YAY!

Whoo-hoo!

I finally got out this weekend and got some geocaching in. It felt so good to get outside and walk around. I have been cooped up in the house too long!

This particular Wisconsin winter has been a bit brutal. We have had record snowfall and regular sub-zero temperatures. This does not make for fun times outside. We were spoiled a few weeks ago with two 45 degree days in a row! That does not happen in Wisconsin in February. That mini heat-wave gave me cabin fever something fierce. I had to get out.

Yesterday wasn't too bad considering that it is February. It was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit so that was good enough for me. I went for a drive about an hour from my house to check out a state park that I had never been to before. Unfortunately, most of the trails were closed. It looks like a really cool place though. I can't wait to go back in the spring.

I ended up spending the rest of my day at one of my favorite state parks, High Cliff. I love it there! I was feeling adventurous and decided to pick up a few of the geocaches in the park that I had DNF'd before. Found one of the few that are left along with an earth cache.

I had a great time and I was so happy to get out caching again. Bring on the spring!

~A~

Old lime kiln at the earthcache.

Winter....

I am so sick of winter already. It has completely disabled my geocaching. I'm trapped inside!

As if it were not enough to have record snowfall already this year, but this last week the temperatures here were into the negatives. Double-digit negatives. So even if we weren't buried in the white stuff, it is too dangerous to venture outside. Bummer.

I started thinking about it today because it appears to be so nice outside. We are finally getting a glimpse of the sun. It looks so nice outside but it's not.

I can't wait for spring!!

:-)

Geocoins

YAY! My first geocoins came in the mail this week.

What is a geocoin you ask?

Well, a geocoin is a special coin created by individuals or groups of geocachers as a kind of signature item or calling card. Each geocoin is assigned a unique tracking ID which allows them to travel from geocache to geocache or to be passed amongst friends, picking up stories along the way.

How do Geocoins work you ask?

Because each geocoin is assigned a unique tracking number its progress can be tracked online through logs which the finder posts. There are different types of logs which can be made on a geocoin's personal home page, whether for virtually picking up or dropping off the coin, or simply for "discovering" the coin. You have the opportunity to share your thoughts on the geocoin page and to upload any photos associated with it. In addition, by logging a geocoin your online collection will reflect that you found that particular coin.

I ordered two coins from the Wisconsin Geocaching Association. One I plan to keep all for myself, and the other I plan to send off to have an adventure. I'm thinking out west to maybe visit The Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon. Two of my favorite places.

I can't wait until the weather gets a little bit warmer so the journey can begin! :D

Winter Caching

I'm fairly new to geocaching. I have only been actively caching since around October of this year. I have been trying to take it easy and figure this game out as I go along. So this weekend I figured out a little more. I found out about winter caching.

Ahhhh snow. I love snow. I have lived in a snow state my whole life. Snow represents the changing of the season. I love watching snow fall on a calm night. I love the way snow blankets the ground and coats the trees. It is beautiful. This weekend though, the snow punished me a little bit.

I decided that since it was going to be a balmy 38 degrees on Saturday that it would be a good way to test my winter caching abilities. One of my favorite places to visit is High Cliff State Park. It is a nice park with lots of hiking trails, camping, rock climbing, horseback riding, and swimming if you dare to venture into Winnebago.

I set out to find all the geocaches that were hidden inside the park. As I pulled into the park I noticed that the season pass lane was blocked off. What the hell? I pulled into the ranger lane and was informed right away that there was a gun hunt going on in the park that day. This meant that half the park was closed. Damn it! The ranger let me know the boundaries and I went in anyway.

All right, so half the caches I was going to get I can't. No biggie, still others I can attempt. High Cliff was still blanketed in snow from the previous Monday's storm. Not a ton, but enough to cover my feet as I was walking. Why I thought that my hiking shoes were going to keep my feet completely warm and dry as I am hiking around through the snow is beyond me. I was obviously cache-crazy that day or something. My feet were so damn cold and wet! They stayed that way for the half-hour plus ride home, the visit at the parent's house, and the quick bite to eat with the fam. Yay fun.

Any way, I ended up logging four finds for the day, took in some nice scenery, got some fresh air, and got a lesson in the importance of proper footwear. It was a good day. :)

Geese near the lake.

Frozen Winnebago.

Nums for the birdies tums.

More Geo Pics

Since I am on hiatus from caching for a bit, and it happens to be Thanksgiving, I thought now would be a good time to post some pics I have taken while out and about.

These are some of the views I am thankful for. :)

The Fox River

Brothertown Harbor

Found this tree in an unexpected place. :)

This is why I love Autumn.

The Boardwalk

Lapse

I am experiencing a lapse in my geocaching activities as of late. With the daily beatings at the workplace and the recent unfavorable Wisconsin weather, I have kept myself inside. This does not make me happy. Looks like a busy weekend coming up with the holidays of course. Lots of family time planned for Thursday and back to work on Friday.
Maybe I will luck out this weekend and get some nice weather. Precipitation is acceptable, please just let it be above freezing! :-)

Since my geocaching will be slowing down during the "brrrr months", I will post some images that I have taken while out geocaching. One of the best parts about geocaching for me is the peacefulness of solitude and the new places I get to experience. I like to experience new places on my own so I can really take it all in.

Anyhoo, I will be posting pics when I can, or just rambling away on my other blog.

Happy holidays.

~A~

Grrrrr...

So I was super-excited yesterday. I was really looking forward to going to my first geocaching event. This particular event also happened to by a WWFM event. Not sure if anyone listens to the Podcacher podcast or not, but if so, then you should be familiar with the WWFM.
Any way, I was looking forward to going all week. Yesterday I was checking my work e-mail, like I do frequently from home, and saw that there was an issue that I needed to take care of right away. Needless to say I finished that up right around 11:20 am.
The event started at 12:00 pm. If I didn't get to the event before 12:00 pm, I would not know who was the designate. I wouldn't know if I was walking up to a cache mob or a mob of muggles!
So I hop in my MINI and head out. According to my GPS I could make it to the location with about a minute or two to spare. Things were looking good!
I was speeding along when I realized that I was not going to be able to keep the pace that I needed in order to get to the event in time. Once I exited the highway there were 45mph speed zones that I had to pass through to get downtown, and then 25mph once I got downtown. The outlook was bleak.
I told the MINI we had to move and put the pedal down a little further. Whoo-hoo! I love speeding! (Don't tell my boyfriend)
MINI and I made it downtown at 12:02 pm. Bummer. I saw GZ but could not determine what was what due to the fact that there had just been a parade downtown and there were people everywhere. I tried to find a place to park just to see if I could mosey over and pick-out the group. No parking spaces either! Grrrr. You'd think that I could find a place to squeeze my MINI into. Nope. This event just wasn't in my cards.
I am bummed that I missed the event, but I had a nice ride home and took a pic of a pretty tree.