Missed Log

Today I went out to the local park near the Yellowstone River. Its a great wildlife refuge with nice hiking trails. I knew there were a couple of caches that I have yet to hit in this area, so I thought I'd grab it.

The first was a quick park 'n grab. It took a bit of time to track it down, but when I found it, I felt a little stupid. It was a film canister and it was full of water. The log was soaked. But on the plus side, the log had a lovely blue tie-dyed look! Anyway, I spread the log out on my car. Since it was in the upper 80's, I figured I could probably dry it out while I searched for another cache.

I found one in the GPS and it looked familiar. But why would GSAK list it as unfound if I didn't find it? So I stared to go after it. I took the hard route and bushwhacked to the cache, only to find out that I have already discovered it awhile back. My name was in the log book. Well, I thought it was a GSAK bug. But when I got to work to double check if I logged it, I realized I didn't. Lucky for me, I had this blog to back me up. I looked for my log entry in the blog so now I know the date I discovered the cache. Log one more for my numbers. It only took me two trips to log it!

When I got back to the car, the log from the park 'n grab was dry. I signed the log and put it back where I found it. I guess that's my good deed for the day!

Chores vs. Playing

Now that I'm back, I had a ton of chores to catch up on. Today, I was going to be responsible and get some parts for a broken toilet during my lunch hour. But at the last minute, I decided I'd rather get a couple caches instead. I had to unload my POI's and Caches on my GPSr and my Palm before heading out. I was able to do that pretty quick and I grabbed a couple. They were pretty easy finds. The first one was in a park. The second was near my home that I've been meaning to grab. But its near a baseball field and usually full of muggles. But today it was quiet. It was a really cool container. It was a nano container with a built in magnet on the bottom and a screw top lid. It was about the size of two Cheerios stacked. The log was horizontal, which is a really great way for this kind of cache. Pretty cool.

I attempted two other caches. One I just drove by so I'd know the location. I'll go back for that one later. The other one was near my work. My lunch hour was winding down, so I didn't have much time to look. But I gave it about 5-10 minutes, but with no luck. Perhaps tomorrow, I'll take a nice long walk on my lunch hour and track that one down.

Birthday Caching

Yesterday was my birthday! So, naturally that means I get to take the day off work and do some geocaching! I went out at 9am and cached for about 3 hours. There was a travel bug that I wanted to get my hands on located on the Rims. Plus there are a bunch of caches up there too. So I thought that would be a great place to target. What a great area. I haven't been up here in 7-8 years. They have really nice paved paths. I think I'm going to bring my family up here in the near future.

Anyway, the first 25 minutes were a bust. The first few caches were beyond the Rims and in the valley. Since I have no interest in plummeting to the bottom, I had to write those off. But it wasn't long until I found the caches I could get to. I think I ended up logging 6 new caches. I probably attempted 10 or so. There were some that were in a dangerous area, a puzzle cache, or I had no interest in getting to (micro in the woods don't appeal to me).

I had a really great time. It was only 3 hours. But for a lunch time cacher, that is a very successful day. I brought my camera with me and took some pictures of some wildflowers.

Since the Rims are all sandstone, the trees sometimes have a tough time finding their rooting. I saw this crazy tree practically growing sideways.

I was also able to get a couple of pictures to use for my ginormous travel bug I'm playing host to. I'm going to doctor the pix up a bit in photoshop to make it a bit more fun before moving on.

What It's All About

Today was pretty overcast with nasty looking clouds. It has been raining off and on today. But I haven't been caching in like 10 days, so I thought I might as well get out and try one. I was going to do a quick Park 'n Grab, but there were too many muggles around. But there was a cache not far from here along this trail.

What a neat area. I never knew this spot was here. It looks like a nature preserve much like Riverfront Park. It has some nice maintained trails that snake around this island in the middle of the Yellowstone river. Such a cool spot. I think I'm going to have to come back and hike around a bit more. I'll bring my wife and son so we can enjoy this area a bit more.

I would hear interviews of cachers and they say they enjoy geocaching because it shows them places they never knew was there. This is one of those moments. Did I find the cache? Yup. It was a nice cache. An ammo can with lots of goodies. It was definitely a fun find. But the real treat was discovering this area. A place I would have never known was here, and I found it through geocaching. I guess that's what it's really about. I hope I find more like this.

Godzilla's Heart

Last Thursday, I decided I'd drop off my GeoCoin I've had for the last couple of weeks. There was a travelbug hotel near by, so I thought I'd exchange this coin for one of those so I could play with it a bit. The hotel was off the road near a bridge. I parked in a city park near by and decided to walk to it from there. It was a nice walk. I discovered a really nice path that I didn't know was there along the Yellowstone River. I think I'm going to take my wife and son there next weekend for a picnic and hike.

At any rate, the ammo can was pretty easy to find. I was expecting a bunch of bugs in there, but only really saw 2. There was a laminated photo of a bridge. It was kinda a lame travelbug. The goal sounded cool as it would like to visit and get pictures of other bridges. But a laminated picture? I bet there's a better bug that could have been used other than a picture. It almost looked like it was cut out of a magazine. Needless to say, it didn't strike my fancy and decided to leave that one behind.

The other travel bug was this giant stuffed cartoon heart. The thing is massive. Probably the size of a small cantaloupe. It was the only interesting travelbug in there, so I grabbed it in exchange for the coin. In hindsight, I shoulda left it behind. Something that big would be a bugger to find a cache to place it in. But since I have it, I'll play with it a bit.

I'm trying to think of a good place to take a picture that represents Billings. Problem with Billings is that it doesn't have any real landmark of note. The pictograph caves is just a hole in the cliff. Little Bighorn Battlefield is just prairie. Plus they're really not apart of Billings. I think because this travelbug is so big, perhaps I'll do some photoshop work and make it look like it's huge like Godzilla destroying Billings! That would be fun, I think. I guess we'll see.

On my way back, there was another cache near where I parked my car. I only had 10 minutes to find it. I decided I'd go after it. It was pretty easy too. This one was a Tupperware container that had a few items in it. The container had a hole in it. It cracked or broke somehow. The contents were completely dry. I guess that's the drawback to some cheap Tupperware containers. It's easy to break. But then again, it's easy to replace. The container had a few items in it. Mostly junk. I took a signature card and I decided I'd throw a few toys in there. A few bouncy balls and a few key clips. Just to boost up the swag a little for the next finder. I'm going to have to find some better swag myself. I'm going to try to avoid the cheap garbage and use something I'd enjoy finding. Probably geared more toward kids. Perhaps I'll put in a toy and a signature item. That way the adults would be interested in signature items, kids would be interested in the toys.

It was a fun lunch hour cache.

Stroll in the Park

I wanted to go out and take some pictures for the GeoCoin that I retrieved last week. But I decided against it due to the fact it would take my entire lunch hour. I wanted to find a cache, instead. So I think I'll take these pix some other day.

There was a new cache at a ball park. So I decided I'd go after this one and try to pick up a puzzle cache that has been eluding me for awhile now. The first one was pretty easy. This one really made me laugh. It was this rubber dragon with a bison tube attached to it. It really blended in well with it's surroundings. I liked it so much I had to take a picture of it. What a fun cache.

The next one was the puzzle cache that has me stumped. It points to pole and I looked everywhere. I can't find where it would be hidden. The problem with puzzle caches is that you can't depend on your coordinates because you could be wrong in solving the puzzle. I don't know. This is the second time I went to look. I think I'll give it another go before asking for hints.

Since I couldn't find this one, I decided to go after a Cache n' Dash. It was a pretty easy one. Tally one more for the list. Perhaps this will balance my DNF.

Moving Right Along

I decided to go after a cache from my favorite park. It's a clever idea. The idea was to put a quarter in the cache. If the cache already has 5 quarters in it, you take 4 of the quarters and the process starts all over again. It was pretty easy to find, but I really enjoyed finding it. I like these interactive caches. Something that asks you to do something in order to log it. Any of the caches that I plan on placing will have something unique to make it special. I have a few in mind, and they'll be interactive. I just want to log a few more finds before attempting a hide.

I also decided I'd go after this cache because it had a geocoin in it. I recently got a lot of interest in geocoins and would like to start collecting. This one is a Geocaching-U geocoin and already registered. It has a goal of visiting different Universities. I think I'm going to grab my camera and take some pictures of the coin with the local Universities. Namely, MSU-Billings, MSU College of Technology, and Rocky Mountain College. Then I'll move it along to another cache. I'm going to Bozeman, and I thought I'd get a picture of MSU-Bozeman as well, before dropping it off in a Bozeman cache for the next cacher to move along. I think I'm going to keep an eye on it for awhile. I'd like to see what happens with it. Besides, it's my first geocoin I'm moving along!

Since I was in the park, there is a multi-cache there as well. I got the first leg done, but it lead me near a place where young children were playing. I decided I'd come back when it was a bit more quiet. A grown man hanging out near playground equipment is not a good idea. Perhaps I'll bring my wife and kid along for the next leg.

Even though I only found 1 cache. It was still a good geocaching day!

Got An Ammo Can!

Today was suppose to storm all day. But it turned out pretty nice, despite the mean looking clouds overhead. So I thought I'd go geocaching! I haven't been out for the last 2 days because of my hectic work schedule. But today, I decided at the last minute to head on out.

Well, I still want to find an ammo can! There is another cache in Riverfront park that uses an ammo can and I decided I'd go after that one! The clouds were overhead, nice cool breeze. It was perfect. I followed my GPS. The cache description said it's not far from the path. Unfortunately, there's a ton of paths in the park. A few official paths that are pathed, and a few trails that venture off. Not knowing which path, nor familiar with the paths available, I jumped off the main trail relatively quick. Not a whole lot of bushwhacking, but some. I got a little bit of a startle from 2 deer trying to escape my notice. That was pretty neat. 2 whitetail does, I think. I also saw this tree that was missing the bottom half! Man, I wish I had my camera. It looks as if a huge branch might have broken off and got caught up in the branches and hung there. So it gave the illusion that it was floating. Probably dangerous at some point. But it looked cool. At any rate, it wasn't long before I found my convented ammo can!

I must say, I was surprised on the size. For some reason, I imagined something a bit bigger. Perhaps they come in different sizes. But it was still a lot of fun to find. There was really no camouflage on the container. Just a green box tucked next to a tree with some sticks and leaves on it.

I cracked her open and saw the swag. Most of it was pretty cheap junk, but it was still neat. Someone put in some Magic The Gathering cards The land type (mountains, plains, swamp, etc) They had a sticker on it stating which number this cache they found was and in which state. Cool idea. I also saw a nice key chain, some tops, a few plastic bugs and whatnot. I took a Deep Woods Off towelette. I thought that was a good idea. I might have to pick up a few for swag too. I left a key clip and a personalized button/pin with my name and logo on it. I guess you'd call it a signature item. I should keep some more toys with me. I think this would be something kids would enjoy. Maybe I'll go back and add some toys if I'm in that area again.

I signed the log and left my deer story behind. I had a few minutes to find my next cache before I had to head back to work. This one was a micro. I think it's silly to have a micro in a wilderness area like this, but this was a lot of fun. It was a really easy find. I moved a stick that obviously didn't belong there. Attached to the underside was a rubber spider on a string. So when you lift the stick, this giant spider "scurries" along, giving you a higher pulse rate. On the underside of the spider was a small container. I think I'd call it a nano because the container was very small. Not much space to sign my name as the log has been mostly filled. I really enjoyed this cache. Very creative hide. Probably one of my favorites.

Rain Rain, Go Away

Robins Roost
GCV0P8
Quick Find

ditchtunnell cache - www.bgcg.info
GCJMD3
Found

It's been pouring down rain today. But there was a little break in the weather. Just in time for lunch, too! I wanted to go back to Riverfront Park and look for those ammo cans again, but I could just imagine the mess there is now. Being knee deep in mud isn't my idea of a good time! So I decided I'd do a couple Cache 'n Grabs.

Spoiler Warnings!
The first one I found without any trouble at all. In fact, it really could be only one place. The container was spray painted brown, but no other camouflage. It was fairly large container for a micro too, which was surprising. I figured since it was a muggle heavy place, either a smaller container or better camouflage would be appropriate. But what do I know. I guess we'll have to see how long it takes to be muggled.

The second was next to a walking/bike path. Literally next to the path! Not hidden. Just a container by the path. I thought this one was silly. Anybody would probably mistake it for trash. Previous logs had noted that it was in plain sight and they buried it under some leaves which is where I found it. At least they tried to make it a little better. Several others noted how poorly it was hidden. From what I could gather, the original coordinates lead you somewhere else. Perhaps it was a better hiding spot. But for some reason, they had to move it. Anyway, I signed the soggy log. The last few logs stated the log was wet and has been since February! I guess the hider doesn't care. Oh well. Tally one more for my stats.

Bug Hunting

Double Header
GCYJT1
Saw my first GeoCoin!

The EYES have it???
GCR0BE
Found it at the last minute.

I decided I wanted to try to find a travelbug or geocoin today. I jumped on GSAK and found one pretty close. There was was a nice cluster of caches nearby too, so I thought I'd go for this one.

The first one was called Double Header. It took me to a ballpark complex that had several baseball fields. It was a really neat place that I never knew existed. I think I'll come back this summer to catch a baseball game or two. Anyway, I finally tracked down the cache. Very clever hide. This is the cache that had a mini geocoin (TBYTWM) from Texas. It was so cool. This is the first one I've ever seen and I now know why people collect them. It was beautifully minted. I'm heading to California this summer. If the geocoin is still around, I'll move it along. If not, some other travel bug will hit the road with me! Very cool. I signed the log and left a little bouncy ball that looks like baseball which seemed appropriate. The cache didn't have any swag for kids, so I thought I'd leave one behind.

I also went after a micro that was near by. I got scratched up pretty good traipsing around in the brush. I almost gave up, but I thought I'd give it one last try. And sure enough, I found it. I signed the log, and headed back to my car as fast as I could. I was running late for work. I hope nobody noticed. ;)

One Puzzle Down!

NBA Legends
GCVY0M
Found it after a bit of searching!

NFL Legends
GC107EW
Bailed on this one due to construction!

MLB Legends
GCXQ4Y
Gotta check my coordinates a 3rd Time!

Went back for a second try! I redone the Legends series puzzles and ALL of my numbers were off. When I first solved them, I tried to do it all in my PDA. This time around, I printed the puzzle and hand wrote everything. That seemed to work a lot better. At least for the NBA Legends.

The NBA Legends lead me to another spot. This one made much more sense than the front yard of the neighbor I found yesterday. It took a fair amount of looking before I found it. It was kinda fun. I signed the log and took off for NFL Legends that was only a couple miles away. But that came to a halt because construction was blocking some roads. I didn't want to hassle with finding a detour. My limited lunch break doesn't allow me for such luxuries. So I put that on the back burner.

The MLB Legends puzzle, I'm not too sure of. I got some more coordinates and I looked around for a bit, but I found nothing. I was running short on time and there were players practicing, so I didn't look super hard. I guess I'll have to check those numbers for a third time. Hopefully the numbers are OK and I'm just not seeing the cache. I'll give it another go tomorrow.

My First Dime!

Sacajawea Cache
GCTEFA
Found! Creative Container!

Berg In The Morning
GCVJAE
Being Hunted By Another Cacher. I'll Be Back!

Grand Daddy Green Leaf
GCVJAE
Found!

One of my other hobbies is playing board games. Within that community, people tend to own quite a few games. I personally own about 130 games. So when people have a large collection, they like to keep track of how often a game gets played every year. They will put out a "Five and Dime" list at the year's end. Basically meaning which games they have played 5 times that year and which games they played 10 times that year. If a game makes it to the "Five and Dime" list, they're pretty much a favored game. Call it a yearly milestone for that game.

Well, in this game of GeoCaching, I'm pretty new. So my milestone is my 10th find. Yup. This afternoon I hit 10 finds.

First I went to find the Sacajawea Cache. I kinda knew where this one was, because I tracked down the general area a few days before. But unfortunately, a muggle planted his carcase under the spot I needed to look. But since today was cold, there was nobody to bother me!

This was a really cool container. I spotted it pretty quickly, but it is very well disguised and a lot of work obviously went into it. That was really fun to see. This was the first creative container I've seen. Well done digger&friends.

So now it's off to my 10th find! Woo Hoo! I decided to go to Berg In The Morning. I found this one a couple weeks back with my wife, but I didn't have a pen to sign the log. So I decided I'd go back for it today. Well, the car in front of me was going to the same place. The EXACT same place. In fact, they got out of their car with a GPS! This is the first time I saw a geocacher in the wild! I debated whether I'd stop by and chat with them a bit. I'm not really that good at meeting new people and decided against it. Perhaps next time. But I'll put a watch on this cache and see who logs it next. It'll probably be the people I saw. I noticed they had Washington license plates.

Spoiler Warning:
Well, so much for that one. On the way back to work, I decided I'd try to find Grand Daddy Green Leaf. I wasn't real confident I'd find it as I only had a short time to look. But surprisingly enough, I found it with relative ease. This one was in a really crazy looking tree. I always love interesting trees. This one was no exception. The cache was tucked inside a hole in the tree. A wire connected the cache, so you can fish it out. It was pretty neat. But It got me wondering if this hole will be used for nesting birds. It was pretty deep and it looked like grass is inside it. Looking at past logs, it looks as if kids knew where the cache was and messed with it quite a bit. Perhaps they stuffed grass in the hole because that's what kids do. And since kids probably play on the gnarled old tree, birds might not nest there anyway. But I think we all should keep in mind the natural habitat of animals near our caches. Make sure you're not going too disturb their homes or potential homes. Holes in trees are places where birds often nest. So, please keep that in mind when placing your caches.

Park Hoppin'

Rosebud Revenge
GCW5Y7
Challenging find, but I got it!

Sacajawea Cache
GCTEFA
I'll come back when no one is napping under the cache.

Went out this afternoon to find a few micros in the parks. The first one really took me quite a bit of time to find. Man, I looked everywhere. Luckily, it was pretty deserted, so I could search without feeling self conscious. I finally found it though, after about 30 minutes of searching. It was a fun hide and a nice park that I didn't know was there. I might have to take my lunch hour there sometime. Perhaps stop by Subway and pick up a sandwich, and relax under a tree.

I had 3 other caches lined up, but the previous cache took up a good chunk of my lunch hour. So I went to the next park that was close by. 'Course today was absolutely beautiful and everybody wanted to enjoy the park too. Well, as discreetly as possible, I located the general area where the cache is located. Unfortunately, someone was picnicking in the exact area I want to search. Well, so much for that. I guess I'll try again tomorrow. Pick up the other two as well.

As an aside; I was just thinking that caching with somebody probably works better. Not only because you have 2 looking, but because you look less suspicious when there is two of you. You just look like you're being social. But when you are alone, people eyeball you a little closer trying to figure out what you are up to. Crawling around or lurking, people think that you are up to no-good. Or at least that's my perception.

My wife has shown casual interest in Geocaching. Meaning that she'll go out with me on occasion. Just tagging along because there's nothing better to do. But, she certainly wouldn't suggest the idea. But that's OK with me. I like doing something on my own. Besides, I usually only geocache during my lunch hour anyway.

Stupid Construciton Workers!

Elephant Nuts!!
GCRF9B
Easy Find

The last action Hero
GCM3Q4
I'll Come Back Later

Home Away from Home
GCQ6DH
Found On Sunday

I had 2 caches that I went out for today at lunch. The first one I found pretty easy. It was a lot of fun. This was a traditional cache with some trinkets in it. This was the first one of this kind that I have found. The previous ones were either micros or small containers that didn't have room for much more than a button or two. At any rate, it was a lot of fun to find the 'treasure.' I signed the log and looked through the swag. Not much worth taking, but I wanted to leave something behind. So I took some hand sanitizer and left a metal puzzle/brain teaser.

The next one I think I know where it is. But again, there's construction going on in that area. Too many construction workers giving you the eye. So I guess I'll have to do this one on the weekend when no one's around.

Yesterday, I got the elusive Home Away From Home cache too. This one was also near a construction site and couldn't search discreetly. But on Sunday, while at the hardware store, I slipped down and found the cache pretty easy! This was a micro as well. I thought it was hidden in a different area and felt pretty stupid when it was right in front of me the entire time. I tend to make things much more difficult than I should. But as I gain more experience, I'm sure I'll find them quicker.

At Least It's A Find.

Mall Madness (GCKM2D)
Found!

I had to get some new tires for my car. While there, I knew there was a cache close by. After getting my car taken care of, I went looking for the cache. It was pretty easy. Yup, a LPC. I grabbed it and signed the log. Unfortunately, a muggle was approaching. He was there to get something out of his car that happens to be right next to the cache location. So I couldn't discretely put it back. So I went into a local store and looked around for about 10 minutes with the cache in hand. When I came out, the muggle was gone and I put it back.

My very first cache that I found was a LPC. It was very exciting to find something that was under every one's nose. Now that I've found a few other caches (5 at the time of this writing), I find the LPC a little unsatisfying. But, at least it's a find. Tally one more for my record. Other than that?... eh. Do I hate the LPC yet? Yet is the key word here. I have a feeling it won't be long before I do. But right now, I don't hate them. I just find them a bit boring. That doesn't mean that I won't log it though! ;)

Lunch Hour Caching

Who's Got The Button? GCKDD9
Found

Meadowlark Millace GCMMP6
Found

Home Away from Home GCQ6DH
Be back another day.

OK. Now my GPS has a bunch of caches loaded now. It took me awhile to figure out how to get the coordinates to my GPS from GSAK, but I got it. I went off on my lunch hour and parked my car next to a park that had my first cache I wanted to visit. My GPS lead me right to the cache and found it pretty quickly. It was a micro, but after looking at pictures of caches on geocaching.com, I spotted it pretty quick. I grabbed the Micro and sat myself under a tree. Man, what a beautiful day. The park was empty and I had half a mind to stay there and relax under this tree for awhile. But no. There was one more cache I wanted to visit before heading back to work. So I signed the log, rolled it up, and put it back. Off to the next cache.

This one was another easy cache-n-dash, but I decided to walk it since it wasn't too far from this one. Besides, a day like this needs to be enjoyed. This one was in a shopping complex. The area was pretty descrete and really didn't see anybody around. This too was pretty easy to find. It was a small Altoids can. Had a few small trinkets which was fun. I thought the theme of the cache was rather clever. I didn't take anything or left anything but my signature on the log. I put it back and I decided I'd try to find one more cache before heading back to the grindstone.

This one I've seen on Google Earth and Google Maps. I thought I knew where it was, but the maps showed it was in a different landmark than I origionally thought. My GPS pointed to the correct area. Unfortunately, there is a lot of construction nearby and the workers were eyeballing me. Since this was a micro, it would need a lot of careful searching. So I left. I'll come back after hours.

My First Caching Adventure!

Cinco de Mayo (GCVRTK)
Difficulty: 1.5/1
DNF

Wag The Dog (GCTMV0)
Difficulty: 1.5/1
DNF

Thanks! BGCG (GCQ6HW)
Difficulty: 1/1
Found

Well, I got my GPS yesterday! I spent all evening reading through the manual and checking out the cool features. It was very exciting to see all the stuff it can do. I think I'll have to get some of the maps to put on. It'll be great for traveling!

Anyway, when I got to work this morning, I organized the caches I want to visit. I spent a good part of the morning flagging the ones I wanted to transfer to my GPS. When I hooked it up, however, the coordinates wouldn't transfer. I think its due to the fact that I don't have a microSD card installed. So instead, I entered about 17 caches into my GPS by hand and printed out the info pages. What a pain! I guess I'll have to get one tomorrow!

The GPS seems to work great. I get a strong signal and lead me right to the cache! No hassle at all.

So how did my first afternoon caching go? Well, I went caching on my lunch break. So after I ate, I only had about 30 minutes. I attempted 3. I tried to find Cinco de Mayo first. It lead me to the right area, but I felt self conscious hunting around. I just paced back and forth a bit, hoping I would see something that would catch my eye. I think it's probably under a bush or something, but like I said, I felt self conscious about really looking. I felt I looked suspicious.

I gave up and went to Wag The Dog. Well, the description says its on private property. I didn't feel right poking around a business during these times. I think I'll try that one when it's after hours or on the weekend. So I kinda know where it is, but didn't really hunt for it.

The last one was Thanks! BGCG. I only had 15 minutes left on my lunch hour. But I thought I'd give this one a go, anyway. I knew where it was. It was in a remote area, so I shouldn't feel self conscious about trying to find it. Before, I was using Google Earth to find the general area. I attempted to find this cache numerous times, but with no luck. Well, my GPS lead me to the exact spot I thought it would be. So I gave it another look and found it right away! I felt so stupid because it was right in front of me the entire time. It was a micro in a clever container. Well, I thought it was clever, but I only have one other cache to compare it to. So what do I know. I signed the log and put it back, and logged it on GeoCaching.com. At least I found one cache before I called it good for the day!

Find: Carts Go Here

Carts Go Here (GCXQ6N)
N 45° 45.250 W 108° 34.417
Difficulty: 1/1
Found 11/13/06 @ 17:40

This is my first find. I have never heard of Geocaching until yesterday. I looked it up and thought it sounded really cool....in that nerd kind of way.

Since I don't own a GPS, I used to find a cache that I think I could find using basic landmarks from the Ariel view that Google Earth provided. It was pretty easy. From the Google photo, I knew it was in the Costco Parking lot. Given the title, I figured it was where shopping carts were returned. Next to the shopping cart return was a lamp post. The base of the lamp post was loose. I lifted that and found the cache. It was a small plastic container with a folded up piece of paper with a pencil. It had about 28 names on the log, but the website said it had 32 visits. I wrote my www.geocaching.com user name in it along with the date and military time. I replaced it as quickly as I found it.

I think it's time for me to find a GPS unit. I think this is something that I could get into. A great excuse to get some exercise.