one respect, so off I went. My interpretation of the hint was not consistent with the cache placement, but after an elevated survey of the area I was able to identify likely hiding places. When I moved out of the area, they were still constructing this, so it is nice to come back to see the final product, thanks!

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