buckyd's Geoblog

Jun 30, 2007

Been Here Yet?

By: freyfamily & Mannard Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

The little park was cool and quiet on a Saturday late morning, which surprised me. We had Geo Baby as cover, and this equipment is just her speed. Unfortunately she was suffering a little fatigue from our walk to see Element #11 and couldn't take advantage of the playground as she normally would. I looked just about everywhere one could look in the whole 2nd half of the park (GPSr wasn't really cooperating in this little pocket), then WalruZ reads me the hint and I felt like an idiot. Had it in hand pretty quickly after that. Thanks!

Element #11

By: GeekDad Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

We had a nice morning stroll to start a day of caching in the various ecosystems of Palo Alto. After a few starts and a discussion about "could we or couldn't we?", a security truck zipped by and we decided that we'd rather not. Maybe that was me deciding, since I have no idea what the fencing is like on that other side... Anyhow, as we were rounding the bend the long way, we could see a smattering of activity at the nearby corporation, including two people running their dogs on a nice grassy area, which caused us to wonder if they were employees or if security allowed that type of thing. I can't imagine coming back to work on the weekend just to play frisbee with my dogs... Gotta be a nice park or something nearer to one's house, eh? I retrieved the cache from a location quite in line with the hint, and we enjoyed the shade for a bit. Thanks!

High School English Class

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

I caught up with WalruZ and Geo Baby on the way to this cache, after a little detour to pick up some TBs, and after a nice lunch at Hobee's. We had a nice walk to the cache site, and I found the cache in a nice hiding spot after WalruZ searched some less-nicer places it could have been. Geo Baby had the added pleasure of watching a train zoom by, although I think its proximity and speed scared her just a little. I used to like English class as well (can't say the same for my high school math courses), but for some reason I don't ever remember reading short stories in school! I guess I'm more of the digest-a-whole-novel-in-one-sitting sort of person. Historically (since it doesn't happen much these days t hat I can), I've always liked to block out a whole day (and evening, sometimes extending into night) and just sit and read a book at home. Accordingly, I'm going to recommend one of my favorite short novels -- a little too long at ~100 pages to be a short story, but still quite readable in a snippe t of time. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. This story is a staple of most High School English programs and, like most good reads, it just has to be read to really be enjoyed (versus watched on a screen): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men Thanks for the cache!

Tales of a Sea Cow

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

Mooooo! Came out with my own Marine Mammal and the little one to find this cache. I don't know how you manage to keep finding places to put things out here! We were making a Palo Alto day of it today, but it seems like most people have left the area for the holidays. We got a table right away at Hobee's during prime lunchtime, we got parking right at the duck pond, and there were hardly any people to worry about out here. Amazing! Thanks for the cache.

Pickleweed

By: MotorBug Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

We were out for a day of caching in Palo Alto, seemingly following the cache owner by about 4 or 5 hours. Element #11, Been Here, English, Seacows... By the time we hit the baylands, it was mid afternoon and Geo Baby (on a shortened nap schedule, apparently) decided that she wanted to walk too, so we took our time going from the Seacow to here. On the way, she was laughing a little too much while running (running takes concentration donchya know) and did the traditional faceplant-to-a-Motorbug-Baylands-cache and some histrionics ensued. We caught up with the WalruZ and the stroller right by the cache site waiting for us. Unfortunately Geo Baby couldn't search this time since she wanted to wash off her palms (little scrapes) with water and hug her mommy. WalruZ then did the honors of retrieval and we went on our way. Now, you're SURE that's Pickleweed, right? Thanks!

2475 Faber

By: vaccine Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

We found this quick little cache on our way to visit the ducks and watch the airplanes at the Duck Pond. There are an awful lot of cars lining the nearby street, although the businesses seem to be empty this weekend. Either that car dealership really has a space problem or the trailhead for the bike trail is really popular. Funny thing was that there were no bike racks on the cars, so it must be a space sort of thing. As for the cache, well, the title says it all! Thanks.

Embarcadero Bug Depot

By: OneAngryPuppy and Frivlas Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

We decided to amble around Palo Alto today, and I don't know exactly what brought us around this way (WalruZ was driving, so it probably had something to do with some English class or something), but I was hungry and I remembered eating at a Hobee's here several years ago. So, it was off to Hobee's for lunch, and despite the throng of people hanging out outside the shop, they had a table available. Yay! I have always really liked Hobee's food, mostly because they serve unique things that you don't get at practically any other restaurant, and after living elsewhere for 14 years or so (Hobee's is sooooo peninsula/Bay Area-only!), I really appreciate having it around now. It is also nice to see that a Town and Country is still upright, mostly... After lunch, I headed this way while WalruZ and Geo Baby got things together to start the journey to the high school. I had forgotten it was a letterbox at first, and so was really puzzled when I headed across the street and my arrow was pointing back the other way! So, out comes the PDA and the n it all makes sense. Not. I got so confused reading all the parentheses that after getting through it on the nondescript cachemate page I didn't know what applied or what didn't. I was fairly confident that I was still looking for an ammo box, and that I wasn't going to be walking too far to do it.

So, I looked around.

This type of area is what I enjoy about Stanford. Not a lot of concrete, when you stop to think about it, and areas where there aren't a whole lot of people around too. Most Universities will eventually succumb to concrete in the name of progress, expansion, and more places for people to sit and do Important Things. This is particularly true of two of my former haunts, UCSF-Parnassus and Columbia, which, now sandwiched in between multi-level residential buildings in more urban settings, have a bit of a claustrophobic feel to them. Even UCSD has chopped down part of their eucalyptus grove to put up a mini-mall (okay, fine, it's a student center that looks like a food court). But, I digress, back to the cache... Hmmm, am I on the road less travelled, and if I am, am I turned the right direction for the heading/bearing? Who knows, but I see lots of prime cache hiding spots to examine... After a little while I started to become more discriminating about the spots I was examining. That was when I saw it. It was beautiful! The mix of mystery and opportunity and cover from noncachers. I went for it. I took the long way around it to prolong the suspense. I was not disappointed.

It was in great shape. There were a ton of travellers in there! I almost forgot that I was supposed to be catching u p to the stroller at the high school. I went through every TB and TC there -- most of which have no indication of where they've been or where they want to go. I couldn't decide. I hadn't brought any with me (because I don't have any in my possession at the moment), but I had to have one. But the re are so many here; I couldn't choose. I finally decided that two coins, the likes of which I've never before seen, and a duckie TB were The Ones. I don't know where their preferred destination is, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. They will be moving on before the week is out (assuming our upcoming mini-vacation plans aren't totally counter to their goals). I replaced the cache and quickly went on my way to meet up with the family. Thanks for the cache!

Shel Silverstein's story..

By: vaccine Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Quick grab on our way out to the Duck pond, then off to Byxbee for the new hole-fillers in the Baylands! We could hear the thwack-thwack across the street, as well as the humming of small plane engines. It was a unique auditory experience! Thanks for the cache.

Flyway Reststop II

By: Mr. Ranger/Team Shadow Cat Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

Third time's a charm to find this cache. The last two visits out to this area the cache had been missing, so I was excited to get here and not have to DNF it. Yay! I'm anxious for Geo Baby to get old enough to come out here and enjoy the interpretive center (the way I did when I was younger). I remember being very scared to walk out on the boardwalks back then. Not anymore! Thanks for the cache!

Jun 24, 2007

Tee Off

By: Pedalman Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

Tromped over with a GBA group from our state of being well and healthy at the SCC parks wellness festival this afternoon. Found the cache, the course, and a nice bunch of thistles in short order. I knew there was some reason I wore the long pants today! Lots of fun, Thanks!

Jun 23, 2007

Play Ball!

By: Ukrainian_by_tha_bay Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

WalruZ and I were out with the kids today doing a little San Francisco cache maintenance and picking up a few here and there on our travels from maintenance to maintenance site. This was our last caching stop of the day, and we almost DNF'd it when our GPSrs led us to The Wall Of Ivy. We read the past logs and persisted to find the cache. It's a nice park, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like after the construction is finished. K9Krazy brings up some good points here: cache container is not watertight (even with a rubber band) so the contents will be soaked after the first few wet days we have this winter, and in its current position, particularly with no cammo or black duct tape covering it, it is likely to be discovered by kids/dogs/gardeners and taken (or mistaken for trash) before then. Congrats on your first hide; one of my maintenance jobs in SF today was on my first hide {{nostalgia}}. TFTC.

Young Folks

By: Memoir 2007 Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Geo Baby and I looked quite normal sauntering up at a baby pace to the cache site, and able to stop for a bit fussing at her jacket while both of us picked at the cache contents. The cache was pretty exposed, so I tried to rehide it in such a way as it doesn't draw your eye as you approach. Perhaps they've cut the bushes back recently? Cache container doesn't seem to be very watertight, but no real problems yet with the contents. Thanks for the hide.

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

By: geovirus Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I wandered around for a while kicking at the ground before WalruZ managed to zero in on the correct spot. I was surprised that the neighbors and passers-by were too busy to even stare at us funny, or maybe this sort of thing happens enough in The Richmond that it's commonplace! TFTC.

Grab the Trunk!

By: benya and OwlCacher Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I did a pretty thorough grabbing of the nearby trunks, and then decided that I might be a bit vertically-challenged and tagged out so that WalruZ could do his thing. Luckily, just at that time, the ultimate parking spot opened up! Parking Karma -- Yay! WalruZ did the same sort of wandering pattern as I for quite some time, and then found the cache at the location I had originally suggested. This is one cache (of many, really) that I'm glad that I brought the whole posse out to look for! Thanks.

Jun 22, 2007

10 Essentials

By: workerofwood, with thanks to Vaudesir Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

It's a long and convoluted story as to why we were at this particular REI this afternoon, rather than our local haunt, but I'll try to explain in less than the 4000 character limit [:o)]. Geo Baby has been feeling under the weather, and today was my day to burn a sick day and stay home with her. Except that we were asked to go visit a lonely cat in Mountain View, and I needed to go to REI and replace a hexag onal bison tube that I managed to lose last week before I could actually use it to replace a cache of mine that has been disabled for, like, ever in San Francisco. So, that was the plan.

Only, we get a call when we're halfway there that the cat's owners have actually returned, and we shouldn't pop by. No, really, don't pop by with the sick kid. Gee, what should I do? Geo Baby was still coughing a bit, so it isn't like I should take her to a playground a nd have all the stay-at-home moms evil-eye me for bringing daycare plague to their dominion. Instead we took a stroll out to some caches near Shoreline, where her projectile germs could only harm the geese (as if, those birds are Made Of Steel).

After that, Geo Baby seemed to be much better (may be the fresh air, maybe the nap -- you decide), so I popped over to the new REI. Unfortunately they didn't have any black bison tubes at all, so I left empty-handed (not that I wanted to, since there was a sale and all going. But the "life is good" t-shirts weren't marked down and Geo Baby was sta rting to grab stuff, even when riding on my shoulders, so it was time to leave). The cache made things all better, though. Thanks!

Element #2

By: GeekDad Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Geo Baby was still coughing a bit this morning, so it was my turn to burn a sick day and stay home with her today. It seemed like she could use a little fresh air (or maybe that was me), and what could be fresher than a breezy bay stroll? We really enjoyed the walk and although I don't think she slept quite as much as she should've, it seems like her cough has subsided. Nothing like a little sunlight and a cool breeze to cure what ails... We found this cache after an epic stroll out to the End of the Road, so I'm glad I chose the path wisely to get to this cache! Cache was in great shape. Traded pins and rolled on down the path, thanks.

They Call This Art? -

By: southbayday Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Fabulous way to hide a cache here, and a non-micro to boot. Now, unlike the last finder, I have nothing against micros in principle. But, when you can get creative like this and hide something substantial it is all that much better! This was our last cache of the day on a sunny and breezy Mountain View afternoon. Geo Baby and I were out getting some fresh air (Geo Baby was staying home from daycare due to a cough, and so I burned a sick day to help her out with that), and had just finished a late lunch after nap ran into the normal lunch time. Stopping by with our drinks provided good cover for the area. Geo Baby really liked the pink heart-thing, and we only had her still-wrapped McToy from lunch, so we had to make that trade. I'm not sure what a pink aluminum heart-thing goes for these days, but I'll try to trade up at our next cache find! Geo Baby enjoyed saying hi to two very cute puppies coming out from the nearby store while we returned to our car. Thanks!

Somewhere in Mountain View

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

Came by today at the end of the lunch hour with a napping Geo Baby in the stroller. Between the passers-by and the local terrain, I wasn't sure I was going to go through with this one. Probably looked a little weird just stopped off to the side with the stroller, staring out into space, but it was probably better than just stopping and standing there without the stroller.... I looked in the usual places, and then stopped and stared for a little longer. Something caught my eye and after the next break in traffic I went to investigate. Thanks!

GeoBeads #4 ? The Jos Memorial

By: zapboy with help from workerofwood Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

Strolling around with Geo Baby today, hoping the cool breeze and warm sun will help her get over her cold faster. We visited this cache around lunchtime, and there were a lot of people going back and forth in the area. It wasn't as bad as I might have thought given all the corporations nearby. Spotted it and waited for a runner to go by, then waited to return it for a guy and a kid walking their bikes by. I was fairly surprised to find it hidden in just that manner, but appreciated it since it meant that I didn't have to go far from the stroller! Thanks!

End of the Road

By: blackfrancis, adopted by Team Nazgul Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Regular

It was my turn to stay home with an ailing Geo Baby today. I was asked to go with her to visit a lonely cat in Mountain View, but then it turned out that the cat's owners had returned home today and our company wasn't needed. We were already on our way over, so I wondered "what to do, what to do"? Heh, as if! Gee, it seemed like Geo Baby might benefit from a little fresh air to get over her cough, and so I decided to stroll her out around the breezy bay today. This was a little farther than I might have liked for a sick-baby-centered excursion, but we had a really good time. While I was trying to figure out the right approach by taking the wrong one, we saw a HUGE snake (gopher, I'm guessing -- no rattle and a semi-diamond pattern along its back) crossing the path. It was probably almost 5 feet long. This was Geo Baby's first snake sighting and she was very puzzled b y it -- the expression on her face was priceless! Of course my camera was buried deep in the backpack at the bottom of the stroller...

Once on the right track, there were all sorts of birds flying around to talk about, and ground squirrels, and a super-sized jackrabbit. We also encountered a Mo mmy goose and a Daddy goose with their half-dozen goslings, one of which wasn't fast enough following the gaggle away from the path and into the marsh at our approach.

As we approached the cache site, a helicopter came by from Moffett to check us out. So, we sat down and enjoyed a sippy-cup-ful of water and a generous heaping of goldfish crackers. That was apparently not interesting to the occupants of the metal bird. After that, we perused the cache contents and Geo Baby decided she'd like to walk back herself. It must be some sort of record for her, because she made it almost .25 by m y GPSr! She struggled with herself in the stroller a bit on the way back, but eventually relaxed into a nice nap (which gave me an opportunity to hit a couple more caches on the trail). Now that I'm back home, I see that I should have put sunscreen on myself and not just the baby -- man are my fa ce and arms sunburned!

Good times, and all for the price of one sick day and a sunburn. Thanks for the destination cache today!

Jun 21, 2007

Aussie Invasion II: The Revenge

By: Snuva Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

Very likely that WalruZ, Geo Baby and I will attend. We might even get a special guest appearance from LeChuck, but no promises on that...

Pupperoni Cache

By: Sharkz Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

And an update on those mysterious squirrels... Two days after visiting the cache I go out to my car in the morning and it won't turn over. WalruZ returned from his spot in 880 traffic to jumpstart the car, and we drove Geo Baby to daycare, jumpstarted it again, and drove to the nearest car place. Just the battery. It was only 2 years since I replaced it last. The 2 year old battery was totally dead! Only two days since the squirrels were loitering under the front of my car.

Coincidence?

You decide.

Jun 17, 2007

Bingo!

By: Hidey Hunter Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

We took some time finding this one, not because we haven't seen this sort of thing, but because -- well, that would be descriptive I guess. TFTC.

Jade Trade

By: 2frenchgirls Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Came by for yet another try at this one. First time was missing, second time had people hanging out nearby, but the third time was a charm for WalruZ, Geo Baby and I today. Found the cache right where it should be! Thanks!

Jun 15, 2007

Summer Meet and Greet!

By: nielsenc, hjnielsen, frivlas and southbayday Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

That was a fantastic event, and not just because I skipped out of work early to make it with the whole family in tow! We really appreciate the drinks and pizza and snacks. Having the circular area was a boon to socializing (and having it reasonably enclosed was great for allowing Geo Baby to run around). It was nice to meet a lot of the new cachers that have started in our area, as well as see the usual suspects (minus the handful that were at the GBES rally). We cut out around 7 since we needed to get down to Monterey before Geo Baby's bedtime, but we still felt like we were able to attend the event properly. Thanks!

Carrot Cake and Carrot Juice

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

I snuck off at one point to find this cache during the event. Well, actually, I took Geo Baby with me, but after she saw that we were passing by the playground she turned back and ran to Daddy. Too bad for her, eh? Thanks!

Jun 13, 2007

FORE!!!!!!

By: Sharkz Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Lots of ground cover around here, so I ended up going for the hint after looking around a little. That and some youths had just sauntered up to the nearby hole, so I decided to be a little less noisy about it... Not too many people in the park today, just some college kids hanging out and a strange guy with 'nocs walking around in the "not open to the public" area. I also used the nearby open grassy area to perform some GPSr Art in order to catch a Modern-Day Outlaw. Thanks for the cache!

The Apple Tree

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

Whew it's hot out there today! I decided that this cache was best done in the daytime, rather than after my nearby night classes, so today I carved out some time to come early to the area (and avoid lots of traffic, too!). The drawback to this is that, while cachers can more easily see the cache in the daytime, everyone else can see you (including whomever is sitting in those darkened windows -- hopefully they're kept busy with the new iPod release in a week or two)! I tried to be as nonchalant as possible, while pacing back and forth in about a 40 foot range, but if I were watching me I would think I was a whack-job... My arrow was pointing about 80 feet onto the Apple campus, and I know that stbk wouldn't have us risking a security encounter, so I confined my search to the public right-of-way and ignored the GPSr. It took a little while, but I finally spotted something a little off. Signed my name on an unused line somewhere in the July of 06's. Not too much space left, but creative cachers can use the side of the stashnote section if they're desperate. Thanks for the cache!

Pupperoni Cache

By: Sharkz Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

It was a really hot day to be out and about walking in parks at midday, but there I was. Not too many other folk with equally suspect judgement, but a few. Mostly I could avoid them, but there was a guy that was near the cache area with 'nocs, so I opted to go do my stuff for the other cache in the park and return afterwards. As I was approaching, he seemed to be leaving, so I continued. I then took the wrong trail and encountered true terrain 2 slopes... Read hint after a bit and realized that I had made it much harder than it was. In fact, it was downright easy once I found it! I'm surprised this cache doesn't get found by more noncachers loitering up in this area (not sure if it really is open to the public -- see photo). Nice view, though. As I started down, I noticed the same guy -- now without his 'nocs -- coming back up the hill for some unknown reason. I decided that I wouldn't hang around much longer, and the AC in the car was calling. As I approached my car, I noticed a squirrel trying to give the Jeep an oil change. Then it (and it's accomplice that I hadn't seen prior) scurried away, out from under the front of the car and into the rocky area on the nearby slope. Luckily my car turned over the first try, and my brakes were still working as I pulled out of the park. No Dogs anywhere, either. Strange things afoot at the park this afternoon! Dropped a travelling geocoin, thanks!

Jun 12, 2007

The Pride of 1918

By: kayamycat Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I disagree, as will many others in this region. But the saying "don't wrestle with a pig, you'll get muddy and the pig enjoys it" apparently applies here. Take the constructive comment for what it is. You're the cache owner, list it as a large if you want, but no need to be snarky if others don't see it your way.

The Pride of 1918

By: kayamycat Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Quick grab after getting coffee nearby. Cache is definitely a micro, not a small. Couldn't leave the geocoin I had. Darn. Thanks for the cache!

Cute As A Button

By: kayamycat Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Good hiding spot! Cache is definitely micro-sized, couldn't leave a geocoin. TFTC.

As far as we could go!

By: Marky & Joani Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I went a little farther this morning, but the paths were all dry and the varmint Mudd Varner was rumored to be hiding out at a nearby cache! Thanks for the pleasant walk before a busy day at work!

End of the Trail 3: Palo Alto Baylands

By: darrenk13 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

Not very muddy at all today, although I did get my shoes a little wet with morning dew. It was a very pleasant morning to be out and walking before going to work. The tide was out a bit, making the nearby ponds nice and swampy-looking. The birds were really enjoying it. Thanks for the cache, dropped a travelling geocoin.

Jun 10, 2007

Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven (Bonus Cache)

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

By this time, Geo Baby had tired of listening to my horrible singing voice, and so had everyone else probably, so I stopped (or maybe I was winded, but I'm not going to admit it [:P]). To fill that silent void where sleep might occur, she started talking about food with her limited vocabulary. That wasn't going to be a good scene for long, since I couldn't produce much more than water, so we switched to all the animals that we could see: there were squirrels and birdies and horsies and -- oh look -- a deer! Luckily the cache was not in the deer. I don't know if I would have wanted to try to explain that to Geo Baby... Thanks for the fun series!

Soggy Log Saloon

By: GeoWomyn_SF_CA (with L-grl) Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

A pre-list find for the cast of the Soggy Log Saloon scenes. Thanks for marking the location, it was a hootennanny!

Edgar Allan Poe: The Haunted Palace

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

WalruZ and I had switched over Geo Baby to my back before reaching this cache, so I ambled up with the search already well in progress. It was nice to have an area already narrowed down, but the terrain was such that I couldn't quite do justice to searching with the extra weight. Geo Baby was feeling a little bored by this point, so I was busy explaining the finer points of fungus (well, not explaining, really, just encouraging her to touch it and see how it felt) when the cache was found by another intrepid Soggy Logger. Thanks!

Edgar Allan Poe: Imp of the Perverse

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

This was our first stop of the Soggy Log hike, and we had already sort of split into two groups so I was thinking that this was going to be a long afternoon of walking up on the "fast" group's log-signing (we're always in the "slow" group what with Geo Baby on our backs, and switching off and such). Luckily that was a fluke of the day and all 11 or so participants were pretty fluid in their positioning on the trail. I was thinking that of the large group, someone would have an idea of what order to do these in, but I was mistaken. We were all over the place today, which probably cost us Photobox (aside from vaccine, anyway). Anyhow, a little back-tracking never hurt anyone, I think. Thanks!

Edgar Allan Poe: The Masque of the Red Death

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

It was a very nice place to stop and get a cache and go through its contents, but Geo Baby must have had something against looking at the Mask of Red Death. Either that or we were all spending too much time calculating the bonus cache coords and having a lengthy discussion about the time and the elevation and which cache to go for next -- bonus or photobox? Actually, we had overshot her snack time by about an hour, I forgot to transfer the goldfish crackers from the diaper backpack to the hiking backpack, and she was getting cranky from "hunger". But I digress. Anyhow, the shrieking got so that a binky wouldn't help, so we started out in what ended up being the correct direction for photobox. But then we were called back, and so I tromped up the other way, which ended up being the correct direction for nothing. So, back to the junction and another powwow, where time was discussed again and the bonus was chosen (except for vaccine, who is of the 'leave-no-cache' ilk), and we went back in the direction that we had originally come from. Geo Baby and I sang songs to take her mind off the food issue, so the hike returned to being more pleasant after we got going again. Thanks for the cache.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Telltale Heart

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I was babyless for the first part of the trip, so off I went to check out a likely suspect when Vaccine comes walking up and calls Ollie Ollie Oxen Free right where I was staring. Funny that. He did the honors and much passing around of cache items occurred. Thanks for the cache. Then it was onward to that Smokey fellow!

Smokey Bear's 60th Birthday

By: Sierra Hikers Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

Seems that the Cx girls were doing well at this cache today. Of the group, caliseastar (60cx) and I (LegendCx) were in the correct area with everyone else searching at least 20 or 30 feet earlier on the trail. Of course my chipset is just like everyone else's so I really can't say why I was where I was... Anyhow, caliseastar found the right place much quicker and there it was! Everyone enjoyed the nice old-fashioned ammo can! thanks.

Jun 9, 2007

A Gathering of Ducks

By: Tarken Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I don't quite get why the residents of the nearby neighborhood wouldn't want to access the park, and would prefer to get in their cars and drive a quarter mile to get to the entrance on Edmundson in order to take the kids to play, but hey, that's me. This was one of our last finds of the day, so I was feeling kinda tired by then... Thanks for the cache.

No Mill, No Creek

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

We were in the area for my nephew's 6th grade graduation pool party and as things broke up we realized that (gasp) there was still lots of daylight and a reasonable amount of time before Geo Baby's bedtime. So, off to some caches! It took me a while to find, only because I couldn't trust the GPSr and ended up doing a "systematic" rather than "smart" search. Thanks!

Country Curves

By: Team Stamos TKD Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Fairly dangerous place to hide a cache. If someone was caching solo and had to park the car elsewhere due to space constraints, it would be a dangerous walk to the cache site. I'm glad we weren't caching solo today, but parking near the cache site was also a little anxiety-provoking with all the weekend traffic with ATV and motorcycle trailers attached going both directions at a low-visibility point in the road. Top that with watching WalruZ wander around -- crossing the street and such -- while looking at his GPSr, it was enough to make me want to get out of the car and take a nice long hike where all you worry about is snakes and ticks and the toddler getting into cowpies and poison oak. Thanks.

in the morning shadow of the great mall???? - CITO

By: howeler Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Been meaning to get this one every time I drive by on the freeway, but when I'm going that direction on that freeway either WalruZ (who has done every flippin' Milpitas cache already) is with me or I'm late to get somewhere else. Today was the same as most of the other times that I come by, we were headed down to my cousin's 6th grade graduation party in Morgan Hill, except WalruZ and I worked out a plan. I got 2 hours to hit some local caches that helped me out with Modern Day Outlaw and then Geo Baby got her lunch at one of her favorite places, then WalruZ could pick the caches to do for the next 2 hours (turns out he chose stuff in South San Jose). It all worked out great and I finally got to find this cache! No trash problem here!

Let ?s Go Surfing

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

I spotted something out of place as we drove up. After cursory examination WalruZ deemed it unsuitable, so I did some further verification. Indeed, once verified the tools came out (sorry, hadn't read the cache page), after the initial check of what should have revealed the cache did not quite work properly. Its all back as it was, no worries, but I can see where this poses problems for some. Thanks for the cache.

A True Urban GEOcache IV

By: sloigo Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I was waylayed by some navigational issues coming from the Big Gate, and then I fell for the decoy hiding spot before wising up and checking some other places. Nice construction. Didn't see the diabetes TB in there, and I think I would've noticed... Thanks for the cache!

Ale Only Now

By: Marky & Joani Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I was actually by here 6 months ago, or maybe it was a year and 6 months ago -- I don't know, it's all starting to run together these days. Anyhow, I was looking for an entirely different sort of container back then, even though I was aware of these containers. Maybe I was too focused on the hint and not on the search. I'm not sure. Anyway, Walruz suggested this cache as we were headed down to a family thing in Morgan Hill and I giggled since I'd been watching it on my DNF bookmark list. Then I had to explain it to him, and I felt pretty silly. Of course I wanna return shot at it! I felt even sillier when he came up with it in, like, 3 minutes. Thanks for the cache.

Power 2 the People

By: sloigo Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

With all the growth down in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, I guess they'd need a new power plant there! Thanks for the quick stop on our way!

Let's go fishin II

By: sloigo adopted by Seek2FindMe 6/8/2010 Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

Interesting little area and lots of people with either fishing rigs or motorbike rigs driving by. Thanks.

Stumped

By: Rocket Girl and DuckeyLee Difficulty: 4.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I checked a whole bunch of things before reading the hint, it just turns out that I didn't check the correct one! Weird, that... I had the right idea but faltered in execution. Anyway, last time I drove by here it was a weekday and things were pretty mugglicious so I didn't stop. Today you could hear the theme from the OK Corral if you were paying attention, and perhaps envision a tumbleweed or two go by... Thanks for the cache.

Lilie & Lois's

By: Neslake Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I admit, it takes something like a special adventure or a challenge cache or something to get me to really look at puzzles. This has been on our household's nearest unfound lists for some time, and I've looked at the cache page more than once -- and did some googling (even after reading the hints) and just didn't get it. My husband wasn't faring any better, not that he was trying or anything... Anyway, fast-forward to this week, when I'm pressed for time and need to pick up a few Modern Day Outlaw requirements but really can't spend the time driving to some strange part of the Bay Area that I don't normally cache in. So, out comes that "filter out finds" link on my account page, and off I go to look for puzzles that haven't been found for a while. This one looked the best, so I went for it. I have no idea when the switch went off in my head, but it did and I consulted the final location(s) that I derived with the hubby and he had some insight that led to our final picking. Off we went the next morning to pick it up, and there it was! Yay me! After that, as we toodled down the freeway to our Saturday destination, I finally got what puzzle hint#2 meant...

Discover Water

By: GeoBrowns (adopted by The North Star) Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I typically come at hides rated with higher difficulty with a "look-and-see" attitude. This served me well at the cache site and I found the cache after a pass across the bridge and back. It also helped a little to know that I was looking for a vintage GeoBrowns cache. ;) I've been trying to get out and about closer to home these days, and getting to Milpitas to do a little caching hasn't been real easy just because WalruZ clears out the whole area on his way to work so our weekend plans typically pass these over. Today I mapped out a day where, on our way to a fa mily event in Morgan Hill, I took the first couple of hours to do some caches in the Milpitas area to pick up some Modern Day Outlaw requirements while WalruZ drove, then it was lunch at one of Geo Baby's favorite stops, then Walruz got a couple hours with me driving in South San Jose and Morgan Hil l to pick up what he chose. It worked well. Geo Baby was surprisingly cooperative for it all, but she was well-rewarded by a swim in the pool, lots of attention from her Uncle and Grandma, more food that you could shake a stick at (including cake), getting to use her cousins' toys without too much angst from them, and getting to pet their bunny! Thanks for being part of our day!

Big Gate

By: GeoBrowns (adopted by The North Star) Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

So, as long as we were in the area, I thought I'd have WalruZ drive on over to this cache (which happened to meet the same requirement in Modern Day Outlaw as the nearby GeoBrowns cache), just as a backup or something. After staring agog at the gate for a few seconds or so, I quickly remembered that I was using my Milpitas time unwisely and started looking around for some hidey-areas. The road was surprisingly busy for an industrial area on a Saturday, what's up with that? Thanks for the cache!

Golden Retriever

By: Tweety Bird and TazDevil Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

We were in the area and chose this cache as a good one to pile out of the car and take a nice walk. Geo Baby particularly enjoyed the ride up on Mommy's shoulders and the ride down, fireman-style, with Daddy. Nice view from up there, and I bet its nice to have a trail like that if you live nearby. Thanks for the cache!

Bang Bang

By: Pedalman Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

We were on our way to Morgan Hill to celebrate my nephew's graduation from the 6th grade (ok, it was really an excuse for a pool party) and decided to stop for a few caches. This was the last before partying down by the pool! WalruZ ended up finding this one. Thanks.

Jun 8, 2007

Reade's Rigo Rendezvous

By: Capt Tong & the Jungle Mock Rangers Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I think this one's probably gone or unreachable...

Summer Meet and Greet!

By: nielsenc, hjnielsen, frivlas and southbayday Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

I'm going to make an effort to extract myself early enough from work in SF to get Geo Baby in Fremont and head over to SC by 5. May the BART and traffic gods agree...

Jun 6, 2007

Rolling Hills 4-H

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

Great little area to explore, and a fair amount of 4H and plant-loving noncachers to watch out for. I enjoyed the pigs and ducks and chickens and even saw a miniature horse. The community plots were also impressive. I wandered past the cache several times until I found it! The log is very close to being full, perhaps room for a few more caching names... Thanks for the cache!

Lost Paradise

By: ~Ninja~ Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

I've known about this park, but it appears that it is quite underused on weekday afternoons! I was surprised not to see any dog walkers, but then I noticed the sign about the nature preserve and figured it all out. So what do people do here? Except for the mowed paths, the grass is too high (and brown right now) to truly do many park-related activities except amble around. I almost didn't find the cache location, as I kept wandering on a trail that would dead end somewhere impassable, but I persevered and the cache location came in sight. Very peaceful walk this afternoon -- Thanks for the cache!

Jun 5, 2007

Hayward Fault at Fremont's Central Park

By: avtanski Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

I had a great time visiting this earthcache! We drove to the first waypoint and found the required info right away, but I wanted to take a closer look at the evidence of fault activity, so I piled Geo Baby out of the car and we went to check it out. Instead of dealing with the street (and thus having to make the trip into a production with getting the stroller out, etc), we drove to Stage 2 and parked there to walk unaided to the rest of the waypoints. We had a good time walking to and sitting at each stage -- there were things for Geo Baby to discover and talk about, and there was the fault progression for me to enjoy (I like that sort of stuff and have the USGS recent earthquake page bookmarked in my browser, even). On the way to stage 3, we walked past some geese that derailed our progress a bit, and then a few groups of tai chi-ers with which Geo Baby was entranced. On the way to stage 4 we met a dog named Bob that was really nice and well-behaved. Geo Baby was excited to meet and pet Bob. On the way to stage 5 we saw a city truck drive over what seemed like the grass to Geo Baby, but was really a long driveway into the maintenance yard. Then we lost a shoe, but quickly found it and put it back on. I think, earthcache-wise, stage 4 was the most impressive but only because stage 5 looks like it was built that way!

I mostly t ook photos of Geo Baby, which are in her log, but I'll include here a self portrait of the two of us when we were on our way back to the car...

Jun 3, 2007

Weekender 4 - new location

By: Hav42 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I was on my way from here to there today with Geo Baby. At the time, it seemed like we were ahead of schedule, and just the right environment would allow me to pick up a few caches with the toddler in tow. I'm not sure what possessed me to get off the freeway at this particular location, but it turns out it was a good choice for a Sunday afternoon with Geo Baby! I've never done much more than whiz by here on 680, so it was nice to take some time and see the ships.

Cache the Caboose

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

I was on my way from here to there today with Geo Baby. I'm not sure what possessed me to get off the freeway here, but it turns out it was a good choice for a Sunday afternoon -- there was no one in sight! I had some trouble pinpointing the cache location, but after some unfocused searching, the hint saved the day!

Mothball Fleet

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

I was on my way from here to there today with Geo Baby. I'm not sure what possessed me to get off the freeway to do these particular caches, but it turns out it was a good choice for a Sunday afternoon with the baby! Nice view (in one direction, anyway) from here. Left a TB.

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