tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68273245592892330802024-03-04T20:03:40.793-08:00Redlights' OLD Reflections on GeocachingDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-73596637067946052232023-04-21T09:28:00.011-07:002023-06-10T06:51:21.143-07:00Highest Points Visited
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vE6wOBvnIYoLptnIe03f6RW7dvUDPtbsTayz9NcI2x6R3rqfc2Bevxb-biMZZGTPYj2_Zwskd5HxCYzrYI8PcNHr6QPbH8slZUcQ_cCoTFPLdX6kyBaW5VIDV73h1evvXJ9yTXq6qL0DpsISsNdz3daAmsOQeA9tZDVrwdlCs6gx705OjSFlqOGl/s7642/IMG_7690.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="2406" data-original-width="7642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vE6wOBvnIYoLptnIe03f6RW7dvUDPtbsTayz9NcI2x6R3rqfc2Bevxb-biMZZGTPYj2_Zwskd5HxCYzrYI8PcNHr6QPbH8slZUcQ_cCoTFPLdX6kyBaW5VIDV73h1evvXJ9yTXq6qL0DpsISsNdz3daAmsOQeA9tZDVrwdlCs6gx705OjSFlqOGl/s600/IMG_7690.JPG"/></a></div>
The photo above was taken at the summit of Black Elk Peak in South Dakota.
<br><BR><b>FROM August 14, 2009:</b>
Here is a list of the <b>Highest Points</b> I have visited. It will be nice and easy to keep track of them here! I'll add a few pictures as well. Here they are in order by date:<br><br><br />04/09/2009 - <b>Maryland - Hoyes Crest</b> - 3,360 ft above sea level <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0pRqTzIl47tLiNVX5kbDznzjjmzdG2bfRqekXAqvNqFu4BYqIpviP4o-MJb1OF5ElpaPRTwz6C0awdXV1ORcsF5QWgt1cSxAblJ7nazZJLWpfkLjqsagGvjUEF9g3b6cOyDJA0D0hE0/s1600-h/Hoye+Crest+sign+%26+me.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0pRqTzIl47tLiNVX5kbDznzjjmzdG2bfRqekXAqvNqFu4BYqIpviP4o-MJb1OF5ElpaPRTwz6C0awdXV1ORcsF5QWgt1cSxAblJ7nazZJLWpfkLjqsagGvjUEF9g3b6cOyDJA0D0hE0/s200/Hoye+Crest+sign+%26+me.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369908507789200834" /></a><br><br />07/22/2009 - <b>North Carolina - Mount Mitchell</b> (also the highest point east of the Mississippi River.) - 6,684 ft above sea level<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRle1uI8LIw6p7ACW6Q1lVo5WOWuVpxwjYBcP38hcRD96CuezYTCY21U-U75gV7De9czOTDrV9Cltbhx2SSzShfDc5BRhTwl8M7fTAYyuv1FDLmc21uvf87PX8bO-7ZMQGtolzxzVaANY/s1600-h/IMG_1359.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRle1uI8LIw6p7ACW6Q1lVo5WOWuVpxwjYBcP38hcRD96CuezYTCY21U-U75gV7De9czOTDrV9Cltbhx2SSzShfDc5BRhTwl8M7fTAYyuv1FDLmc21uvf87PX8bO-7ZMQGtolzxzVaANY/s200/IMG_1359.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369908857614079810" /></a><br><br />08/13/2009 - <b>District of Columbia - Point Reno </b>- 409 ft above sea level.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmZz1IRYU3bY0GstMY_vicjbAT9JalK35612QqPjqhyphenhyphend0gAT4b-18fdM9n95sgXjJarhmFJlqPWNdAHyhO5z4ug5X_NMLrOljvcn6npoTcc2s6OoBA7Iww_EhS7AcvWqv2DmiTvbwsEQ/s1600-h/IMG_1547.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmZz1IRYU3bY0GstMY_vicjbAT9JalK35612QqPjqhyphenhyphend0gAT4b-18fdM9n95sgXjJarhmFJlqPWNdAHyhO5z4ug5X_NMLrOljvcn6npoTcc2s6OoBA7Iww_EhS7AcvWqv2DmiTvbwsEQ/s200/IMG_1547.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369909040859475458" /></a><br><br />12/05/2009 - <b>Delaware - Ebright Azimuth</b> - 448 ft above sea level <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3-YESftp_qvsck6BmtRJmEnUSfWNXJzZI4awFRYx76bdoVGu4Ig9Map8kxhX40ZnFtGI_D0vxSF4eXlnOa9MWNlbM5WgdcGkz3qJ_Qxe_OETklTtizZGIo6cuO2uhfb8ARAwuvQmagg/s1600-h/DSC06931.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3-YESftp_qvsck6BmtRJmEnUSfWNXJzZI4awFRYx76bdoVGu4Ig9Map8kxhX40ZnFtGI_D0vxSF4eXlnOa9MWNlbM5WgdcGkz3qJ_Qxe_OETklTtizZGIo6cuO2uhfb8ARAwuvQmagg/s200/DSC06931.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412267423524590962" /></a>
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<B>UPDATED April 21, 2023:</B> <br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JRSjC5FGDAt8LWXuxP2EIQm_e5aMGc3xZsBJGSX5yNUsyt3Tu-czpnuQLJrzZt-4bnYY1zNGuD7mcXMdBhuc_h7uHod34d93a-a7bmJkJxtaK8dgoiqRa379sxpGBe2Kufjs9sE7gq-hdn4Z-WCvWhjhM70DtJDV15qnSPL4ffPMdpns27nglnB4/s3264/IMG_7605.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JRSjC5FGDAt8LWXuxP2EIQm_e5aMGc3xZsBJGSX5yNUsyt3Tu-czpnuQLJrzZt-4bnYY1zNGuD7mcXMdBhuc_h7uHod34d93a-a7bmJkJxtaK8dgoiqRa379sxpGBe2Kufjs9sE7gq-hdn4Z-WCvWhjhM70DtJDV15qnSPL4ffPMdpns27nglnB4/s200/IMG_7605.JPG"/></a></div>After many years. I'm beginning to think about trying to visit more high points in each state. I'd also like to revisit some of the previous ones with my wife, if not the entire family. Since the previous post, above, my family and I visited the highest points in Iowa as well as South Dakota. It was in 2016 when we spent a week in the Wisconsin Dells area. We used that area as a half way spot on a trip out to see Mt. Rushmore. While on the way, we drove past and visited Hawkeye Point, elevation 1,670 ft abov<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39V_m2nmZIBgp8i5K67mRtuRc96FJXJh6bD8llqZQWUw6DMbX42FCYmO3W1sVlLxEvJaIJjS_YniWcwcrzLhNFRpcJNV0GUHgTd96u4YETxfAT-Dd2VNNslzDI44Jq00jIY1G9XpEpAHCt5WV9SHqVKmfOcNigFiday2_hhzCIxjBsM9IMyAzOqzs/s4032/IMG_2358.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39V_m2nmZIBgp8i5K67mRtuRc96FJXJh6bD8llqZQWUw6DMbX42FCYmO3W1sVlLxEvJaIJjS_YniWcwcrzLhNFRpcJNV0GUHgTd96u4YETxfAT-Dd2VNNslzDI44Jq00jIY1G9XpEpAHCt5WV9SHqVKmfOcNigFiday2_hhzCIxjBsM9IMyAzOqzs/s200/IMG_2358.JPG"/></a></div>e sea level, in Iowa. We then spent an evening in South Dakota and did some hiking, which involved a terrific hike up to Black Elk Peak, 7,242 ft above sea level. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6il_RKkMdmp3z65y1eNKmKYg9BrXQtWXXpAtf9NCUsOh2pCXxTld6DjkLaQzVRXRYPBpHVvEoT6fk1lIvD56M0bTk5Ob6ZG0FUPzncWUv4MyAp8AfcNU87NUGJjvnAx6_nq4xIOVNxXcl4T07XZrorMP7xGNMZhb-V5DODP8lr06zH5vK33C8uFT/s1280/SD%20%2807:13:16%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6il_RKkMdmp3z65y1eNKmKYg9BrXQtWXXpAtf9NCUsOh2pCXxTld6DjkLaQzVRXRYPBpHVvEoT6fk1lIvD56M0bTk5Ob6ZG0FUPzncWUv4MyAp8AfcNU87NUGJjvnAx6_nq4xIOVNxXcl4T07XZrorMP7xGNMZhb-V5DODP8lr06zH5vK33C8uFT/s320/SD%20%2807:13:16%29.JPG"/></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQpZgGDIQrzwdzwCrfCafs625Jj5yNv-9CEJulzo7lpxx3yiBxgP_zvpysck2XFJ8RLgXorXF8Tcl9g9KlvBUw11IANl2An8w3KPgCgXhdoxp4kVVEg_fNVfCzulMcRR7v0v89MS5TVvFQx8yD6itHsrgW6j_Rrz1LIpqi8ZCfp7OrHtt0Br4QW0B/s3088/VT%20%289:18:21%29.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQpZgGDIQrzwdzwCrfCafs625Jj5yNv-9CEJulzo7lpxx3yiBxgP_zvpysck2XFJ8RLgXorXF8Tcl9g9KlvBUw11IANl2An8w3KPgCgXhdoxp4kVVEg_fNVfCzulMcRR7v0v89MS5TVvFQx8yD6itHsrgW6j_Rrz1LIpqi8ZCfp7OrHtt0Br4QW0B/s320/VT%20%289:18:21%29.JPG"/></a></div>In 2021, my wife turned 50. She had found a place in Vermont to go hot air ballooning so we drove that way to experience it. Unfortunately the weather forced the event to be called off but we were in the area so we had to find something to do. We decided to hike up to the top of Mount Mansfield, 4,393 ft above sea level.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr6Zt0xuomGFWLn6gwkfW7nTbVgQqCrk-VqsA2MFVijQ3WIspTgDamrpr3UamhvLHNVz2rKqMFX0xO53v8LLFFNkW7-mRle7nNnvhXmlWeOwErxmpzlP_we12K37gvdFURDyPLY0q8vGeD99tkAT2MPsRyfEaMVkavXsOWFLx9rDL7mK2iUSRPcXZ/s4032/IMG_2016.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr6Zt0xuomGFWLn6gwkfW7nTbVgQqCrk-VqsA2MFVijQ3WIspTgDamrpr3UamhvLHNVz2rKqMFX0xO53v8LLFFNkW7-mRle7nNnvhXmlWeOwErxmpzlP_we12K37gvdFURDyPLY0q8vGeD99tkAT2MPsRyfEaMVkavXsOWFLx9rDL7mK2iUSRPcXZ/s200/IMG_2016.JPG"/></a></div>Fast forward to Easter 2023, my wife and I spent a week in the Gulf Shores area of Alabama. On the ride home we decided to visit the "highest point" in Florida, Britton Hill a whopping 345 ft above sea level. Also known as America's lowest high point. Since we were visiting areas on the ride home we drove by Cheaha Mountain in Alabama to claim its highest point as well, at 2,413 ft.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcwYwwJthajSH7EKtZzO0D-Ff0qi0sYPGCV8kA8St4-Bq0eEl7P3SCvs1qfG2SOvBu1Gm0I1rqb2L48DsgNIazb5fpERe9lu9MyXf-bqP-c4TfDfOWv0267bXe25bdZO-o3z7uqxPcFLAWoUl_pJONSsMngndRbRJAnbGzLBFl-9NZa4M5j-R6GO0/s4032/IMG_2034.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcwYwwJthajSH7EKtZzO0D-Ff0qi0sYPGCV8kA8St4-Bq0eEl7P3SCvs1qfG2SOvBu1Gm0I1rqb2L48DsgNIazb5fpERe9lu9MyXf-bqP-c4TfDfOWv0267bXe25bdZO-o3z7uqxPcFLAWoUl_pJONSsMngndRbRJAnbGzLBFl-9NZa4M5j-R6GO0/s320/IMG_2034.JPG"/></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtM1WK0Dd1p1PdBkSvM9cTNX2UaYpdAPkhuYNUeKomGVA60ee-Q4lI5VEBP5OYLqUSV2iJBFqWCeArU1BEOB4JC160nopqWdXgcEjbZx4ypvgyKDewxv3GvpGxRDUNOFLjDvAtXTXVloljK7h6p3U2xVe1GRUwhBKFZtWT__8hDjsnmKWGsb-LY76O/s3088/IMG_2350.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtM1WK0Dd1p1PdBkSvM9cTNX2UaYpdAPkhuYNUeKomGVA60ee-Q4lI5VEBP5OYLqUSV2iJBFqWCeArU1BEOB4JC160nopqWdXgcEjbZx4ypvgyKDewxv3GvpGxRDUNOFLjDvAtXTXVloljK7h6p3U2xVe1GRUwhBKFZtWT__8hDjsnmKWGsb-LY76O/s200/IMG_2350.JPG"/></a></div><br> <B> Memorial Day Weekend 2023</B>:May 28, 2023 my wife and I decided that we would "get high" by visiting three of the closest highpoints to our home in southern Maryland. Doing so brought our list together to 10 and my personal list to 13. We began at Hoye Crest in western Maryland. Actually to get to Maryland's highest point, you have to park in West Virginia. The hike was a 2 mile round trip, with a change in elevation of 750 ft. In the interest of full disclosure, we were both winded at times as we made our way up the hill. But we did make and enjoyed the nice breeze at the top which cooled us off quickly as we did sweat on the way there. After photos at the tip we headed down the hill and decided that we would make our way to the next one.<br><BR>
At the car, my wife and I discussed our options. We knew that Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest point was only 25 miles away, as the crow flies, about an hour away via the actual roads. We also knew that Mount Davis, in PA was about an hour's drive away as well. We decided to turn south and head to West Virginia. Along the way we spotted signs for Blackwater Falls State Park. Since we enjoy seeing waterfalls as well, we made the detour and found a TERRIFIC state park. Free to enter, we drove in, parked the car near the main camp store and made the short walk along a fantastic boardwalk to the beautiful viewing area for the falls. After that we went into the camp store. As we walked in, I immediately spotted a rake of discgolf discs. Being a big fan of the game, I asked one of the cashiers about if they had a course in the park. He was very kind and pointed right to it on the map. This park was a great 90 minute detour on our way to Spruce Knob.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLLQNSai1jsWF9wSxHYdfN6tO3aub57dX5PVbaoqLwKniKiNs2ah1B9lRrrlRO4NNa0zmYYWDlMO9MWKzORoYaV0nwW6tznefBPdOcrl6BYJ914e7dLG0gpCfib-sIrmDS2ASHfMKgaFxKbJSNMg-Lj-VlB0oY0kgxsAu6LwQ_81NyB6Wi7Njvz2I/s4032/IMG_2358.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLLQNSai1jsWF9wSxHYdfN6tO3aub57dX5PVbaoqLwKniKiNs2ah1B9lRrrlRO4NNa0zmYYWDlMO9MWKzORoYaV0nwW6tznefBPdOcrl6BYJ914e7dLG0gpCfib-sIrmDS2ASHfMKgaFxKbJSNMg-Lj-VlB0oY0kgxsAu6LwQ_81NyB6Wi7Njvz2I/s200/IMG_2358.JPG"/></a></div>
Upon arriving at the parking area for Spruce Knob, we got out and easily made to 900 ft walk to the observation tower at it's peak. Spruce Knob sits 4,863 ft above sea level and it was our 9th together, and my 13th individually. The views were beautiful and we even walked a bit of the trail beyond the summit. Upon getting in the car, we had a decision to make. Did we want to try to get to Mount Davis in PA or just head home? Man am I glad we decided what we did!<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29Hbg9TKvi1XJNDVoyb8RyDLslyMJ0rg5_gY5DhVO-MyGv7iTVsRuDRYW1CENIJk0Pze0n-nM3L3-_XfffKiiKL_d1M3RjyLNrmlvtV3ho3PFnmsPYRqtvoyt62Nb3tfbo3SvFSU5CSjkb7XKMbB5iAAZLVcKV_fEM-qnCyWZ8JNzC7nYK0E6mp94/s4032/IMG_2400.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29Hbg9TKvi1XJNDVoyb8RyDLslyMJ0rg5_gY5DhVO-MyGv7iTVsRuDRYW1CENIJk0Pze0n-nM3L3-_XfffKiiKL_d1M3RjyLNrmlvtV3ho3PFnmsPYRqtvoyt62Nb3tfbo3SvFSU5CSjkb7XKMbB5iAAZLVcKV_fEM-qnCyWZ8JNzC7nYK0E6mp94/s200/IMG_2400.JPG"/></a></div>We made our way north, driving back along the same roads we came down. A stop at a small restuarant provided a late lunch/early dinner and gave us the energy to finish our day. Getting to the "top" of Mount Davis is not difficult at all. Parking in the lot, we walked along the trail until we can to the rock formation that holds the geodetic benchmark disc signifying the summit, 3,213 ft above sea level. A little beyond the mark is an old fire tower with the cupola removed. At the top is a fresco showing the lay of the area around with another diagram which showed why other points in the distance may have appeared higher.
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Now whenever I am on these trips, an old song always comes to mind. From 1972 and The Carpenters "On Top of the World" plays in my head ever time. This time I decided to share it with others with this little video.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7qzxEdD_VHrQqWClkc0HjEMQZ6SgbMJTPxWqLeL2fRmXVZ-7eVHrFqMmAfjgJPyWRHBSzdroC0LDondgUCw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br><br>
The map below shows the highest points in each state that I have visited WITH my family and I am really looking forward to visiting more. In list form the state visited are: Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2t_-TqFtXrxdgwW1fg8C7zsgFdkdt13_BW7nTjXXrztw6jKbk9NM2MwjwRsi1v8CEk7siZAvKm3bWwVYi6gkh4CEpekOIKCaI0ZX0tjFFsQwC0015fk0pXpLzzv91XJBcQBA--93sLJ2Z8ebP1FMXYC7TahHgLPmAF5YHUJDTY6rLMxz9MJUewWx/s4032/Highpoints%20Map.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2t_-TqFtXrxdgwW1fg8C7zsgFdkdt13_BW7nTjXXrztw6jKbk9NM2MwjwRsi1v8CEk7siZAvKm3bWwVYi6gkh4CEpekOIKCaI0ZX0tjFFsQwC0015fk0pXpLzzv91XJBcQBA--93sLJ2Z8ebP1FMXYC7TahHgLPmAF5YHUJDTY6rLMxz9MJUewWx/s400/Highpoints%20Map.jpg"/></a></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-12748219246382391302009-07-26T18:34:00.000-07:002014-12-22T13:44:09.483-08:00"HighPointing"Okay I think I have been officially been bitten by the "highpointers" bug. While geocaching back in early April of this year, my friends, Mrs SeeKPeeKRs, VinceHayter, and I got a chance to climb to the highest point in the state of Maryland - Hoye Crest - to find a cache. Since then I have been looking at the <a href="http://highpointers.org/">Highpointers website</a> to find out where some of the other "highest" points in various states are located. Well with my trip to western North Carolina this past week I was able to check off another state. Not only that but Mount Mitchell is also the highest point east of the Mississippi River. We didn't have much of a view, due to clouds, but it was still a lot of fun. Where next? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfB6F1I5HkLQU77O7rn6ZqLYMCbiQURznVQ3GrKI64F-OtVUpWvP-i4XSbZTh0J7Q1xTnggCGla4erx7oSbJq6Ctjntf9u0KxGreWL2Cs_Yxp6_dZ_D93mI0yzd7un7QpcW-oD9LwHIk/s1600-h/IMG_1359.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfB6F1I5HkLQU77O7rn6ZqLYMCbiQURznVQ3GrKI64F-OtVUpWvP-i4XSbZTh0J7Q1xTnggCGla4erx7oSbJq6Ctjntf9u0KxGreWL2Cs_Yxp6_dZ_D93mI0yzd7un7QpcW-oD9LwHIk/s200/IMG_1359.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362949055974004274" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-79198205854184913822009-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:002009-07-14T20:52:10.410-07:00July 5th - 12th (Across Pennsylvania)Now that I am pretty well rested from the week that was - let me tell some of you about it. My wife and I had decided that we were going to spend some time in Pennsylvania. One of my good friends from growing up lives in the Chambersburg area and one of my colleagues has property in north western PA in Clarion County. That coupled with the fact that my wife's cousin was getting married at the end of the week in the Poconos, in eastern PA, made this a great opportunity go out and have some fun. Sunday morning, July 5th, we loaded up the Highlander to the gills. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWutnLH-MraQxRHCqoWwkmpcXtPWQjuqubQ63xoHTG1vs8O0e-W499BbjjD9f5NpFwxZT03iZLat-dDXxOGe9g8Zl3tSZSI40yPtpaJqzGGpZPTgsE0-nv05s5nA6vexkzYBP6Hyv6qHI/s1600-h/IMG_1100.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWutnLH-MraQxRHCqoWwkmpcXtPWQjuqubQ63xoHTG1vs8O0e-W499BbjjD9f5NpFwxZT03iZLat-dDXxOGe9g8Zl3tSZSI40yPtpaJqzGGpZPTgsE0-nv05s5nA6vexkzYBP6Hyv6qHI/s200/IMG_1100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358505139481831762" /></a> Two kayaks, two bikes, sleeping bags , enough clothes for a week and other assorted stuff we couldn't have fit a flea in there if it wanted to stow away. <br><br /> We decided this summer that we would try and have the family participate in <a href="http://www.pgparksandrec.com/News/News_Releases/April_30__2009.htm#1">"THE HUNT for Abraham Lincoln" </a>put on by the M-NCPPC. I had visited one site the previous week with the boys and we knew that we would sort of "pass by" a couple of others along the way. We decided to stop in Antietam at the PRY HOUSE Field Hospital Museum.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bKpqIVwa91cgQTSOqu_sRML_K6rqLbvjuD90W66uocxHn3CqyAmW3YugChTMHxKYqLAQW2GeQDdTO2yyTjOzQ5d8uFPhUUEtBqRQRwb4dmSRHkyhTPAIf-FY0kI7bVS259upTMlZdTs/s1600-h/IMG_1104.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bKpqIVwa91cgQTSOqu_sRML_K6rqLbvjuD90W66uocxHn3CqyAmW3YugChTMHxKYqLAQW2GeQDdTO2yyTjOzQ5d8uFPhUUEtBqRQRwb4dmSRHkyhTPAIf-FY0kI7bVS259upTMlZdTs/s200/IMG_1104.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358505368549476498" /></a> President Lincoln was said to stop there and visit with General George McClellan. My oldest son seemed a little more interested. So he and I paid the very modest admission fee to take the tour. The home had been used as a field hospital, as mentioned in the name, and several officers had been treated there. Over 500 enlisted men had been treated in the barn just outside. A humbling experience that I don't think that my son will fully grasp for a couple more years. From there we drove up to Gettysburg to visit the National Memorial Park and the location of the <a href="http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM26T5_Lincoln_Address_Memorial">Gettysburg Address Memorial</a> as well as the David Wills House, the site where President Lincoln stayed overnight the evening before his famous two-minute speech. After that we drove on to Chambersburg for a visit with my friend and his family. He and I even tried to take out one of the kayaks that evening with one of his four daughters but alas the river where we put in was way too shallow.<br><br /> The next morning we drove to our friends in Clarion. They own quite a piece of property <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfG7T17FGndljjkpRiJ0Z1YBXhEIxvAAM2fQA-pLAt8rGgOqoPv4wcJKkfDUOg2xu1hO1a-gAkjn0gzOsIy1MVRGfzwO4A-s5ZsSHo7oAhpejLCWiOi83H24CZbz3fKBDLCovGefSG10/s1600-h/IMG_1115.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfG7T17FGndljjkpRiJ0Z1YBXhEIxvAAM2fQA-pLAt8rGgOqoPv4wcJKkfDUOg2xu1hO1a-gAkjn0gzOsIy1MVRGfzwO4A-s5ZsSHo7oAhpejLCWiOi83H24CZbz3fKBDLCovGefSG10/s200/IMG_1115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358505621619471538" /></a>in the area and have set up their summer camp there. We stayed there three nights and enjoyed every minute of it. The weather never got above 78* and in the evenings we needed sweat shirts to stay warm even with a small campfire. Our kids played well together with lots of games of hide-n-seek, ladderball and just good clean running around and having a blast. One evening we drove into the town of Clarion itself for dinner and our boys remembered that they enjoyed the park just across the street from the restaurant. The kids loved yelling "FIRE" as they sat on the various old cannons there. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4j7gOrpK41Ad2kJJa2FrygVVnK-W9lQNiCI_jJgQGDTIWlyYIm7Lj_kDRcqBlLV3ExhQn4xYR7MjOWfIJS_UUZEUiR40yBwY2zBwsdlSNR5qyoa7ffFuIrf4desZRzUe24-9Slq8gX0/s1600-h/IMG_1144.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4j7gOrpK41Ad2kJJa2FrygVVnK-W9lQNiCI_jJgQGDTIWlyYIm7Lj_kDRcqBlLV3ExhQn4xYR7MjOWfIJS_UUZEUiR40yBwY2zBwsdlSNR5qyoa7ffFuIrf4desZRzUe24-9Slq8gX0/s200/IMG_1144.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358506131404386866" /></a><br><br /><br /> Having the kayaks with us we had to take them out for a little ride down the Clarion River itself. In years past we have canoed other parts of the river, and an image of one trip you can find in an earlier post from last year. But this time we had our own and wanted to try a different location. Well to say that the first trip was <b> hard</b> would be an understatement. My friend and I hadn't even put the kayaks on the ground before my oldest son says "Hey look a snake in the water." That set off my friend's children screaming. If people had gone by they would have thought that we were torturing the kids. We tried for a little after they settled down but it was no use. But the next day was 1000 times better. We put in at the Mill Creek boat launch with my wife and I in one kayak and my friend and his son in the other. My two sons wanted to be towed in inner tubes behind us. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNysOXOBbwGlLNUeID4CQn5wMo8E_8PDChfew64yC6jWaS8iWuUHzODrHDkEAbpGpu00j5C2lMMBVfnbsRkyv3o5rmOC_PHxqHN34RL50dTiTFwRRJXwBwjaJ1VHRBLsW0gsApKRHZ-A/s1600-h/103_0027.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNysOXOBbwGlLNUeID4CQn5wMo8E_8PDChfew64yC6jWaS8iWuUHzODrHDkEAbpGpu00j5C2lMMBVfnbsRkyv3o5rmOC_PHxqHN34RL50dTiTFwRRJXwBwjaJ1VHRBLsW0gsApKRHZ-A/s200/103_0027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358506435377151986" /></a> My friend's daughter ended up in the front of her father's kayak. And oh yeah - his wife was on shore waiting for us <b>four </b> miles down the river. She was our ride back to the car. It was fantastic! A bit on the long side for the kids, but I had a blast. We were on the water for two and a half hours and I enjoyed every bit. (Well towing the boys was hard at times - but it was worth it.) We even spotted a bald eagle, in flight, about 40 minutes before the end of our journey.<br><br /><br /> Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I had a couple of nice chances to go out and find some geocaches while in the area. I had learned from a friend earlier in the summer about the <a href="http://www.alleghenygeotrail.com/">Allegheny GeoTrail</a>. Similar in nature to other geocaching adventures, this program has geocachers finding caches within the various counties of Pennsylvania, particularly those along the Allegheny Mountains. Each county has a set number of geocaches within it and a finder must find only six within that county to earn a <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=f896bcf1-4d93-4a7a-9c8f-5f0e749633b5">trackable geocoin.</a>While in Clarion County, I was able to complete the necessary six caches, as well as a few more for extra measure, to earn my coin. The nice thing about the coin: the one for Clarion County has on its back a person in a canoe as well as a bald eagle. Could it get any better than that? The fire tower pictured here is located with in <a href="www.cookforest.com">Cook Forest State Park </a>and one of the caches in very close by. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi2u9tEwGguVIc0XgbIKkRhtqI0QMQpx1sSol-EQejjeby9el5Nki2Gg3rlCY5xgbzd-Z9-Rec7oNPFDJxFnwKcYhFJCJ8rsSiMeX9og8X1bF0Hoa1VKqxO_jFZlt-SeVTt185U_4eBY/s1600-h/IMG_1130.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi2u9tEwGguVIc0XgbIKkRhtqI0QMQpx1sSol-EQejjeby9el5Nki2Gg3rlCY5xgbzd-Z9-Rec7oNPFDJxFnwKcYhFJCJ8rsSiMeX9og8X1bF0Hoa1VKqxO_jFZlt-SeVTt185U_4eBY/s200/IMG_1130.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358505867511278562" /></a><br><br /><br /> Thursday morning we packed up and started our drive back across the state. But not before another stop at <a href="http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/penna/beartown/beartown.htm">Beartown Rocks.</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHKTTpQEr6MrTVV3iyCUaQcM0TCX-UMSO8FGHfrlXydSHvJNks1F2pvEMfSxFQ9vizz0cznGq_-cWgneDXZd9Ns-x1aieNojTKLS-HrfAfEt7DfKfeyDqBJCYU4Y2orHDE31MsoUURhM/s1600-h/IMG_1183.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHKTTpQEr6MrTVV3iyCUaQcM0TCX-UMSO8FGHfrlXydSHvJNks1F2pvEMfSxFQ9vizz0cznGq_-cWgneDXZd9Ns-x1aieNojTKLS-HrfAfEt7DfKfeyDqBJCYU4Y2orHDE31MsoUURhM/s200/IMG_1183.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358506743113678850" /></a> We have visited the area before with the kids and always like to stop by and allow the kids to climb around. My oldest son loves climbing and I hope that he learns to be a little more cautious soon since he likes to jump from one to another. And I can't quite keep up as easily anymore. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87QymumhyphenhyphenYaTPnDwr_Jqkc_OegMfuODx_9WG-GwqZJrzyynyjFd5aDw5L2xsvlyrBh8pCB5lxgNYr5XJrDLGIemJquElK5CTkmmsIw-6GIbIU9F-hPM1-fzIrQpxpnHCNAyjAQPI00fc/s1600-h/IMG_1192.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87QymumhyphenhyphenYaTPnDwr_Jqkc_OegMfuODx_9WG-GwqZJrzyynyjFd5aDw5L2xsvlyrBh8pCB5lxgNYr5XJrDLGIemJquElK5CTkmmsIw-6GIbIU9F-hPM1-fzIrQpxpnHCNAyjAQPI00fc/s200/IMG_1192.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358507216213593506" /></a> We even paused for a moment for a family portrait <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNDMKHmTSaENwl5Jj_g8H65Hfr0hkzRZRCltQdMBU-vbjFCd_Ipjtr7NQO3-info8eW5uYvKX8B-UDYg1fvz-m4vX2luxy8z3gBNIyEuVsG-m0oLczddLF9xDDYz9uf5kNCIoVmazw2g/s1600-h/IMG_1189.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNDMKHmTSaENwl5Jj_g8H65Hfr0hkzRZRCltQdMBU-vbjFCd_Ipjtr7NQO3-info8eW5uYvKX8B-UDYg1fvz-m4vX2luxy8z3gBNIyEuVsG-m0oLczddLF9xDDYz9uf5kNCIoVmazw2g/s200/IMG_1189.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358506972146082002" /></a> But please forgive me it was taken with just an iPhone with no zoom of course. After that it was lunch and heading on to Scranton. Our stop for a couple of nights before we hit the Poconos.<br /> Now while in Scranton for a couple of days we wanted to use our time well so we thought that it would be neat to visit the Lackawanna Coal Mine. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5o69YMTD26FjV5DJ2i364rBtbYoG9RqN8HKHzn0DaFEkhkyEpULZIztAOvcfSii51t3ZUk9heMUi1X8S05DE_6OSoNqiiIO0-7uQAbiSlmx3RU3_NgzomYocPqDcVrkAj-GZGo_DSlA/s1600-h/IMG_1218.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5o69YMTD26FjV5DJ2i364rBtbYoG9RqN8HKHzn0DaFEkhkyEpULZIztAOvcfSii51t3ZUk9heMUi1X8S05DE_6OSoNqiiIO0-7uQAbiSlmx3RU3_NgzomYocPqDcVrkAj-GZGo_DSlA/s200/IMG_1218.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358507438050550322" /></a> Once a working mine, it now serves as a tourist stop to learn about how the mines once worked and how the people of the area made their living. The mine tour took us down a shaft which, as we were told, was 520 ft below the surface. We got a chance to walk the shafts, see and feel how the ventilation worked <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-txgNSZj9KM89AqRa-7KOJ2YDF2PM1DVarrqZQdHwKArGxCxVNSUgnK7wG3NHbjqIXcVC5TfJLZibqil8RBYhnjXOn_g6xRGR8kOrA_fkksvPjzryokVJdinxZjOwlHDfSiNw6S1tCv4/s1600-h/103_0063.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-txgNSZj9KM89AqRa-7KOJ2YDF2PM1DVarrqZQdHwKArGxCxVNSUgnK7wG3NHbjqIXcVC5TfJLZibqil8RBYhnjXOn_g6xRGR8kOrA_fkksvPjzryokVJdinxZjOwlHDfSiNw6S1tCv4/s200/103_0063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358524345839920914" /></a> and even at one point the lights were turned off so that we could see how dark it was. Amazing that the workers were able to get their jobs done and support a family if you ask me.<br><br /> That afternoon we visited <b>Nay Aug Park.</b> What a neat place! There children's playgrounds, hiking and biking trails, two pools and a water park and a <a href="http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/David%20Wenzel%20Treehouse-thumb-500x375.jpg">David Wenzel Treehouse.</a> To see it built with in the trees and the trees coming through the roof was spectacular. An amazing feat of craftsmanship! Our family even took to one of the hiking trails for a little while so that we could see some of the waterfalls there. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60VguBh3v8n5qnEH3jlMXAu7wqXfommu_kHxr4ji924EeDhQ03M6Bwf4DDX9IgAXHYopfmHdb_4ODTg0Y3I0zy3UrPHtfXAVftnV7365HxSQYjNag2qPjVoLbyUlQGYQNBeU3przzQXw/s1600-h/103_0069.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60VguBh3v8n5qnEH3jlMXAu7wqXfommu_kHxr4ji924EeDhQ03M6Bwf4DDX9IgAXHYopfmHdb_4ODTg0Y3I0zy3UrPHtfXAVftnV7365HxSQYjNag2qPjVoLbyUlQGYQNBeU3przzQXw/s200/103_0069.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358507771479252562" /></a> Maybe not exactly Niagara Falls but just as pretty within the wooded area. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfcphvh2nONnYMq7PzRDWZ9a89A0GMOA0o0jbW-I-yhjAeIzumZsbmAWjt8s_Djk2noHv9WPobDzYkWNIMAGB125HwCOlfbgfFhgyifEZBm8gXzTpis91jXiDGobmeKZEkjunbLwgXcc/s1600-h/103_0074.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfcphvh2nONnYMq7PzRDWZ9a89A0GMOA0o0jbW-I-yhjAeIzumZsbmAWjt8s_Djk2noHv9WPobDzYkWNIMAGB125HwCOlfbgfFhgyifEZBm8gXzTpis91jXiDGobmeKZEkjunbLwgXcc/s200/103_0074.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358507983312578594" /></a><br /> Saturday morning we packed back up and headed the rest of the way across Pennsylvania to the Poconos. My wife was attending the wedding of her cousin and I got the chance to take the boys to our next night's <a href="http://www.greatwolf.com/poconos/waterpark"> stay.</a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzopTxZJl_7fJ2ElVKv2UEPtIr8NxdxkGJ8vS6grX6rX0z-puOAYwp1fQAZXRK0SKgk4cr_WVhKSY6baY8InavE4s9CRI4MQ691h53zvQo7iTDiZ8YomU9R6jWFkSoxWtAqkYMw8H0cI/s1600-h/IMG_1248.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzopTxZJl_7fJ2ElVKv2UEPtIr8NxdxkGJ8vS6grX6rX0z-puOAYwp1fQAZXRK0SKgk4cr_WVhKSY6baY8InavE4s9CRI4MQ691h53zvQo7iTDiZ8YomU9R6jWFkSoxWtAqkYMw8H0cI/s200/IMG_1248.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358508300523273842" /></a> The boys, including this 40 year old boy, love staying at the Great Wolf Lodge. It is the kind of place that you can just relax and have a great time. While my wife was at the wedding my sons and I spent our time riding the water slides, especially the one that the boys thought that they were being "flushed" down the drain since you ended up going around a basin a couple of times. All totaled we spent probably 5 and 1/2 hours in the water park itself before calling it a night. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd1KvLwQW5cHPR33eFNecbZf5jrLewu1uCLYfn1RblDZ3B1Uvj4c0g618rYno3w_KdXXvomKPwS4Qevom6JUkXQU8qNXLNG31iLaYL5f4965eXbhQhVCD2swUoBkY9z5hcQiy-O7y6MU/s1600-h/IMG_1249.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd1KvLwQW5cHPR33eFNecbZf5jrLewu1uCLYfn1RblDZ3B1Uvj4c0g618rYno3w_KdXXvomKPwS4Qevom6JUkXQU8qNXLNG31iLaYL5f4965eXbhQhVCD2swUoBkY9z5hcQiy-O7y6MU/s200/IMG_1249.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358508488436885714" /></a><br /> The next morning the family went down to the water park for a little more fun. Who am I kidding? A lot more fun before making the 5 hour trip back to southern Maryland. People, who care, have asked since I got back did we have a nice time last week. And my answer has been <b> NO </b> we had a <b> GREAT </b> time!!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-78111436171199631972009-06-29T10:33:00.000-07:002009-06-29T11:01:48.323-07:00June 29th My summer so far.Man has it been a very long time since I have posted here, considering that the last post involved a SNOW DAY. Well what has been happening you may ask? First the school year ended just fine. With the exception of one senior prank, nothing too exciting happened as the year came to an end. My sons participated in their school talent show and as a proud father I will say that they did quite well. Maybe I'll edit the video and load it up sometime for others to see. <br /><br />Currently summer is in full swing and I am having a great time. The boys spent a week at "Summer Fun Camp" in Salisbury, MD. It is a Bible based rodeo camp put on by the Salisbury Baptist Temple. They enjoyed it a lot. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjolPJcf80lTEr0jD5WSRDJdNia4smKu-6Sjf-jPrW0F7WDJZOzYHySujDYENhDw8vzEcIYr4wkIdzcGNCJ48zhtKVAGz9QiT3iE89ALLzVuonIN-vhPmNKrv-3I8DJfa4ReWE3Bfyils/s1600-h/Summer+Fun+2009+031.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjolPJcf80lTEr0jD5WSRDJdNia4smKu-6Sjf-jPrW0F7WDJZOzYHySujDYENhDw8vzEcIYr4wkIdzcGNCJ48zhtKVAGz9QiT3iE89ALLzVuonIN-vhPmNKrv-3I8DJfa4ReWE3Bfyils/s200/Summer+Fun+2009+031.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352807207961291698" /></a><br /><br />After that we spent a week with my family at the <a href="http://www.corollalightresort.com/">Corolla Light Resort</a> in Corolla, NC. Private pool and hot tub, a chance to relax and go crabbing, kayaking and spend some time with family is always a <b> GREAT </b> time! While down on the Outer Banks I, in fact the entire family, tried our hands at hang gliding. Taking off from the top of the dunes at <a href="http://www.jockeysridgestatepark.com/">Jockey's Ridge,</a> we flew about 100 ft or a little more. The boys loved it and would have done it all day but my wife and I got a little tried.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcHP7lp3WdP1q_iZ02D12Fov80T1bj8VXFL9YI5dnPly0u0GeURd3bJCXdnDqkAly7Z-c5ei1_oS3yuUdS5wZt5obfc9vuDeFxgoIKbAOXE3TJdaZ-RH7I64kJETVXJ_hTn6NgjDgtsc/s1600-h/4968_81934547705_582237705_1658254_4897949_n.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcHP7lp3WdP1q_iZ02D12Fov80T1bj8VXFL9YI5dnPly0u0GeURd3bJCXdnDqkAly7Z-c5ei1_oS3yuUdS5wZt5obfc9vuDeFxgoIKbAOXE3TJdaZ-RH7I64kJETVXJ_hTn6NgjDgtsc/s320/4968_81934547705_582237705_1658254_4897949_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352809951828865282" /></a> We also spent some time on the beach itself, having driven onto the beach just north of Corolla at the beach access. There the boys loved playing in the ocean and watching an occasional horse, or horses, wander by.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrafbR5a0INQHTpobPEQaU9Se9UMYmKuwU0Us3yMb1f1epB7E_bo_v3IoUpOihoxv0YA5HU29zXHzIh_G7pZSyxX8Xm4dM6HZIBhVZUx9SHk39L2Ic3qnMHXwwniP-aubc7tYCd0Q21TE/s1600-h/4968_81934517705_582237705_1658250_2315334_n.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrafbR5a0INQHTpobPEQaU9Se9UMYmKuwU0Us3yMb1f1epB7E_bo_v3IoUpOihoxv0YA5HU29zXHzIh_G7pZSyxX8Xm4dM6HZIBhVZUx9SHk39L2Ic3qnMHXwwniP-aubc7tYCd0Q21TE/s320/4968_81934517705_582237705_1658250_2315334_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352810759635778514" /></a><br /><br />But alas we are home, back in Maryland now. But when I think about it - the summer has just begun. Let's have some more fun!!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-21811983341878524312009-03-03T13:46:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.341-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 12March 2, 2009 - <b>SNOW DAY!</b><br /><br />First let me say that I didn't even know it was supposed to snow. My wife mentioned over the weekend that we might get a little rain, maybe even a little bit of freezing rain and a flurry or two. But by the time came around for the Sunday forecast, our area, here in southern Maryland, was expecting to get hammered! It has been quite some time since we have had even a couple of inches of snow but to get close to 8 or 9 inches was such a surprise! I spent the morning watching the snow still come down.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrmm9s5BblI_pL00so9uU12L7yvpoiUpqwawT0bajuXEb3_-4Ju1SYYOpUzw1HnokwTILKbQVrNMkrLNkT70Lp_tjtolVfvbt-H2xT9kkYXC3_w-hdN2a3N1wRyqs2IDuI_cyojkXTB8/s1600-h/103_0004.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrmm9s5BblI_pL00so9uU12L7yvpoiUpqwawT0bajuXEb3_-4Ju1SYYOpUzw1HnokwTILKbQVrNMkrLNkT70Lp_tjtolVfvbt-H2xT9kkYXC3_w-hdN2a3N1wRyqs2IDuI_cyojkXTB8/s200/103_0004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309082578727706434" /></a> And while checking the email I received notice that a <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3f77986f-7f59-42fe-a233-f9c3fbeae4ea">new cache</a> had been published about 14 miles from the house. Should I try it? Our road hadn't be plowed really so why chance it? I went outside with the family and enjoyed sledding and throwing snowballs. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvH_jkx-OcbNoHRGooTHoUV1HTyDv9JJLDDphxyjirpkGfy_3i9ueOvR0LCY-w63T2hwiF4NXgZ9Vwtc17X5FbZPzXh5pqpkByclxXUiWAgYtEioWHnANR5iZhyphenhyphenyH4pUfL4EjGok4P2I/s1600-h/103_0011.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvH_jkx-OcbNoHRGooTHoUV1HTyDv9JJLDDphxyjirpkGfy_3i9ueOvR0LCY-w63T2hwiF4NXgZ9Vwtc17X5FbZPzXh5pqpkByclxXUiWAgYtEioWHnANR5iZhyphenhyphenyH4pUfL4EjGok4P2I/s200/103_0011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309082950817284418" /></a> Then we headed in for lunch. While eating the snowplow went by. I could see the road surface... Was it time?<br /><br />I called a good geo-friend and asked if she wanted to head south and try for the new cache. It always seems when I ask - she says "Yes" no matter the conditions. I picked her up and we made our way down to St. Mary's State Park. <b>The area was gorgeous!</b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE59Wa5uQl6XLQbKi4-pHcqtsjIll1xL-Z6o6NqbvR1b7OZQ9HV8aD6GFp9ecD5eC2gO1O2eub3VOQSe7YrPvQ0rQ42jcYHcLYQTMuiMJST0LtQP2qqRozl-Lp098o7qIDA6tlbwk2Voo/s1600-h/St+Mary%27s+Lake+01.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE59Wa5uQl6XLQbKi4-pHcqtsjIll1xL-Z6o6NqbvR1b7OZQ9HV8aD6GFp9ecD5eC2gO1O2eub3VOQSe7YrPvQ0rQ42jcYHcLYQTMuiMJST0LtQP2qqRozl-Lp098o7qIDA6tlbwk2Voo/s200/St+Mary%27s+Lake+01.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309083806071233682" /></a> The snow on the pine trees was sparkling like diamonds. We got out of the car a little discouraged since there was another car in the lot and many people had been here before us today. Had we missed the First To Find? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsDHlFbC1jOaM3A_8k3XD5dmUejezrXhp7tAG0tF8BIpH-Xx3C1H74rvKq3mctCsY8D99azRRqvJZKIumhzqfLZMs1AAWAFuGEUMHQiNiFx6rbO0TVN1E1nU3CTpLN7k9psAc1_2ftjw/s1600-h/The+Trail.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsDHlFbC1jOaM3A_8k3XD5dmUejezrXhp7tAG0tF8BIpH-Xx3C1H74rvKq3mctCsY8D99azRRqvJZKIumhzqfLZMs1AAWAFuGEUMHQiNiFx6rbO0TVN1E1nU3CTpLN7k9psAc1_2ftjw/s200/The+Trail.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309085123967018946" /></a>The trail was magnificent even though we followed tracks for most of the two-tenths of a mile. But as the needle on the Magellan began to turn we saw <b> NO</b> tracks. We made our way to a likely hiding spot about 150 ft away and began scratching around. Again there was 9 inches of snow on the ground. But we finally came up with the cache. Upon opening it we found the log book and knew that we were indeed the <b>FIRST TO FIND!</b> We signed the log happily and rehid the container as best we could. We then walked around a little to try and cover our tracks and not give away the true location of the cache. And then we headed back to the car. After warming up a little we decided to hit one more <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=745a863d-7ece-406c-a0a0-560e0d84e01d">cache</a> that we hadn't done yet. That one entailed a quarter mile walk across a field and then into the woods again through thick snow. We found it and signed the log and headed back to the car, exhausted!!<br /><br />To be completely honest about the day I don't think that my joy came from being the "First to Find" at the first cache of the day. But I think it came from being able to enjoy our world in a way that I don't get to very often. Yeah sometimes snow can be slippery and dangerous. But you have to admit that it can really make the world a beautiful place!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmwVCxweBvZbVi3KqPVzAh96b-IoEum96jBlm9lFsw8orJGzQCT0nUt49uBmQIQC20xZcn3dn08PvYxnsG-yKCBFp5jyFgizashUD7alvCkIVGvO0oCcflP4jl5GZE8rUJXE0_jcEO2Q/s1600-h/The+field.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmwVCxweBvZbVi3KqPVzAh96b-IoEum96jBlm9lFsw8orJGzQCT0nUt49uBmQIQC20xZcn3dn08PvYxnsG-yKCBFp5jyFgizashUD7alvCkIVGvO0oCcflP4jl5GZE8rUJXE0_jcEO2Q/s200/The+field.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309087612336496578" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-54214971303082325722009-01-25T16:33:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.380-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 11For those who might not know what those four letters mean, well you probably didn't read the last post. But anyway - CITO stands for "Cache In Trash Out!" With the hobby of geocaching I get to enjoy the outdoors a lot more. But walking in a park and seeing bottles, cans and other trash on the ground bothers me. So as I mentioned in the previous post I have a renewed desire to pick up as much as I can each time that I am out. The first part of today's adventure was specifically designed to do that. Go out and pick up litter. The place I picked was one of my own cache sites. I could definitely tell from the area that people have used it as a dumping grounds and today I took part of it back. It is going to take another trip, too much for one load. But I can't say that I was alone. I had some great help today. A good geo-friend spent some time with me doing what I wanted in picking up the stuff. Thanks you very much to her. All totaled we picked up close to three recycling bins full of things today as well as other plastic bags and trash. As mentioned elsewhere - every little bit helps!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-3843984445377603472009-01-15T15:49:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.372-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 10I decided last evening that I was going to take the day off and get some rest for my ailing throat. It was kind of scratchy the day before and I thought that I could use the not having to talk. So I took the opportunity to go out and grab a few caches today. I, along with some friends and a whole lot of other cachers, have begun work on the <a href="http://www.mdmunicipal.org/programs/geocache.cfm">Maryland Municipal League Geotrail.</a> 11 districts across the state, try and find at least two caches in each district and use your passport to prove that you were there. If you are successful - you could be awarded with a geocoin. While I am interested in the geocoin, I have to say that it has been fun visiting the various locations around the state that I have visited so far. With having today off I decided to head back up to Prince George's County and grab the last two in that area. Neat locations, espeically the one at <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=124814a3-c2ce-4bd7-bb2b-c1835fc5a9ed">Bladensburg</a> along the Anacostia River. <br /><br />But with all of the being said - that isn't what has prompted me to write this evening. While out today visiting the various locations I picked up a couple of recyclables, bottles, cans etc. And while I visited other caches as well I noticed several other things that I could pick up. In fact while walking back to the car from one cache I spotted a hallow in a tree when contained quite a bit of trash. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg454oSi1MvbZCJpIIH-bNspFDN84lkbmg5xzRS-mhyphenhyphenXstlTv4uRry-UMcziXLzPurKV4mgK4fgWxQgZbCcNYcgglpjSmHWeWfPiLtQ2YFdRA9sZKHUEr4VQZEXfOD7H9TnI2T5S2c7bqo/s1600-h/IMG_0411.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg454oSi1MvbZCJpIIH-bNspFDN84lkbmg5xzRS-mhyphenhyphenXstlTv4uRry-UMcziXLzPurKV4mgK4fgWxQgZbCcNYcgglpjSmHWeWfPiLtQ2YFdRA9sZKHUEr4VQZEXfOD7H9TnI2T5S2c7bqo/s200/IMG_0411.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291675774070417778" /></a> Thankfully I was only about one hundred yards from the car and I could run back to it and grab a bin for all that I pulled out of it. All totaled today I filled three-quarters of a recycling bin with things that people had thrown out. So now I have decided on my New Year's resolution for geocaching - a renewed effort towards CITO - Cache In Trash Out! I want to make sure that I pick up as much stuff while out this year each time I am out just to clean up the playing field. Anyone want to come along??Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-59686874608442362152008-11-25T15:08:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.384-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 9Man what a fantastic day!!<br /><br />A group of friends and I spent this past Saturday, Nov 22nd, on the trails of the <a href="http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/cal.shtml">Caledon Natural Area.</a> And boy was it time well spent. We met up around 8:30 or so and just went from trail to trail seeking the various geocaches within the park. This was my second trip to Caledon. A friend and I had come a little while back and found the then three caches there. Now a very gracious Virginia cacher had placed 12 more that we could spend the morning finding. After about 5 hours or so, we were headed to the last cache in the park. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=444eaf7d-22ce-46e6-b003-9704e5baa36a">Poplar Hollow </a>ended up being our 12th in the park and my and one friend's 15th of the day. IT also ended up being my #1,600! And what a way to celebrate a "milestone" - in a great park, on a fantastic day with good friends. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeh61vr50Xvn_12TASIpb-xIGrbKdTm1WfIdPiPFMJFVH1_azX6BfCh20xZKf_cZjrlTok20T_jOy3O57FYIQo9l4Y-rAKjVfpDoSk1AXh-5qXLm4U18_BeHKUwQdTj9j8GGegj7PryTU/s1600-h/%231,600.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeh61vr50Xvn_12TASIpb-xIGrbKdTm1WfIdPiPFMJFVH1_azX6BfCh20xZKf_cZjrlTok20T_jOy3O57FYIQo9l4Y-rAKjVfpDoSk1AXh-5qXLm4U18_BeHKUwQdTj9j8GGegj7PryTU/s200/%231,600.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272740234057072738" /></a><br /><br /><br />But if that wasn't enough - after leaving the park my good geo-friend Mrs SeeKPeeKRs and I headed a little further west to find a few more. And boy did we? We ended up picking up 33 caches on the day with NOT a SINGLE DNF. In fact we even clear up a previous DNF in the earlier evening. Fun times, Fun times. What is next??Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-39304606710069967522008-11-14T15:17:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.376-08:00Geocaching and How I get there?Earlier this week I was listening to the <a href="http://www.geocachingpodcast.info/">Geocaching Podcast</a> and the topic was "Geo-vehicles" and started me thinking about the various ways I have gotten to geocaches. Personally my favorite way is a nice walk/hike in a secluded area, or maybe around a town I want to get to know better. But I have used several other means of "transportation" to get from one cache to another. Below are a few pictures as well as a list of ways I have gotten to caches.<br /><br />First and foremost there is my car, a 2000 Durango. Nothing to special about that one because most people use their cars to get from one cache to another. I have also used my wife's car, a 1997 two-door RAV4, my parents' car (a Mercury I believe) as well as a friend's mini-van while I was caching in Georgia on vacation. I have ridden in several other people's cars as well, each of them having their own flavor if you get my meaning.<br /><br />Second - BICYCLE - a couple of friends and I took some time about two months ago and did a cache called "Circle BWI." It was a puzzle cache along the walking/bicycling trail that goes around the airport. About a week later I got the chance to do the second cache in the series called "Circle BWI Again." Biking to a cache was a lot of fun. It also was a good exercise that I haven't had for quite a while. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/176af1e8-bc13-4c57-a362-046053d281ba.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 450px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/176af1e8-bc13-4c57-a362-046053d281ba.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Third - KAYAK - my wife and I purchased a couple of Malibu Two ocean kayaks for paddling around on the bay. As soon as I got them I was looking forward to going after a cache not to far from home called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRajxipDpKQ">Spice Creek small boat.</a> That cache took a friend and I along a tributary of the Patuxent River to a wonderful spot to see lots of water fowl. I even took the opportunity to hide a cache using my kayak which was a lot of fun as well. This photo was from a webcam cache located just off shore of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/604187d0-9548-46f6-9c3b-f93f4ebec334.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/604187d0-9548-46f6-9c3b-f93f4ebec334.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Fourth - MOTOR SCOOTER - while I have only done one cache using the scooter, it was a lot of fun on a fantastic fall day riding down to Solomons Island, MD to pick a new cache that had been placed in the county. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/c818a6dd-8502-462d-a8a9-175207c2d8aa.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 450px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/c818a6dd-8502-462d-a8a9-175207c2d8aa.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I have used a a skateboard to retrieve information for a cache before. A part of "Psycho Urban Cache #7 - A Good Day to Die" must be gotten while inside of a very narrow drain tube. The easiest way to retrieve it is to use a skateboard and roll your way to the cache location. While this photo is not of me, it is a friend, it is my son's skateboard and my rope that are being used. (I guess the others in the group that day didn't trust me when I read the coordinates to them.) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/1f65cae5-091f-412f-92c1-70d9a725e951.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 604px; height: 403px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/1f65cae5-091f-412f-92c1-70d9a725e951.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I have even used my sons' Razor Scooter for a set of caches in Virginia Beach one evening. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/efedba10-db85-49c2-91e3-4f8f00c540a5.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 450px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/efedba10-db85-49c2-91e3-4f8f00c540a5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> That evening was a BLAST! I started at our hotel and made my way around Virginia Beach, kicking with one leg. If I remember correctly I found 6 different caches that evening and about 6 more the next evening. All totaled I think I covered about 6 miles or so. Man did I sleep well both nights.<br /><br />While this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_15rlpb1e4">video</a> is not of me, I did the cache previous to filming it. AND yes that is a paddle boat you need to get to the cache.<br /><br />But my favorite is of course WALKING! I remember one day last December when a good geo-friend and I headed up to the nation's capital for a virtual tour. We used the Metro to get into Washington, DC but after getting off we spent about 8 hours walking around The National Mall as well as other areas gathering information for each of the cache. All totaled that day I believe we covered 12.5 miles BY FOOT. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/62f006a4-d493-486c-85be-449723a88b42.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 450px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/62f006a4-d493-486c-85be-449723a88b42.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> I hit a milestone that day. But best of all I got out to have some fun exploring. Again like in a previous post to this site - GET OUT THERE! You never know what is around the corner and no matter how you get there you will enjoy it!!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-80078602221779192382008-11-10T16:03:00.000-08:002014-12-22T12:41:23.391-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 8November 8, 2008<br /><br />About two weeks ago, some good geo-friends hosted a geocaching event called the <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=99adf1de-bcb2-446f-a5c9-5caaed322495">"A Spooktacular Event."</a> Unfortunately I was unable to attend it that day. Partially due the weather, not the best day to be outside, but mostly due to the fact that my sons and wife were attending a small festival at their elementary school. Either way I was NOT there that day. Today I got the chance to go and find the new caches placed in the park and it really made me wish I could have been there that day. I understand that the series was laid out so that people who attended the event could "race around" finding the caches and that a winner was declared. I think that would have been a really fun thing to try. But alas I could not make it.<br /><br />The caches placed for the event were in a Halloween theme, of course. With titles such as "The Cemetery" and "Bats, Rats and Snakes" and "hiders" such as Mortica and Gomez" it was a great series. The small "props" that a couple of the hiders used made it very entertaining to see what was around the next bend in the trail. Here is a couple of examples of what I mean:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkeHDGJgb1zo8pOAFWtUUOANq2eVnPfuaXck8M8-U7FMwXTFl9I8uuzBKoTHRCtQMPv86JiB0Mn_Z5DbKBDHGyTIhimBXiHwhUdWCMOvqBiZ-L2GdAFCVEBe7dJ-UvyTg4tWKJQ4EA8A/s1600-h/Jack+pt2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkeHDGJgb1zo8pOAFWtUUOANq2eVnPfuaXck8M8-U7FMwXTFl9I8uuzBKoTHRCtQMPv86JiB0Mn_Z5DbKBDHGyTIhimBXiHwhUdWCMOvqBiZ-L2GdAFCVEBe7dJ-UvyTg4tWKJQ4EA8A/s200/Jack+pt2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267186929627598962" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGZs-6HYQAtrhJ_q2cDkMOcpIMNffEJUUlRNeO31W79C75ej5UMlLCkYw-WWcuz3sQO759228_yTp6LiSZkcg5G2c-M_IUEPFbbiAT9_mKE_-2W9lxmKQjuivNNTFJN_xTEs-Ud5SG_M/s1600-h/Ye+Old+Hag.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGZs-6HYQAtrhJ_q2cDkMOcpIMNffEJUUlRNeO31W79C75ej5UMlLCkYw-WWcuz3sQO759228_yTp6LiSZkcg5G2c-M_IUEPFbbiAT9_mKE_-2W9lxmKQjuivNNTFJN_xTEs-Ud5SG_M/s200/Ye+Old+Hag.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267187991589130258" /></a><br /><br />In my honest opinion, this is one of the best series of caches out there in our area AND more caches and more people should treat caching this way.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-34975286708405550072008-10-25T18:51:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.368-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 7October 12, 2008 - <b> International Earthcache Day!</b><br /><br />International Earthcache Day is held at the beginning of Earth Sciences' Week, sponsored by the Geological Society of America. They encourage people, not just geocachers, to get out and learn about the earth. In 2007, a couple of friends and I spent "Earthcache Day" together. We headed to Virginia to specifically visit <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c0c60d2d-0479-4223-a745-4b7a94a8f2ee">GC105P8 "Wetlands: A Natural Treasure.</a> That day we wandered around Huntley Meadows Park gathering the information. We then spent another great couple of hours in another portion of the park finding the other traditional caches there. This year we wanted to go bigger and better. So we ventured off to <a href="http://www.nps.gov/grfa/">Great Falls National Park.</a> Located on each side of the falls are two earthcaches. We visited an old gold mine, for the <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9eb74caa-2a3c-4d69-9bf1-1b0671c28e04">"Gold in Maryland" earthcache.</a>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/a6019387-355c-40c5-a587-5ab83f58d26e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 450px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/a6019387-355c-40c5-a587-5ab83f58d26e.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> The hike to that one was fantastic. We then headed over to the Virginia side of the falls to visit the GCZDA0 <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1eae050e-426e-4649-a4b3-7796cc8c0203">Great Falls Earthcache.</a> For this one we had to visited various lookouts along the river for some amazing scenery. We then had another terrific hike out to GCZP3V <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d8214a29-8959-48f8-9a62-51b3142ec679">Mather Gorge.</a> This one took us from the top of the falls down about 9/10 of a mile down to a terrific spot to look back up the gorge itself. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6079d648-0410-47cd-a6a8-6678d6875e0c.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 399px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6079d648-0410-47cd-a6a8-6678d6875e0c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> After making our way back to the car we realized that we had missed one of the earthcaches on the Maryland side, since it looked like on the map and GPSr that it was in Virginia. But it could only be accessed from the Maryland side. Once back we visited GCZCGF <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8bb8f8db-9cfb-4dc7-9cf5-27f376a6cad0">Great Falls Olmstead Island </a> along with about 200 of our closest muggle friends. But they were more concerned with looking at the falls and the kayakers enjoying them.<br /><br />The entire day was a blast! Great hikes, with terrific scenery accompanied by good friends. Can't wait to see where we go next year!<br /><br />I realize that this may not be the best or most descriptive posting of a such a great day. But sometimes words escape me. If you are interested in seeing a few pictures of the day check out the "other pics" link on the right side. Then look at the "12 of Twelve for October." More geocaching news later...Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-26218686242725809362008-10-20T18:06:00.000-07:002008-10-20T18:24:09.027-07:0010/20/08 Life in generalMan it has been a very, very , very long time since I have posted here! Over a month since I decided to let people know how things are going.<br /><br />First let me say that life is very good right now. (Hope I don't jinx it there.) I am getting home nice and early after school because I finally got out of coaching volleyball. I have to say that I am much happier now knowing that I don't have to think about the sport that I once loved every waking moment for 3 months. Now I get home and have a chance to see my sons - it couldn't get much better than that.<br /><br />School is going well. My classes are made up of some really nice students. Most are hard-working while others could show a little more effort but they do have great personalities. The first quarter is quickly coming to an end and some will be very surprised by their grades, especially since 70% of that grade comes from performance on quizzes and tests. It will be a rude awakening for many. But I have tried to keep them abreast of the situation.<br /><br />My wife and I have bought a small 49.5 cc engine scooter. Most days we do carpool, since Valerie's schedule has changed and we can go in and leave at the same time. But I wanted to do what I could to use a smaller amount of gasoline. I have to say that I love riding it, even if it is cold in the morning. I was really stoked for about two weeks, until I rode by a couple of mile markers and realized that the odometer measures in kilometers rather than miles. But 87 mpg is far better than my Durango which gets 15 mpg on a really good day.<br /><br />As for the geocaching front - I have to say that it has only gotten better. I have tried to get back to caching the way I really liked when I first started. Getting out in the woods and taking a really nice walk or hike. But more about that later. I have hidden one new cache, just last week. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3e3347d7-cb9c-4f3b-800a-f91b0cbb1f00">Calvert History 101 </a> is another cache that I hope people will enjoy because it takes them to various locations around the southern part. Many will drive all around to gather the information but others will click the one button on the page that will help. Each of the historical markers is a "waymark" and the information can be read from each of their listings. I hope that people enjoy it! <br /><br />Honest to goodness - no sooner do I write that everything is going well I develop a pretty bad pain in the neck, literally. More later.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-23619661588299187102008-07-27T16:54:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.345-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 6Man it has been a crazy couple of days on the geocaching front. Where should I begin really? Well what about the beginning of the week?<br /><br />Monday July 21st:<br />As I mentioned in an earlier post I was able to grab two "First-to-Finds" and my new earthcache was published. I was really excited about that and the week just kept getting better.<br /><br />Wednesday July 23rd:<br />A good geo-friend and I drove to <a href="http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/lak.shtml">Lake Anna State Park</a> specifically to try some of the "hydrocaches" there. We arrived at the park a little after 8 in in the morning and we put the kayak into the water. While on the water we were able to paddle to three different caches and had a couple more that we could have visited, if we thought that we could have done it. The first was called "Cedar Island" and involved a .3 mile paddle to a relatively large island to a find a cache. "Clambake" was on a small peninsula about a mile away from there and then we continued onto <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=824ad2a8-71c5-4093-9b36-367df596cad5">"Among the Pines"</a>. The last one involved the greatest amount of searching, but we found it pretty quickly due to the amount of ground that we had to cover, literally about 32 square feet. After we returned to where we put in, we loaded up the kayak, changed our clothes and found about a dozen more in the park. Mostly micro caches that had been placed, probably for an event in the past, but interesting and "unique" containers. We weren't done there though. On the ride home we cleared up a <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d092c769-ce53-4aa0-98d8-99653db2bfad">"DNF"</a> from about 6 months earlier in Fredericksburg as well. On the way home I told my friend that I probably wasn't going to go back out anymore this week. Little did I know that I was wrong...<br /><br />Thursday July 24th:<br />The same friend called me while I was at my sons' swim lessons and told me about a new cache being published and being interested in trying to snag another FTF. I said "Maybe" and that I would need to check with my wife. Upon getting home, I mentioned it to my wife and she said that I should go. My friend and I headed over to White Plains Regional Park in Waldorf, MD, after finding one other cache in La Plata. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=e53ccbf8-e537-4306-811a-922eaeba20f6">"Green Acres"</a> is a small cache hidden in the park and luck would have it that again we were First to Find. We got back into the car and my friend mentioned that she was interested in traveling a little further to clear up another DNF we both had. At about the same time, my wife called to tell us about two more caches that had been published. I convinced my friend that we should head towards home to try and be first on the two new ones. We arrived at the parking area for the first to find a familiar car parked. Long story short, we were not FTF on that one. We then headed over to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8995dca0-7da0-48f3-a156-6c1e3ca2ce73">"Drop Box"</a> the other new cache. Upon arriving at that one, I jumped out of the car and quickly found the container, and learned that again I, and my friend, was not first. In fact, many of my geocaching friends had known about the cache for sometime because it was a cache dedicated to me, set up by my wife and friend, to help celebrate my 40th birthday. Inside of it was a note that informed me that I should go over to a nearby restaurant. When I arrived I was greeted by my family and many of my friends. I was completely surprised.<br /><br />Saturday July 26th:<br />Saturday was the day of the <a href="http://www.mdgps.org/">Maryland Geocaching Society's</a> Summer Picnic. A group of good friends and I set out early so that we could visit an earthcache on the way. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=2126638a-f067-4c7c-886d-05908434ffba">"Kilgore Falls"</a> has now got to be one of my favorite places in the state of Maryland now. After visiting such a place, I can say that I am very happy about all of the places that geocaching has brought me. It was <span style="font-weight:bold;">BREATHE-TAKING</span> and I hope to return very soon with my wife and sons. After that we headed over to the <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=93753774-e24a-4160-a7bb-08362caa03d8">picnic</a> and had a great time visiting with our friends from around the state. We were able to find about 12 of the 16 or so cache published for the event. I thought it was pretty cool that I got a chance to meet and even cache with CC Cooper Agency, one of the highest "finders" in the world. What a great lady!<br /><br />Sunday July 27th:<br />Well as you can see - I have been pretty busy on the geocaching front. AND I think I need a break. AND I think I am pretty serious this time. I know that new caches will be published, and friends will call to see if I want to go out and find a few. But I am going to try and take a break for a little while. I am going to shoot for two weeks. Two weeks, 14 days, without getting on the site, without searching for caches. I'll have to let you know. If you are interested - stay tuned!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-62400007745098998022008-07-21T18:13:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.388-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 5Aren't surprises nice? I know sometimes maybe a surprise can be a not so good thing, like finding out that you have lost your keys, or a fingernail in a sandwich you ordered from your favorite fast food place. But most times - surprises are great!<br /><br />Today I had four terrific surprises! First off I had to take my car into the mechanic for a little bit. A "check engine" light had come on and I wanted it checked. I also had another problem I had had on vacation looked at as well. Long story short - I walked out of the mechanic's shop paying $0.00. Admittedly the parts needed were not in, so I'll pay for it later. BUT while there - I received a phone call from a good geo-friend who informed me that a new geocache, <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d25f9d05-72e2-44a9-a3e4-5661ad350408">"Brain Freeze - 2",</a> had been hidden and posted only about three miles from where I was. I had no knowledge of it and she, without me prompting, offered up the coordinates for it. Just as I finished putting the coordinates into my GPSr, my car was finished and I was able to rush up there and make the <b>First-to-Find!</b> So that was two great surprises right there!<br /><br />Once I got home and had logged the cache, I checked my email and learned that another new cache, <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=f2b0550b-7506-41c7-891b-77960f3f1517">"A Fairy's Treasure"</a> had been hidden and posted. Another terrific surprise but even better it was hidden in <b> Kings Landing Park</b>, a park that had been "off-limits" to hiding caches for quite sometime. I called my good geo-friend, to repay the favor, and found out that she was returning home to change into something a little better to cache. I met her and along with my youngest son we were able to make the <b> First-to-Find</b> there as well. But the surprise of possibly having a park to use for hiding caches was just as nice as the FTF!!<br /><br />And then when I got home I was greeted with another wonderful surprise! My <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=033ff058-ce85-43f6-a21d-9745b90bc873">"earthcache"</a> had been posted! Since learning about what an earthcache really is and what they can do, I have been wanting to post one. I have been in contact with another organization about possibly posting one in the southern part of the county, but recently I got a chance to walk around Flag Ponds, just about a mile from my house. While walking around, my sons ate a few wild raspberries and I gathered the information that I wanted to include in the listing. Then after talking to one of the rangers at the park and trying to explain that <b> no box</b> would be placed, they agreed very quickly! I posted the information to <a href="http://www.earthcache.org/">www.earthcache.org</a>. I had to adjust a couple of things over the weekend but it was approved today! <br /><br />I am really not sure if things could have gone much better today! It was a blast!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-17338535074798491342008-07-18T19:26:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.338-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 4Well, well. It has been a couple days since my last post and I thought that I would bring people, whether anyone is reading or not, up to speed about what I have been doing geocaching wise. This week has been a lot of fun. <br><br><br />July 15th<br><br />It started with a <b> short-focused geocaching trip</b> with a couple of good friends. Or that was what I had said in the original email. Our group of three headed to High Ridge Park in Howard County to try and find all of the caches within the park. Once we arrived we decided to head to the furtherest cache out. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8d5554eb-2299-43e0-abcf-fbd9b2afbe5b">A View to a Bridge</a> involved about a half mile hike with the last four tenths being a pretty good bushwhack over some hilly terrain. I lead the group in kind of a straight-line method of caching, my regular "Modus Operandi." But to my credit, we really didn't cross any big trails, an occasional deer-trail but nothing bigger. After we made the find there we headed over to two others in the park and were successful as well. The only one we did not attempt was a puzzle that we just weren't sure of our coordinates. After a short breather at the car we headed over to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=23246601-3c22-450b-82cd-65c5bbc36a23">Riverside Ruins.</a> After spending a little time looking up things, I found out that these "ruins" were part of an old dam in the area. The cache was at the top of the ruins about 30 ft in the air. Old stone ruins, me in old tennis shoes with no tread - <b>why not?</b> The climb up made me stretch, both literally and figuratively. Literally it was a good exercise in me finding out my limits, could I climb it. Figuratively - in that COULD I climb it? Did I have the confidence in myself that would allow me to get up there. Come to find out, I could and did climb it! It was the way down that wasn't reassuring. I decided to jump down the last five feet or so. Not a good choice! I avoided any rocks on the landing but the soil itself was pretty hard and my shoes had little to no support or cushioning so I bruised my foot pretty badly. Nothing too serious - a little painful to walk on it but I'm okay now. My first geocaching injury - and hopefully my last.<br><br><br />July 17th<br><br />I was able to put the finishing touches on the mother of all puzzle caches, again with a good geo-friend. <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=00579f05-883f-47e2-8b3f-cf520c601175">Scrabble Scramble 3: The Quest for Pieces</a> was the latest creation by our resident puzzle master, here in southern Maryland. I had worked on each of the <b>nine</b> smaller, lead-in caches and had found those. I got a little help with some and gave some help to others on some as well. But the last puzzle was kind of a doozy. I literally "pieced" the parts together and then spent a couple of hours looking over then hint and the pieces. Then something hit me, no help here by the way, and I tried something. Eureka! The coordinates seemed to jive with the description of the area. After that it was a matter of finding the darn thing, which took about 15 minutes since we, my friend and I, both interpreted the hint incorrectly. But again - another job well done.<br><br><br />July 18th<br><br />My good geo-friend was on a streak and wanted a cache for today. A new cache, <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=f1d79363-9ad5-4694-b50e-9c346845becb">Bayfront Bounty</a> had been posted the day before so we road up to Chesapeake Beach to find the cache. Being that we both are getting to presumptuous, thinking that everyone is trying to make the game hard, we completely over-looked this one for about 15 minutes or so. But after quoting the hint, in verse, we made the find quickly! (Note to self - not everyone is trying to make the game not fun!)<br><br><br />Hopefully my next post will be about my new earthcache being published! Cross your fingers.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-27635821352288993592008-07-11T17:39:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.359-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 3Well is there such a thing as TOO MUCH CACHING?<br /><br />Yesterday, my good geo-friend and I headed out to finish something we had started about two months earlier. Today was the day that we were going to grab the <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=07afd15e-d3a6-445b-b58a-70068e54c78e">Howard County ADC Challenge.</a> We had spent a couple of trips grabbing different pages on for the challenge. But today was the day to go after the "Holy Grail."<br /><br />Our day started in Crofton with finding a couple of caches there. Nothing too special about either of them but it gave us the chance to get out of the car for a little bit. We then grabbed a cache here and one there. I really enjoyed the location of <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=67d44004-3358-41d3-909f-3006ecf0ad09">"This Old House."</a> It is amazing where geocaching will take you sometimes. Here was an abandoned stone house, under a highway over pass. Really a neat area. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKr8zyK_UPPft12aamG7fj2_K3qYxXaoOnmgiRKf0ZF7Rzi8TlK4ACkOJJzLUehMVcB4UZHOiITU0dBrhpgoIl2ysRHkcO-ICTsGwo4orQggNqqbv710wfYlOzLTbIpBEM-kK1bXVSQWA/s1600-h/103_0034.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKr8zyK_UPPft12aamG7fj2_K3qYxXaoOnmgiRKf0ZF7Rzi8TlK4ACkOJJzLUehMVcB4UZHOiITU0dBrhpgoIl2ysRHkcO-ICTsGwo4orQggNqqbv710wfYlOzLTbIpBEM-kK1bXVSQWA/s200/103_0034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221922944671800066" /></a><br /><br />From there we moved on to a couple of others, one of which turned into being my 1,400th find. The "Footsteps of AMS" was a multi cache that involved solving a puzzle at stage one to determine how to get to stage two. Kind of simple but really neat way to pull it off. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/03fa076f-6fe9-49a8-8f36-b52af232abfd.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/03fa076f-6fe9-49a8-8f36-b52af232abfd.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />From there my friend and I pressed onto finding the "Final" challenge cache. It involved a really nice walk in a great park. The hide was not devious but it was not simple to grab either. Once we had signed the log we rejoiced and knew that this adventure was over, but another had begun. We found a new park to try and clear out...Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-24030586901017171282008-07-09T18:40:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.355-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 2Sorry this is a day late according to the previous post but I had to "take a day" and soak in the experience. Honestly I don't think I could have asked for a better experience when heading out to the cache we did.<br /><br />Mrs SeeKPeeKRs and I started our day by me picking her up at her house around 6:15 or so. We knew that we wanted to get an early start on our adventure. Our goal for the day was to head to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9d3ef2c2-4f8b-42c3-bd90-e8fb8b5404b4">"Spice Creek small boat"</a>. We drove up to the end of Calvert Ferry Landing Road, just west of Dunkirk and hopped out of the car happy to start. After grabbing all of our gear, we will the kayak down to the shoreline, about 500 yards total along a trail. The trail wasn't the best near the end, with the large ruts, but we made out okay getting the boat into the water.<br /><br />We got started on the 1.3 mile, as the crow flies, paddle just around 7 am. It was a great time to be out on the river. We had a slight breeze, out of the south, in our face. But that breeze kept us cool on the July morning. Off to the eastern side of the tributary, I spotted a male bald eagle flying and just a minute or two later we saw his mate sitting in a tree and were able to snap a couple of photos of her. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AWOAdowQe7byzWms0wS1jd2-xwHOhFeJSX48Cue_PwNZYwIasgZ4yPSTlfgKrwnjPHeInrYxlP4_sBmc1UIFpayqeZR-7PNlSWFMZrDRIzpvg5NkFFA6E2tQ0uZXjHe4I3tT5r7MIGU/s1600-h/Eagle+on+high.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AWOAdowQe7byzWms0wS1jd2-xwHOhFeJSX48Cue_PwNZYwIasgZ4yPSTlfgKrwnjPHeInrYxlP4_sBmc1UIFpayqeZR-7PNlSWFMZrDRIzpvg5NkFFA6E2tQ0uZXjHe4I3tT5r7MIGU/s200/Eagle+on+high.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221199945382191650" /></a><br /><br />We continued our paddle for about 45 minutes and we finally finished crossing the Patuxent. We started into the main tributary on the western side and spotted several blue herons, ospreys as well as a pretty big turtle hustling to the water. After 20 minutes of meandering through the tributary, our GPSr's switched into "feet" and we knew that we were getting close. We came around to the northwest side of the island and decided to "beach" the kayak there.<br /><br />Beaching the kayak was a little hard. The island itself had a steep incline to go up and we couldn't just let the kayak sit where it was or it may have gone off without us. So after climbing out, I pulled the kayak up the incline about 20 feet to brace the kayak against a tree. At that point we knew we were close. In fact we were within 100 ft of the cache itself. And after maybe 3 minutes or so, we had the cache in hand. At that point we rejoiced. We knew that we had conquered the true rating of a "5 star" terrain. We signed the log and snapped several pictures and just, like I mentioned earlier, soaked it in.<br /><br />Our trip back was just like the trip there. A nice leisure paddle of about 1.4 miles as it turned out to be. What a great day! I really don't know how I will be able to top this in geocaching, but I know that I am going to try somehow.<br /><br />To those interested the youtube video below shows the adventure. If you don't like spoilers, then maybe you should look away near the end. But honestly you have to get out there to really appreciate it anyway. Enjoy! I know that I definitely did. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GRajxipDpKQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GRajxipDpKQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-33016096288128988012008-07-07T17:00:00.001-07:002014-12-22T12:41:23.364-08:00Geocaching Adventures Part 1Man has it been a long time since I have posted anything to hear. Back at the beginning of the school year, I was doing a pretty good job of posting once a week about what was happening in school. But as the year dragged on, I got lazy and pretty much gave it up. Now I am going to try to go back to one of the original reasons I started this thing. That is keep track of my adventures while <b>GEOCACHING!</b><br><br />Today, July 7, 2008, I got a chance to head out after two caches down in St. Mary's County. Actually this were recent publications and were the only two in the St. Mary's I hadn't found. The first one "<a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=92c694ae-2f05-453b-9dc7-36a28a150375">"Leonardtown Blue Light Special"</a> was a new cache from Goldenhawk. He happens to be one of my favorite hiders in the area. I can tell that he puts a lot of thought into his caches and rarely do they disappoint. This one was no exception! Located down on the new renovated Leonardtown Wharf, a good geo-friend and I were able to enjoy the morning and find another one of GH's hides in plain sight.<br><br />The second cache that we did was the <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=a35ab9c2-f0cc-4595-b9ca-7e74d7a36ec0">"Washing Away"</a> earthcache was located down on St. George's Island, down past the turn for the Piney Point Lighthouse. There my friend and I got a chance to look around and notice how the area was trying to deal with the problem of erosion. This picture <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/4a0cd8cd-9cb2-4f10-bc8e-f0cdfcd457e9.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/4a0cd8cd-9cb2-4f10-bc8e-f0cdfcd457e9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> was taken very close to groundzero. That's the Potomac River behind us and we really enjoyed ourselves with this one as well.<br><br><br />Tomorrow we, my good geo-friend and I, are heading after a <b> TRUE</b> Terrain 5 cache. Read more about that tomorrow!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6827324559289233080.post-10656619362602396402007-08-15T16:21:00.000-07:002007-08-15T17:09:47.933-07:0008/15/07 What I did this summer?I can remember being a kid in elementary school and always being asked that question. We had to write a paragraph about our summer and then "be prepared" to share it with the class. Well essentially summer ended for me last night. Volleyball practice started today so my life has been changed back to "Coach Redden" or "Mr. Redden" not just my sons calling "Daddy - what are we going to do today?" So even though I didn't enjoy those writing assignments as a kid, I decided to write about my summer here.<br /><br />First let me say that I had a <b> GREAT </b>summer. I spent the entire time with my wife and sons. A day here and there I was out with other friends but I always came home to them. The summer began by my sons attending a rodeo-themed vacation Bible school back home near my parents. It was not the typical "rodeo" themed camp that most children attended this summer, even though they did attend that one as well. My sons had the opportunity to ride horses, rope pretend cattle and pay in the dirt and dust for 9 hours each day of that week. We picked them up one day and while we were walking into my parents' house, my youngest son pulled a <b> TOAD </b> out of his pocket and said to us "Look what jumped into my pocket today." "Hot-Jumpy" as he named him was part of our lives for two weeks along with his close relative "Anakin," that my oldest son caught on the last day. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NKvKfYJOy_TVHi_FBCZMSRdm46Oh5qhEpvZBArQ0v6N-3W03uTfTxUf0F6KcCl-q2H1eHTJ0HRuKd2CwwEE9T0k32OWFE0RljPmi0e1BWYVvHmzmYr8qG74duS-6fjjvou_1cd9XDiU/s1600-h/Hot+Jumpy.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NKvKfYJOy_TVHi_FBCZMSRdm46Oh5qhEpvZBArQ0v6N-3W03uTfTxUf0F6KcCl-q2H1eHTJ0HRuKd2CwwEE9T0k32OWFE0RljPmi0e1BWYVvHmzmYr8qG74duS-6fjjvou_1cd9XDiU/s200/Hot+Jumpy.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099075531342013298" /></a> It was truely a "Mayberry" moment!<br /><br />My oldest son attended college this summer. He spent a week at the Prince Frederick campus of the College of Southern Maryland attending a class called "Physics is Phun." In it he learned of Galileo, how mobiles work along with other interesting things. I was the first one to drop him off that day and was amazed at how well he went into the building. Maybe it was a glimpse into the future. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFB_gf0-kJ5UDefSm2x8hwGuSa5aqyMkjViZi0lICgg7HXZSeFfK7K_5vGzeuyKX2Mkenqszktd8R4MqzA6Ykm0qKMd_npn8-Jfu0Yt8SaOh1s_Mu_ZYI18K-Mo6c3jqtq5LiywtyLnpo/s1600-h/College.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFB_gf0-kJ5UDefSm2x8hwGuSa5aqyMkjViZi0lICgg7HXZSeFfK7K_5vGzeuyKX2Mkenqszktd8R4MqzA6Ykm0qKMd_npn8-Jfu0Yt8SaOh1s_Mu_ZYI18K-Mo6c3jqtq5LiywtyLnpo/s200/College.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099077305163506562" /></a><br /><br />Personally I got bit by the fishing bug pretty hard. I tried every wek to take my sons fishing, whether it was Hutchin's Pond up north or the small pond within Calvert Cliffs State Park. We had a lot fun, even the day that I was casting my youngest son's rod and it broke. He thought it was pretty funny and was happy to find out that Daddy was going to buy him another. Most of the time we were just catching small bluegill from the ponds, but while on vacation on the Outer Banks we were able to catch a couple of pretty big catfish. My sons had never seen one before so they were pretty happy. They also thought it was pretty funny that Daddy only caught turtles on that trip. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLy2L3C5pNlhN01vlfsZFlAo-VuLjpyyDfh7b9qZWSfA5vTD_8WFBeUnmHKr2xgECApMc-cyAIYN2iiI8U-KCgVmjEv67MNfEJpOLykmoBEKKQC4b9d44KIDJeA0wYKHz8mpylCKTWRsU/s1600-h/Fishing.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLy2L3C5pNlhN01vlfsZFlAo-VuLjpyyDfh7b9qZWSfA5vTD_8WFBeUnmHKr2xgECApMc-cyAIYN2iiI8U-KCgVmjEv67MNfEJpOLykmoBEKKQC4b9d44KIDJeA0wYKHz8mpylCKTWRsU/s200/Fishing.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099078696732910482" /></a><br /><br />I also got to indulge myself this summer into my new hobby. Or maybe it is an obsession - now. <b> GEOCACHING </b> - the act of using a handheld global positioning satelitte receiver to find a hidden "treasures" all around you. I don't know the exact number but I was able to find well over a couple of hundred this summer. It took me to some interesting places, Savage State Park in Western Maryland, Clarion University in Pennsylvania, even right here in Calvert County. I climbed to the top of a little league baseball backstop, climbed down into a tunnel in which I couldn't see my hand two inches in front of my face and even to one of those types of areas that you hear about in TV shows like CSI or Law & Order. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9t6AVNRoZ3B23nu2tI1wq9nA4TpMazzM2q9xfcsiZX4TFkiq-9k3CEDAV00enRreJAeB1sfBKqs9WOcLJ5gTw-FloIyN-fVL77t3JdLEZIg9rnoKsTO28KUkfbyVSW1Av2O5PboH2fWg/s1600-h/PUC+%2310.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9t6AVNRoZ3B23nu2tI1wq9nA4TpMazzM2q9xfcsiZX4TFkiq-9k3CEDAV00enRreJAeB1sfBKqs9WOcLJ5gTw-FloIyN-fVL77t3JdLEZIg9rnoKsTO28KUkfbyVSW1Av2O5PboH2fWg/s200/PUC+%2310.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099080655237997474" /></a> Psycho Urban Cache #10 was located in Fort Armistead Park and boy was it an area that screamed horror movie. It seemed to be an old public works facility that had been abandoned. People, mostly what our world would consider "undesirables" hang out there. We, my group of friends, even came across one in the total dark. It scared the stuffing out of us, but we kept our cool and went on with a search that lasted about an hour. We ended up not finding the cache, but we have a great story though.<br /><br />Oh yeah - I mentioned that my summer ended last evening. I got a chance to catch up with an old friend and see a concert in Baltimore. <b> DREAM THEATER</b> is quickly becoming my favorite group. Most people would consider them to be heavy metal but I call it PROG. Just good music, made by fantastic musicians, who know that a song doesn't have to end after three-and-a-half minutes. They played for two hours, stuff from their new CD, stuff from old CDs as well. It was a great show and a great way to end a summer.<br /><br />So what did you do this summer?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10410924911557895965noreply@blogger.com