Yesterday I got to go geocaching again- hooray! This time I went with both my dad (he made an account on geocaching.com as Gary87) and my fiancé (he's under my account name, but his alias in logs is JoC).
Our travels this time took us to Glen Providence Park in Media. Silly me forgot to get pictures of said park, but I did get one of the sign at the entrance:
Dad had been there earlier in the day to look for caches but only found one of the two and didn't sign the log that he did find, so he let me and Josh use the GPS and navigate to them. The first cache we looked for was THR3E Billy Goats. We got to the location quite easily, then when we climbed under the bridge (because, duh, look at the name of the cache, lol), I knew exactly where it would be. We handed Josh a stick to poke around in the spot I pointed out (he wanted to avoid snakes and things) and sure enough, out popped the tiny cache. I opened it up:
Since this was a micro (yay, we found our first micro!), I couldn't leave anything, but I did sign the log for us:
There was no room on the side of the paper where the 2010 finds were logged, so I had to use the other side. I'm assuming it's out of date because of the way the paper was folded? Ah well, it was neat getting to see all the finds from years ago on there. :D
We got some pictures of Josh, me (ugh, I look terrible in that photo- I'm not that hideous, I swear!), and dad holding the tiny cache:
We rehid this one, climbed back onto the path, and set out to find the next one, From Glen to Glen. This was a larger cache, but as we got close, the GPS started acting wonky and kept telling me it was in different directions. Luckily dad had been there earlier that day and found this one (the satellites must have liked him better earlier, lol), so he brought us to the cache. I opened it up and signed the log, then passed it off to Josh to do (what else?) a drawing of Igik and his club symbol (since JoC stands for "Jack of Clubs").
Then dad and I held the cache so I could get a picture of it:
I took a bouncy ball and left one of my handmade bracelets, then we rehid the cache and trekked back to the car. It was a long trek back- or, rather, very very much uphill, so I was too tired to be able to find the other nearby caches, so we'll get those soon. Amazingly, for all that we had to cross a stream and pass a pond, I didn't fall in. Hooray!
I'm loving geocaching and getting to hike through some gorgeous woods that I'd never been to before- that's one good thing about living in Pennsylvania: we have so many lovely parks and forests! :D And I'll admit, getting to trek through the wilderness makes me feel like my D&D characters; all I'm missing is a fox at my side. ;)
More adventures of Taurandirath
Blog post by Meri Greenleaf Monday, May 24, 2010 |
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My first geocaching adventure!
Blog post by Meri Greenleaf Tuesday, May 18, 2010 |
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My dad bought a really awesome GPS unit (a Garmin Dakota 20), so today we braved the drizzle and mud to search for our first geocaches- there are two of them down the road from us, so we picked those first.
The first one we went after was Ode to Geoffrey, and this would have been a lot easier to find were it winter. Ye gads, all sorts of thickets and greenery (and I'm hoping I didn't get poison ivy) to search through and move around. My dad found us large sticks, so that helped us to push aside branches and things harmlessly. He was just about to give up when I finally stumbled across our target after about 45 minutes of looking, something kinda yellow hidden under- what else? rocks and leaves and branches.
I opened it up:
Though damp (like everything in the container, which was also covered in ants- fun), the log was dry enough to write in, so I signed my name and username (Taurandirath) and my dad's username, along with the date and what I took and left:
I took a poker chip and left one of my hemp bracelets (it's in a tiny baggie, so I'm hoping it won't get wet).
Amazingly I found our way back to the road (I must be a wood elf! I get lost on streets, but I can find my way out of foresty areas), and we set off to our second destination, Boo!. We searched for about 10-15 minutes (didn't want to stay long because it's right next to the main road and work traffic was starting), but couldn't find it. It's gotta be in the large rock wall, but since the wall is very very long and the GPS was acting sorta screwy (I know we were in the right location, but it was telling me we were 220 feet away), we couldn't find that one. That'll have to be for another day, preferably in the evening so we don't look so suspicious.
Overall a productive day and so much fun! I really felt like a treasure hunter or an elf, trying to locate something in the woods- I can't wait to go on more hunts with my dad. :D Next time I'm going to bring replacement baggies with me, as well as a trash bag to clean up the area; since I'm a noobie, I didn't think of that until we were already there.
The Adventures of Being an Auntie
Blog post by Live, Love, Laugh, Write! Monday, April 19, 2010 |
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I haven't gone geocaching in a couple weeks, and there's a good reason for that! I've spent most of the last two weeks at the hospital with my brother and sister in law. There twins were born last Sunday!
These pictures are the first time I held each of the boys :) Aren't they adorable? The last two weeks have been full of adventure. Becca went into to the hospital about 4 days before the boys were born. There was concern with some of her labs and her liver counts. At that point they were saying that they were going to monitor her and try to wait another two weeks before the babies were taken out c-section.
The next day John (my brother) ended up in the ER with the mother of all nose bleeds. We estimate that he lost about a pint of blood. He has a history of nose bleeds, but this was bad even for him! He continued to have nose bleeds through out the weekend but none as bad as that one. We're all pretty positive it was just a stress reaction (there were some other things going as well as Becca being in the hospital).
Sunday was when everything went crazy. When I go there around noon they had just told Becca that her latest labs were really bad and that they were going to have to do the c-section soon for the safety of her and the boys. At that point they were saying "today or tomorrow." Then it became, "in the next 8 hours," then, "3 hours." As you can imagine that was NOT a fun afternoon for any of us!
The hardest part, other than the rush of it all, was getting the IV's and such into Becca. She has bad veins and they were NOT co-operating! It's a really good thing I'm not a needle-phobe or I would have run screaming. We estimate it took around 13 pokes to finally get the IV's needed and the blood draw...
The boys were born at 6:12 and 6:15 that evening. No complications, and everyone was so happy and relieved!
Since then the adventure has been what I think of as "life at the NICU." Since they boys were 34 weeks (roughly 6 weeks early) they are in the NICU for awhile. They need to gain strength, weight, and keep their body temperatures. They also need to be able to do all their feedings on their own. Right now they are (during the day) alternating between nursing and being fed through a tube.
Life in the NICU means lots of hand sanitizer, quiet voices, and holding tiny precious boys.
I'm spending all the time up there that I can, but I'm also starting to have to get caught up on the rest of life too :P
So what about you? Any adventures lately?
Geocaching 101, Part 2
Blog post by Live, Love, Laugh, Write! Monday, April 5, 2010 |
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You can find part one of this series here.
Checklist
There are a lot of things you may or may not want to have when you head out geocaching. Your list will vary some depending on climate, time of year, and location of the cache, but here are a few things to think about bringing!
- GPS
- Coordinate and other information relating to the cache(s)
- Weather appropriate clothing
- Good shoes
- Pen (Not all caches will have space for a pen as well as a log book. It’s always a good idea to have your own).
- Plastic bag (Let’s be good citizens – pick up trash when you find it – and never leave trash of your own!)
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen
- Water Bottle
- Snacks
- Sun glasses
- For large enough caches, something small to leave.
- Camera – you never know what you might want to capture on film or digitally!
Remember – what you need will depend on the location of the cache and area you are in – but it’s always good to be prepared!
Geocaching 101, Part 1
Blog post by Live, Love, Laugh, Write! Saturday, April 3, 2010 |
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Geocaching 101
Picture this: It’s a beautiful day outside. You’ve signed up with www.geocaching.com , done some research, and figured out what cache(s) you want to start with. You’ve studied the information carefully, know (at least approximately) where you’re going, and your full of excitement and ready to get started!
What comes next?
If you’ve been geocaching for a long time then you know exactly what to do, but if this is your first foray into this fun realm of treasure hunting, then you might be a little nervous and lost at what to do once you step away from the computer. Hopefully these tips will help you to step out with confidence, and if you’ve been doing this for a long time, maybe you’ll get some new ideas! Or, feel free to leave a comment and give us your tips, I know there’s always more for me to learn!
Getting Ready
If you want to have a fun and successful geocaching trip there are a few things you should do to get ready before you ever leave the house. It all starts with picking out the cache, or caches, that you are aiming for. There are many ways to do this. You might pick one because it’s near your work and you want to try to find it on your lunch break, or maybe it’s in a park you’ve always wanted to check out, whatever the reason for picking out the cache(s) you will need to record the information about your choice(s) in some way.
Now, the brave of heart might simply jot down the coordinates they are looking for, and a few general hints about the cache. For some people (or maybe some caches) this might be more than enough. Another option is to print out the sheet the information is on. That way you know you have all the pertinent information (that’s given at least) and you can reference it easily. Of course there are also high tech solutions for this, including iphone apps, storing the information on a pda, and some gps’s are set up to specifically record information and hints about the caches.
Once you know where you are going you want to stop and think about your destination a little bit. Is it an urban location? Is it in a park? What are the weather conditions like today? You will need to plan accordingly.
If the cache you are seeking is in an urban location than your biggest concern is going to be the weather. However if you are going to be in a more wilderness setting (rural, a park, hiking), then you need to be prepared for the hazards that can go along with that. You can encounter mud, nettles, bugs, snakes, and more. What you can encounter will vary according to region, so be aware of what is around you, and prepare for the worst. It’s always better to be over prepared than underprepared!
I recommend wearing jeans and having good shoes when geocaching outdoors, even in hot weather. This will allow you to crawl and scramble without worrying about tearing up your knees and shins. Good shoes are important because you may be hiking quite a distance to reach the location, and you may be dealing with uneven footing. With good shoes you will minimize your chances for injury and potentially reduce the amount of soreness you feel later!
Getting ready to geocache!
Blog post by Meri Greenleaf Wednesday, March 31, 2010 |
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I worked on some crocheted hemp jewelry today and a lot of what I made are these bracelets. I think I made about 10 or 11, but I lost count as I was making them, lol. I'm going to be leaving these when I go geocaching- well, I might not leave them everywhere; I may just leave them in places with decent swag that's worthy of my handmade stuff. ;)
I stuck them in little baggies labeling what they were and signed them with "Taurandirath" and a link to this blog, so if you happen to find the blog that way, hello!
The weather has been cold and rainy so I haven't been able to go out geocaching yet, so I figured now would be a good time to make these. It's supposed to be warm and sunny this weekend, though, so hopefully Josh and I will be able to look for our first caches this weekend. :)
Paper Tiger Coffee Roasters
Blog post by Live, Love, Laugh, Write! Tuesday, March 30, 2010 |
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I went out with my Mother in Law today with two goals. One, buy some fun specialty cheeses for my hubbies birthday tomorrow, two, go geocaching. Well the weather is rather icky so we decided to skip the geocaching today, but we had passed a fun little coffee shop on our way to the store, so we decided to stop in and investigate. I'm so glad we did! It's called Paper Tiger Coffee Roasters and if you live in Vancouver you can click on the link to get directions to go check it out for yourselves.
Isn't the old cash machine adorable?
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They roast their own beans - look - you can see the machine!
And their barista's are artists! Look at Mom and I's coffee's :)
AND to top it all off, I found out how to link to the artist community in our area, more networking opportunities! Woohoo! And maybe more sales as well? We'll see :)
