Geocaching

Revenge of the Nerds, Basically

This was our consolation cache of the day. Believe it or not, we started trying to do caches in Stevens Creek County Park, and ended up here. We couldn't figure out how to get to two caches (forgot the map) and couldn't find another. A fourth we couldn't get a signal to find. So we ended up driving around, completely lost until we ended up on the Skyline Drive. Nice drive and we stayed on it for while, then came back and grabbed this one on the way back. Easy find and we were tempted to stop in an shop for a bit. They say all's well that ends in ice cream, so we stopped by our favorite creamery and called it a day.

Radio Ranch

I'm amazed a spot like this could be found and then a cache constructed to fit so well in it! Thanks, definitely needed the hint.

Big Rigs

Quick find on the way back from the Garlic Festival. Thanks.

Urban Assault #17

This time no one was hanging out by the cache and I was able to look where I needed to. Thanks for the quick cache.

Play Ball!

Made a quick dash into the bushes to find this one. Grabbed it and came out looking for a place to sit down with it. As I did that, I ran into a newbie Geocaching family and tried to help them figure out how to use their brand new GPSr. Signed the log and chatted a bit, then rehid the cache so they could go after it next. TNLNSL.

Transitions

This one was sticking out like sore thumb. Found it quickly and we were on our way. Thanks.

Sly Dog's---Mary Gomez spots George

The cache was back in place again and this was an easy find. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Urban Assault #17

On a Saturday afternoon, this parking lot was completely empty - except for the two people sleeping in a car 15 feet from the cache. Couldn't get a good search, so we'll have to come back for this one.

Fly Away SJC

We chickened out on using the reserved Geocacher's parking and decided to use the parking structure. A quick dash across the road and we were on the bike path for a nice walk. It was nice to be here on a day when we weren't frantic trying to make a flight. Found the cache easily and signed it. It could use a new log sheet. Thanks.

Fly In SJC

So many trails here, we didn't know which to pick, found the cache easily after parking a dirt lot. Took a rubber ball and left a bug pen.

After doing this cache and Alviso Slow, we found another theme in common with Pedalman's caches, besides being bike-friendly - they smell bad! The good news is that the state has recently bought back many of the salt ponds that make the sloughs (like around Alviso Slow) smell foul and will be returning them to wetlands.

Houds Haven

This was almost a DNF. We had forgotten how hot it gets in South San Jose. We were really sweatin', climbing all over these rocks. Reminded me of a time when I was climbing on some similar party rocks and got a nice slice into my palm. Luckily we managed to avoid all the glass this time. Took us a long time to find it even with the hint. The cache was well covered and there were a lot of places to look. Nice park though and we enjoyed the view from the top. TNLNSL.

San Jose Public Library - West Valley Branch

I was so directionally challenged today that I ended up driving past this cache while on the way to more quick cache in Cupertino from North Sunnyvale. The cache was easy to find, which is a good thing since I still didn't find more quick cache.

CalTrain - Hayward Park

Geez, this one is kinda in the middle of nowhere. Found it easily. TNLNSL. Thanks.

CalTrain - San Francisco

Since one of us goes through here 5 days a week, it was only a matter of time before we checked this one off. Took a while to find the time capsule, but stumbled across it eventually. Thanks.

Resistance Is Futile

Anybody interested in some slightly used tennis balls at a discount price? I think I've found at least 10 here without finding the cache.

I had a few minutes to kill and coming off K3 Gang I was feeling confident so I went to try this one again. There were lots of people around again, but I hardly care at this point. Come on over, help me find this thing!

Didn't find the cache, but did get to watch a toddler throw a tantrum when he had to leave the park and snagged a few more tennis balls. Maybe marwagsalot can sniff it out for me and I'll pay in tennis balls. Yeah...

K3 Gang

Well, well, K3 Gang - you proved to be a worthy nemesis. In the end I found the dropoff point, even if the payoff was long gone.

Of course, now that I've solved it, it seems pretty straightforward. The problem with these difficult puzzle caches is I spend days inside decrypting ciphers. The whole point of Geocaching is to get me outside!

The first part of the puzzle is simpler than it seems, even when trying to figure out which parts of the narrative are relevant. The second part was perplexing at first, but I was quite amazed when coordinates began to appear in front me. This was quite a creative puzzle. Thanks to The Rat for being patient with me and keeping me going on this puzzle without really telling me how to solve it.

I found the actual cache on my second trip there. I swear I looked in the final location before, but apparently not.

Thanks for the interesting puzzle!

Reused Geotrash

We considered going for the FTF on this, but then we got lazy. The most difficult part was navigating the construction. If you're coming from 237 East, you have to get off at the N. First St exit. Getting off the Great America Parkway exit and taking a left will only dump you right back on 237 - West! The cache was actually a shorter walk than we thought it would be. We hadn't been to this side of this park before. The walk would have been nicer if the sun wasn't right on the horizon blinding us. We found the cache quickly and signed the log, though I think our entry might be washed away. The cache was still very wet. TNLN. Thanks!

Palindromes

This location looked worrisome - where's the park? Found it with the clue, then watched someone making a U turn drive right through the cache. So I yelled at him:

Yo, banana boy!

Seek Side

This one was easy enough - we parked in the right spot too! The plastic bag container is ripped. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Stomping grounds

Boy, we must really stink at this sport. Spent a half hour looking and found nothing but a lot of lunch trash.

San Jose Public Library - Calabazas Branch

We looked in several places here between waiting for people to return their books. Found and signed the cache log. Thanks.

Who said you cant get quick cache?

These caches located right next to highways always get us. Of course we parked on the wrong side. Luckily it didn't really matter as there's a nice pedestrian bridge over the highway here. There certainly was a lot of trash near the cache site, but you wouldn't want to trash out some of it here, it's protecting the cache! TNLNSL. Thanks.

Do you want change with that Quick Cache?

We never would have found this one without reading the logs. It didn't help that our GPSr was putting us in the middle of the grass. No one was in the park on a sunny day. TNLNSL. Thanks.

more quick cache

This was a very nice park. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to have a cache in it anymore. We looked in all the 'quick' places and didn't find it.

Lost Paradise

Cool place tucked away in the valley. We took a nice stroll and found the cache quickly when we got there. We left a mini-picnic basket and took a rubber ball. Thanks.

Pirate's Booty

Who would have known that this nice park was here. Good thing we had a map to find it! No one in the park today. Found the cache quickly. TNLNSL. Thanks.

To Each Their Own

We have to admit we didn't solve this puzzle. I showed it to HitsMan who's a cacher in puzzle cache-free LA. He managed to figure out the missing bit of information and it all made sense.

We had been to this place for another cache long ago. Today there was a gathering not far from the cache location. I decided to decode the hint and try to go right to it to avoid people looking at me strangely. The hint was pretty precise and the location allowd me to conceal myself while I access the cache's unique container. TNLNSL. Thanks!

Black Adder

A puzzle cache by The Rat whose solution came to me almost instantly - who knew??

This was easy to find once I found the right access point. Thanks!

Parkway #1

Ivy and treecover made this one look difficult. Wandered around a bit after checking what I thought was the best location. Went back to my original thought and surprised myself by finding it in a place I thought it couldn't be. This is a disturbing location. I no longer trust any solid object to be solid!

Isn't the hint for this one for the other Parkway cache?

Parkway #2

I got pretty concerned when I saw the area the GPSr was zeroing in on. Lots of levels, all them bad for reception. But then I found it immediately. It was in a pretty visible place which doesn't sound like the original location from the logs. I don't think the hint still applies. TNLNSL.

Eschew Obfuscation

Good, FTF in the new location! It's pretty easy to spot, though I don't think anyone will stumble across it. The paint job is pretty well - no wonder we couldn't find it at the original location.

I was amused that the security people signed the log and surprised that the cache was retrieved after it was confiscated.

This cache did me good by teaching me when I should use 'well' instead of 'good'.

Good, all's well that ends good, that's what I always say!

Travel Long Distances

This cache was easy once I stopped trying to solve the puzzle. With winini's log and some perspective, I was able to figure out the location. Finally convinced my other half to go hunting for a cache that I didn't know the coordinates for tonight. We searched for about 10 minutes before we found it in a logical place.

Nice place to visit. It's a little strange to see these huge houses so close together with no trees between them.

Someday I hope to figure out what this cache means and how to solve the puzzle! Thanks.

Another Walk in the Park

Easy find on the way home from work. The GPSr was acting pretty wonky here, but it eventually settled down. Nice little park. I was expecting some sort of plaque explaining the mini-Stonehenge there, but nada. This was probably the smelliest cache we've found! Thanks!

Libby's

It was strange to be back here. We did Fruit Coctail just about 6 months and 125 caches ago. We've sure seen a lot since then!

We drive by this place everyday. I'm not sure why it took us so long to get to this one, but we finally did. Easy find with the hint. TNLNSL. Thanks (again)!

Wax Museum Webcam

Day two of doing the tourist thing with friends peter0224. Got a pretty clear shot.

Snooping at the CIA

Very nice place. This was cache #2 of 2 on my Mad Cache Dash while my friends were taking a winery tour. I would have done more, but there was lots of traffic today! Thanks.

Little Hennessey Hide

This was cache #1 of 2 of my Mad Cache Dash while my friends were taking a winery tour I had just done a few months ago. I manged to park in the right spot. No body, was fishing, but there sure was a lot of garbage here, making it difficult to guess what could be a cache. The hint is definitely required. TNLNSL. Thanks.

BV

Wow, 6 months of caching with no FTFs and then I get two in one week! Had some friends visiting for the weekend and they wanted to check out this winery. It was a bonus that there was a cache there. Found with the clue and a random stab of my hand.

CalTrain - Redwood City

This was our second trip here, but the first trip with a GPSr. Last time I forgot it. I looked anyway, but didn't find it. Needless to say, I was looking completely in the wrong place. This time it was an easy find and not many people around. Thanks.