buckyd's Geoblog

Nov 24, 2007

Monterey Bay USGS 15-Minute Quadrangles Challenge

By: 50sumtin Difficulty: 4.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

We all made the walk out to this cache, even though WalruZ hasn't checked to see whether he's satisfied the challenge requirements and, well, we're sure that Geo Baby hasn't. It was a really nice day at the beach and we all had a really good time taking the "alternate" route to the cache and letting Geo Baby squish sand between her toes on the way back. There were some nice coins in the cache, but I had not brought anything to trade, so I TNLNSL. That Alamo Spinner coin is looking kinda sea-battered, and I see now that it's a traveller and I should have taken it to move on. Oh well... Thanks for the challenge, adventure, and great family outing to the beach!

Zmudowski State Beach

By: 50sumtin Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

We had stayed a little longer than expected for the holiday down at Grandma Katie's place, and found ourselves driving by this location on the way back to the Bay area late this morning. Geo Baby was not yet ready to go down for a nap and we had sort of collectively decided that we were cutting it too close on our return to follow through with our previous Saturday afternoon caching plans. So, we decided to visit this cache and take a walk along the beach on something of a photo shoot of Geo Baby's visit to Zmudowski. WalruZ remarked at the frequency of ranger visits to the parking lot, which might have been more noticeable to him since they were all women (in uniform, carrying sidearms). Thanks for the cache.

Nov 23, 2007

Mike Ferguson to the Rescue!

By: LFoucht Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Small

It just so happened that I brought [i]just[/i] enough water for our post-Thanksgiving Day hike today, and if it had gotten any warmer I'd have had to ask WalruZ for his emergency bottle... I think I'd filled my Camelbak bladder up to the 48 oz mark before leaving for the holiday. At any rate, we had a great walk here on Trail 41 after hitting Lizard's Lair and CSII. We were going to park at the second Toro Estates trailhead, but arrived there to find it fenced off with a multitude of "access closed" to BLM signs all over the place. Unlike the three SUVs full of mountain bikers that were unloading there, we headed on over to the Creekside Terrace entrance (where there is no water available -- at least near the passenger car area -- to fill up one's Camelbak for a longer-than-expected hike). The Fort Ord Public Lands area is my favorite place to hike, and one certainly runs into all types of mountain bikers here (some nice like Mike Ferguson, and some not so nice), so I'll see if I can get a Mike Ferguson cache out there somewhere reasonably close by to honor those mountain bikers that go that extra mile (and especially those let you know how many in their group are still to come around that single-track-bend!). Thanks for the cache.

Three Sisters (Good Hike/Fair Hide #5)

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

Oh yeah, what a view! I don't know who the three sisters were, but they've got one heck of a road! We came up from Ewok (passing by Mike Ferguson again) and snickered a little at some folks on mountain bikes that were obviously not regulars here. They really were a bit terrified at riding down that slope between the Sisters and Mike Ferguson. If they hadn't truly been scared in earnest, it would have been hilarious. Dropped a TB. Thanks!

Ewok (Good Hike/Fair Hide #4)

By: LFoucht Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Regular

The way our navigational committee decided it, we did this cache as an out-and-back from Mike Ferguson, although I toyed briefly with the idea of continuing on to Training and DeadEnd before huffing back up to the Three Sisters road. WalruZ wanted to huff back up only as much as we had just descended to get Ewok, so back up we went. It was nice to be out here hiking, where most people won't take the day to venture on foot. Lots of bikers out here -- I suppose most people make a nice day off with a trip to the Public Lands! Thanks.

Dead End (Good Hike/Fair Hide #3)

By: LFoucht Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Small

One nice thing about dead ends is that they don't attract the same kind of traffic as, say, jacks road. The little road seemed like it could go on forever, but the map clearly indicated that, yes, this was a dead end. Not even a side trail to escape on! thanks for the cache.

Training Area 18 (Good Hike/Fair Hide #2)

By: LFoucht Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Small

There was definitely different scenery at this location relative to the rest of our hike! It made a nice stopping point for a snack before heading on to the last of the immediate area's caches and then double-timing it back to the car. Swapped travelling geocoins here. Thanks for the cache!

Redrock (Good Hike/Fair Hide #1)

By: LFoucht Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Regular

I don't believe that I have ever been down this particular trail before. There were some fabulous canyon wall views here, and a very nice cache at a vista point. The view of the rolling hills and Salinas in the background was just breathtaking. It is just the kind of hike that makes the Ft. Ord Public Lands one of the nicest places to find caches! Thanks.

Give Me Shelter

By: Spay/Neuter Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Quick find after spending a beautiful holiday Friday in Fort Ord Public Lands. I miss having cats, but I don't think we could be good pet owners right now! Geo Baby still has trouble not scaring Grandma Katie's cat when she visits, though she tries so hard to pet softly and not screech at her! Thanks for the cache.

Lizard's Lair

By: The Plunketts Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

This was the start of our post-Thanksgiving-Grandma-Katie-has-fun-with-Geo-Baby-without-the-overbearing-parents caching expedition. We were going to use the Toro Park estates trailhead, but it's all fenced off with signs every 8 feet saying the access to BLM land was closed there. We skirted around the unloading mountain bikers and decided to head to the Creekside Terrace parking area instead. That was a bit of a longer hike, but always well worth it. Thanks!

Cacher Scratcher II

By: The Plunketts Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

We followed around from Lizard's Lair using trail 41, a very nice rolling and partly-shaded multi-use single track that thankfully all the kids on mountain bikes had just gone through, leaving the trail safe for hikers. WalruZ was disappointed to not become a millionaire, but I don't think he brought sufficient trade swag with him if the possibility had been there. Thanks for the cache.

Ridge and Beyond

By: The Plunketts Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

We followed the trail until the arrow pointed straight off, and then saw a little path through the manzanita. There were great views at the cache site and this is classic-style Ft. Ord Public Land geocaching at its best! It took some circling around before we spotted the cache, and I was totally fixated about this one largish manzanita tree, but WalruZ was on his game today. A rescue helicopter circled around as he found the cache, and at first I thought the rangers were really cracking down hard and we were busted for being off-trail, but then we noticed that over on Skyline Road there were three ranger vehicles, as well as a fairly largish-group of people standing around. That's where the bird was headed. Lots of mountain bikers going crazy on the trails around us, so hopefully it wasn't as bad as a full on collision or wrong turn off a ridge. Thanks so much for our caching experience!

Nov 22, 2007

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Art and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

You'd think that as people were filling the nearby inn eating facilities for the holiday feast, this would have been an easy search. Alas, there was one person that was content to feast on her Bud, and she wasn't leaving anytime soon...

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Wealth and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

On Thanksgiving at dusk, there was no security guard and only a few stragglers wandering by, but WalruZ and I still couldn't ferret this cache out of its hiding place. WalruZ wanted to return Saturday at 10 am, but I thought that would be even more of a bad time and we'd just end up periodically yelling at Geo Baby to keep her out of the street while we search and starting the day off in grumpy moods, so we left it for our next trip here.

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Cottages and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Uncommon weather here today; usually this part of Carmel is not at all warm and more than a little foggy. So, there were more than the usual amount of people to deal with in general, helped only by the fact that it was Thanksgiving afternoon... We searched the area for quite a bit, then trotted out the description, then searched a little more focused, then searched a little closer and finally found it. Dropped a travelling coin. Thanks.

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Planning and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

And to think that all "communities" are planned nowadays, although those developers plan does include neon and chain stores and stuff... Waited briefly for a break in foot traffic and then reached for it. Thanks.

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Sand and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

The beach was hopping on the fine-weathered thanksgiving afternoon with families out playing various ball and disc games, dogs exercising their people, and just general population out enjoying the great weather. I've explored the areas that the cache was in before, but it was always too close to another cache to take advantage of the great hiding spots available there. I'm glad that you were able to. Great cache, thanks!

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Surf and Stealth

By: private bones Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

For some reason, we had problems finding this one, but WalruZ finally managed to spot the cache. Thanks!

Up, Up, And Away!

By: jameboy Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 4.5 Container: Small

After an early turkey day dinner, WalruZ and I left Geo Baby and Grandma Katie to their fun. Armed with a couple bagfuls of travel bugs and travelling geocoins, we went out to grab a few of the new caches in the area. This was our first stop, and I was excited that it was listed as a small so that we could unload at least one of the geocoins. Nope, definitely not. Oh well, WalruZ had fun with the retrieval. happy t hanksgiving.

Carmel-by-the-Sea: High Seas and Stealth

By: private bones and johnnycache Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

Very nice, thank you. I had to use my person to block the view of the people starting their thanksgiving bonfire in the little wind-break nook. Then, when WalruZ happened by, we used his bodyblock to put it back. Thanks for the fun.

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Mission and Stealth

By: private bones, johnnycache and scoobydoo22 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

This was a very nice southern start to our post-thanksgiving meal adventure. We'd been here before, but not to this very nice spot. There were a lot of people out and about, some post-eating like us but more pre-dinner walkers it seemed. We almost got married at the establishment in the description, but Asilomar came through with a cancellation on a date we requested. Things were much cheaper that way... Dropped a TB, Thanks for the cache.

Nov 19, 2007

Northern CA Solar System Model: Ganymede

By: bthomas (Maintained by MotorBug) Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

The newbie log on Oct. 13th notwithstanding, time for an owner check on this one...

Nov 18, 2007

Levee Run - Alameda Creek

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

Yeah, it's tempting to want to go down there, but EBPRD is pretty clear about it being a safety issue... Spotted cache as I walked up and, funny enough, right then there was also a break in all the people walking around! Dropped a TB. Thanks.

Come Visit Quarry Lakes Part 3

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

Out with the family for a walk today after breakfast, and decided to make this our walking area. This visit back there was plenty of light to search with, and WalruZ had it before Geo Baby could toddle on up to the site. Dropped a TB and swapped out a geocoin for Ernie, since Geo Baby HAD to have it! Thanks.

Nov 17, 2007

Shopping Spree #3

By: Team Stamos TKD Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Bit of trouble with the extraction, but a little patience got me there. Things were pretty slow at the mall this morning, but we didn't stick around to find out how Saturday really looks here, we had some serious toddler wrangling at Bonfante Gardens. Thanks.

Shopping Spree #4

By: Team Stamos TKD Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

The family hit the outlet caches while waiting that final half hour for Bonfante Gardens to open its gates. Then it was off to the toddler's playland. Dropped a bikedog traveller, did not see Mauison's micro coin inside.

Premium Outlets #1

By: Pal_Al Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Quick find before a day of uber-parenting the 2 year old at Bonfante. Thanks for giving us something to do before they opened!

Gilroy Volcano III

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

Not quite so large this time, and not very easy to spot, but an interesting location and fairly easy to stop for before visiting Bonfante Gardens with the 2 year old. Might be a little tougher to find a good place to park on the weekday... Dropped Easy's Ride TB, who would like to make it south to LA at some point. This is as far south as we're going for a while (except for Monterey, but that's a bit of a detour from normal LA traffic). Thanks for the replacement!

Nov 14, 2007

Forward Azimuth

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

I visited this cache today on the way to work, since I was doing another *cough* errand for Geo Baby and her collaborator. I had a pretty good idea where this cache would end up, given the description and although I didn't do the heavy lifting to calculate exact coordinates, my recent errands for Geo Baby narrowed down the actual cache site well enough to figure it all out. Thanks for the cache!

Nov 11, 2007

TeamAlamo finds 25,000 - National Landmark GC1781T

By: We Who Are Not Worthy Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

You can't imagine the craft-faire look our house had for about 2 weeks...

No Shotguns allowed

By: jellis50 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

Walked up to a group of geocachers standing in a circle, and there it was. Thanks for the cache.

5 Years and Counting

By: TeamAlamo Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Not chosen

Walked a little cross-country to save on the elevation, only to end up doing it on the way back out... Oh well. Found the group of geocachers and they handed off the cache, then we handed over the log to the next bunch walking up as we finished. Pretty much like that most of the day...

Cow Trail

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

Evil Cow Pie, LFoucht and I walked past a group that was trying to decide their next move. Then we found the cache and had that same decision to make. I think that decision probably cost us a find on one of the new caches, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Thanks for the cache.

Trailheads of the Rich & Famous - #2

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

Thanks for the cache. Apparently I missed a few others due to disablings during the PQ scheduling and some other elevation/path issues, but I got this one. It was after this point that I ditched the strangely patchwork horde of geocachers (as well as my family) to hike with the Monterey/Salinas cachers.

5 Years Down; 25K Found, > 460K to Go

By: TeamAlamo Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Other

Great turnout, a who's who in NorCal caching if I ever saw one. We were a bit fatigued from our cachapalooza in the hills, but were quite happy that our food was looking for us when we walked in the door. I don't know how you keep up that sort of schedule, but I guess that's why I'm an order of magnitude behind you in numbers... Thanks for the day's events (I think, WalruZ is still going on about his feet and Geo Baby has that whiny tired 2 year old thing going on)!

ODS: Bishop Ranch Open Space

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

That's a great tree, even if I ended up with like 10 pounds of mud on my boots from this general area. Thanks for placing the cache.

Bishop Ranch Battery Recycling Center

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

Found this about midway through the stream of traffic in the area today for the Team Alamo-instigated cache-a-thon in the hills. Cache was looking mighty empty, but I didn't have much to remedy it with since I wasn't doing swag today. Thanks for the cache.

Elephant Tree

By: comishcraig Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

Was out scaling the hillsides with Evil Cow Pie and LFoucht today, after WalruZ, Geo Baby and Lechuck decided to take an alternate route through the hills. Great hide location! Thanks for the cache!

Stream View Trail

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

I think Evil Cow Pie would have been glad to pass this one up, but LFoucht and I were determined to find the right trail to this one. We were glad that we did -- What a great little trail! Boulter had run on ahead (well, he'd run down the hill and then continued on at something almost at that speed down the side trail), so there wasn't much need for a site search. ECP probably liked that since we were there and to the trailhead in no time! Thanks for the cache.

Hey! I Can See My House From Here!

By: Raptor & Rex Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

The last cache that I actually sort of led a charge to rather than just walking up to a handful of geocachers already signing a log. A unique experience, yes, to have the hills crawling (literally) with geocachers, but I'm not sure it really provided the hiking/caching experience I was looking for. Thanks for the cache!

Delta View

By: TeamAlamo Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

Quick spot in a nice spot. Thanks for the cache.

Glowing Eyes

By: SnoWake -n- Rexy, and Dingo too! Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

Arrived with the second shift of the first wave of the caching horde. Nice hide and on we go! thanks for the cache.

Bishop's Paddock

By: Raptor & Rex Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

I was actually here and searching for about 10 minutes while WalruZ, Geo Baby and Lechuck made their way up the trail first thing in the morning, when a horde of geocachers showed up. I spotted it as they were starting their ascent, lucky them. It was a nice hike in the area before hitting TeamAlamo's big party. Thanks.

Bishop's Gambit

By: pr Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Not chosen

I think boulter says it best... But it was very nice to visit this oldie on a hike through Bishop Ranch today to celebrate (or something) Team Alamo's obsessed nature. Thanks for placing the cache that "started it all" for Lee.

Nov 10, 2007

Rusty Williams

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

WalruZ had a thing for visiting this cache, and little did I know it was a Benchmark haven... I bargained with Geo Baby that we'd find the cache first, then playground, and that's just how it happened. Thanks for the cache.

It's Not Your Fault, Fremont! It's Hayward's!

By: 50sumtin Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Well, I guess someone might think WalruZ was creepy, but the sidewalk was a bit creepier than him when I was there I guess! Running a little late for nap, so we didn't dally for photos, sorry! Thanks for the cache.

WWFM - Bay Area Style

By: vaccine & triplep220 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

That was an interesting 15 minutes... We arrived with just a little time to spare, even with Geo Baby navigating to the site on her trike. I'm looking forward to see the footage from our little mob! Thanks for the event.

Guadalupe River Trail Free Parking

By: bullit Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

Coords were pointing me into a fence area I didn't want to be in, and Geo Baby was testing my patience by not staying on the sidewalk. Finally I see the correct structure for the hide, but I was temporarily blinded, or something, and after a few minutes of me playing blind-man-and-the-elephant with the structure, WalruZ steps up and says "don't tell me you don't SEE that"! These things are just gonna make me rethink my whole ego... TFTC.

High Water

By: bullit Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Out for a very short post-mob cache run, then off to a playground for Geo Baby to have some fun, and lunch for LeChuck to enjoy. Thanks for showing us the cool water gauge. Not much in there right now, but the ducks were enjoying it nonetheless. Thanks for the cache!

Pony Loom

By: bykenut Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

Visited the cache in conjunction with the "nearby" flash mob event this morning. Got the chance to chat with this cache owner a bit too! Yay us. I was surprised that I'd not done this particular cache before, but there it was -- go figure. I guess we don't hit downtown San Jose much. Maybe when Geo Baby gets a year or two older... Thanks for the virt!

Nov 8, 2007

WWFM - Bay Area Style

By: vaccine & triplep220 Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Reviewing the weekend schedule today, now that I'm back from my work travels. It appears that plans have been made and LeChuck logistics firmed up to make it a viable event on our Saturday calendar. You just can't imagine the planning our attendance at a 15 minute event requires... Dropping some bugs, while I'm at it.

Rosie's Coloring Cache

By: Rosie the Kitten & her Dad Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

My last evening for a course I'm taking nearby, so I was glad to see this get re-enabled over the weekend. Found after a short search in the waning daylight and drew my purple butterfly in the scene. Dropped a TB that wants to make it to Palo Alto, but this is as close as I'm getting for a little while. Thanks for the cache!

Nov 7, 2007

I-5 Las Pulgas TB Hotel

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

Great place for a TB Hotel! I had rockstar parking and a nice quiet Wednesday morning to go through all the goodies for trade inside. Swapped some and then noticed that a lizard was perched in the back seat of the car. Wonder where he came from? So, I spent the next 10 minutes or so trying to help him out of the car. Seems he didn't really appreciate the help, but I'm sure he enjoyed the desert scrub better than the backseat! Thanks for the cache!

Blockhead

By: Capdude Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

Ah, very nice. I was taking the scenic route today due to a bad accident messing up the northbound I5 traffic. I was able to swap TBs at this spacious cache! Thanks.

Viewpoint

By: ls3a Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

They weren't kidding about the view. I had the park to myself, pretty much, mid-morning on a Wednesday. Cache seemed pretty exposed, in plain sight, so I tried to adjust it just a bit so that it would have a little more cover. Thanks for the cache!

K's Cache

By: momobomp Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I really enjoyed my little walk this morning before a very very very long drive back up to the San Francisco Bay area. I seemed to have the ecological preserve all to myself. Thanks for the cache!

Ridge Route - Gentle Grade

By: Yosemite John and Debbie Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I really enjoyed a pause in the route to look at all the rolling hills, well mountains here really, in the near distance. The road makes it all the more interesting. If I'd had my good camera with me, I would have taken a nice photo! Thanks.

Ridge Route - Curbside Cache

By: Yosemite John and Debbie Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

This was my last stop on the Ridge, since it appeared that a lot of other people (including some truckers) started to get the same idea that I had about circumventing I5. I ended up being part of that convoy all the way to the Templin Hwy join-up after moving on from this cache. Oh well, the caching on the way home was fun! Thanks.

The Great Windmill of Carlsbad

By: kawikaturn Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Great location for a cache, and a nice hide to boot! I'm really glad that things were quiet this morning, though. I can imagine that this is a pretty tough grab on the weekends!

Retired Guard

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

Fun walk out to this cache from the trailhead parking area. It was interesting to see the burn area just up the road. Thanks for the cache.

Starbucks to celebrate...

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

This was the first stop on a very long road trip back home to the SF Bay Area. They were repainting the parking lot nearby, so the available parking was in high demand. Luckily I was shielded by a big black supersized SUV from the guy supervising the painting (and watching to make sure people didn't go over the cones in that part of the lot). The green racer wasn't in this cache, but I did see it later on in the San Elijo cache nearby. Thanks!

The Bells of El Camino Real - Lomas

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

With coffee in hand and well before the hours of the nearby establishment, this was a quick find. Thanks for the cache!

Homer-esque

By: Loki6340 adopted by The Alleghenian Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I had no idea what a homer style hide was, so I just did my geocacher thing and found it in a common urban location. Some patrons of the nearby establishment sort of surprised me after I finished putting it back, but all I got was a weird look and then they drove away. Thanks for the cache.

Ridge Route - Git Along Little Doggies

By: Yosemite John and Debbie Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Not many cattle to be seen today, but I'm sure they had better things to do... Thanks for another Ridge route cache!

Ridge Route - Power Benchmarking

By: Yosemite John and Debbie Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I was on my way from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay area today on a little road trip. I had been sitting for about an hour in Santa Clarita, maybe going a total of 2 or 3 miles on I5 due to some accident up ahead. I had no way of knowing where up ahead, and I really was tired of shifting up and down in and out of 1st gear, so I just bailed and took the Old Ridge Road. Of course I saw that I was driving - > < - *this close* to some caches, so I decided to turn off for a few. This cache was the inspiration for my stops, as it was the first that I was driving "right over". Thanks for making the drive a bit more interesting and less aggravating!

One for the Road

By: WoolsonAbrams Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

This was a nice place to sit and have my lunch, and then get a cache! Thanks for placing it.

Gone But Not Forgotten

By: team fatman Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

A nice memorial in a very well-kept park. Thanks for bringing me here!

Dont Shoot Me

By: Team Gramps Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Went right to it. Quick and easy, and enjoyed a nearby RC plane doing tricks. Had a bunch of gawkers driving by -- guess people don't turn out here much? Thanks for the cache.

Triwizard Tournament - The Swedish Short Snout

By: The DAK Girls - adopted by PQGeoTrekkers Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

All quiet just before opening on a Wednesday morning. Just a little painting and garbage collection to contend with, but I had rockstar parking for the cache grab! Thanks.

Not in the park

By: bikedog & knic Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Not chosen

I wasn't really planning on going for a hike today, since I was travelling from San Diego to the SF Bay area, but this seemed like a nice manageable walk. I'm really glad I did it, since it sort of started the day off with a nice hike after some coffee obtained at a nearby cache. You're really asking a lot of that cammo, but it seems up to the job! Thanks for the cache!

San Elijo Lagoon

By: Wolfen Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Wow, this one's an oldie! I enjoyed my walk in the preserve, a place I've never visited before but certainly should have back when I used to live in the region. I was on my way from a work conference in San Diego to home in the San Francisco Bay area, and was just looking for a few morning warm up caches. I wasn't really expecting to hike, but I'm really glad that I did. Swapped TBs, thanks!

Nov 6, 2007

Bum & Bobby

By: Cookie & Bruiser Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Managed to slip out to find a couple caches today between meeting events at the convention center. Thanks!

Weatherlass' Irish Pub Series: The Field

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

The GPSr was going wonkers around here, but after a bit of circling and dilly-dallying around the sidewalk, we zeroed in (well, we meaning BKT and I, not my GPSr) on the hide. Thanks for the cache!

Fireworks Viewpoint

By: Thunder-4 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

There was something going on at the establishment that owns the parking lot, so I was really trying to find this one quickly so I didn't end up having a muggle problem. I even had to go back to the car and grab the big flashlight, so I was starting to get pretty nervous... Finally spotted it. Thanks for the micro!

Yip Yap - Max's Micro

By: FlagMan Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

After this last few days of conferencing, where my daylight hours have been basically consumed by sitting in dark rooms and my nighttime hours have been free for caching (go figure), I now realize and appreciate how different the ratings and urban hide styles are in different regions. I find it just bizarre that I can't come up with 1.5/1.5 micros here (Unknown_2_U hides in particular), but could probably nab them in my sleep up north. Of course, part of the problem is that I'm trying to night cache, which is something I tend to not do in my normal routine. I will be starting the drive back tomorrow with several unanswered DNF-related questions in my mind, probably not to tackle until 3 years hence when this conference rotates back to the San Diego location... I am happy to say that this particular hide was not one of those unanswered questions -- yay for universal urban micro hides!

Rock Trinity

By: PastorCacher Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

I ended up at this location well after dusk, and so was a little worried about searching in this particular location with the flashlight, since it tends to attract attention, but only the birds were there to see me! Thanks for the cache.

Nov 5, 2007

Dog Island

By: Thunder-4 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

No doggies with us today, as we are conferencing in the area. This one reminded me of the first verse to "Pop goes the weasel" . Maybe because there was two of us looking in a fairly circular manner, maybe because I'm just strange that way. Managed to spot it fairly quickly, since I like these sort of hides. Thanks for the cache.

Just Jetting Around

By: The Splashes Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Definitely sensing a theme... Thanks for the cache!

Ski Jumping

By: The Splashes Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Ah, we see a theme emerging after heading x-country a bit to get to this cache. No skiiers or jumpers out at dusk, just a lot of people sitting in their cars or taking a run around the island. Thanks for the cache.

Brackets - OTL Series # 2

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

Had to drag the flashlight out for this one, but found it pretty quickly. Thanks for the cache!

A View To A Parrot OTL Series #4

By: OMChops Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

Quick find, and great cache construction (or, really, situation). We were quickly losing daylight so didn't dawdle here, except to wonder where all those parrots went? Thanks for the cache.

Who ?s Playing on Court 50? OTL Series #3

By: OMChops Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I remember watching people playing OTL at UCSD long long ago. Then I moved away from San Diego and forgot all about that game. Found cache in great shape, with a tshirt stuffed in it! Thanks for the cache.

Emerson ?s Delight OTL Series #5

By: OMChops Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

That was a fun little scramble! I think we would have spent a little more time here pawing at the cache contents and such, but the sun was rapidly setting (and it was only 5pm darnit!) and we had a handful more caches to hit today. Thanks for the cache.

KITEBOARDING

By: Splashman & Splashette Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

BKT and I are in San Diego to attend a big ole conference at the convention center (well, that and caching of course), and our hotel is in the Mission Bay area. So, who could blame us for skipping out of the conference a little early this afternoon to use the last remaining 2 hours of daylight (bummer, wintertime is) to get the cluster of caches on Fiesta Island?!? This cache was our first stop, and was a bit obvious as the last finder apparently had a bit of trouble replacing. I was just about proportioned enough to eek it back into position with a tool that I found nearby... Thanks!

BayWatch

By: Pathfinder & Snoopy Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

In town for a conference at the convention center, and this was my second try at finding the cache. I'm not sure why I had all the trouble with this one yesterday, but today I looked in some new spots and found it reasonably fast. Thanks for the cache.

You In?

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

After some hard work at the conference this morning, BKT and I travelled out for lunch and decided that perhaps we'd rather search for this cache than return to an afternoon of mental twisting. I had solved this before leaving home a few weeks back, and was quite familiar with how to use the - um - equipment that is pictured. However, I apparently didn't get the coordinates correctly transcribed into my online coordinate list and that pretty much quashed (or dampened, hee hee) the search yesterday. So, last night when I got back to the wireless at the hotel I re-examined the info and re-entered the coords into the GPSr and we were in business today! BKT made a spectacular grab onsite. Thanks for the puzzle!

Don't Fear the Reaper

By: Cow Spots, FlagMan and Dan-oh Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Loved the find! It was well worth ducking out of the conference at the convention center to use the remaining 2 hours of daylight today to hit the caches around Fiesta Island. I giggled pretty hard when we finally figured out where this cache was hidden. TFTC.

MBP Black Box

By: mmcgr Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Nice quick find after dusk, with no one around the general vicinity. Lots of after-work-but-before-dinner joggers out tonight! Thanks for the cache!

FIESTA ISLAND RETURNS AGAIN !!

By: The Dillon Gang Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

Quick spot in a reasonable location, but it was starting to get a little dim as we arrived at this cache, the farthest out from the Fiesta Island entrance, so we had to make good use of the remaining daylight. I really liked looking at the Yrium cards in person. I have only read about those in forums before. Sometimes winter can really encroach on one's caching, even a sunny and beautiful location such as San Diego! Thanks for the cache.

Nov 4, 2007

UTC Muggle Madness

By: mikstin Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

We were in the area for dinner after a day of conferencing, and lo and behold a cache was *right there*! So, I just had to do it. We got to the site and the GPSr had me pointing into a (now closed) store that might have items which match the hint if you stretch your mind a bit (into the gutter, that is). With no flashlight and a well-cammod cache I felt lucky to actually have found it after about 10 minutes of aimlessly wandering about the area. I get the hint now... Thanks for the cache.

Hope & Happiness

By: Cookie & Bruiser Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

This was a very interesting area. Lots of people about, but I was able to avoid suspicion as most eyes were looking very specifically at other things. Thanks for bringing me here to see!

Juiced Up !!! In Pac-Bea

By: Unknown_2_You Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

In town for a conference, and decided I needed to take the car out from the hotel to get a little breakfast. This ended up being a great place for that! It took a couple of tries to find the cache, but luckily I had the area to myself (except for all the people that could have been watching from inside, that is...) Thanks for the cache.

Midway between...

By: Cookie & Bruiser Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Took some sharp eyes to spot this one without drawing blood! A bunch of underresidenced men were within spotting distance (and had spotted me to harass on my way to the cache area) but I think they tired of watching me before I made the grab. Lots of evidence near the cache that they or their compatriots hang out within spittin' distance of the cache when the nearby business is closed. Thanks for the cache.

Novice: Grand Ave

By: SlideRule Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Sunday morning is a good time to drive around and do PB caches! Found this one after my GPSr had me bouncing around from corner to corner. Thanks for the cache.

Triwizard Tournament - The Hungarian Horntail

By: The DAK Girls - adopted by PQGeoTrekkers Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

We were in the area for some after-conferencing dinner tonight, and I saw that that Horntail had hidden an egg nearby. After some quick examination, I was able to extract it from the nest. Thanks for the cache!

* Pacific Beach * - Webcam cache

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

My wonderful husband was sitting at home, 500 miles away, and worked the webcam for me. I always like doing webcams when I'm out of town, even if the reason for the trip is work! Tnanks for the cam!

Scale back...

By: Cookie & Bruiser Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

I'm in San Diego to attend a conference at the convention center nearby. I decided to visit this location for my lunch break. I played a little musical tables with my lunch as cover. It took me a while to weigh in on the exact hide location, but I was able to extract and retrieve with relative ease. Thanks for the cache!

Nov 3, 2007

Crossroads

By: nav2cache Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

The Cap'n was sailing backwards today, methinks. I had to find a tool with which to extract the cache, but I made sure to put it in the right way round so as not to flummox other cachers... Thanks for the quickie during a pitstop while going from Monterey to San Diego today!

Granary Tree

By: Oreo Pony Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

This was a fun one -- not too many people out and about this Saturday morning yet, or it could have been a lot harder! I think I dropped a TB here (well, in one of two Paso Robles caches I did this morning -- I hadn't had enough coffee yet to remember to keep better notes on that!). Thanks for the cache!

"MAULED" BY MUGGLERS

By: Team 2Dark2Fite Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I have a rule about hides in these sorts of locations, so I was in one place first and then had to go and check the other! Thanks for the cache.

Nomex vs. Ramius

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

It was an epic drive caching down 101 today in order to make it to the event before it ended. I left Monterey (where I dropped Geo Baby with Grandma) at 6:30 am, and realized somewhere around Aguora Hills (4pm-ish) that I really shouldn't be stopping for any more caches if I wanted to hit my desired arrival time of 7 pm in the Clairemont Mesa area of San Diego... I did stop for one more cache, though, since I needed Orange County (and a pitstop). The informal unveiling of Nomex and Ramius was well worth the drive, as was getting to talk with a whole lot of new faces. I felt a little shy at first, but goblin_girl, smalls311, and waterlassie broke me out of my shell. Handed off a few TBs with missions down this way, and picked up a few others to carry back with me. Thanks for making me feel welcome!

Haunted Ventura #7

By: Mr and Mrs Cache Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I was taking a nice long drive today from Monterey to San Diego, and stopped by this cache since I hadn't done one in Ventura county yet. I was pleased to see that I had the entire place to myself, even in the midst of the busy neighborhood it resided in. I really liked the adobe at the location, but when I found the cache (around 1ish in the afternoon), it was on the ground and contents were strewn about. The bug was still there (although I'm carrying it on to other adventures) as was the log and some themed items. I put it all back together and re-hid it where I think it might have been. The owners might want to check that my hide was what they had in mind. Dropped a travelling geocoin for good measure. Thanks for bringing me to this very cool place!

Here's looking at you

By: CODD-BOTTLE MAN Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Not knowing the local area at all, I parked a bit farther away than I could have, but it was all good. I saw it as I walked up to the location. Thanks for the cache!

Camarillo TB Hotel

By: MightyYT Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

More bugs were in this hotel than are listed in the reservation docket here. I only had bugs that I had just picked up today, so as to avoid any sort of confusion with numbers, I just took one of the ones in the cache and I'll be moving it in my travels this weekend. Thanks for the nice big and easy from the freeway cache!

Mid-State Parking

By: General Grant & The Mad Dog Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I amazingly had no trouble getting to the spot to access the cache. Lots of horse trailers nearby this morning, and the pumpkins seem to be disbanding... Thanks for the cache!

Hope Springs Eternal

By: Xiao Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I was on my way from Monterey to San Diego today, and stopped at the Paso Robles Inn for a little breakfast once the daylight was in full force. I saw this was nearby, and I needed to stretch my legs, so I sauntered over after eating. Thanks for the cache.

Old Time Cache

By: Tiki Treasure Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

Everyone around here was all cowboy-ed up this morning. I made a quick grab-n-go of the cache, though, before too many boots were around. Thanks for the cache!

Promenade Micro

By: bhound89 Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I had a great muggle-break opportunity this afternoon, but I squandered it by looking in a noisy place and becoming very conspicuous to some people that then drove nearby and stared at me. Ahh the things we do to geocache... I had to retreat, wait for a new set of muggles to not notice me, and then time my retrieval of the noise-free location just right. Great fun! Thanks for the cache!

~ Photo Op ~

By: ~ AfricanQueen ~ (adopted by Zaulyn) Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

Quick find, although lots of people wandering in to a nearby establishment forced me to time the retrieval and replacement just right. Not sure I'd want to take a photo of the area now... Thanks for the cache!

College Credit

By: Camo Cacher Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

I misinterpreted the hint, maybe not taking it literally enough. It took me a little time to find it, just because I started checking hiding spots at the wrong elevation... Anyhow, as soon as I started looking around, there it was. Left a TB (but it isn't in my account anymore to drop it correctly), then it was onto the gas station and continuing my drive from Monterey to San Diego. Thanks for the cache and the quick diversion during a very long drive today. Edit: dropped bug in correct cache.

Goshi the Cache

By: Xiao Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

There weren't too many people about this morning, so it was easy to search. I just about overlooked the cache, though, and a second sweep is what did the trick for me. Thanks!

In honor of...

By: Three Bees Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

I was driving from Monterey to San Diego today, and thought I'd stop off at some key places to get some caches, gas, meals, etc. I liked the work that went into this location. Email sent. Thanks for the virt.

Nov 1, 2007

Jdsinger ?s Fairoaks Park

By: jdsinger Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Having spent lots of time at Fairoaks Park proper as a kid, I was sort of surprised about the location my GPSr routed me to for this search, given the title. I got to a legal parking spot within about 80 feet, but didn't much feel like searching that particular area. Cars were whizzing by me around a blind bend, and I thought that perhaps I'd save this cache for a day (or early weekend morning) when I was feeling more, um, adventurous.

Double Secret Trailhead

By: workerofwood Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

After scouting for non-ticketable parking far too long in my car, I ambled back and forth in the area. I got a little nervous when I noticed a nice-looking mountain bike hidden beneath the big tent-like tree nearby -- I don't need to intrude on someone's house or double-secret parking space and get them all mad at me when they're off their meds or something... Anyhow, I managed to skirt around that issue and find the cache a few minutes later. Thanks for the cache!

Been Here: Patrick Henry

By: 50sumtin Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I have a friend that I think works in one of the nearby buildings, which was my cover for the particular parking space that I chose. I was able to search with my phone to my ear on a work call to give me a little cover while walking back and forth. Doesn't everyone pace when they're on their cell phone? Thanks for the cache!

Element #60

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

I found the cache a whole lot faster than I was expecting to. At first, I was a little nervous about my weekday afternoon parking options, though. Luckily I was in and out of there faster than any curious employees could be! Thanks for the cache.

John W. Christian Greenbelt II

By: Somethings Fishy Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

In the Sunnyvale area today between a dentist appointment before a visit to the library to do some actual telework, and an evening class. The greenbelt was in fine shape, but I was wondering why all the Sunnyvale kids weren't in school today! I could hear lots of laughing in nearby back yards, and the Lakewood marquis listed today as "no school" (although the teachers seemed to be there). Thanks for the cache.

Lakewood Park

By: Somethings Fishy Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Other

This one definitely took awhile, even though I knew exactly what to search. Just as I was about ready to give up I decided to go through one last time -- BINGO, there it was! Thanks for the cache.

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