August 29, 2004

Going Postal

3:10 pm - Geez, WeBeDnD really likes this area! I remember when there wasn't even a place to park here and today we managed only to get the last available parking spot.

Motorbug and me had a nice walk over and found the nicely cammo'd cache quickly. Motorbug was signing the log when he said he still didn't get the title. I directed his look a couple inches to the right. :-)

I guess WeBeDnD are not "art" affectionendos and didn't appreciate the "Pole Field" (indicated on a nearby marker).

Personally, I think it's a giant version of those pin art things where you can stick your face in it and see an impression of your schnoz.

TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 03:10 PM

Runnway2

2:54 pm - Where we parked was kinda scary as there was a couple with some stale bread and it looked like a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds".

The walk was quick and I liked this spot even better than the original cache - you really get close to the planes. I collected all the ants when I found the cache and spared Motorbug from the swarm. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 02:54 PM

Octopus's Garden

2:27 pm - This one had some tough math and I had to twist my brain to get it right.

Today Motorbug joined me for the hunt and we found it after a few minutes of searching. It looks like someone named "Pedro" found the cache last and made a couple pages of scribbles. The cache seemed to be OK otherwise. I liked the digitalfish bug hotel. TNLNSL.

It was good to get back to this great park. So now my question is how Ollie got all the way up here?!

Posted by jeff at 02:27 PM

Happy Birthday JoeSpaz #22

1:57 pm - WOOOOO HOOOOO! This was my 37th Happy Birthday cache - my final one! I thought I would never get them all.

This was an appropriate one to finish with because I think I visited it at least three times before. Today it was a quick find and I now know what everyone was talking about with the ants.

Motorbug was there to share in my celebration; I did a little dance on the way out.

Now here's my little secret - to keep myself motivated to finish this series, I left a secret message for JoeSpaz in 35 parts, one part in each log.

So while you're out correcting coordinates (;-)) JoeSpaz, collect them all and let me know when you figure it out! I challenge others to do the same.

Thanks for the memorable series.

Posted by jeff at 01:57 PM

What Is That Strange Thing??!!??

1:06 pm - Wow, you're right, that was really strange. There were these fat animals of all different colors wandering around. They made this weird noise that sounded like "Moooooo". There must be some top-secret government experiment going on here. :-)

I found the first cache, but didn't really need to as I knew what was up here from another cache. Motorbug stopped and wondered for a bit before heading off. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 01:06 PM

Happy Birthday JoeSpaz #1

I've finally finished the series!

Now here's my little secret - to keep myself motivated to finish this series, I left a secret message for JoeSpaz in 35 parts, one part in each log.

So while you're out correcting coordinates (;-)) JoeSpaz, collect them all and let me know when you figure it out! I challenge others to do the same. Have fun!

Posted by jeff at 01:00 PM

Happy Birthday JoeSpaz #30

12:16 pm - The Niles Canyon community garage sale was happening today, so it was very crowded around here and parking was tight.

I was glad Motorbug was with me on this one as there were many places to look. He nudged me in the right direction after I looked in some incorrect places and then I found it in a spot that definitely stood out from the rest.

I didn't get the hint. 1 year left!!!

Posted by jeff at 12:16 PM

Happy Birthday JoeSpaz #26

11:55 am - Motorbug accused me of bringing him along just so I had a pen. It's true that I kept forgetting one, so maybe that's the case. :-) I found this one pretty quickly and we were off.

2 years left...

Posted by jeff at 11:55 AM

1.23 miles

11:42 am - Motorbug's good instincts had him finding this one quickly before I even had a chance to search. Oh well, another one down. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 11:42 AM

F.A.M.E Event Reminder - 94536

11:36 am - This was another Fremont trademark "Quick Cache" (TM) for MotorBug for me. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 11:36 AM

F.A.M.E. Event Reminder - 94537

11:34 am - MotorBug and me found this cache immediately as I had found the similar one.

It's approved now, so you could add a hint if needed. :-) Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 11:34 AM

Happy Birthday JoeSpaz #18

11:08 am - Everytime I come here, it seems to be when the farmer's market is going on, making it difficult to weave through the crowd to search. Today MotorBug helped out, finding the cache, but not even noticing it until I pointed it out to him.

Thanks for replacing this one. 4 years left to go!

Posted by jeff at 11:08 AM

Line Noise

10:41 am - This puzzle gave me a few fits and I had to make some gueses, but luckily I was able to confirm my coordinates. This was a very appropro location and a quick grab. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 10:41 AM

August 28, 2004

G.I. JANE CACHE

4:30 pm - Nostrada and I had attempted this twice before, but kept missing the turn. This time we missed it as well, but we took a premature one rather than a late one, so we didn't have to figure out how to do a u-turn in the middle of route 17.

Once we found the right turn, we parked quickly and headed down to the cache. The last few feet were challenging; I had to do some interesting contortions to get to it. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 04:30 PM

Dam,Rock,Temple

3:49 pm - This was a hard one. I arrived on the scene quickly, but of course there was no temple. I searched here and there until a guy and his girlfriend came down the path and walked right to where I was searching. While he was trying to impress her with his incredible knowledge of the dam, I spotted the cache. They seemed to have other things on their mind, so I was able to uncover the cache and sign the log while they stood 10 feet away. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 03:49 PM

Turkey Bash Cache

3:04 pm - We had no GPS signal at all here, so I went to the middle of the bridge to try to get a signal. Then I had a "Stand By Me" moment as a train approached and I ran off the bridge. OK, it wasn't even close, but I could have tripped. :-)

I did get a signal, but not for long and I lost it a ways away from where the cache was eventually found. That's fine. I was tired. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 03:04 PM

Garden of Eden

2:13 pm - Workerofwood and me went to work searching the hillside and triangulating our position in the spotty coverage. I dodged poison oak and found a really cool big stump that you could crawl into, but there was no cache in there. Meanwhile, Nostrada sat on a log and ate my food. Finally he had the courtesy to call me back when decided he had rested enough and found the cache. Nice spot. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:13 PM

What Happened to the Bridge?

2:02 pm - I managed to find this one while the others watched for trains. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:02 PM

?Bridge The To Happened What

1:23 pm - Well, that was kind of a random spot. Luckily workerofwood made quick work of it. Thanks for the cache.
Posted by jeff at 01:23 PM

Fred Flintstones Twinkletoes...

12:02 pm - Well, we were there with nostrada and workerofwood and shared in the fun. I took the high road with nostrada, which was a trail in some parts, but had none in others, with plenty of poison oak just to keep it exciting.

We climbed all around where the cache should be and found no signs of it. I checked a few times just to make sure since I wasn't coming all this way for nothing. When it was clear that we weren't going to find it, I tried to follow Nostrada across the rocks to the other side.

My first leap was off-balance so I jumped into the water rather than risk falling face-first into a rock. The water felt good in my shoes for a while, but when I got home I had to hose them off from all the sand and dirt that clung to them.

My consolation is that if this one is replaced, it's much shorter walk from other points than from where we came. Thanks for the fun.

Posted by jeff at 12:02 PM

BuckEye

10:58 am - There was some kind of group hypnosis going on here as the four of us could not find it. When worker called a lifeline, he found it in a place we had all looked. Maybe it was covered a little to much. Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

Showing his frustration, Nostrada hurled a ball from the cache at Anne's head. Nice guy. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 10:58 AM

Aylsworth View

10:05 am - I decided to rest and try to breathe through my congested sinuses while nostrada and workerofwood searched all over the place for this one. When I got tired of waiting, I found it quickly. Sigh, I *must* get better help. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 10:05 AM

Chasing Amy

9:44 am - I saw this cache coming up as one I would do sometime in the future, so I put it next on my Netflix queue. I had seen it long ago, but of course couldn't remember the details.

But then the weather forecast for Mission peak was ridiculously hot, so we changed our plans and we would be in the area of this cache TOMORROW. My Netflix copy wouldn't arrive until Monday. What to do?

While having lunch, I remembered one of the more ridiculous benefits they have at work - you can rent DVDs at a little store outside the cafeteria. They had it in stock, so I was set. I sent email of my acquisition to my cohorts, but by then Nostrada had acquired the coordinates by other means. Now that I have two copies, I might as well watch it once.

Anyway, we found the cache on a nice and cool hike. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 09:44 AM

Higher Ground

9:30 am - I hate hiking on sand. The fact that I'm still nursing a cold and couldn't breathe through my nose didn't help improve my mood. I fell a little behind on this one, but a cool drink at the top helped restore me.

I utilized the observation deck to observe Nostrada finding the cache and signing the log for me. Nice job, Nostrada! Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 09:30 AM

Nosey Neighbor

8:58 am - This is where the reception started to get spotty on our hike in Henry Cowell. It turns out that it only got worse! Oh well. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 08:58 AM

Bridge Mind Bender

8:40 am - Here's one to bend your mind - workerofwood found this one within seconds! I was on my up to check a different spot when I was called back. Well, that was quick. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 08:40 AM

August 27, 2004

Civic Center Park

9:25 pm - Wow, six finds in the first day for this one!

I saw this one on my way to Rock It a week ago and wondered why there wasn't a cache here. Apparently MotorBug is more about corrective action than I am.

We had to wait a bit for what seemed like a lot of Indian families taking a stroll around the park, but we found it quickly. Interesting statue and thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 09:25 PM

A Fresh Friday Night Event

8:33 pm - I hadn't really planned on going to the event at all. But then the night before I solved Slobinovich and I decided I must go out and claim it the next night. I enlisted Nostrada in my efforts and we headed down 85, picking up the new caches along the way. Soon we ran into MotorBug and bthomas who were also heading to the event. It was pretty much at the last cache we planned to do, (Along the De Anza Trail 6), so we said what the heck.

We were a bit late, but it was fun to see everyone. There were some really cool prizes and I got really lucky with my number picked first. I opted for an LED headlamp which I've wanted for a while. Marky even showed me some cool tricks I can do with it.

So overall I had a lot of fun. I'm glad I didn't miss it! Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 08:33 PM

Along the De Anza Trail 6 - Tequilla Mockingbird

8:09 pm - MotorBug was fading quick as we were late for dinner at the event, so we had to make this one quick. The cache was actually on the ground, but I tried to make sure it was firmly attached when I left it. It'll be interesting to see where the next one of these pops up! Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 08:09 PM

Celebrity Mole

7:44 pm - Finally! It's been many months since I visited the first waypoint for this one. Eventually I visited almost all of them twice, some three times. Usually it was on my way to other caches nearby, so I figured I'd eventually get them all.

Once I had all the information, it was still a challenge to put the information together into deciding who the mole was. Luckily, I had another cacher to help verify my work. Without any assistance, I'm not sure how anyone could do this. Otherwise, it seemed to be a lot of guesswork.

Even reading the clues from the sheet inside the cache, I couldn't see myself ever noticing them.

Anyway, I saw some interesting places, learned some stuff and claimed a cache. Not bad. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 07:44 PM

The Humpty Dumpty Factor

7:17 pm - I solved this one last night when I got stuck on Slobinovich. I had tried it before, but without the Sleb Slob's context, it was much harder.

Nostrada and I let a caravan of cachers to this one on the way to the event. I saw the cache from the car, but let Nostrada grab it. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 07:17 PM

Body by Jake

7:12 pm - Nostrada and I caught up with MotorBug here, who had just caught up with btomas at the previous cache.

MotorBug risked his life by standing in the middle of Foothill Expressway to flag us down while we tried to find a way to the cache. I found it pretty quickly and we were off, heading towards the event. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 07:12 PM

Put one on the BBQ

6:54 pm - We rolled up to this one and I grabbed it while Notrada kept the car's engine running. We were only 15 minutes behind MotorBug now, so I decided to give him a call so we could meet up at Body by Jake. He was already there of course and we headed over to meet him. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 06:54 PM

Slobinovich

6:45 pm - I've had a bit of cryptography fatigue of late. There was always "one more puzzle" that I decided to work on instead of this one as it creeped up my nearest list.

I looked at this one casually a few times to see what was involved, but didn't really spend any time on it.

Last night, I decided it was time. I started working on it and it was a lot easier than I expected. With all the hints given, it practically solved itself! I guess it pays to procrastinate.

I didn't see the worksheet at first, but later I discovered it and found that I was on the right track.

The last piece was a bit tricky, even when I knew what I had to do. When I got stuck, I went over and solved Humpty Dumpty factor immediately. I took one more guess before bed and found the solution. The whole thing took less than 4 hours. I was quite impressed with myself. :-)

Now I was all excited to go claim this 4.5 cache, so I made plans to go this along with some other new local cacehes the next evening.

It was a quick find, especially since Nostrada found it. :-)

Yet another well-executed puzzle by The Rat. I'm sure there's even more levels to this puzzle that I didn't get. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 06:45 PM

Wag That Tail -- Then Pick it Up

6:44 pm - This was a really quick one. Nice park. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 06:44 PM

Sunnyvale's Smallest Park?

6:28 pm - Nostrada and I made a quick grab here. As we were standing suspiciously in the bushes, a car slowed and nearly stopped, apparently looking at us. I was concerned that it was a neighbor calling the authorities. The car parked and out came batcher - again! It seems like I run into him every other day. :-)

We had a quick chat and we went on our way. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 06:28 PM

August 25, 2004

Remorse on a Road to Nowhere

5:32 pm - I was home sick from work today (really sick; not "I was out sick and found 30 caches" sick) so I had a lot of time between naps to stare at this puzzle.

I got through the puzzle mostly on my own, but some help from another cacher helped me focus my efforts. Once I got the idea down, my goal was to finish it and venture out into the sunlight to grab the cache and a Jamba Juice. I showered, got dress, finished the puzzle and met mmp at the cache site. We found it in the first place we looked. A Jamba Juice was conveniently not far away.

I guess workerofwood rescued SFBM last night because he was nowhere to be found. Still, if I was trapped on a double dead-end street, I might choose a simpler way to communicate my position so I could get out of there. :-) Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 05:32 PM

August 22, 2004

Rock it?

11:42 am - Here's a strange coincidence - on my way to this one I took a wrong turn and drove by a real rocket! I did a u-turn and parked to take pictures for the rocket locationless. This one turned out to be just a sculpture, not a real rocket so I couldn't use it for the locationless, but it was cool anyway. It was outside a parking lot for the airport.

I found the cache without much trouble. There's another cache at the Hillsdale mall that's all about Bufano sculptures. Thanks. Took nothing, left a microscopic travel bug. Bet you won't find it!

Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 11:42 AM

Statue of Liberty

11:10 am - I saw this statue a week ago when I was driving by. I thought I didn't have a camera with me (but I actually did), so I marked a waypoint for later. I was heading home today and this was on the way, so I snagged it.

This modular home dealership "Horizon Homes" uses the statue as their logo for some reason, so they have a small scale model out front.

Posted by jeff at 11:10 AM

Hexes Rift Too

10:57 am - This was a fun challenge. I managed to grab it between passings of muggles. Thanks!
Posted by jeff at 10:57 AM

Once in a Blue Moon

10:35 am - I stopped by this one on my way into the park, but after poking into various holes, I couldn't find it. I was nervous about running into rattlesnakes as I found some shedded snake skin where I was searching.

Later I was talking to Workerofwood and asked about this cache. He gave me some general advice and I gave it another try on the way down.

Of course, I walked right to it this time! Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 10:35 AM

Nicely Stacked

10:21 am - This one left me somewhat confused. At first I couldn't find any stacks. Then I saw one a ways away. I went over to them and poked around a bit, but didn't find anything and my GPSr was pointing 150 feet away. So I went back to where I started and found it quickly in a place with no stacks. I guess that's how it's supposed to go. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 10:21 AM

I LIKE 1KE

9:54 am - The first thing I saw this morning to wear was a pair of old shorts. They have some holes in them, but I don't dress to impress when geocaching, so I threw them on.

On my way to this cache, a new problem presented itself - the front button popped off. I tried walking anyway, but it was clear that they were not going to stay on in their current condition without at least a belt.

So at the vista trail junction, I dug through my pack to see what I may have to correct the situation. I came out with the string from a broken lanyard pen and a pocket knife. I used the knife to cut a hole where the button was, and then ran the string through both holes and around a belt loop to secure it. It worked quite well - so well I forgot about it and wore it for a while after I got home! After that it was time to put those old shorts out of their misery.

Now that I've thoroughly bored you, let's talk about the cache. I arrived and couldn't find it before some muggles passed. I think I had passed all of them before because this park lends itself to seeing people on different parts of the loop. Once the coast was clear I started looking again and finally found it with the hint. It turns out I had actuall picked up the cache and put it down again once already. I don't know what sort of animal made all those droppings, but they were pretty gross. Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 09:54 AM

Dwimmerlaik

9:35 am - I literally barked and climbed up the wrong tree for this one. I couldn't see the cache, so I figured I'd go up anyway to see if I could see it better. No luck.

I was about to leave and forget this one when I saw another spot and the cache in plain sight. The effort required to retreive it was far less than I had already done. Later, when chatting with Workerofwood, he called it a new form of my trademark u-turns. TNLNSL. I wish I remembered my knots better, but I think it was pretty secure. Thanks for the fun one.

Posted by jeff at 09:35 AM

Rocky Bench

9:07 am - As I drove up to this park, these hills sure looked intimidating. I have to climb that? It was actually easier than I expected though and mostly gradual. I found the cache at the bench and went on my merry way. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 09:07 AM

M&J Style: Mint Cage

9:02 am - I contemplated the anagram on the way up, but nothing came to me. I searched for a bit, and suddenly it unscrambled itself and I saw it right away. Thanks.

This is appropriate time to plug my newest tool, an anagram solver. It works differently than most of the other ones out there because it allows you to pick out single words rather than scrolling through thousands of combinations. I'd appreciate any feedback on improvements for it. (visit link)

Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 09:02 AM

B-G-J Ranch

8:30 am - It was just me 'n the chickens pecking around looking for this cache. I finally found it abou 30 feet away from where my GPSr pointed, but there are limited possibilities with the hint. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 08:30 AM

August 21, 2004

"Peppy's Cache" CA

5:43 pm - This was the last cache of our trip to Santa Cruz. I looked a little to hard for this one and once I got to the right spot, it was obvious. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 05:43 PM

Monarch Community School Geocaching course

5:35 pm - Couldn't find this one. There were people in the park, but that didn't deter me from searching wherever I thought it might be.
Posted by jeff at 05:35 PM

Secret Trailhead #12 - Natural Bridges

5:16 pm - We parked here to get into the park, though we later realized none of the caches were in the park, so we just had a long walk.

Finally when we returned we went for this cache. The GPS wanted us in the middle of the trail, so I used the hint to find the cache. I didn't know trees could get the mumps!

TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 05:16 PM

Peaceful Pond

5:04 pm - Interesting container on this one. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 05:04 PM

Kablooey's Glove

4:42 pm - We walked here all the way from Natural Arches, mostly along the shore. When we couldn't go any further, we walked through the neighborhood of modular homes until we found our way back to the trail again.

When we got to the cache, we could see it, but there was a dog sniffing around there and a muggle walking by. We went down to DNF Mac's Cache, then came back. This time the coast was clear, but there was still the problem of getting the cache open since I didn't remember that this was a puzzle. Our spirits were not so good at this point.

We fiddle with the lock and stared blankly at the symbols for a while. Then I read a log and we were inspired. The answer soon became clear. I had to try a few times though; even with the right combo the lock didn't come out easily. We TNLNSL and walked back to the road the easy way with spirits much better than when we arrived. Thanks for the interesting puzzle. I just hope you don't find any of my clothing lying around. :-)

Posted by jeff at 04:42 PM

West Side Serenade

3:02 pm - We had a nice flat walk and enjoyable chat on the way to this one. I used the hint to find it. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 03:02 PM

Shark's Tooth

2:24 pm - I was worried about choosing the right altitude for this one, but after awhile it was clear there was only once choice. People were swimming below in this cool spot. I found the cache OK and took a Sgt. Stitchers signature item. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:24 PM

Shelob's Stair

2:05 pm - The terrain on this had us bracing for a challenge, but it was quite quick and easy. Perhaps it's overrated or we found an easier way up.

I found the cache quickly, but then had some trouble as we kept dropping things - first a car from the cache deep into a crevice, then my GPSr. They all survived though and we did the quick walk back through a labyrinth of poison oak. Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 02:05 PM

Davenport Landing

1:42 pm - Here's a first for us - we almost DNF'd this one due to a wedding. As we arrived, the bride was walking down from the house closest to the cache onto the beach. We sat on the beautiful beach while the ceremony took place and moved in when everyone dispersed. I looked around a few times before I saw a suspicious piling of rocks. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 01:42 PM

cache and release

1:04 pm - We enjoyed the drive up this road. This was a quick walk from the car, even after we took a wrong turn. I found a cool bone on the way. The cache was all wet inside and probably should be replaced. TN, left a tick (not in the cache), and signed the log. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 01:04 PM

Eddie the IV

12:27 pm - It's hard to find a beach we don't like and this one was no exception. Easy find. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:27 PM

August 20, 2004

"It was a secret to me" Trailhead #1

I didn't see any poison oak on my way to the cache. That doesn't mean that there isn't any, but there was none obvious to me.

The next time I'm in the area, I may place a regular-sized cache. I need to start keeping my car stocked with regular-sized containers.

As for the coordinates, I averaged 30 or so readings over a few minutes. If there's a consensus on better ones, I'll post them, but I think the hint is also pretty unique and explicit.

Have fun!

Posted by jeff at 01:00 PM

August 16, 2004

Neighborhood walk

5:20 pm - I was wandering around in all the wrong places when j/slice found the cache in a nice spot. Thanks for the last cache of the day.
Posted by jeff at 05:20 PM

WaterRats' Cache

5:01 pm - I'm impressed another cache could be squeezed in on this walkway. There was no one around but a guy who was goin' fishin', but was mostly talkin' on his cell phone. The FTF prize is still there, but we TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 05:01 PM

Dollar Tree

4:47 pm - That's one helpful hint, making this a quick one. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:47 PM

Bamboozled

4:30 pm - I got to walk through a bamboo forest in Maui on the way to a cache. It was really cool as they grow very close together, making it pretty dark and when the wind blows they clank together to make this neat sound.

This wasn't exactly a forest, but it was a nice start! We found the cache quickly and walked back to the car parked near Little Jack Cacher. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 04:30 PM

Little Jack Cacher

4:18 pm - We got our nursery rhymes mixed up here and weren't sure about what we were looking for, but j/slice used his physical attributes to grab this one easily. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:18 PM

Hey, Larry!

4:00 pm - We had some trouble finding this one until we read the logs. There were some large flowers on the fence and some large bees to go with them. TNLNSL. We weren't sure which direction Larry lived in, so we stayed quiet in case he was napping. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:00 PM

Over Under

3:46 pm - The title of this one made it pretty straightforward. We checked a few spots and then found it where we expected. Thanks for the quick one.
Posted by jeff at 03:46 PM

Murdock Park

3:14 pm - The corner had a sign for "Free Rocks". We got all excited by this, the rock enthusiasts we are, but we could not find the free rocks.

The streets were jammed with minivans picking up kids at the school and some police officers for some reason. The cache area was clear though and j/slice put his hand on it. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 03:14 PM

The People Zone Two + A Walkway

2:55 pm - I had just introduced my friend j/slice to geocaching and now I let him take the GPSr and see if he could find one on his own. He put the "safety" on (lanyard strap) and headed off.

Once I told him about a common attachment method, he found it quickly. Thanks for the fun.

Posted by jeff at 02:55 PM

Crystal Springs "Tower of Power"

12:21 pm - The trails in this park confuse me. Or maybe it's the map that's bad since there's no Toyon Road on it. Anyway, we wandered around for a while and guessed at the trails until we found it. Once we found the tower, I found it quickly. I took the ball bearing and left a toothbrush (still in package). Thanks!
Posted by jeff at 12:21 PM

PhotoBox

12:12 pm - I wandered up here with an old friend "j/slice" and introduced him to Geocaching. He loved it! He even found the little trail to get to the cache.

Cool idea for a cache. We enjoyed looking through the pictures. Our only disappointment was forgetting to bring one to leave. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 12:12 PM

August 15, 2004

Cache Machine

8:14 pm - Word spread quickly inside the BADGES event that there was a moving cache nearby, so after dinner I wandered outside to find it. There was no congregation of people outside a "truck" (as I was told), so after a while I asked bthomas who was doing what bthomas does - taking pictures. He said it was a blue jeep so I looked around for one.

I was about to head to the other parking lot when bthomas whistled. I walked right past the blue jeep that he was taking pictures of. I guess I was expecting a light blue color. Anyway, I found it and handed it to WalruZ to sign as well.

More challenging was figuring out which cache this was. Someone had written GCXXXX in the dust on the back window, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it. Ventura_Kids let us know as we were leaving, so we were all set. It's a good thing they did because I would have thought it was their cache! Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:14 PM

BADGES Dinner #4

5:43 pm - I guess I can claim FTF on the event, even though kablooey signed the log book ahead of me. I had lots of fun and talked to lots of interesting people. The food was good too. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Posted by jeff at 05:43 PM

A Harry Badge

5:35 pm - FTF! I had planned to do a couple caches in San Carlos and then hit bthomas' new one before the event. I did all those and found myself with a lot of time left. Workerofwood called and said he was heading over early to help set up, so I went early too. I was the first non-BADGES organizer there. ChrissySkyking told me about the event cache nearby, so I went out to find it. Carl LaFong showed up as well and we wandered around until I found the well-camoed container. I took a BADGES button as my FTF prize. Thanks for a great event!
Posted by jeff at 05:35 PM

Northern Exposure, Old Tree

4:50 pm - I wasn't planning on going for this one tonight, but I had an hour and a half left before the BADGES dinner and I had finished all the other caches nearby sooner than I expected.

I was just pulling out the cache description when I found it. Nice camo. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 04:50 PM

Portly

4:34 pm - I was finishing up signing the log when DavidT21 and Fisherwoman pulled up in their shiny new car.

I tried to convince them that there was no cache here and they should move along, but ended up pulling it out from behind my back anyway.

Fisherwoman put it back and then I proceeded to drive around the restaurant block 4 times trying to find my way onto El Camino South. Fun times.

Posted by jeff at 04:34 PM

Palms Rock

4:22 pm - Started on the right side, went to the wrong side, went back to the right side and found the cache.

It won't be truly paperless caching until the logs are not made of paper either and we sign them digitally.

Posted by jeff at 04:22 PM

Carry a Big Stick

4:17 pm - That would be one old stone. I guess the carvers never thought about the Y2K problem, even though they just passed the 1900 problem. I guess they didn't have computers back then, so it wasn't a problem.

I found the cache only a few minutes after workerofwood. I tried to catch him, but apparently we were working in opposite directions. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 04:17 PM

Government Test

4:06 pm - Interesting test. Failing might be a flattening experience. I made it there and back twice lickety-split. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:06 PM

Courtside

3:58 pm - I parked no less than 3 times trying to find the best place to access this one. When I arrived, some suspicious-looking people were sitting where I thought the cache would be. I circled for a bit, then turned in when I saw them flash their GPSr, which turns out to have a name - HAL. I had a brief chat with sailorscodgers and then parted before we were to meet again at the event in a few hours. Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 03:58 PM

Tanks for the Cache

3:50 pm - I had trouble with the last cache here. I repeated the experience this time. It was a good excuse to climb on top of the tank though.

Finally I found it where I should have seen it the first time. Nice paint job. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 03:50 PM

Sub Station

3:38 pm - After a few minutes of searching, I thought I was sunk, but then I found the box. Mission accomplished.
Posted by jeff at 03:38 PM

Moonman

3:04 pm - My GPSr compass need a recalibration very badly and I couldn't figure out where to go for this one, so I went up to Eaton's Eden first. I turns out I walked right by it and had to backtrack up again. I found it after checking a few spots. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 03:04 PM

Eaton's Eden

2:51 pm - I went too far up the hill for this one. I backtracked and found the first stage easily. I wasn't sure how to get to stage two, so I did the slide down the hill. Later when talking to Fisherwoman, I discovered that she did the same thing. Eventually I got to the trail and found the cache without much trouble. TNLNSL.

I was trying not to get too yucky since I was heading to the BADGES event in a few hours. Of course, I was drenched in sweat and completely dirty by the time I got to the car. Good thing I brought a change of clothes! Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 02:51 PM

Avenue Of The Fleas

2:14 pm - I checked a few spots, then found it very visible, but I guess that's where it goes. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:14 PM

Arguello Park

2:06 pm - It's nice to see a new cache here after girly girl went missing. This one was in a much less conspicuous area. I kept slipping on the grass, but found the cache OK. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:06 PM

BADGES Dinner #4

The Cache Machine moving cache on Ventura_Kids' jeep is GCH5F5
(visit link)
Posted by jeff at 01:00 PM

August 14, 2004

CASA de TABLETA

5:23 pm - Boy those historical plaques are everwhere. It smelled mighty good at the Inn tonight, but I kept on target and found the cache. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 05:23 PM

Sharon’s Valley View

5:03 pm - There were two teenage muggles about, so I wandered haphazardly until I figured out where I needed to be, and was able to approach it from a direction in which they couldn't see me. Nice camo job. It took a while to get the log back in, so I finally just decided to tear it up and stuff it in. Just kidding. Thanks for the cache.
Posted by jeff at 05:03 PM

Sharon’s Buckeye Grove

4:51 pm - I made a beeline from the car to a spot that looked perfect for a cache, but after a few minutes of searching, I couldn't find it and I couldn't get a signal here either. I wandered about for a bit, then headed back to the clear area near the car to regain a signal.
It pointed me back to where I first looked. This time with some closer inspection I found the cache. I took nothing and left toy that I found on the ground near the cache. Nice park. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:51 PM

Meadows Media Swap

3:35 pm - I just kept on going on the Alambique Trail from Wunderlichin' Good Cache to this one. It probably would have been faster to take the Bear Gulch trail, but I always prefer a loop.

For the most part it was a gentle uphill. Quite a few horses passed me along the way. It sure would have been nice to have horse haul me up this hill.

I found the cache in good shape and still with plenty of good movies in it. I TNLNSL and headed back down Bear Gulch which did seem a lot faster, but maybe that's because it was downhill. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 03:35 PM

Wunderlichin' Good Cache

2:30 pm - Lots of horses around these parts today. It was an easy find and I TNLNSL and then kept going, heading for the Media Swap. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:30 PM

Portola Treasures

2:12 pm - I found the first spot OK, then headed over to the second. I must have had my stupid hat on today, because I had a lot of trouble with it. I looked all around, but didn't see anything obvious besides a lot of poison oak. All the traffic at this intersection didn't make it any easier.

A guy walked by talking loudly to himself. I thought he might be crazy. He probably though the same of me, hanging around in the bushes. He's probably right.

Finally I spotted the dang thing, TNLNSL.

I found a benchmark though, so that was cool. Thanks for the history lesson. I always like running into these plaques.

Posted by jeff at 02:12 PM

A Schilling For Your Thoughts

1:31 pm - Bad me. Bad, bad me. I followed my all-knowing auto-routing to this one, passing off the several "private road" and "no tresspassing" signs. How do they know I don't live there, anyway?

Finally I got to an open gate which had a sign that said it could be locked at any time. I was very close to the cache though, so I decided to see if I could go grab it quickly.

Well, I kept driving, and soon enough I found myself right in the park. I drove by the pond and parked with my front bumper about 10 feet from the cache. I found it right away, did my business (TNLNSL) and then had fun backing up along this narrow dirt road.

At that point I had to decide which way to go back - down the private road I came or through the park? There certainly was a trail that could be a road. But the sign said no bikes, which probably means that they don't want you driving on it either. And there was probably a gate at the other end. So I went back the way I came and the gate was still open so no harm done. Thanks for the fun!

Posted by jeff at 01:31 PM

Razorback Ridge

1:17 pm - It sure was soggy over here today. I took the quick walk down and found the cache without much difficulty. It sure was chuck full of stuff, but I've still yet to run into one of those Jeep TBs. Hopefully there'll be a few zooming around at the event tomorrow. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 01:17 PM

Russian Ridge Cache & Carry

12:53 pm - It took all my mental determination not to bushwack my way through all of this. I got within 200 feet and then realized there was no other way in. Nice cache. I took two containers, one of which I placed a few hours later. As I was leaving the ridge was finally clearing up. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:53 PM

Ridge Trail View # 2

12:42 pm - Another magnificent view of the backside of a cloud on this foggy day. The FTF prize was still there, but I decided I didn't have a use for it. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:42 PM

Ridge Trail View # 1

12:36 pm - Hoo-wee, yes I had a nice view today - of a whole lot of nothin'. The clouds hadn't lifted yet, but they did soon after. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:36 PM

Mindego Trail Cache

12:32 pm - I wandered around for a bit, and then finally figured out how to make my GPSr work. Got it. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:32 PM

Pillars of Stone

12:28 pm - Neither pillar seemed to be where the coordinates were pointing, but I searched them anyway. It took a couple of tries before I found the cache in its gravity-defying spot. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 12:28 PM

Meadow Trail

12:13 pm - I tried a "shortcut" down to the road. It was full of poison oak. Follow the road.

At the cache site, I also ran into some PO. I lost reception too, but I just looked in the logical spots and found it. On the way out I found a route without PO. Oh well. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 12:13 PM

Woodstone

11:46 am - The coords seemed a ways off for this one, but it was still easy with the hint. A foggy day out here today. Thanks for the cache.
Posted by jeff at 11:46 AM

End of the Trail 1

11:31 am - After a couple of u-turns, I found the trailhead to this one. The sky was clear and it would have been hot, but there was a cool breeze coming over the ridge. I've certainly never been on this trail before and from the looks of it, not many others have either. It's kind of a dead-end, isn't it?

I found the cache after a few minutes of searching. It's still pretty empty. TNLNSL. The walk back was a bit tougher for obvious reasons. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 11:31 AM

Dokey Oakey

11:15 am - Found the cache on my way up to skyline. TNLNSL. Thanks for the walk.
Posted by jeff at 11:15 AM

Pet Lovers

10:57 am - Once again, I didn't read the description and found my own route to the cache. Unlike most times, I actually found a shorter route to the cache. I parked 500 feet away and took a flat hike in.

Just to keep in theme, before I found the cache a guy and his huge Alaskan snow dog(?) walked by. I found the cache easily and left Squeeky TB, which is a dog toy anyway.

On the way out I tried to avoid the eyes of a stranger, but at second glance I realized it was batecher! We chatted for a bit and then went our opposite directions.

Thanks for the cache. I'm sorry my cats didn't want to come. :-)

Posted by jeff at 10:57 AM

Reflect on this

10:28 am - I drove by twice and neighbor in her driveway was looking at me funny, so I left.

5:38 pm - Nobody around now, so I made the quick snatch. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 10:28 AM

Los Altos Gateway

10:10 am - I drove up and found this one quickly once my GPSr settled down. Ho hum, another macro micro cache... and then something started to look familiar...

In 1995 I took a summer internship in Mountain View with a startup company. I was their first technical person and their "headquarters" was a rented house in mountain view where 4 of the 5 of us worked, slept and lived. It was the first time I had ever been to California and it was quite the interesting experience.

I spent most of my time in that house though, and without a car, I didn't see much of the area. When I moved here, I thought I would go found the old house, except I couldn't. All I remembered is that it was somewhere near Los Altos border, it had two stories, set back from the street and ther was another house in front where this house's front lawn used to be.

I had tried several times to find the house, but couldn't remember where it was. Street names like "El Monte" and "Springer" sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure. There are lots of new houses in the area, so for all I knew it had been torn down.

So after the cache I decided to take another look around. I drove up and down several streets, but didn't see anything familiar. Then I turned back on Springer Rd, about to give up again, when I looked to my left and saw it. It's the house! The address was 1247 Springer Road and it's about 200 feet from the cache! I'm happy to have finally found it and remember that fun summer almost a decade ago. Thanks a bunch, MotorBug!

Posted by jeff at 10:10 AM

August 08, 2004

Marina Park - Northern Micro

3:26 pm - As we approached this one, there was a couple laying under a blanket right where I thought the cache would be. They were eyeing me occasionally, so I had to stealthy.

I checked several spots, getting sticky in the process, then I stuck my hand in one spot and felt something drop. I don't know if that was the cache or not, but my attempts to reach down and grab it if it was a cache failed. I couldn't see down there, not did I know of what kind of tool could get something out if it was in there.

So I'm not sure about this one. It might be inaccessible. If so, my apologies, but it's possibly a caveat of that spot that it's easily lost.

Posted by jeff at 03:26 PM

CITO Cache - San Leandro

3:14 pm - The park was very busy today, but this cache was tucked away in an unpopulated spot. I got lucky and saw it right away. We took a can and took off. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 03:14 PM

Bird Walk

2:43 pm - This was a really nice place. We found the first waypoint just fine.

For the second one we took a route that looked pretty straight when we started, but ended up bring us too far east. Nice hide on #2.

It turns out we had to backtrack to the cache, right to where we had come from. Good thing it was only a quarter mile.

Once there it took us a long time to find the cache. When we finally did, my GPS read it as 48 feet away. TNLNSL. Thanks for bringing us here.

Posted by jeff at 02:43 PM

The Professor's Cache

1:16 pm - We haven't used our rollerblades in a long time, so we decided to bring them along today and see if any caches brought us to good spots to blade.

We started at a nice, paved trail here and the map showed the paths going quite far, so we strapped on the skates and headed out. A half-mile later, the pavement turned to gravel. :-(

We carried our skates the rest of the way to the cache. It was nicely hidden at a beautiful spot. I took compucash token #110.

At this point it was closer to walk straight back to the car rather than get on the pavement again, so we carried our skates the rest of the way. Oh well. We enjoyed the walk.

Posted by jeff at 01:16 PM

It's Windy

12:13 pm - When we got close to the cache, Anne sat down and found the rock of her dreams - warm, comfortable and with a great view. I brought the cache over once I found it to check it out.

Loved the tweezers! More caches should come with these! TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 12:13 PM

Bridge View -- 2

11:54 am - Nice view from here. We sat down 2 feet from it and it still took 10 minutes to spot this sucker. I nearly took a spill backwards off the rocks trying to find this thing. In the end, I TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 11:54 AM

Amphitheater - Classically Greek!

11:30 am - A few months ago, I found a perfect ampitheater. It was old and classicly constructed. I stumbled upon it in a city park, 2500 miles from home. I excitedly took some pictures and marked the coordinates.

When I got home, I was just about to log when I noticed something familiar. That postcard. Doh! I had stumbled across the ampitheater in Thorden Park in Syracause. Oops.

A few weeks later I stumbled across another ampitheater, much closer to home. I went back to the car to get a camera and realized that I had forgotten it! Foiled again!

Finally today I made my way back to Foster City, California to get some pictures of my ampitheater. It's actually brand new, but follows the classical style. Even better, it hasn't been logged yet.

Whew, I'm glad that's over with.

Posted by jeff at 11:30 AM

Bridge View -- 1

11:19 am - Just as we arrived at this spot, some people on bikes decided to take a rest. I saw what looked like the cache and grabbed it anyway. By the time I was done they were still there, so I replaced it carefully and we were off. Thanks for the nice spot to take a load off.
Posted by jeff at 11:19 AM

Slough View

11:09 am - Nice spot here. We enjoyed it. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 11:09 AM

Catapult!

10:55 am - On the way to the cache we had to disturb some smoochers and some geese. I'm not sure who was more annoyed.

With experience of similar containers, I found this one pretty quickly. Interesting sculpture. Anne was perplexed at how you could even sign something so small. Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 10:55 AM

Boardwalk

10:38 am - I was shooting for a perfect performance on this one, but just after I grabbed the cache, my foot slipped and ended up in the mud. Good thing it was an easy find.

An extra treat was seal in the slough who had just found some lunch in fish swimming around. Pretty cool. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 10:38 AM

Nig on park

9:12 am - I somehow struggled with this anagram for a long time. Finally during a break at work, it came to me.

There was definitely some fresh paint on this one. I made the grab, did the paperwork in the car, then returned it. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 09:12 AM

Monte Bello-Bello

8:43 am - I pretty much found the right trail to this one using the logs for reference, but I didn't zero out at the right spot once in the area. I crawled through some poison oak in one spot only to realize I was way off.

There was only one other possibility and there was the cache. I took a golf ball, left a Norfolk, VA pin and the Rascal the Snow Dog TB. Thanks for the cache.

Posted by jeff at 08:43 AM

Monte Bello Road - East

8:19 am - I was over here from Page Mil Road yesterday with workerofwood. Somehow he convinced me that this one would be faster to reach from Monte Bello road. Hmm, not so sure about that.

I took the wrong path at first, then I had trouble finding the darn thing, resigning to the hint. Ah, there it is. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:19 AM

Monte Bello Puzzle

8:06 am - The puzzle had me confused for a while, but I eventually got it with some help, but that was long ago.

Today I kept a swift pace up from my questionably legal parking at the top of Monte Bello road and found this one. Left a "rubber ducky" beanie and took two golf balls. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:06 AM

August 07, 2004

Barely Secret Walkway

7:57 pm - The wife had to make a run to Target, so I gladly obliged to take her, knowning I could grab a cache nearby while she shopped.

I found the cache in a few minutes with the hint, but it took some effort to get it out of its hiding spot. Nice job though! Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 07:57 PM

Rancho's other side door

1:33 pm - I have been here a few times and parking can be a problem. I was lucky today and got one right next to the gate.

With a little hint from another cacher I found this quickly. It took much longer for me to get the log back inside the container though. I pretended the read the maps while some muggles walked by and finally I had it back on one piece. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 01:33 PM

Foothills OSP Gateway

1:18 pm - This was practically drive-by. As a matter of fact, I drove right by it (but only by a couple of feet.) Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 01:18 PM

Foothills OSP

1:13 pm - I had a quick walk up the hill, following the trail even though my compass didn't want me too. Nice 360 degree view from up here. Took a golf ball and left a foam plane. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 01:13 PM

Troll Lizard

12:51 pm - Workerofwood and I were pretty delerious at this point after taking the wrong trail up a steep path and both of us being well beyond the time when we said we'd be home.

After taking a short wrong trail, we found the right one and I grabbed it quickly. We fumbled around, signed it and then I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't stick back where it was. Finally I looked and discovered that the magnet came off when I retrieved it. I stuck it back in and hopefully it will stay that way. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 12:51 PM

Other Vista

11:36 am - This was workerofwood and I's first cache on the other trail back. Nice little spot. I took the squeeky TB and we continued on. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 11:36 AM

Light Overlook

11:06 am - Oh boy, we defintely approached from one of the different directions. It was more than different; it was most certainly wrong.

We went down, around and then back up again, crossing an interesting spot with rusty barbed wire on top and poison oak below. Fun! The "trail" up was pretty steep. We were panting pretty good when we arrived. TNLNSL and took the easy way out, right back to where we just were. Oh well. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 11:06 AM

PEZtacular View 2

10:36 am - This one was practically jumping out at me. Some nice dispensers in there, but I TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 10:36 AM

Black Mountain Burnout

10:26 am - As we arrived, we saw a whole gaggle of people having lunch (or breakfast?). Quickly we realized the cache was beyond where they were sitting. Thanks for not putting the cache there!

Once we zeroed out it took a few loops before workerofwood "allowed" me to find it. Snakes? Oops, forgot about the snakes. TNLNSL.

On the way out, the backpackers gave us some free water they had carried up as training weight and were about to dump. It came in very handy later on in the hike. Thanks!

Posted by jeff at 10:26 AM

bLOb bLOb

10:12 am - "blob blob" is the sound my head is making right now trying to remember all these blobbing caches and which one I'm blogging right now. Oh blell. Took blothing, left blothing signed blog. Blanks!
Posted by jeff at 10:12 AM

Backpack Camp

10:05 am - While workerofwood was making some calls, I made a dash for this one. I found the cache and had its contents strewn about when I heard a rumbling sound approaching. I prudently tucked the stuff out of sight and pretended to be enjoying a nice sit while a ranger's truck passed by. I TNLNSL and whistled my way back to the trail. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 10:05 AM

No Time Limit!

9:54 am - Well, here's something I didn't expect to find up here.

We arrived at the cache and grabbed it just as an Indian guy started circling. When we moved to sign the log, he made a call. When we finished, he was still talking. Ironically, we had cell coverage here whereas we didn't at most other places on the trail, so we made some calls.

Soon the guy's family came down the trail and they all gathered around and started talking on the phone, apparently to someone in India. Oh boy.

After workerofwood and I did every kind of busy work we could think of, I went on to grab the next cache which he had already done. When I returned from that one, the coast was clear, we replaced the cache and we were on. Whew! Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 09:54 AM

bLEb bLOb

9:49 am - Ah, the imfamous bLEb bLOb. Workerofwood let me borrow his stick and I made a lot of noise whacking it around as I approached, warning any slumbering snakes. WoW checked and didn't see any. Surprisingly I found the cache right away as it was partially exposed. I TNLNSL and tried to cover it better. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 09:49 AM

Monte Bello Road - West

9:38 am - I was looking in the wrong spot for this, but WoW was in the right, quickly signed this one - many more caches to go up here lately! Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 09:38 AM

Mello Bello

9:30 am - Rule #16 of Geocaching in the Bay Area: Take meticulous notes of all the caches you find and make sure to record something to refresh your recollection of the cache.

Otherwise you'll end up like me right now, trying to remember which cache among all the bellos and blobs this one was. Usually, I'm good about recording everything I find in CacheMate, but sometimes I forget. I'm pretty sure I found this one as I cleared out all the caches in my GPSr, but I honestly can't remember. Was it the one under the log, or the other one under the log? Maybe it was that cache by the rocks or that other one under the rocks. Bello this, blob that. I probably TNLNSL. Thanks for the cache (I think!)

Posted by jeff at 09:30 AM

Rocky Ledge

9:25 am - Workerofwood and I were poking around in lots of places, worrying about snakes when I heard him say "If that was a snake it would have bit me", and then produced the cache. Thanks for the fun. I'm curious - why subscriber-only?
Posted by jeff at 09:25 AM

Lizard Troll

9:11 am - "Lizard Troll", huh? Well, if I were to intepret that correctly, I should just stick my hand in here... yup, here's a cache. Thanks for the quick one.
Posted by jeff at 09:11 AM

Sweat? Not!

9:06 am - You can always tell a WeBeDnD cache by the trademark pens. I didn't spend any time trying to see if these actually worked! TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 09:06 AM

Succession (or: A Faulty Cache)

8:55 am - I didn't find anything in the first spot I looked, but then I saw workerofwood poking around in there. Since it's his cache, I figured I better look again. A decoy! That rascally workerofwood.

My next spot was the real cache. Signed it quickly and we were on our way. Thanks for the assist, WoW.

Posted by jeff at 08:55 AM

Between Two Spaces

8:46 am - Workerofwood had been here before and was anxious to get on the trail, so this was a quick one. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 08:46 AM

August 05, 2004

Sniper

8:56 pm - I had a pretty good idea of the general area where this cache was placed. The only problem was solving the puzzle. I didn't get it at first, but it only took a very tiny hint from WeBeDnD to get me solving the very creative puzzle.

It was right where I thought it would be. Did this place ever need this much parking? I was surprised to see a Maui Ocean Center keychain in the cache, since I just got back from there.

As for whether he was here to shop or do a job, this seems like the ideal location to do both!

Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:56 PM

Simpson's Trivia

8:36 pm - I'm a big Simpsons fan, so I was excited about this one. I had trouble with the answers though, especially one in particular. Rather than searching for the answers I asked a friend for help. He got them all wrong too. :-(

I finally searched for the answers and cornered Marky for clarification on one of them. For some reason the correct coordinates never made it into my GPSr, so I had to look them up again while I was out.

I was hoping for something really cool Simpsons-related, but I get it now. Better be careful here though, I think I hear the sirens of the apostrophe police on the title of this one!

Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:36 PM

Thirsty?

8:06 pm - I screwed up and forgot to load data into CacheMate before I went out today, so I had to download the cache info on site. This turned out to be even more critical on this cache.

I drove by this area a few weeks ago and was surprised that there wasn't a cache here. I didn't have to wait long. :-)

At the cache site I looked up the cache on my phone and started searching based on the logs of recent easy finds. After not finding anything, I noticed that I didn't recognize most of the people logging finds. It was then I discovered that there was another cache with the exact same name in California. I looked up the right one and found it shortly after. I'd say the cache is a few feet away from where the hint says it is.

Anybody notice that someone had painted the number 304 on an ivy leaf nearby? I wonder what that's about. At first I thought it might be some kind of hint. Guess not. TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 08:06 PM

Sorta Secret Walkway - Laser Car Wash?

7:36 pm - I was casually looking for this one when I saw the "laser operator" on the other side of the fence. I walked back a bit while I looked up the description to prepare for a quick grab. Once I had the info, I waited until he was busy and then I made my move. To my surprise he turned right around and offered me a hint, pointing me in the right direction. Nice guy, that laser operator.

I found it soon after and he congratulated me. Thanks for the cache!

Posted by jeff at 07:36 PM

Convolute of the Square

7:21 pm - Quick find here. I parked at the tennis courts.

I think I'm going to start categorizing my finds. I think I'll find this one under "Art, Bizarre".

TNLNSL. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 07:21 PM

Varsity Park

7:07 pm - There were lots of kids around this evening, but I was able to relax for a bit and casually find, sign and replace the cache. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 07:07 PM

August 04, 2004

The Cuesta Quest

Dropped the Airborne T-10 Parachute TB for MotorBug.
Posted by jeff at 01:00 PM

August 01, 2004

First Interstate Bank

6:24 pm - I guess someone robbed the bank because there was no money in it! I found the cache after a bit of conspicuous poking around.

Check out the cool stuff in the harley shop next door including the wooden harley, full-size spider-man and diner counter. Thanks.

Posted by jeff at 06:24 PM

Sunnyvale Mtn. Trailhead

4:55 pm - GPSr was acting wacky here as well. I was wandering around aimlessly when I spotted it. Phew. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:55 PM

Skyline Snowman

4:38 pm - This cache really dampened our geocaching mood for the day. First, the reception really sucked in here and I did a couple complete laps of the area before I found the right spot to search. Along the way I collected a few hundred stickers on my legs and shoes. A stick jumped up and sliced me just below the knee as well. Do they give out purple hearts in Geocaching?

Anyway, once we found the snowman, we TNLNSL and headed back down to the trailhead cache for more bad GPSr reception.

Posted by jeff at 04:38 PM

Upper Sanborn Park

4:04 pm - This was the start of my GPSr troubles in Sanborn Park. I wandered a bit, but eventually found it. There my GPSr read 8 feet, so I guess it just wasn't sure how to get there. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 04:04 PM

The Fun Starts Here

3:51 pm - I pretty much ignored the coords on this one once I got in the right general area and I got lucky, finding it in the first place I looked. TNLNSL.

Thefogheads sure must drink a lot of coffee!

Posted by jeff at 03:51 PM

Secret Trailhead #3 - Sanborn Park

3:38 pm - We grabbed this one on our way out of the park after an extremely loud couple drove away. It wasn't really hidden except for the camo, but I guess that's how it's supposed to be. TNLNSL. Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 03:38 PM

Boulter's Rule #28 of Geocaching in the Bay Area

3:12 pm - Hmm, I guess this means I'm going to have to come up with rules 1 through 26 now.

While this was my third time on this trail, my wife had never been, so it was a good reason to come back.

Thanks for the cache (and the jab!)

Posted by jeff at 03:12 PM

On the way to the Pond

3:07 pm - We stopped briefly to look for this one on our way into the park, but some muggles cut our search short so we decided to grab this one on our way back.

On our return I discovered I was close - just the wrong side of the tree. TNLNSL. Thanks for the distraction on our afternoon walk.

Posted by jeff at 03:07 PM

Stones Throw From the Pond

2:54 pm - We took the wrong trail, but that's par for the course. This might have been evil if I hadn't seen this container before. Someone's been busy! Thanks.
Posted by jeff at 02:54 PM