Another Saturday, Another Cache Day...

Keeping true to our word, Rick and I planned another geocaching adventure for our family this past Saturday. (Yes, even though it was the release day for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I chose to go on a family day trip and postponed the hour at which I would have the book in my anxious, greedy little hands... See? I'm not so neglectful and wanton when it comes to my own children...)

We decided to try for an area that was a bit far-flung but not quite as far as the previous weekend. After perusing the Geocaching website for some fun-sounding caches located in areas with less than 3-star ratings for "terrain difficulty" we finally decided on a cluster of caches located about 45 minutes away. The best part was the lure of beautiful scenery and plentiful waterfalls, which we knew would appeal to all three kids.

The area we were headed for is in the "hilltowns" where restaurants are not exactly plentiful or even clustered in distinct downtown districts (don't blink you just missed downtown: post office, vet office specializing in large farm animals, and if you are really lucky a gas station with a mom-and-pop convenience store in a building that looks like it is held up by the overgrown shrubs around it...or perhaps by magic like The Burrow?). So, we packed a picnic lunch and a few snacks, consulted the maps and then headed out the door.

The first cache site was supposed to have two separate, yet closely spaced, caches to find. We followed the directions for the first and found a parking area in a state forest that was at the head of the trail. The trail itself immediately went down at a steep angle as it followed the course of the stream. There was fencing all along the edge of the trail to keep people from meeting an untimely demise at the bottom of the ravine. This made the trip to the cache much more enjoyable since I did not have to spend every second telling the girls to be careful and fearing with every ounce of my being that they were about to go careening off the cliff at any moment. As we followed the fence we stopped now and then to enjoy the rushing river and the little waterfalls way down below (on the other side of the very safe fence). At one point we must have missed a slight fork in the trail because we ended up at a dead end where fence met large rocky outcropping:

Hmmmm....the GPS indicated that the cache was still at least a bit further along the trail somewhere. Rick doubled back and yelled for us to follow. I took a quick picture from this dead end overlook and then look up and saw Rick and the girls on the other portion of the trail above me:

After a short period of time Rick consulted the GPS and pointed the direction off the beaten path that we needed to take. The cache was not too hard to find (maybe five minutes of searching...probably a bit less) and the girls found some neat items in the box and traded for a couple of fun treats we brought along for trade. Having found the first one, we headed off in search of the second cache of the day which was supposed to be placed not too far away. We spent a bit longer following the trail and navigating with the GPS but it seemed after a while of walking and finding our way blocked by the rushing stream that the old adage "ya can't get theya from heya" fit the bill. So, we hiked back up to the car and figured we would try to drive back toward the entrance and see if another likely starting point made itself known. On our way back toward the state forest entrance we stopped at the forest ranger's office and purchased a yearly pass for the state parks figuring we'd be stopping a a few more before the season is finished if we keep up with our 'family fun' Saturdays. At the parking area near the ranger's office there was a large grassy area that abutted a small sandy beach and moderate sized swimming hole. It was not a particularly hot day but there were plenty of people enjoying the weather and the water and having picnics. We decided that it looked like the perfect spot to stop and eat our picnic lunch before continuing our caching journey. The girls were very excited by the water and wanted to go swimming but we somehow convinced them that the next stop was worth the wait: a place to splash in the river, climb around some big rocks and see another waterfall! In hindsight, it may have been the better choice to stay and let them swim there and just call it a day but we forged ahead with our plans and still had fun. And now we know that there is a great kid-friendly swimming area that is not too far to visit on another day! That is one of the beautiful things about geocaching. It allows you to explore places that you might have never have known existed!

The next cache was one that we had attempted about 3 years ago. We spent a good deal of time looking for it but could not locate it and upon returning home we realized that the cache had actually been missing for some time (and we learned the important lesson of reading the most recent logs for a cache to find out if it was still 'findable' before heading out to look for it ourselves)! The cache had at some point been replaced and moved to a new location and there were a few people who had reportedly found the cache in the recent past (within the last month or so). So, we drove to the site, unloaded the kids and all the swimming gear and headed for the trail. We hiked for about 20 minutes and we came, according to the GPS, very close to the location of the cache. However, the tree cover was pretty thick and so the GPS was having some technical difficulties picking up signals. After about 15 minutes of looking A decided that she needed to go to the bathroom and her delicate sensibilities were not about to let her attempt to do so in the middle of the woods. So, I took her back to the parking area where there was (thankfully) a port-a-potty and Rick (with E in the backpack) and R continued the search. We agreed to meet back at the parking lot and then head to the falls. As it turns out, Rick and R were never able to locate the cache (strike two for us on that one). But, the girls had a great time splashing in the water and climbing all over the rocks at the stream:



Actually, the older two enjoy the splashing and rock-climbing and Rick and I were able to kick back a bit and relax because the youngest decided to enjoy a much-needed nap at that point:



It was a fun day even if the caching portion of it was a bit of a disappointment. We found only one of the three that we intended to find that day and we had no time and little energy left to go looking for any others. I guess that just means we save those other caches for another day - although I think after two strikes on that last cache we might just not bother looking there again!

On the way home we stopped in at a very old "General Store" in a larger town center located closer to 'civilization'. The older girls got to pick out a bag of candy (formally known as 'penny candy' but the cheapest item was the mini Tootsie Rolls at 2 cents a piece followed by the miniature Smarties at 4 cents a piece and the prices rose rapidly from there) and E and I shared a dish of Raspberry Rocky Road ice cream...yum! Dinner that night was a simple phone call to the local pizza parlor and the girls were in bed fast asleep by no later than 8pm after a fun and eventful day.

Ahhhhh....good times!


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In other news....

I got new glasses recently. My last eye exam was three years ago so I was way overdue for a check-up and my most recent pair of glasses were a bit bent and showing plenty of signs of wear. And as much as I love Harry Potter, I decided to go for a slightly different shape to my glasses to avoid any future comparisons.

Not the greatest picture ever...but it is meant to primarly show off the new eyewear. Thoughts? And please ignore the gray hairs and the crows feet. (Actually, I'm not really asking your opinion so just follow the adage you should have learned at your mother's knee: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.)