Geocaching . . . Just Another Lost Soul

2010-04-07T08:00:00.004-04:00

Three cache finds may seem to be rather insignificant to most, but it was a great afternoon of caching. First: it was fun to be out with the two girls in my life on a perfect Outer Banks day. Second: one of the two caches was an Earthcache.

Mind you geocaching means something different to different cachers. Some cachers seek out the most difficult of caches, while others may search out P&Gs. Some cachers chase down FTFs, while others like the thrill of logging big numbers.

I, for one, got back into geocaching because it was something our middle grandson wanted to try. We'd originally attempted it in the early years of geocaching, but never really got into it. Then a little over a year ago we tried it once again. Our grandson loved it and it was off to the races. Every find was a thrill. We were actually stumped when we first encountered our first "skirt" hide and had ear to ear smiles when we finally figured it out.

Now, just a handful of months later, what we once found exciting now tends to bore us to no end. We can spot a "skirt" hide before we turn into a parking lot. We just hate it when we pop the lid of a 35mm canister and find yet another soggy log. FTFs come and go.

So, for me, an Eathcache is an opportunity to seek out one of the still exciting aspects of geocaching. It's a chance to actually learn something while participating in a pastime I enjoy.

Communities of Currituck Banks
Big Chair
Surprise, Surprise

2010-04-06T10:47:00.001-04:00

My Cache Stats as of 4/5/2010 (Generated by CacheStats 3.0. Get your own stats at
www.logicweave.com)

Cache Finds
Total Found:	319 (# found/attended logs)	Find Rate:	0.102 per day (0.7 per week, 37 per year)
Caches:	319 (# unique caches visited)	Avg. difficulty / terrain:	1.76 / 1.66
# Archived:	35 (10%)	FTFs:	17
Avg. in 1 day:	4.7	Oldest Cache:	Four Dances (GCABC placed 5/28/2001)
Most in 1 day:	24 (4/24/2009)	Most in 1 month:	85 (3/2009)

Days Cached
Total days cached:	68 (every 45.9 days or 2.2%)	Most consecutive days with a find:	7 (3/16/2009 - 3/22/2009)
Most in 1 month:	21 (3/2009)	Most consecutive days without a find:	2698 (9/22/2001 - 2/9/2009)

History
Year	Total Found	Rate	Days Cached / Frequency
2001	1	0.010	1 / every 102.0 days
2002	0	0.000	0 / NA
2003	0	0.000	0 / NA
2004	0	0.000	0 / NA
2005	0	0.000	0 / NA
2006	0	0.000	0 / NA
2007	0	0.000	0 / NA
2008	0	0.000	0 / NA
2009	308	0.844	61 / every 6.0 days
2010	10	0.104	6 / every 16.0 days

Milestones
Number	Date	Cache	# Days between
#1	9/21/2001	Four Dances
#100	3/21/2009	South end of the trail	2738
#200	4/26/2009	Music City Audition #3-Executive Decision	36
#300	6/7/2009	"Have mind upon your health . . ."	42

Size Breakdown
Size	# Found	Percentage
Micro	153	48.0
Regular	60	18.8
Small	60	18.8
Not chosen	22	6.9
Other	14	4.4
Virtual	9	2.8
Large	1	0.3

Type Breakdown
Type	# Found	Percentage
Traditional Cache	284	89.0
Mystery	16	5.0
Virtual Cache	7	2.2
Multi-cache	6	1.9
Earthcache	3	0.9
Webcam Cache	2	0.6
Cache In Trash Out Event	1	0.3

Difficulty Breakdown
Difficulty	# Found	Percentage
1	60	18.8
1.5	113	35.4
2	93	29.2
2.5	33	10.3
3	14	4.4
3.5	2	0.6
4	4	1.3
4.5	0	0.0
5	0	0.0

Terrain Breakdown
Terrain	# Found	Percentage
1	64	20.1
1.5	149	46.7
2	77	24.1
2.5	16	5.0
3	5	1.6
3.5	3	0.9
4	2	0.6
4.5	1	0.3
5	2	0.6

Difficulty / Terrain Combinations

	Terrain
Difficulty		1	1.5	2	2.5	3	3.5	4	4.5	5
	1	31	22	3	2	1	-	1	-	-
	1.5	16	72	20	4	-	1	-	-	-
	2	14	33	35	7	3	-	1	-	-
	2.5	2	13	14	2	1	1	-	-	-
	3	1	6	3	1	-	1	-	1	1
	3.5	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	4	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	1
	4.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	34 out of 81 combinations found

Favorite and other Notable Caches
Category	Cache	Log	Comment
Most difficult find	Tripping Billies	View	My first of this type and it stumped me on several trips.
Cleverest hide	Out On a Limb	View	Appreciate the effort that went into this cache.

FTFs
Number	Date	Cache	Log
1	4/9/2009	The Currituck Club	View
2	4/17/2009	Quack Attack	View
3	5/5/2009	Daisy's Surprise Cache	View
4	5/12/2009	Molly's cache	View
5	5/13/2009	Time to Think	View
6	5/14/2009	Don't Be Fooled	View
7	5/20/2009	Yahoo at Wahoo	View
8	5/20/2009	Eeny Meeny Miny Moe	View
9	5/28/2009	The Beach Cache	View
10	5/28/2009	Lindy's Yard Sale Cache	View
11	5/29/2009	Cudworth Cemetery	View
12	5/31/2009	Flying Horsegeeks	View
13	5/31/2009	When Pigs Fly	View
14	5/31/2009	Mark William Calaway	View
15	6/1/2009	The cameleon	View
16	3/19/2010	Let's Go Crabbing!	View
17	3/27/2010	HDTV minus the TV	View

Locations
US States (3):	MT (1), NC (312), VA (6)
Countries (1):	United States (319)

Steamer Pots, Beachcombing & Geocaching

2010-04-04T19:19:00.010-04:00

Simply a great Easter weekend with so much to do and so much to enjoy. We even managed a few cache finds and another hide in between beachcombing, steamer pots and trips to the sound to let the dogs swim. The weather was near perfect; a little sea fog in the mornings, but sunny once that burned off.

The sad part of the weekend was having our family head back home.

Got Crabs?
Top of the Tower
I Want my Baby Back
Rachel's Doll House
Pipe Dreams

Peer @ The Pier

This cache was the idea of our daughter-in-law and hidden by her, our son, grandson along with my wife and I. Jennette's Pier was destoyed by Hurricane Isabel in September 2003. Recently, construction of the new pier was started and this cache was placed to bring fellow cachers here not only to find the cache, but also to view the new pier as it's being constructed.

Will That Be Cash Or Credit?

2010-03-28T08:51:00.001-04:00

I'm standing in the check-out at Home Depot and I get a text message alerting me of a newly posted geocache. Where is it? Home Depot. So, I check out, grab the GPS and claim my FTF.

HDTV minus the TV

Three Down, Eleven To Go

2010-03-23T17:02:00.003-04:00

If I counted correctly there's fourteen geocaches in my area that I'm yet to find. All winter I thought about seeking them out but the weather was just too nasty to venture out as much as I would have liked. Mind you we weren't buried in snow nor was it well below freezing. However it was cold for here, and wet, and we were bombarded by one nor'easter after another. When it was nice enough to be out there always seemed like there was something more pressing I should be doing.

Several days ago the planets all lined up and I was able to get out. Still it took the possibility of an FTF to lure me away from my recliner and the big screen TV. And even then I just took the time to find the one. Today I logged on to geocaching.com just to see what was out there. That's when I totaled up what was available and came up with the fourteen I mentioned earlier.

This afternoon I decided to head out and log a few finds. I downloaded the ones nearest the house, threw Libby (our chocolate lab) in the truck and headed out. I probably could have searched for all of the eleven, but with Easter coming and the grandkids all coming, I thought I'd leave a few finds for them.

Sea Shells by the Sea Shore
The Phoenix
Laundry Time

FTF!

2010-03-19T11:35:00.003-04:00

It seems like I haven't cached in decades, so it actually took some OJT to actually figure it all out again. Several days ago this cache popped up in my email and it's remained undiscovered since. Finally it began to gnaw on me. Why hadn't anyone found it? Or, if it had been found, why hadn't it been logged? Was it there? Was it that difficult, even though it wasn't shown that way?

Anyway, it was only 1.8 miles from the house so today I downloded the coordinates into the Garmin and headed out. It was kind of like riding a bike; it all came back to me as soon as I jumped on board and started to petal.

Lets Go Crabbing

Holed Up!

2010-01-07T18:25:00.001-05:00

My plan was to place new batteries in the Garmin and see if I actually remembered how to use it, but Mother Nature put all that on hold. I did get the new batteries installed and gave myself a basic course in GPSing 101.

Now all I have to hope for is that the batteries are still good when this cold spell is over.

Ho . . . Ho . . . Ho!

2009-12-16T10:22:00.002-05:00

A friend emailed the other day about a project I'd just started and as a side note asked why I hadn't geocached in a long time. It then dawned on me that this blog has been sitting idle during my inactivity and that I should at least jump on here to update those who do on occassion read it.

We live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which some know, and others don't, is a series of islands out in the Atlantic Ocean. Being surrounded by water means we have fish. In fact, the OBX is a saltwater fishing Mecca. When our weather, and water, warms everything gets placed on the back burner and fishing takes precedence. My days are spent on Nags Head Pier, and it's there I stay until it closes on Thanksgiving weekend.

Also, if you look at the geocaches that are located around me you'll find that they are few and far between. Those that were here I'd already found. In the months I haven't cached a few more have popped up and it's nearly time to begin to track them down.

AND, while I'm here, have a Happy Holiday and please travel safely.

July 4th Find

2009-07-04T20:18:00.000-04:00

We took a little out from our Independence Day festivities to try for a FTF. Unfortunately we ended up 2nd.
Logical

300+

2009-06-07T22:00:00.017-04:00

Malinda & Libby

Downtown Washington

Waterfront

Today was spent geocaching in the Washington, NC area in an attempt to reach the 300 plateau.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. The Sentry
2. Be On Your Guard
3. Don't Get Stumped (Elf King's 1K # ONE) REDUX
4. EWG #3
5. EWG #2
6. The Inbetween
7. "Have mind upon your health . . ." This is my 300th find!
8. EWG #1
9. A Haven with Room to Rest
10. Where the Rivers Meet the Sea, easy version
11. DiSS - missed it
12. You can't hide your Lion eyes
13. Bells of Tacos
14. "...Or what's a heaven for?"
15. BellHaven Grand Slam

Good Start To The Month

2009-06-01T18:02:00.004-04:00

Started out the month of June with a bang; another FTF! Unfortunately it was the only cache found and in all likelyhood may be the last for awhile. For those who don't know it, I fish. Not just any fishing, but saltwater fishing for big fish from the end of our local piers. It's called pin rigging and it's about ready to fire up in earnest. So, as our fishing gets underway geocaching will be taking a back seat. Hope to still get some in and will do my best to upgrade the blog, so please stay tuned. May even include a few fish tales!

Today's FTF:
1. The cameleon

Harris Lake 10th Anniversary CITO

2009-05-31T16:53:00.017-04:00

Well, my first CITO is in the books. My grandson Andrew, my daughter-in-law, myself and approximately 30 other geocachers met at Harris Lake to do a little trash pick up and find a few caches. It would be my first "event" and I was looking forward to meeting a few of the people who hide the caches I've been finding around the Raleigh, Cary and Durham area.

Harris Lake Park is a 680 park situated on a peninsula jutting out into the Shearon Harris Reservoir. Because of its proximity to various trails and miles of shoreline it has an abundance of geocaches. Some you can hike to and some you can kayak to. In fact, there are so many caches that a moratorium has been placed on any new caches. Only when a cache is archived can another be placed. Still, there's enough to keep a cacher busy for more than a few outings.

We had a fun day. The weather cooperated and despite more than a few ticks, everyone went home feeling good about cleaning the environment and spending time with fellow geocachers. We were also able to claim three FTFs as part of the CITO.

Myself & Andrew @ The End Of A Great Day

Leann & Andrew

Emorocker & Geoness claiming their FTF

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Harris Lake 10th Anniversary CITO
2. Flying Horsegeeks FTF
3. When Pigs Fly FTF
4. Mark William Calaway FTF

Other Caches Found This Trip:
1. Want Fries with that Shake?
2. Jones Dolphin
3. Have You Seen The Crocodile? Cache Again
4. Zeke's Driftwood Dolphin
5. Pink Dolphin Diamond
6. Exercise Every Day
7. Just Barking Up The Wrong Tree
8. Looking for a Slice of the Good Life
9. Mr Sparkle: Awesoma Powa!
10. Sleeping with the Fishes -"The Minnow" 3/16

Go West Young Man, Go West

2009-05-29T09:09:00.005-04:00

Seems like I've used that title before????? Oh well, way too busy to check right now.

I'm in the process of packing the truck for a trip to Cary. Once there I'll be attending my first CITO with my grandson. Not really looking forward to picking up trash on an 85 degree day, but am looking forward to placing faces to some of the names of fellow cachers.

The event is the Harris Lake 10th Anniversary CITO. I know very little about the area, but the little bit of research I've done shows there are more than a few caches around. Doubt there will be a whole lot of time for geocaching, but it will provide the opportunity to get a little first hand knowledge should we decide to do them later.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last night a new cache popped up just after we had settled in for the evening. Even then I thought about heading out for it, but the cache description pointed out that the first portion of the multi involved locating markers in a local cemetery so please only do the cache during daylight hours. Well, you didn't need to twist my arm any further and off to the recliner I headed.

This morning I downloaded the data and headed to Wanchese to find it. I REALLY figured to see other cachers looking when I pulled in, or at the very least to see an FTF when I opened the log book. To my amazement the place was empty and so was the log book.

Today's FTF:
1. Cudworth Cemetery

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

2009-05-28T10:21:00.019-04:00

A while back my grandson, son and myself came up with the idea of having a race across the country using travel bugs. These TBs would consist of Hot Wheels. Once the TBs were created and activated we would ship them to the west coast. There, they would be placed in caches by friends and the race would begin. The winner would be determined by the first car to end up in any cache within a 25 mile radius of Cary, North Carolina. Today those cars arrived in California.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Big Slick Racing

Team Fast Racing

DOG FIGHTER

Big Slick Racing will be raced by my son and my grandson will race the DOG FIGHTER. I'll be behind the wheel of the Team Fast Racing Mustang.

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Today's FTFs:
1. Lindy's Yard Sale Cache
2. The Beach Cache

Memorial Day Weekend '09

2009-05-25T08:28:00.012-04:00

A very busy holiday weekend. Leann & Andrew arrived on Thursday afternoon and immediately the geocaching began. Andrew and I had been thinking about creating a cache at a gazebo where we like to crab so we headed out to try and come up with a plan for that. The gazebo is situated at the end of a boardwalk that extends out into the Albemarle Sound. It's a popular spot for those looking to catch a few blue crabs for a meal and a great location to watch the sun set over the sound. After placing the cache and submitting it for review and publication we grabbed a few finds for Andrew.

Friday morning we decided to attempt a few cache finds over on Roanoke Island, one of which is a big favorite of ours and we were hoping Andrew and Leann would enjoy it as well. There's nothing complicated about it, but the hide is pure genius in its simplicity. Here's a few photos of Andrew at The Complete Genius's Guide to Geocaching.

Malinda, Andrew & Leann @ Naval Battle

Leann & Andrew headed out to find Sunshine & Sandy Bottoms

My Holiday Finds:
1. Arithmetic Cache
2. Travis's Traveling Toy Box
3. Grape Expectations
4. Lets Hit the Bricks one more time

Ride Cowboy, Ride!

2009-05-20T10:50:00.008-04:00

Arrived home last evening and this morning jumped right back in the saddle of the horse called "First To Find", scoring two and bringing my total up to eight. Both had been reviewed and posted yesterday, but I was already tucked in and watching the Black Hawks vs. Red Wings when I first noticed them. No way was I getting out of my pj's to run around in the dark. Was surprised this morning to see that for some unexplained reason no one else had claimed them either. Anyway, I'll take them if I can get 'em.

Staying with the horse theme; Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
;-)

This Morning's FTFs:
1. Yahoo at Wahoo
2. Eeny Meeny Miny Moe

2nd To Find:
1. The Box 2

Homeward Bound

2009-05-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

Today wrapped up my stay in Cary, North Carolina where I'd been over the last several days watching our son's beagle while he and the family took a little mini-vacation to Washington DC.

Taime, who is named after Taime Downe, lead singer for Faster Pussycat and a friend of Derek, is somewhere in the vicinity of 18 years old. Because of her advanced years they worry about leaving her, and who they leave her with. So, whenever possible I drive over and do the dog sitting. My thought process is that some day I'm going to require some TLC and it's then I'll call in all the favors. Pretty ingenious if it works, right?????

Before leaving for Kill Devil Hills I'd get a few caches around Derek's, swing back to let the dog out one last time and then try to get a few in the vicinity of my stops on the drive home.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Just Dessert
2. GEO-Monopoly "Concorde Jet"
3. Try, Try Again
4. Another portal to Narnia!
5. Fish Finder
6. Road to Nowhere
7. Road to Nowhere #2
8. Highway 64 Cache Break
9. Highway 64 TB/Geocoin 5 Star Hotel

Biking The American Tobacco Trail

2009-05-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's rains finely subsided giving me the opportunity to get in a little biking combined with a little geocaching. I'd be using the bike to ride the American Tobacco Trail, picking up the geocaches that are along its route. This popular trail was once a railroad line which has now been converted to a multi use trail system for walkers, cyclists, runners, horse riders and geocachers. Caches have sprouted up nearly every 1/10th of a mile along nearly the entire route. Most aren't creative, nor do they take much effort to locate, but that's what draws families here to find them, as well as cachers looking to up their totals. Me, I was just looking for a nice bike ride with a few caches to give me an excuse to dismount and give my butt a much needed respite. I haven't been on a bike much over the last several years and no longer have the ability to sit in the saddle for long periods of time.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Jivin' with Jack
2. Wimberly Crossing
3. Sure I'll Take a Break
4. Barely Room with a View #3
5. Take another Break
6. Goodwin Road Crossing
7. The Lone Ranger
8. Tunnel of Another Type
9. Matches
10. Down Spout
11. Tonto
12. It's not a Kiwi
13. Ridge Runner
14. Cliff Dweller

Rain Rain Go Away. . .

2009-05-17T07:13:00.007-04:00

Sitting in Cary and having the morning's first cup of coffee. It's raining, which is a bit discouraging because it would be nice to be sitting out on the deck while reading this morning's paper and watching the family of geese who have taken up residency in the pond just outside of our son's yard. There's mom, dad and three brand new siblings. Family appears to be doing well despite the fact there's a snapping turtle the size of a hub cap that also calls the pond home.

I'm here dog-sitting while the kids are in Washington DC. I'm also here to try for a few caches in between letting the dog in and out; another reason why the rain is a kick in the butt. Hoping the forecast is correct and the showers ease up as the day progresses. Clear skies are not only good for one's psyche, but also a definite aide to satellite reception.

In the meantime it's a good opportunity to log the caches found yesterday while on the drive over.

1. Wally's World but not Always
2. The Not-So-Ok Corral
3. Mission1: "Thunderball"
4. How do you Stack up?
5. A Low Score
6. Old Post Office
7. Rocky Mount Mills

The rain continued throughout the day and temperatures dropped from the mid eighties yesterday to the mid fifties for today's high. All and all a miserable day for geocaching, but I made the best of it and managed to find ten. Most were P&Gs that allowed me to make mad dashes to and from the truck and to stay relatively dry, and to keep the log sheets dry as well.

Of course searching out P&Gs generally entails more than a few 35mm film canisters hidden under lamp post skirts. And there were a few of those, but overall it was a better than average group of hides. In fact I'd have to give the group a solid B and admit to a few surprises I didn't see coming.

However, without a doubt, the cache of the day was Out On a Limb. This was one of a few caches that didn't fall into the P&G genre. This cache I'd heard about thru the grapevine and had even taken the time to research it, though most cachers who had found it were keeping it pretty low key. The only thing I could really determine from the logs was that it was fun and NOT your everyday geocache.

Initially I had planned on doing it with my grandson, but I was on my way to Barnes & Noble and the route took me within a 1/4 mile of it. I couldn't resist and stopped in to have a quick look see. The rest is history. Without a doubt this is my all time favorite and I'll look back on it on the days where it's one 35mm film canister with a soggy log after another-a definite must if you ever get to this part of North Carolina.

Today's Rainy Day Finds:
1. Cuz Every Town Needs a Lamp Skirt Cache
2. RHG 15k 0300
3. RHG 15k 0200
4. Geo C&L #2
5. Geo C&L #22
6. Deadend Daylillies
7. De La Mer
8. Out On a Limb
9. Hanging Out at the Crossing
10. It's Not on the Bridge

This Can't Continue. . . Can It?

2009-05-14T19:06:00.003-04:00

I'd just finished raking some leaves, and ran in for a beer and to check my email. Low and behold what shows up but a new cache listing. I haven't been geocaching long, taking it back up earlier this year after a very brief stint back in 2001, and never considered myself as being a FTF junky. I guess the main reasons for never giving them much thought is that there just isn't many that pop up around here and there's a husband and wife team that generally scarf them up as soon as they're published.

Then, several weeks ago I upgraded my membership to PREMIUM. I upgraded in order to have the ability to create queries and to reap the benefits of GSAK. Another advantage to the upgrade is being notified by email when new caches are published in your area.

Shortly afer setting up the "new cache published" notification one pops up in my email. Minutes later I'd downloaded the waypoint into my GPSr and was on my way. When I saw the unsigned log sheet I have to admit to being excited. Upon arriving home I logged my find and can remember thinking: Okay, I have an FTF and can now just get back to being a regular ol' cacher.

Well, I now have six FTFs and have to admit to getting up early to check the email for new listings and then checking throughout the day as time permits. Granted, I'm not hooked as bad as some cachers I know, but can see the possibility of that happening.

Today's FTF:
1. Don't Be Fooled

When Will The Bubble Burst?!?!

2009-05-13T07:01:00.012-04:00

Another FTF this morning.

This cache didn't show up as a "new cache" listing in my email. When I activated my premium account and set up my "new cache notification" I opted for just "traditional caches" and not "mystery caches". For some unexplained reason after checking my email I went to geocaching.com and checked through the caches nearest to my coordinates and this one showed up. I generally avoid "mystery caches" or "puzzle caches" like the plague, but I solved this one while having the morning's first cup of coffee and then headed out to get it.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Time to Think
2. Little Pine

FTFs Thru 5-14-09:
1. Time to Think
2. Molly's cache
3. Daisy's Surprise Cache
4. Quack #9
5. The Currituck Club
6. Don't Be Fooled

FTF-FTTM

2009-05-12T13:22:00.004-04:00

First To Find - First Thing This Morning!

My new "Premium" membership paid off again when I woke this morning and found a "new cache" notification in the email. I was on the road by 5:00 A.M. and had found the cache by 5:30. A few minutes later I was back home and getting ready to log the FTF. However, instead of doing just that, I hesitated, wondering if there were any others on their way to score the FTF honors. More importantly, was there one team in particular, who will remain anonymous, heading out in the predawn darkness.

This team revels in FTFs. They lay awake at night waiting for them, watching their computer monitor ready to pounce on new caches like hyenas on the remains of a lion kill. I have visions of them jumping up and down in fits of joy when they open that bare log, shaking so bad that it's all they can do to sign their name, unable to control that glee, savoring that adrenalin rush that comes from knowing they beat the rest of the pack to the kill. Wild-eyed and foaming at the mouth.

So, instead of logging my FTF, I poured another cup of coffee, sat it beside the recliner and started to jump up and down, savoring that FTF rush. Wild-eyed and foaming at the mouth.

Today's FTF:
1. Molly's cache

225 Miles & 5 Caches Later. . .

2009-05-09T21:02:00.009-04:00

Today's cache run took us to Belhaven, North Carolina. The trip wasn't chosen to up my numbers, but rather to explore another portion of our state that I've yet to see. During the drive I hoped to find the five caches scattered along the route. What I DIDN'T intend on finding was the black bear shown in the photo. While I searched for the cache One Degree of Separation: Snoogans 3-beenthere309 it seemed to be searching for a cache of its own. Suffice it to say, it didn't take me long to sign the log and high-tail it to the safety of the truck. There, I was brave enough to snap this photo before the bear rambled on.

The outing would end up being seven hours long and cover 225 roundtrip miles. It would also provide me with several interesting cache finds hidden in even more interesting locations.

The highlight of the five would have to be The Church Moved by the Hand of God. Included is the story behind the cache title.

In 1874, members of the Methodist faith in Swan Quarter decided it was time to establish a permanent church building and abandon the temporary place where they had been holding services.
The location of the church became a matter of concern. Benjamin Griffin Credle, leader and promoter, and his committee picked out a perfect site for a church in the heart of town on its highest spot. They approached the owner of the lot, Sam Sadler, one-time clerk of Hyde County Superior Court, regarding the purchase of the land. Mr. Sadler would not sell it. He bluntly refused to turn loose of his property. The committee argued and pled with him. Finally, he ordered them off his land and told them never to come back again: He had no use for churches and he wouldn't have one on his property. The Methodists then accepted a gift of a lot offered by James W. Hayes, some thousand feet in rear of the present courthouse, and in a short time began building operations. When the church, a modest structure on brick piers, was barely shut in, people began to worship in it. At that time it was the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
In September 1876 a fateful event took place. The story is told in an affidavit given by Mrs. Lelia Brinn, an eyewitness, to P.G. Gallop in 1939. Mrs. Brinn was born and reared in Swan Quarter and lived into the 1950's. Mr. Gallop was superintendent of Hyde County schools from 1935-1941 and president of the first Hyde County Chamber of Commerce.
September 16, 1876, on the eve of the dedication of the church, a storm broke out and began to brew. Rain fell and wind blew until on the morning of September 17, 1876, the wind had reached such a height and the tide had risen to such depth that the force of the water moved the little Methodist Church from its temporary location into the road--now called Oyster Creek Road.
A miracle was happening--the church was floating down the road. It went straight down the road to a corner and bumped into a general store owned by George V. Credle. The corner is now Oyster Creek Road and U.S. 264 Business. Then a curious thing happened! The building took a sharp right turn and headed down that road for about two city blocks until it reached the corner of what is now Church Street. Then it moved slightly off its straightline course, took another turn to the left, crossed the Carawan Canal directly in front of the place where the people desired the church to be, and settled exactly in the center of the Sam Sadler property, the site which had been refused.
After seeing the mighty work of Providence and realizing there was a mightier power than man ruling the universe, Mr. Sadler set about to transfer the title for the land the morning following the storm. When the church was dedicated years later, it was called "Providence".

Today's Cache Finds:
1. One Degree of Separation: Snoogans 3-beenthere309
2. The Church Moved by the Hand of God
3. The Downtown Bell
4. The Bells of Bellhaven
5. Crossing Over

Give Me A Minute, I'll Think Of Something Clever.

2009-05-07T19:21:00.009-04:00

Okay, nothing clever comes to mind, which is apropos because there was nothing clever about any of today's cache finds. The only excitement was dodging the heavy rains and lightning that accompanied me on my drive and searches.

Today's Cache Finds:

1. Toll Trolls

2. No Loitering!

3. The Jackson Grey's Monument ( Virtual )

4. Nikki's Secret

5. Moyock United Methodist Church

6. Currituck Brain Fair #3

7. Deep in the Heart of Maple

8. Pilmoor United Methodist Church

9. How Maple Became Maple

Cinco de Mayo FTF

2009-05-05T10:56:00.006-04:00

Nothing very interesting or special about this morning's find, excluding the fact it was a FTF. The hiders did try to be somewhat artistic and created a faux pile of dog poop to hide their 35 mm film canister in. Not sure what the material was that they chose for this arts and crafts project, but unfortunately the rains we've experienced over the last 24 hours all but turned it into the real McCoy. Thankfully, there was no odor but the consistancy was pure perfection.

After proudly signing my "John Hancock" in the highly touted FTF box I did my very best to re-form the pile of poo back into it's original shape. I must say I did a darn nice job and then headed back to the truck and home to a cup of coffee.

Notes to Self:
1. Never, I mean NEVER, leave home at 6 in the morning without your first cup of coffee for the day.

2. Always check for an odor BEFORE picking up anything resembling poo of any kind.

Today's Cache:
1. Daisy's Surprise Cache

Secret Island Cache

2009-05-03T15:28:00.011-04:00

For those who don't already know, we live on North Carolina's Outer Banks. The area is noted for many things, not the least of which are hurricanes, nor'easters, ship wrecks and of course the Wright Brother's first fight. It's a paradise for saltwater anglers, surfers, sun worshipers, seekers of shells by the seashore and last but not least; kayakers. So, it should go without saying that we have a few geocaches that require getting one's feet wet if one wants to find them. By rights we should have more but that takes us back to our hurricanes. All of the areas that are accessible by kayak, canoe and boat are also subject to tidal flooding, hurricane force winds and the high surf that accompanies these storms. On the average of one every three years we get ravaged by a hurricane. Several times a year a nor'easter sits over us for days on end, doing its best to remind us that Mother Nature is still in charge.

I enjoy kayaking and wish there were more opportunities to get ours out. Generally we try to paddle a few miles every time the kids are here, but they can't be here as often as we'd like. I also wish there were more kayak caches to paddle to but understand why there isn't. I do however plan on getting a few more out. I figure I live here so if they get blown away, or float off to Bermuda, all I have to do is replace them. I placed one several weeks ago and have locations for several more that we're going to place as soon as my youngest son and grandson can give me a hand. They're both into geocaching so it will be a great family outing.

Today I loaded up the kayak and headed out to find one of the last remaining kayak caches. The last time it was located was August 8th of last year. We've had a few good blows since then so had my doubts whether it was still there. To my delight, it was! It wasn't where my GPS'r indicated it should be and was laying in the open, on its side with the contents slightly damp. One more good wind would, in all likelihood, have washed it into the sound and archived another geocache. I pulled all the items from the container and laid them out on the kayak to dry in the sun. The log, which was in its own Ziplock bag, was dry. I signed it and while everything dried I searched for a more secure place to locate it without getting too far from CZ. As luck would have it there was a bush that had prospered despite its environment that I could sit it in the middle of, thus keeping it upright and somewhat protected from the winds that rake the island. Hopefully it will still be there when the next cacher paddles out to it.

Today's Cache:
Secret Island Cache

Home Sweet Home

2009-04-27T22:00:00.005-04:00

Can it be? Can CacheFest '09 - The Spring Fling be over already? Where did the time go. It seems like just yesterday that I was seeking # 200. Oh, it was yesterday!

Well, every good thing must come to an end and today we arrived home after spending the weekend with family in Cary. We had a great time geocaching and spending time with our family. We were very excited to see Andrew find his 300th cache and to celebrate his 12th birthday. Hard to believe he'll soon be a teenager, then he'll discover girls and soon after he'll be asking to take his parent's car. And odds are it won't be to go geocaching.

Today's Caches:
1. Off your Rocker in Rocky Mount, NC
2. Hard Headed Woman
3. Team VANC's Start Spot

It's The Final Countdown

2009-04-26T15:34:00.008-04:00

Day #3 of CacheFest '09 - The Spring Fling would take us to downtown Raleigh and a day filled with urban caches. We've never been to this portion of the city and we were looking forward to the outing. Derek, our youngest son, was off of work so today we'd have the entire team working to put Andrew over 300 and myself over the 200 mark. Urban caching always seems more challenging because it is usually micros and nanos hidden in muggle infested areas. Stealth is always a requirement. Today's finds would fit into that catagory and I was glad to have five sets of eyes looking.

Leann & Derek With Success In Hand

Andrew Reaching For 300

Derek With One Of His Finds

Andrew & Myself @ Woody's

4/5th Of The Team ( Leann is behind the lens)

Today's Cache Finds:

1. Good For What Ales You - Cameron

2. Pac-Man Fever: BattleStations

3. Hidden Gem of Raleigh

4. Crazy Soccer Lockup Trail

5. Luck of the Irish ( Andrew's 300th Find )

6. Old 4 Trunk orig Old 5 Trunk

7. SO CAL INVASION (SUNSET BEACH)

8. Choose A Beverage

9. Music City Audition #4 Lou Reed
10. Music City Audition #3-Executive Decision
11. MC-14 Stress Reliever ( My 200th Find )
12. Spike It With Power
13. Far out, Man!
14. Stan and Grace Go Walking
15. O'Kelly Chapel Cemetery

CacheFest '09 - The Spring Fling, Day 2

2009-04-25T22:33:00.018-04:00

We'd begin today's cache run with an attempt at a FTF. We'd spotted it last night at around 11:00 but everyone was way too tired to dress and head back out . . . well, everyone but Andrew that is. How nice it would be to be young and have unlimited ambition. Arrived at the park where this new caches was located with high hopes, but ended up being third behind the cachers who changed out of their pj's and DID come out. The FTF signed the log at 11:08. While he was signing the log I was celebrating my day with a Carolina Blonde and thinking about my pillow.

The last finds of the day would be around the East loop of Lake Johnson in Raleigh. This is a beautiful park for a multitude of pastimes including; biking, jogging, sailing and fishing. The East Loop is just under 3 miles long and has numerous geocaches hidden along it's length. We were fortunate enough to find 6 of those and put a cap on a 20 cache day.

Andrew @ The Most Interesting Cache Of The Day

Malinda & Libby Looking For A Johnson Lake Cache

A Break From Caching To Pick Dessert!

A Piece Of Cake

Andrew & I @ Whale Rocks

Today's Cache Finds:

1. Durant Secret Creek Cache

2. Victor's First Hide

3. Whale Rocks

4. A Piece Of Cake

5. Hi Durant!

6. And a Cache as a bonus....

7. Four Pillars

8. Where does this go?

9. Victor's Exciting Treasure

10. Honeycutt Cache

11. 45 + OVER

12. Down.

13. USA Baseball Cache

14. Quack #8 - The Mother Quack

15. Blue, White and Green

16. Slow as Molasses in January

17. SRHS Environmental Club Cache

18. At Water's Edge

19. Jacksonville Gem

20. Quack #9

CacheFest '09 - The Spring Fling, Day 1

2009-04-24T22:31:00.005-04:00

This weekend will be spent in Cary, North Carolina with our son, daughter-in-law and our grandson. We're here to celebrate Andrew's 12th birthday and to do a little geocaching. I'm hoping to reach the 200th Cache Found plateau and to see Andrew get to 300. Originally we were to see Fleetwood Mac in Greensboro as well, but the concert was cancelled.

Left home this morning at 7:30 with plans to log a few caches enroute and then a few more once Andrew was out of school. To our dismay by the time we were done we had logged 24, which is an all-time high for me and would make a big dent in the 55 I needed to reach 200.

Signing The Log

My Teammates

Today's Caches:
1. Ride em Cowboy
2. Welcome to Robersonville
3. Eat Here, Get Gas
4. Breakfast Anytime
5. NeverSummer's Hero
6. Elegy for a Forest
7. If I Won the Lottery #4
8. Cats and Dogs and other Animals
9. No Depth Whatsoever
10. Eat More Chicken
11. Sleeping with the Fishes -"The Minnow" 11/16
12. Ode To Taime
13. Take A Dip!!!
14. Weldon Ridge Micro!!!
15. In the Ravine
16. Three Diamonds Micro
17. Fireproof
18. Family Moved
19. Blue Pine
20. Water Werks
21. Goin' Green
22. Eternal Resting
23. Preston Micro
24. Corner Grocery Store #2

My Benchmarks Are Bigger Than Your Benchmarks

2009-04-20T15:07:00.008-04:00

EA1794 Cape Lookout Lighthouse

EX0432 Ocracoke Lighthouse

EX0345 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

EX0475 Bodie Island Lighthouse

FW1486 Currituck Lighthouse

Beacons Of Light

2009-04-19T16:37:00.002-04:00

Our new geocoins arrived yesterday. Pictured is the silver version and we also purchased the bronze edition. Of course the coin is special to us because it depicts the lighthouses here on the Outer Banks that show mariners their way.

Did Someone Say Road Trip???

2009-04-18T22:00:00.005-04:00

We really should have tickled the twine of the hammock and sampled a few Coronas today, but instead we opted to take a road trip gathering caches we've skipped over in the past. So, we headed north to Currituck, then southwest to Elizabeth City and Edenton, down to Williamston and then east towards home. Most of this route we've traveled at one time or another, but portions would be new. Caches are common in the more populated areas and with a few scattered along the rest of the route it promised to be a fun day. The cachers would be myself and Libby. Libby loves road trips and with the promise of an order of McDonald's fries she just couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Libby the Geocaching Lab

So, we settled on a dozen or so caches, loaded up the truck and headed out for the day. The caches would all be park & grabs, so they'd be relatively quick and easy to locate with Libby in tow. Or, if I needed to tromp in spots where it would be hard to search with her, I could leave her in the vehicle for brief periods without worrying about her getting too hot.

By the time we were back in Kill Devil Hills we'd put 248 miles on the truck, downed two cheeseburgers, two orders of fries and located 10 caches. Did I mention Libby loves french-fries? In fact, she loved all of hers and half of mine.

Today's Caches:
1. Chill Pill
2. Herring Run
3. Hot Spot
4. ROCK FISH
5. Cache With A View #2
6. Rabbit Corner
7. Historic Hertford Cache
8. The Pirate's Pearl
9. The Battle Of Windsor!
10. Martin County P&G

When It Rain, It Pours!

2009-04-16T07:07:00.003-04:00

We logged our second FTF in a week this evening, which to most probably sounds rather weak, but in an area with so few caches and so few cache hiders it's actually a rarity.

Last night, just after supper, I checked our email and what pops up but a notification that a new cache had just been reviewed and posted. Days earlier I'd become a premium member of geocaching.com and one of the bennies is being notified when caches are posted in your area. So, here we were, our first official notification and the opportunity to get yet another FTF. Now being notified is one thing, but beating Team Dakota J to the punch is another. I believe they are now over 30 FTFs, including all seven of the caches that I've hidden.

I grabbed the coordinates, the GPSr, the geocaching bag and we headed out. The cache was a mere 11 miles from the house so it took very little time to arrive and when we pulled in we saw no signs that others had been there before us. To our glee when I opened up the log to Quack Attack the FTF was all ours.

Look What The Easter Bunny Left.

2009-04-13T18:43:00.015-04:00

Before our daughter-in-law and grandson headed home we decided to log a few cache types that Andrew was yet to get. Pictured is Andrew at the Wright Brothers Memorial logging Dawn of Aviation, which was his first virtual cache. We also located this very interesting benchmark that was placed during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Wright Brothers first flight.

We also headed for Jockey's Ridge where he completed his first earthcache.

Andrew logged 17 caches while he was here. All of which I'd already logged. Plus he had his first virtual cache, his first earthcache and he logged a webcam cache. Not to mention eight eggs found in our geocaching easter egg hunt. He was a pretty happy geocacher when he headed for Cary and I was a pretty happy grandfather. Tired, but happy!

Family Photos From Easter On The OBX

2009-04-12T12:23:00.004-04:00

Our Easter on the Outer Banks was minus our youngest son this year, but we had a great time and sent him lots of photos and text messages to rub it in. We spent Friday surf fishing with a little geocaching mixed in. Saturday we had our geocaching egg hunt and then topped off the day with our traditional steamer pot dinner - snow crab legs, shrimp, mussels, clams, sausage and red potatoes. After dinner our oldest son and family headed back to Delaware while my remaining grandson and I jammed in a little more caching.

Hunter getting ready for some serious beach time.

Leann, Malinda & Leslie (the girls wanted me to add that the wind was blowing and that these weren't their hair styles) LOL

The Tenbusch Crew minus our son, Derek, who was forced to work.

Andrew, Chris & Hunter - Our Grandsons

Random Images From Our Geocaching Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T06:15:00.003-04:00

The Egg Men: Hunter, Christopher and Andrew

Sometimes you have to expand your horizons. Does anyone else see an egg?

On the move.

One down, seven to go.

Along the way we notched a few geocaches as well.

FTF!

2009-04-09T10:37:00.004-04:00

How's the saying go; even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then? Well, this morning I notched my first FTF! I've never actively gone after one, and wasn't specifically looking for one this morning when I opened up geocaching.com. I just wanted to see how our grandson had did (or is that done?) yesterday after school and there it was right before my eyes. So, I grabbed the coordinates, jumped in the truck, checked to be sure I had a pen and headed after it.

Twenty Questions

2009-04-07T13:17:00.012-04:00

Blame this on Erika Jean. I first saw it on her blog and thought it was very interesting to learn a little about the people we geocache with. Hoping the few people who read mine will do the same.

1. What is your name? Bob

2. What is your GC name? obxnomad

3. What kind of GPSr do you use? Garmin Summit

4. What is your favorite feature on your GPSr? Well, when I bought it nearly 10 years ago we lived in Montana and we did a lot of hiking and backpacking in the Beartooth Range, so always appreciated the altitude feature. Now that we live at sea level it rarely is utilized.

5. What is your best memory of geocaching? The first time we took our grandson, Andrew. We created a monster and there's no sign of him slowing up.

6. What is the furthest from your house you've ever found a cache? Not far, perhaps 200 miles.

7. What is the hardest cache you ever found? It's the ones I haven't found that are the hard ones. In an earlier post I mentioned the cache Never Forget which is still eluding me and driving be crazy.

8. What is the most amount of caches you've completed in one day? I believe 11.

9. How did you get started in geocaching? When I first purchased the GPSr I believe there was actually a blip about it on Garmin's site. Our first cache find was in Billings, Montana just a few months after the first cache was placed.

10. What is the silliest mistake you've made while geocaching? I have to go along with Erika and go with forgetting a pen, or forgetting tweezers when finding nanos.

11. What memorable animals have you encountered on the trail? Just a few weeks ago I walked within a mere 100' of a Red Wolf here in North Carolina.

12. What is your favorite earthcache? I've only did two and I guess my favorite would be Jockey's Ridge.

13. When do you geocache most often? I'm retired so whenever the urge hits me. My favorite time to geocache is when I'm with my grandson.

14. Who do you usually geocache with? Generally I'm alone, but with Malinda, my wife, and Andrew my grandson.

15. Have you ever logged a find on one of your own caches? No. I wanted to do it for my 100th find, but knew it was a no-no so passed on the idea.

16. What is the most consecutive days you've gone caching and had a find? Unsure but probably around four, perhaps five.

17. How do you feel about people who "collect" trackable items? Lets just say that I'd like to get my hands on them. In my mind it's nothing short of stealing.

18. Is it all about the numbers for you? Nope.

19. What have you learned since you started geocaching? I'm over 60 and learned most of life's lessons years ago.

20. What is the most interesting travel bug or geocoin you have discovered? Pre

Potpourri

2009-04-05T15:18:00.010-04:00

It's Malinda's weekend to work, so with little to do I headed north on an easy geocache run. I wasn't even going to do that, but little else to do. Nothing special in the way of unique hides today. There was the basic birdhouse cache, a water faucet cache and of course the camo bison tubes hid in shrubs that you could hide an M1 tank in. Always fun to deal with those.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Historic Currituck Courthouse
2. The Jury's Out
3. Nobody's Home
4. Currituck Brain Fair #1
5. Currituck Brain Fair #2

Prior to leaving on my cache run I decided to try and pick up a few more benchmarks that were between home and the restaurant where I'd be having breakfast. The three I was able to locate before my stomach started to growl are shown in the photos below. Unfortunately, benchmarks are fast becoming my mainstay as the number of local caches not found by be dwindling at an alarming rate. The Outer Banks is a very popular tourist location, but available hiding locations and hiders are a rare comodity indeed. I believe we have about 82 caches in the vicinity and I have all but nine. So, unless we actually go on geocaching road trips, my only searching will be for benchmarks. I also need to find locations to place a few traditional caches, but need to have them near enough to maintain thru the summer months when I'm not out geocaching, but tied up with surf fishing, kayaking, fkying stunt kites, etc.

Benchmarks Located:
1. AH9258

2. FW1993

3. FW0072

Eggs & Bacon. . . I Mean Benchmarks

2009-04-04T17:13:00.004-04:00

I spent the majority of the day hiding easter eggs for next weekend's Geocaching Easter Egg Hunt. To date there are eight hidden and I must admit, some are going to be very interesting searches. The eggs are plastic and each painted to blend in with its surroundings. Each egg found will rewarded with a prize. The prizes are yet to be purchased. The grandkids are 13, 11 and 9. . . I think that's correct. Now all we have to do is hope for nice warm weather on the day of the event.

Our grandson notched his 200th find today.

In between the hides I did manage to find several benchmarks, which are shown below. The first is pretty hard to miss. :-)

The second took a little digging and probing, but eventually was found and logged.

Benchmarks Found:
1. FW1379

2. FW1380

Thursday's Finds

2009-04-02T14:20:00.003-04:00

Not an eventful caching day. We had planned on a run to Washington to pick up a few of the hides there, but the threat of inclement weather kept us in town. So, we picked up a few puzzle caches and one multi-cache while we were out for breakfast.

Today's Finds:
1. Play Ball
2. Cache of colors
3. Harvey Cache

Hatteras Blues

2009-03-31T22:00:00.008-04:00

Today we would head south, driving all the way to Hatteras in an eight cache run. We would be: myself, Malinda and Libby the Lab. It was a little cooler than we would have liked, but the sun was out and winds were light.

Hatteras is a very special place for our family. We made our first trip here from Michigan in the mid-seventies and Hatteras Village is where we stayed. In later years we would follow the bluefish blitzes and move north to Nags Head to be closer to Oregon Inlet, but Hatteras would always be home. Today's seven finds would include your standard micros, ammo cans, leaky Tupperware containers and a "virtual" that I was really looking forward to.

The Albatross II

In June of 1962 the Albatross II (lovingly nicknamed the SECOND)would leave the dock at Foster's Quay and make the long run to the fertile fishing grounds of the Gulf Stream. Aboard would be a young Gary Stukes, Mr. Sloat, first mate Ernie Foster and Captain Bill. When they returned that evening they would have a potential world record Blue Marlin with them. The events of the day are detailed below.

As Captain Bill and Ernie were hauling what Ernie now calls the most forgotten marlin in Hatteras history into the SECOND that morning of 1962, the hook in the old knucklehead lure caught on the gunwale and was straightened considerably. The elderly Mr. Sloat, who was sure he would someday catch a world record blue marlin off Hatteras, slipped out of the fighting chair for a rest while Ernie was straightening the hook on the knucklehead. Mr. Sloat told his young companion, Gary Stukes, to spell him a little while Ernie set the lines again. Along with the old artificial lure was what Ernie recalls as the biggest, whitest, most beautiful squid he had ever rigged. Within a few minutes a huge, dark form was under that squid. The great marlin eyed the squid hungrily, but, suddenly disdaining the offer, it whirled and struck the knucklehead with its repaired hook.

The marlin tore off 100 yards of line, and then tailwalked laterally for another hundred. Bill yelled that it was the biggest he had ever seen, and to get him or lose him. With Ernie at the controls and him in the stern, Bill barked orders at the totally inexperienced angler. The first order was to screw the drag down tight; the second was, "Wind, damn it, wind." Ernie, who had been taught boat handling by his uncle before anything else, responded quickly to every command.

Within twenty minutes Bill, standing on the fantail of the SECOND grabbed the cable leader and sat down with his heels jammed against the toe rail. For nearly a half hour the tall, sinewy captain held that cable before a flying gaff could be put in the fish, but the record fish was finally secured.

OBX Leviathan

That Blue Marlin would indeed be a new world record. It would weigh an astonishing 810 lbs. and measure nearly 14'. It also changed the Hatteras fishing fleet forever. Today the Albatross fleet is still docked at Hatteras and it's history is documented in the book Hatteras Blues

Malinda, Libby & The Albatross Fleet

The Seed Shack

Today's Cache Finds:

1. The Royal Cow

2. Dipping Vat: The Royal Cow Series

3. Fessenden, R. A.

4. Ivy Hollow

5. The Seed Shack

6. Journey Home

7. OBX Leviathan

8. Shifting Sands Earthcache

I Never Thought Seeing An Ammo Can Would Be So Exciting!

2009-03-30T16:37:00.013-04:00

Five cache finds today and only one micro. It's like a miracle. I can't remember the last time I didn't have to deal with all those little bastards. I realize a lot of people like them and think that because of their size that it adds to the difficulty thus making the game of geocaching more exciting. I guess that's true, but there's a place for them and sticking them in every crack a hider can find just shows their lack of ingenuity. I have one out myself and have plans for several more, but they'll be unique hides and not just a bison tube painted camo and stuck in a 100 acre christmas tree farm. Please cache hiders use your brains and come up with an idea every now and then.

Today's finds also included a vrtual cache which you see in the two photos. It was Currituck Beach Lighthouse and was a great opportunity to explore one of our lighthouses one more time.

Today's Cache Finds:
1. Just Ducky
2. Reach The Beach
3. Outer Banks County Line Cache
4. Corolla Light - jkbostic 1
5. Sun and Sand

Congratulations to my grandson, Andrew, on his first FTF. Dr. Evil Visits Morrisville

For A While I Didn't Think It Would Ever Come

2009-03-29T18:58:00.004-04:00

What a gorgeous day here on the Outer Banks; the one we've been waiting on for a long time. Of course I did what comes naturally and spent the day geocaching.

You don't really believe that do you? I spent most of it swinging in my hammock and drowning a few wedges of lime in Coronas. Malinda swung in the porch swing and Libby (our lab) soaked up rays at Malinda's feet. You talk about living the High Life. Oops, wrong commercial. Anyway we took full advantage of a great day and crammed as much into it as we could.

I did get out long enough to find a couple of caches. A friend had placed them and I'd been putting them off thinking we'd search for them when the kids and grandkids were here for Easter. Well, it looks like that might not happen because of job restraints, so I decided to head out and see if I could locate them. Both were nanos so offered a challenge.

The first was a cemetery hide and stumped me for nearly 30 minutes. The cemetery is located in a heavily wooded area with very spotty reception. That, and the fact that it was a nano was making this a very hard find. Then something jumped out at me. All of the grave markers were marble headstones except for one lone wooden cross that was situated on the far edge of this ancient graveyard. I'd overlooked it initially because it was 35' from what the gps was showing as GZ. I headed over and a close inspection revealed that the cross spun at it's intersection. Once you rotated the one part there was a hole bored into the wood that hid the nano. BINGO!

The final nano proved to be an easy find, but did take me to a great little sand beach on the banks of the Roanoke Sound.

Today's Caches
1. Ona Branch
2. Information Please

Hello, Is This Terminix? Yeah, We Have Bugs!

2009-03-28T07:51:00.009-04:00

I recently activated several Travel Bugs and Geocoins and placed them in caches. Both of these items, what they do and how they do it is a new concept for us, so we were really looking forward to turning them lose and seeing where they end up. To our disappointment several are still sitting in the caches they were originally placed in and only one has been "retrieved" and is on it's way. Those familiar with these items know that when you access their individual page you'll find a map of when and where they go, as well as who's moving them and caches they've been placed in. Well, to our dismay when we went to check in on the one that was picked up and moved there was no mileage recorded for it. The log showed the activity as they went from cache to cache, but that was the extent of it.

So I immediately went to geocaching.com and checked out the Travel Bug Forum and found out it wasn't just my TBs it was happening to. Apparently a bug has hit the bugs and none are showing any activity, well at least the ones recently released aren't. Just my luck, or rather just my bad luck. So for now I'm just holding on to those yet to be released and waiting until the "bugs" are out of the bugs.

Today I did my first Earthcache. This cache type is new to me and I believe there is but one in our area, so I thought I'd add it to "types" we've logged. The cache is called Jockey's Ridge and involves going to Jockey's Ridge State Park and once there you must read through the exhibits gathering the answers to questions asked by the cache's owner. Then you hike to the highest point on the dunes, log the coordinates of that location and snap a photo with you and your gps unit.

So, in between rain showers I made the drive to the park and logged this cache. The park isn't new to us because we go there quite a few times throughout the warmer months to fly stunt kites. It's a great spot because of the winds sweeping up the dunes AND it offers some spectacular sunsets. I can understand and appreciate why someone had the insight to make it an earthcache. And I'm glad I was able to log my first right here at home.

Virtual Cache

2009-03-27T18:15:00.008-04:00

Today we did our first "virtual cache" at the Wright Brothers Memorial here in Kill Devil Hills. We've been to the WBM multiple times over the years, but those visits were before we decided to get back into geocaching. When we left the house it was calm and 60 degrees. By the time we'd driven the mile and a half to the site the wind had gone to the east and we were shrouded in sea fog and temperatures in the upper 40s. So we cut the outing short and lingered just long enough to do the virtual and locate the benchmark that was also on the grounds.

Here is Malinda at Dawn of Aviation.

FW1374 This benchmark is located at the top of the monument

TNLN/SL

2009-03-26T11:27:00.001-04:00

Okay, Okay. I Promise. . . No More!

2009-03-26T09:43:00.008-04:00

It's raining again and I needed to find something to do that would get me out of my pajamas and out of the recliner. So here is my latest attempt at camouflaging Lock & Locks. It's also my first attempt at using camo tape.

The container on the left was done with the tape, well some of it is tape and some is paint. The lid and bottom are painted and the sides are camo'ed with duck tape that I located at Ace Hardware.

The problem I found with the tape is it's impossible to make it work for ALL portions of the container. There's too many rounded corners and nooks and crannies that you just can't get into. Where it may work better is on ammo cans, or anything without rounded corners.

I Have An Excuse. . . REALLY!

2009-03-25T16:27:00.003-04:00

The only thing I hate more than soggy logs in 35mm film canisters is "Mystery" caches. Why I dislike them I'm not really sure, but they just don't agree with me and generally I avoid them like the plague. Multi-caches aren't far behind. Driving around to multiple caches just to gather waypoints so you can find the final cache is a waste of my time and a waste of precious gas. Now, every once in a blue moon you encounter a multi-cache that counts every cache as an individual find. So, not only are you rewarded for the final cache, but you're rewarded for the caches leading to it as well. Why they're ALL not this way is beyond me.

This morning I had to go to Ace Hardware and as luck would have it there was three "mystery caches" on my way. Okay, I was bored and was going that way anywhoo, so I decided to go for them. The first two went off without a hitch, but the third was a major pain in the keister. I just don't have the time to explain what went wrong, nor do I want to relive the experience. Suffice it to say that I won't be placing "mystery caches" on my things I love do list.

Caches Found:
1. The Box
2. OBX Trivia
3. Under the Bridge

Geocoins

2009-03-24T09:28:00.012-04:00

I was sitting around this morning feeling sorry for myself because the weather has us "holed up" again and wondering what I was going to do with myself. I got to reading thru some of the blogs that I follow and when I reached Erika Jean's there's a geocoin that she's preparing to set out. Then it struck me, we have several that we've recently purchased from ebay, so maybe I'd post photos of them as well.

The first is a geocoin that represents the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It's one of three lighthouses that are within a stones throw of our house and one of the five here on the Banks. We actually bought two of these with the plan to put one out and to present one to our grandson who is heavy into geocaching as well.

The second, Malinda bought just because the price was right. I also play a little online poker, but she wasn't thinking about that at the time. Like most women who manage a household, it was chosen JUST because it was a great value for her buck.

The third is a pirate geocoin. We chose it because we have a series of Travel Bugs that represent pirates so thought keeping with the same theme would be fitting. We're looking for others as well.

Camo'ed Lock & Locks with Stencil

2009-03-23T16:52:00.004-04:00

Our daughter-in-law made some stencils for me and they arrived in today's mail. Here's how the Lock & Lock containers look after stenciling. I did one in black and one in a green. Excuse the shadows, but the photos were taken late in the day.

I was somewhat limited to the colors I could use because the containers were already painted. However, I think if you applied the stencil after the initial painting of the base coat then you could actually camo the stencil as well, making it blend in just a little better. Something to try the next time.

Now You See 'em, Now You Don't

2009-03-23T13:43:00.002-04:00

Well another cold and windy day here on the Outer Banks so took advantage of being restricted to quarters to camo up a few Lock & Lock containers. They came out fairly well but there's certainly room for improvement. I'm still in the learning phase so overall I'd give myself a B-.

I tried to come up with several different color schemes which will allow me to somewhat match the sourroundings they'll be placed in. No pattern will be 100% correct but at least they'll blend in better than had they come right from Wal-Mart.

I'm also looking for camo tape but unable to find it locally. May have to order it. I also think it just might hold up better than paint.

Sunday. . . Sunday, So Good To Me

2009-03-22T13:14:00.012-04:00

Not much exciting today. I did get another cache placed and posted for review. Nothing special, just your basic ammo box filled with swag that is representative of the OBX. I placed it at an information center/rest stop so it will provide families traveling to and from our area a chance at a family oriented cache. No alligators, no swamps to wade through and no god-forsaken bushwhacking; just a chance for family members to put an accent on their stay here.

On the way back in I stopped long enough to pick up a cache that I'd been putting off because it's at one of our surf shops and apparently has been providing lots of entertainment to the shop's employees who watch as geocachers search. So, I've been avoiding it until I could search while they were closed, thus avoiding any embarrasment. Well, today I was feeling bold so I inflated my ego and swung in. As luck would have it I spotted it before I even stepped from the truck and had the shop employees cheering as I signed the log and replaced the gizmo. I took a bow and headed for home. . . all smiles and pretty proud of myself.

Cache Found:
1. Whalebone

102 Caches. . . But Hey, Who's Counting?

2009-03-21T19:13:00.011-04:00

Several milestones were established on today's run up to the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. The big one is the 100 Geocache's Found plateau, and the second was my first caches found in Virginia. Adding Virginia raises my states to three: Montana, North Carolina and Virginia.

After doing a little research last night I settled on this run because it offered the most cache possibilities within a reasonable driving distance from the house. I've all but exhausted my local caches and some of what is left I'd like to save for caching with the grandkids. Plus, a road trip is always fun. It's a good opportunity to explore a different environment from what we see day to day.

I ended the day with 10 found, giving me a grand total of 102. I also located a Benchmark which is pictured to the right. The monument designates the North Carolina and Virginia state line. It was a nice bonus and put an exclamation mark at the end of a good day.

Today's Caches:
1. Ode to Leapin Lizard
2. Wait,just one more cache.......
3. Kindred Spirits
4. South end of the trail
5. Curse of the First to Find #1 (Albemarle Area)
6. Use to Be EC #1
7. Benjamin Franklin Mailbox
8. Lee and Simpson
9. Bookworm
10. BREAM FISHIN

Benchmark: FX3165

It's Spring!

2009-03-20T13:19:00.005-04:00

The calendar says it's here, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. Forty degrees and windy this morning when we woke. I did venture out long enough to head up to Duck and finish off the last three I had there, and then spent the rest of the day preparing cache containers for future placements.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'd like to find spots for at least two of them. I have a spot near a rest area that I think might just work out, but after that I'm drawing a blank. The rest area is located on this side of the bridge that brings you from Roanoke Island to Nags Head. It won't be a complicated hide, but rather your standard ammo can with some nice swag, and afford travelers a good opportunity to stretch their legs and log a nice find. Final placement is yet to be determined.

One thing Malinda and I have come to realize is that it's one thing to hide a cache in an ingenious container, or in an ingenious way, or in a unique location, but quite another to hide one in an area that is just plain nasty and requires searchers to dig around in spots that place them in peril. Spots like the snake and spider infested area we were in earlier in the week. Sure, if you dig around long enough you can find them, but generally by the time you do the enjoyment is gone and there's no sense that you've accomplished anything special.

We also feel that the majority of geocachers are families, or at the very least do it as a family unit as much as possible. For that reason we try to always re-supply the caches we find with good swag and make sure that the large part of the ones we place are family oriented. We place them thinking that someday it might be our grandsons finding them.

Today's Finds:
1. Sweet Sunsets
2. OBX BOX
3. Duck, Duck Yes!

Smiley's Abound!

2009-03-19T19:11:00.018-04:00

Malinda had lunch plans with friends who work with her at the hospital and I wasn't invited, so I headed out to do a little cache hunting. The goal of 100 is in my sights so all of a sudden I'm in a rush to achieve it. The only downside is that I'm fast running out of 'em here on the OBX and I'm being forced to travel farther and farther.

Today, I'd be heading north, up towards Virginia. I mapped out 12 caches and headed out. Thankfully, and mercifully, finding these proved easier than yesterday's, AND less of a risk to my well being. By the end of my day I'd have 11 more finds and be within an even dozen of my first one-hundred.

One of these caches would be Digger's Dungeon and on the grounds of the Grave Digger race shop. Everyone familiar with monster trucks knows Dennis Anderson and his big 'ole truck. In fact, excluding "Big Foot", the Grave Digger may be the favorite of most monster truck fans, past and present.

Outside of my stop to see Grave Digger the remainder of my finds proved rather uneventful. Most were fun and some cleverly hidden but of the 12 only one stumped me completely. That cache was Never Forget, a micro hidden on an artillery piece that is on display in a veteran's park in Coinjock. I looked all over that piece, but will need to go back to claim a find.

Caches found:
1. Piece of Cake
2. Blueberry Swamps
3. Play-Dough
4. rest-n-cache
5. Digger's Dungeon
6. Van Slyck's Micro
7. Stoney Worm
8. Sharon United Methodist Church
9. A Little Off of the Top
10. X Marks The Spot
11. Hog Haven

The Agony of Defeat!

2009-03-18T17:30:00.021-04:00

Temperature warmed, sea mist burned off and wind died, so we took a road trip to Tyrrell County, North Carolina to find four caches in one of the remotest areas in our part of the state. The caches are in the northern reaches of the county and are hidden in cypress swamp, that's S . . . W. . . A . . . M . . . P !!!!! Still, all were rated easy, so we figured we'd log them quickly and then head to Columbia for a founder dinner and a Corona.

Not so fast amigo. Our plan hit the skids on the very first cache. The cache, Triple P, was just yards off a nature trail. The problem was, as soon as we stepped off this trail we were in the middle of hundreds of hiding spots, most of which were under fallen trees, marsh grass, cypress stumps and swamp water. All of these could hide a small Rubbermaid container AND dozens of poisoness spiders, rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. . . not to mention alligators. Didn't I say NOT to mention alligators? So, we poked around for 30 minutes or so before losing our nerve and packing it in.

Our second search turned out to be mere yards from the first but prove to be just as elusive. Now we were 0 for 2 and that flounder lunch was slowly slipping from my grasp. Luckily, we were able to end the day on a winning note and find the final two. AND though we missed our anticipated lunch, we did have some of the best cheeseburgers we've ever eaten at Andy's in Columbia.

Caches Found:

1. Red Diamond @ Riverneck

2. The Island

3. The Complete Genius's Guide to Geocaching

Ahoy Thar Matey

2009-03-18T07:41:00.006-04:00

Peg Leg Pete

Yesterday while caching on Roanoke Island, the first of our Travel Bugs was placed in a cache so it could begin it's quest to loot and plunder every cache on the high seas. Bugs and geocoins are fairly new concepts for us. We've encountered a few and moved some to other caches, but we've never had our own. Of course you want them to do well and of course you DON'T want them to come up missing so naturally you try to place them in just the perfect cache in hopes it's the start to something special. It's kind of like putting your child on the school bus for their first day in kindergarten.

Okay, maybe not quite that traumatic, but still a bit unnerving. Good luck Pete!

St. Patrick's Day Island Hopping

2009-03-17T16:20:00.004-04:00

Our plan today was to log the remaining caches on Roanoke Island, despite the weather being very wet, windy and cold. That may sound ambitious, but with nine of the island's twelve caches already in the book, it was really going to be just a nice slow geocaching morning. The majority of these caches were park & grabs, so if the rain continued we would be able to stay dry and warm.

To our dismay the final cache of the day was unattainable because the Manteo Library was closed and we believe, that after obtaining the clues required to get us to the final cache location, that is where it rests. So, another trip will be necessary, and then we will know for sure where the final island cache is.

Today's Caches:
1. Come find me
2. The Sands of Time
3. Naval Battle
4. FW0061 - which is our third Benchmark cache.

Burrrrrrrr!

2009-03-16T16:56:00.013-04:00

Today our mailman asked, "will spring ever arrive?" I told him that I thought we had it one day last week.

Braved the chill and headed out to find a few caches. A person can only sit around so long, and with nothing to do but vacuum and clean around the house, I opted to dress warm and geocache.

Today's Finds:
1. Good Crabbing Spot
2. Jack's Cache
3. STATE BOARDWALK CACHE
4. A Trail of Two "Cities"

Also located my first benchmark cache while looking for a traditional. In fact, I found two.
1. AH9272
2. AH9273

Ammo Camo

2009-03-15T15:09:00.010-04:00

It was way too miserable today to even think about geocaching, so we used the day to apply some camouflage to an old ammo box that we had sitting around the house.

We first cleaned it up and then applied a tan base coat over the entire box to cover up all the markings and to start with a uniform color.

We then marked out several patterns on to sheets of computer copying paper and then cut them out. This would allow us to place the individual sheets on the box and paint the various patterns over the base coat without covering the entire base coat itself.

We then gathered pine needles, leaves, etc. to add even more detail. All we did was lay the items on the box and then add a third color. Once we were happy with the design we did a little touch-up around the handle and clasp.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh Yeah!

2009-03-14T17:20:00.003-04:00

Too cold to cache, but NOT too cold for Sam & Omie's seasonal opening. Now all is right on the Outer Banks. On the way home we logged two more finds. Will seek out more when the weather warms up a little.

Today's Finds:
1. Snowbird
2. Gretzky's Office

Hide It and They Will Come!

2009-03-13T20:50:00.001-04:00

The History of Geocaching

On May 2, 2000, at approximately midnight, eastern savings time, the great blue switch* controlling selective availability was pressed. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world had an instant upgrade.
The announcement a day before came as a welcome surprise to everyone who worked with GPS technology. The government had planned to remove selective availability - but had until 2006 to do so. Now, said the White House, anyone could "precisely pinpoint their location or the location of items (such as game) left behind for later recovery." How right they were.
London, Paris, New York, Beaver Creek?
For GPS enthusiasts, this was definitely a cause for celebration. Internet newsgroups suddenly teemed with ideas about how the technology could be used.
On May 3, one such enthusiast, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit.
The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: "Take some stuff, leave some stuff."
On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beaver Creek, Oregon, near Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav:
N 45° 17.460 W 122° 24.800
Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. Throughout the next week, others excited by the prospect of hiding and finding stashes began hiding their own containers and posting coordinates. Like many new and innovative ideas on the Internet, the concept spread quickly - but this one required leaving your computer to participate.
Within the first month, Mike Teague, the first person to find Ulmer's stash, began gathering the online posts of coordinates around the world and documenting them on his personal home page. The "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list was created to discuss the emerging activity. Names were even tossed about to replace the name "stash" due to the negative connotations of that name. One such name was "geocaching."
The Origins of Geocaching
Geocaching, first coined by Matt Stum on the "GPS Stash Hunt" mailing list on May 30, 2000, was the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the activity, but also for its use in familiar topics in gps such as geography.
Caching, from the word cache, has two different meanings, which makes it very appropriate for the activity. A french word invented in 1797, the original definition referred to a hiding place someone would use to temporarily store items. The word cache stirs up visions of pioneers, gold miners, and even pirates. Today the word is still even used in the news to describe hidden weapons locations.
The second use of cache has more recently been used in technology. Memory cache is computer storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used information. Your web browser, for example, stores images on disk so you don't have to retrieve the same image every time you visit similar pages.
The combination of Earth, hiding, and technology made geocaching an excellent term for the activity. However the "GPS Stash Hunt" was the original and most widely used term until Mike Teague passed the torch to Jeremy Irish in September 2000.
The Birth of Geocaching.com
For the first few months, geocaching was confined to existing experienced GPS users who already used the technology for outdoor activities such as backpacking and boating. Most users had an existing knowledge of GPS and a firm grasp of obscure lingo like datums and WGS84. Due to both the player base and the newness of the activity, players had a steep learning curve before going out on their first cache hunt. Tools were scarce for determining whether a cache was nearby, if one existed at all.
As with most participants, Jeremy Irish, a web developer for a Seattle company, stumbled upon Mike Teague's web site in July while doing research on GPS technology. The idea of treasure hunting and using tech-gadgets represented the marriage of two of his biggest interests. Discovering one was hidden nearby, Jeremy purchased his first GPS unit and went on his first hunt the following weekend.
After experiencing the thrill of finding his first cache, Irish decided to start a hobby site for the activity. Adopting the term geocaching, he created Geocaching.com and applied his professional web skills to create tools to improve the cache-hunting experience. The cache listings were still added by hand, but a database helped to standardize the listings. Additional features, like searching for caches around zip codes, made it easier for new players to find listings for nearby caches.
With Mike Teague's valuable input, the new site was completed and announced to the stash-hunting community on September 2, 2000. At the time the site was launched there were 75 known caches in the world.
If You Hide It, They Will Come
Slashdot, a popular online magazine for techies, reported the new activity on September 25, 2000, introducing a larger group of technology professionals to the activity. The New York Times picked up the story and featured it in its "Circuits" section in October, starting a domino effect of articles written in magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets around the world. CNN even did a segment in December 2000 to profile the new hobby.
However, because there were so few caches in the world, many would-be participants discovered they didn't have a cache listed nearby. Many wondered whether anyone would bother looking for a cache if they hid one in their area. The growing community chanted the mantra "If you hide it, they will come" to the newer players. After some reassurances, pioneers of the hobby started placing caches just to see whether people would go find them. They did.
Through word of mouth, press articles, and even accidental cache discoveries, more and more people have become involved in geocaching. First started by technology and GPS enthusiasts, the ranks of geocachers now include couples, families, and groups from all walks of life. The excitement of the hunt appeals to both the inner (and outer) child. Today you can do a search on just about anywhere in the world and be able to walk, bike, or drive to a nearby hidden cache.
The Creation of Groundspeak
After the increased traffic from Slashdot, Irish realized that the ongoing management of the web site would quickly grow out of the lone computer on his home DSL line. So in late 2000, he partnered with Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth, two coworkers at Sunrise Identity, to start a new company called Groundspeak Inc. (originally "Grounded Inc."). With the proceeds from sales of 144 geocaching t-shirts, they moved the machines into a hosted environment in downtown Seattle. The founders continued to work for Sunrise Identity while managing the new company and the web site in their off hours.
After several years of working on the web site, Jeremy and Elias were able to raise enough through Premium Memberships to make Groundspeak a full time job. In late 2005, Bryan Roth finally became a full time employee at the company.
Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth continue to own and operate the web site today. They are supported by a small team of Groundspeak Lackeys and almost 100 geocaching volunteers worldwide.

Home Alone. . . Well there's a dog and a cat too.

2009-03-12T19:24:00.001-04:00

On May 1, 2000, President Clinton announced that the scrambling would cease, bringing civilian GPS receiver accuracy to a much more interesting 10 yards. On May 2, it was so. Dave Ulmer, a poster to the Usenet group sci.geo.satellite-nav, thought it would be cool to celebrate by hiding a bucket of stuff outside Portland, Oregon and posting the coordinates to the group. He did so on May 3, filling the bucket with such highly desirable objects as a book by Ross Perot and a can of blackeyed peas. On May 4, Mike Teague found it. By May 5, there was an FAQ. By August, there were 40 buckets of junk in 8 countries. And by September, everyone broke into tribes and started a war. Behold, geocaching!

Eh. Whatever. It grew. And expanded. And acquired an official name. And developed traditions and procedures and rules. Tips and techniques. Stars and villains. It has a jargon. And social events. But it's still about finding a box of junk using those latitude and longitude thingies.

Ten for Ten. . . If I was a ballplayer I'd be making millions!

2009-03-11T18:50:00.003-04:00

The weather is predicted to take a turn for the worse tomorrow, so I took advantage of the nice day today and spent all of it geocaching. 100% success rate and even located "Dreamgirl" which has managed to escape me more times than I care to admit.

Caches Found Today:
1. Caching Family Style
2. The Ammo Box
3. Dunkin' Hide
4. Fairly Foul
5. Along the Trail
6. OBX Holidays
7. Dreamgirl
8. "Surf Handicapped"
9. Coconut Telegraph
10. Frank and Lola

Photos From Gum Neck Trip

2009-03-10T08:04:00.008-04:00

Here's few more photos taken yesterday on our geocaching trip to Gum Neck. The first is taken at Grapevine Landing, the first stop in the puzzle series that would eventually lead us to Doris' Store. . . Gum Neck's answer to Wal-Mart.

The second is Malinda's favorite cache of the day. It's a dragonfly that was hidden up in a tree. She spotted it right off and was pretty proud of herself. ;-)

Fifty +

2009-03-09T18:15:00.006-04:00

Malinda and I loaded up Libby and headed for Gum Neck. Our goal was to seek out the six caches placed by Scouter Hal.

Hal was born and raised in Gum Neck, a farming community southwest of our home in KDH, and placed this series of caches to bring fellow treasure hunters to a part of North Carolina that they'd generally not come to. It certainly isn't a tourist mecca and not the place people flock to for a get-away.

The series consists of six caches scattered across the area so that by the time you've gathered them all you have a fair idea of Hal's stomping grounds. Four of the six also form a puzzle cache. Finding three will lead to the fourth. The prize for success is a "soda pop and a honey bun" at the store that was once owned by Hal's parents. Today it's Annie Lee and Buddy who you'll find behind the counter. Though Malinda wanted to skip collecting our prize, they insisted we take it so she opted for two ice cream bars instead of the honey buns. . . a good choice on an 85 degree day in Gum Neck.

We ended our day with seven caches found, one DNF and glad that we'd been introduced to a new part of our state. Not sure if we'll ever get back to Gum Neck, but certainly hope that we do. Perhaps the next time we can meet Scouter Hal there and get the grand tour. That would be special indeed!

Today's Finds:
1. Welcome to Gum Neck -- Grapevine Landing
2. Welcome to Gum Neck -- Gum Neck Landing
3. Welcome to Gum Neck -- Over the Swamp

The three pieces of the puzzle listed above would lead us to. . .
4. Welcome to Gum Neck

The last two caches in Scouter Hal's series are:
5. Welcome to Gum Neck II-A
6. Welcome to Gum Neck II-B

7. FLEMZ

Today's finds would put us over 50 for our career!

Camo @ Its Best

2009-03-08T09:03:00.013-04:00

Here's a few photos of a very interesting hide that Andrew found yesterday along the American Tobacco Trail in Cary. The hider had taken a bison tube and epoxied pieces of bark to it. The photos explain the rest.

Well, it didn't take Dakota J long to figure out my latest cache hide. Back to the drawing board.

Nothing Spectacular

2009-03-08T08:02:00.005-04:00

Not a productive day for caches found, but lots accomplished including cache maintenance and hiding one more. Also put on more than a few miles looking for potential hides.

The first stop of the day would be to find OBX Flying Fish and place Axels Rhein-Nahe Geocoin silber into it so it could again be in circulation. Retrieved To infinity and beyond and will place it in a cache further down the road.

The next stop of the day would be to place Cast Off . This is a bison tube hide that should prove to be fairly difficult for most cachers. I'll leave out the details in case other local cachers view this page. The main goal is to see how fast the Dakota J team can locate it. ;-)

From here Libby and I headed into the Alligator Rive Wildlife Reserve to find a locale for another cache, but nothing jumped out so we headed back to Roanoke Island for one more cache find. Located OBX LOST BUT FOUND and was pleasantly surprised to see that this cache bordered a once lost cemetary which was found following a brush fire. Looking forward to taking the family there so they can see this little piece of island history. We then drove into Wanchese to look over that part of the island and snap a few photos with my new "Dare" phone.

Stopped at Tripping Billies to place a new and dry log sheet.

I Only Found Two Caches, Why Am I So Tired?

2009-03-06T17:46:00.006-05:00

I didn't get as many finds as I'd planned today, but I did manage to get all but one of the geocoins and travel bugs we've accumulated back into circulation. Pre went into First Come. . . First Served!, BE@RBRICK - Mickey was placed in Kitty Hawk Fishing and WDW Magic Kingdom Coin went into Yak It Up!. That's all of them except for Axels Rhein-Nahe Geocoin silber which I hope to get back in a cache soon.

Caches Located:
1. "A Tribute To OBXed"
2. Graffiti

Aix sponsa ( Wood Duck ) has been reviewed and published.

Andrew had a big cache da yesterday. He and Leann took their bikes out on the American Tobacco Trail and found over twenty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Tobacco_Trail

http://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=American_Tobacco_Trail&params=35_59_25.71604_N_78_54_22.75374_W_&title=American+Tobacco+Trail

First Caches

2009-03-05T08:06:00.027-05:00

Andrew has finally had his first two caches reviewed and posted. In fact, shortly after noticing them this morning they had already been found.

Andrew's Caches:
1. Ode To Taime
2. Take A Dip!!!

Dental appointment this morning and then it was lunch and out to inspect a few locations for possible hides. Along the way I'd find the caches in the area. While coming home from Cary last weekend and driving thru the Alligator River Wildlife Reserve I decided this may be a good area to place a few, so now was headed that way. Between Mann Harbor and Buffalo City Rd. there was but one cache so there was certainly room for a few more. The problem would be to locate areas where seekers could actually negotiate the terrain.

http://www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/

Most areas didn't pan out, but one proved to hold an unexpected thrill. While walking a trail and looking for potential hiding spots what steps from the woods and pauses a mere 150' from me but a beautiful Red Wolf. Why it failed to hear me, or sense me, or see me I'm not sure but to my amazement it didn't. It just stepped out on to the path, paused while looking down the trail away from me and then turned and trotted right towards me. It narrowed the distance between us by about 25' then spotted me and did a 180, sprinted a short distance away from me and then bolted into the woods. It all happened so quickly that I actually had to gather my thoughts to realize it REALLY had happened. Managed to hide one cache and now it's just waiting to see if it is approved. Also managed to find to two other micros while driving out.

Caches Found:

1. Welcome to Manns Harbor

2. Gator?

2009-03-03T10:07:00.008-05:00

Here's a few photos of the geocoin and the travel bug that Malinda and I found yesterday.

It was only in the mid 20s with high winds and scattered snow flurries, but these caches weren't too difficult so we made short work of them and then headed home to warm up.

Coins, Bugs & Cold

2009-03-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

When we woke this morning I jumped on http://www.geocaching.com/ and noticed that someone had dropped off a geocoin in Avon and that a Travel bug had been placed in a cache that OBXed and I had found up in Currituck last week. So Malinda, Libby and myself jumped in the truck and headed out hoping to bag our first coin, as well as add a find or two to our total.

The first cache was nicknamed Mad Crabber and when we arrived at Ground Zero it was obvious that we were on private property. Always leery when around a private establishment like this we proceeded with caution. No sooner had we begun to nose around than a gentleman in a pick-up sped in and asked us what we were up to. Luckily for us he was very friendly about us trespassing and when we explained what we were up to he told us that he was here when the cache was originally placed and immediately jumped from his truck and pulled it out from its hiding spot. :-) Then as we retreated to the truck to search its contents he sped out without so much as a Hi Yo Silver. . . Away!

To our glee the cache did contain the geocoin Axels Rhein-Nahe Geocoin silber ! We had just found our first coin and logged another cache with the aid of a masked man on a silver horse.

From there it was a 1/4 mile to Geocache Upon Avon and another quick find. This cache is in dire need of maintenance and we did the best we could to place it so it would hopefully take on a little less water.

Now it was a dash up to Currituck and "Pirate's Lot II" which hopefully still held WDW Magic Kingdom Coin. Thankfully it was still there and we now had a Travel Bug, a Geocoin and two more caches.

Please Help Me I'm Falling (Behind)

2009-03-01T16:53:00.001-05:00

I'm so far behind with my entries that I almost hate the thought of trying to catch up, but after a recount of the ballots, it looks like I'm the person selected to complete the task.

On Friday, February 27th we head for Cary; Malinda to work at UNC and me to do some geocaching with my son and grandson. Before leaving, I found several caches along the route that would give us a couple easy finds and provide a break for us and Libby. Those two caches were Cache on Dillion's Ridge and Plymouth Rocks! Both would prove to be as advertized and give is two easy park & grabs.

Within minutes of arriving at Derek's, Malinda was off to grab a nap before her night-shift and Derek, Andrew and myself were off to snag some caches. One of the popular spots for cachers to place them is along the Tobacco Trail and that's where we headed. We no sooner put the coordinates in Andrew's gps for the first cache than it began to rain. Before it was over we'd have seven caches in our bag and be soaked to the bone.

Caches found today:

1. Cache on Dillion Ridge

2. Plymouth Rocks!

3. Got Porpoise?

4. Just a Minute #10 - Sexton

5. The Camel is Watching You

6. ATSL #2- Verona, Virginia

7. SPOOKY 3

8. MSB - Ocean

9. ATSL #1- Lumberton, North Carolina

Saturday, February 28th

More rain, but that didn't deter us. . . well, it didn't deter Andrew and as soon as everyone was up and dressed we were on the geocaching trail. Leann dropped us off with the plan we would walk the Tobacco Trail finding caches along it's route and then we'd call when we arrived at the next crossing and she'd pick us up. Worked great because by the time she picked us up we were wet, cold and geocached out.

After supper, and a change into dry clothes, we decided to see if we could find one that had eluded them on several attempts called "Tap into the Power." It turned out to be a water faucet that had been placed into a hole drilled into the side of a building situated in a park. You simply pulled the faucet out of its hole and inside was a bison tube. Of course while we were out we had to look up a few others that were in the neighborhood. ;-)

For the day we ended up with eleven, which included one with our first geocoin and one with a travel bug. Not too bad of a day considering the rain and cold temperatures.

Today's Caches:

1. YMCA Way

2. Tap into the Power

3. Are You Tired?

4. Ex Tobacco Road

5. WCPGT: Moon Walks and Trail Rides

6. GEO-Monopoly "Wheel Barrel"

7. Geo chicken feed

8. Beavers & Bisons & Dogs, Oh My!!!

9. Cedar Swamp, NOT

10. Olive Chapel Crossing

11. Halloween Adventure

Before we called it a day we put out Andrew's first cache. Its called "Ode To Taime" and is on the edge of the lake near his home. Now it's just a matter of waiting for it to be reviewed and posted.

Sunday, March 1st.

Today we head for home, but not before we search for a hide that has evaded detection. It's called Eat More Chicken and is located at a fastfood establishment that is closed on Sundays so we thought it would be a good time to search without being too obvious. After looking until we were soaked and cold we packed it in and headed for a warm cup of coffee and dry clothes.

We had a great weekend of geocaching despite the very inclement weather, but with a forecast that was calling for heavy snowfall and extremely cold temperatures it was time to head back to the OBX.

2009-03-01T08:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a few photos that were taken during our weekend of geocaching with our grandson.

Four Dances

2009-02-26T06:37:00.020-05:00

Since we decided to get back into this I've been thinking about our first attempt at it back in Billings, Montana. I had no idea how to figure out what our previous user name was, or the name of the first cache.

Then I saw on geocaching.com's website that by using Google Earth you could locate all the caches in the U.S. of A. So, I downloaded the program and then headed west to Montana. From there I narrowed in on Billings and then it was just a short trip to the area where I remembered our first find being. Luckily there's not nearly the caches out west as there are here in the east and there was only a few to sort through.

After finding the cache that I thought was our first it was just a matter of going back through the log and finding the entry we made on the day of our find. It was made on Sept. 21, 2001 and back then we were going by Geezer & Weezer. The cache nickname is "Four Dances" and is designated GCABC - 45* 46.955, 108* 28.270. To my amazement the cache is still active. It has been found 151 times and 3 times cachers have failed to locate. Of those 151 we were the 6th.

Another thing I found interesting is just how new the game was when we'd made our first find. Just a little over a year and 4 months prior to us finding "Four Dances" the original "stash" was hidden in Oregon. The photo below is an area known as Sacrafice Cliffs and where Four Dances is located.

__________________________________________________________

Turned into a very nice day , our first in a long time. But instead of spending the
day finding caches, I spent it searching out locations for futures ones. Around here that can be a daunting task. Between all the private property and the NPS property the possibilities are limited. Then when you consider what's left is prone to "muggles" it makes placing new caches difficult. In fact, it's turned into more of a challenge than finding them.

Our latest cache is named Four Dances - OBX Style and was placed to honor our first find back on Sept. 21, 2001. That cache was nicknamed "Four Dances" and was in Billings, Montana. The new one is at 35* 53.613 X 75* 38.334. It's in somewhat of a unique location and just might prove interesting to a few cachers.

While looking for spots for future hides I took the time to find Hay Man!. It was one of several that had eluded me on previous searches.

Road Trip

2009-02-26T04:56:00.015-05:00

Yesterday was my first geocaching road trip. Walt ( OBxed ) met me at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Kitty Hawk and we headed north to Corova, searching out caches as we went.

We'd first met Walt while looking for the Red Swamp cache with Leann, Derek & Andrew on their last trip out here. As it turned out the Red Swamp cache was his. It had been out about three years and had served its purpose. Now he was getting ready to remove and archive it. Luckily for us we'd beat him to it and we were able to "bag" it before it became a thing of the past.

We headed north along the beach, talking and getting to know each other. During the pauses in the conversation my eyes and mind would wander to the shoreline trying to seek out sea glass while traveling at 15 mph. Unfortunately walking the beach in search of treasure would have to wait for another outing as we hunted for a different booty on this one.

This afternoon's road trip would take us by four caches, one of which was already under our belts, or in my case. . . suspenders. It's nickname is "Caffey's Inlet L.S.S. and it's official designation is GC1KKT9. It was located in the the town of Duck. The rest would be along the shoreline as we headed north.

The remaining three would come easy. All were ammo boxes and for the most part out in the open. We'd hoped to encounter the wild mustangs that roam these beaches, but none were to be found. . . lots of mustang manure, but no producers of the manure.

Today's finds would be:

1. Caffey's Inlet L.S.S.

2. "Pirate's Lot II"

3. Watch Your Step

4. MZK Cache

Upon returning home I discovered that my 3rd cache had been reviewed and posted. It is nicknamed Deadwood! and officially classified as GC1N1X4

36* 00.885', 75* 40.673'

Our Homemade Travel Bugs

2009-02-23T12:17:00.005-05:00

We were trying to come up with something unique to leave in the caches we find (swag) as well as something to place in the geocaches that we hide. We came up with the card pictured here. The photo is a beach scene taken here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina where we live and the back consists of what we'd like the card to do. In essense they're our own Travel Bugs.

Pre

2009-02-23T08:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, while geocaching around their home in Cary, NC my grandson and daughter-in-law discovered their first Travel Bug (TB). Bugs and Geocoins are "trackable" items placed in caches and then moved from one to another. They each have their own individual tracking number and as they're found and moved this number is entered so they can tracked as their journey progresses. Like everything related to geocaching these "travels" are kept on geocaching.com, the Mecca for all that is geocaching.

This bug was QKGE4H (Pre) and started it's journey when it was placed in the "Pre Remembered" (GC13AFG) cache in Coos Bay, Oregon. The bug was established in honor of Steve Prefontaine a long distance runner from the area. Since the day it was set out, it has "ran" 5059 miles, a distance I'm sure Pre would be proud of. My grandson wants me to place it in a cache here on the Outer Banks, completing it's coast to coast "run". From here the next leg in it's marathon will begin.

Steve Prefontaine; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Prefontaine

It's A Done Deal

2009-02-22T11:00:00.003-05:00

Well, they're in the books and waiting to be discovered. Officially they're GC1MY26 and GC1MY2C, but to me will always be lovingly known as "First Come. . . First Served" and "Yak It Up." Now it's wait and see to find out who will be the FTF.

By evening these caches had been found, both by the same geocacher; Dakota J. They live here in the area and I believe these were their 26th and 27th FTF's.

If you hide it, they will come. . .

2009-02-22T09:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I hid my first two caches and now I'm nervously waiting for them to be reviewed and published.

Let The Light Shine In

2009-02-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Back to The Lighthouse this morning to try and find this cache. Again the coordinates pointed me to the gate keeper's building only this time the obvious hit me like a power surge and the lights come on. OBxed had mounted a light receptacle to the side of the building and to a removable cover he'd glued a magnet which held a nano. When you removed the cover with a coin the nono came out with it and then you could seperate the nano from the removal cover and the magnet that held it in position. Shortly after signing the log a pick-up truck pulls up and the lady driving asked me why I'm private property and what I'm doing. When I explain that I'm geocaching she says no one has permission to place a cache on her property and proceeds to remove the receptacle from the building. With the cache in hand I head to my truck relieved that she decided NOT to call the authorities like she'd threatened.

The remainder the the day would prove uneventful compared to the start to my day and that was more than alright with me!!!! I'd end up with a total of four caches and a few ideas on where to place a couple.

Caches Found:

1. The Lighthouse
2. Carlee Ann's Cache
3. Squishy's Birthday Cache
4. Down Island

Perhaps Next Time

2009-02-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

Spent the last several days under the weather, but tired of laying around so decided to get out and pick up a few caches and perhaps look over some areas with the intent of putting some of my own out. I imagine that as soon as a geocacher has a few finds their thoughts turn to placing one and now it seemed like the thing to do.

There was also a new cache listed by OBXed and I was hoping that just maybe I could log a FTF. The cache was nicknamed The Lighthouse which I assumed just may be a clue. When I arrived the first thing I noticed were the NO PARKING signs and the fact that this cache was probably on private property. The waypoints led in the area of a building adjacent to the drive that I assumed was at one time for a gate attendant, or possibly a guard. Of course the building contained the normal outdoor light receptacles, power boxes and electrical meters, but nothing jumped out at me. So, after a good going over I gave up and headed towards the area where I was thinking about placing a cache. Along the way I found Mike's Most Excellent Cache #2 and then continued scouting. Ended the day wondering where my DNF was and wishing I had gotten my first FTF.

Geocaching 101

2009-02-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Andrew loved it. . . and that might be an understatement! We had a great time and I believe it's something we'll be spending a lot of time doing when the kids are here AND when we're in Cary. We found a total of seven caches over the weekend, some easy, some hard, but all of them fun. My prediction is that Andrew will have his own gps before the week is out.

Caches Found:

1. Windy Sunsetspecial

2. Hickory Hammock

3. The Red Swamp

4. Tripping Billies

5. HQ Outer Banks Honeymoon Cache

6. Kitty Hawk Fishing

7. Just another light pole ?

2009-02-10T22:26:00.001-05:00

A while back Andrew mentioned that he wanted to try geocaching. I don't recall if I had brought up the subject first, or he'd heard about it from a friend, or discovered it on the internet, but I had found my old Garmin GPS and ran thru the fundementals to see if I could use it.

Well, we never did get out to give it a try, but with not much else to do this time of year, and the weather too cold to spend time on the beach, I decided that maybe this weekend would be the time to go out and see if it's something he might enjoy.

So, today I found the coordinates of several close to the house and Malinda & I headed to see if they could be found. Sure enough the gps did its thing and we logged our first two caches since finding our first back in Billings, Montana.

Today's Caches:
1. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay
2. First in Flight