Geocaching

Our Suburban Adventure

Posted on August 21, 2012 by jessicacardwell

Discovering the treasures

Often we describe our efforts to get out at our local state and regional parks.  However, outdoor fun can often be found right in your own neighborhood! Some days we simply don’t have the time for the drive yet still have the urge to explore. Geocaching helps us to explore our own backyard in ways that are fun for kids and adults.

We first tried geocaching through borrowing a GPS unit from a local Minnesota State Park.  While it was nice to try out the activity, we were then limited to park boundaries and availability of units.

With a simple (free!) app on my husband’s tablet we were able to get out and search in our own neighborhood.  We discovered there was a cache about one block from our home.  On our first outing, we only found 1 of the 3 we searched for.  But the next day we found 4 of the 4 on our list!  There are a series of 6 caches near our home named after Star Wars characters which really excited our son.  He also loves finding the caches to pick out a treasure.  We always leave a butterfly in memory of our daughter who was stillborn last year.

We found it!

We did make a few mistakes for these outings.  Since we weren’t venturing far from home I didn’t grab a snack and no on put on bug spray.  We got eaten alive the first night. (In Minnesota people say the state bird is a mosquito.)  I also didn’t make everyone use the restroom before we left, so inevitably everyone really had to go before we got home.

Having Your Own Adventure

Using the tablet to navigate

1. Download the app.  If you have a smart phone or tablet, there are a variety of apps to choose from.  We use this android app, called c:geo. In our experience, it worked just as well as the GPS units we borrowed. This  particular app didn’t require   WiFi access or 3G coverage to work which is nice if you use it in more remote areas.

Signing the log book

2. Set up your account on Geocaching.com. You can learn more about how geocaching works and get started by looking up caches to find in your area.  After setting up your free user profile, the website lets you track all of the caches you find, and there are many more features we are still discovering.

3. Get outside! (Not forgetting the bug spray, snacks and bathroom break. :) )

We’d love to hear about your geocaching adventures.  Please comment below or on our Facebook page.

Until next time, adventure on.

Categories: Hiking, Geocaching, Outdoor Recreation, 100 miles in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

So Many Missed Opportunities

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Jayson

Venturing off trail at Devil’s Lake State Park (picture taken by my brother-in-law)

I just received a letter from my son’s school, they were informing parents of the open house that is happening at the end of August. Seeing a letter addressed to us from the school district caused me pause and to take a look at the calendar. Shocked I couldn’t believe that July was almost over, by the time you read this it will have passed.

The summer is nearly gone, and with it almost 75% of the calendar year. This provoked me to review some of the goals that I had made back at the beginning of the year, can you say disappointed? One goal stood out, our 100 Miles in 2012. There was/is no way we’re going to reach it, just too many missed opportunities.

One of the terrific challenges with being a disabled man is my ability to cope with adverse weather conditions, specifically extreme heat and cold. Living in Minnesota is a challenge nearly year-round. In the winter time the mercury drops and due to my neurological difficulties body temperature regulation ceases to exist. My knees to my toes become icicles and can at times be uncomfortable and sometimes painful to deal with. During the summer when the humidity is so high and the air so thick I am exposed to a higher risk of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration. So when the sun is high and the temperature up I have to avoid the trail or even being outside at all less I drench myself in sweat and collapse three miles in.

I’ve spent most of the summer inside my air-conditioned home. As the days grew longer my outdoor time grew shorter. My weekends were spent doing chores and not logging miles. I did take a 1.5 mile hike with my family (immediate and extended) a few weekends ago. We covered 500′ vertical feet in .3 miles, needless to say I was soaked, and you would have wondered if I were intoxicated because I couldn’t walk a straight line. Such is the pattern of behavior I have lived over the last 12 years.

When the temps exceed 80/85, I become a mole and burrow for cooler areas. However, this means I miss out on three of the most beautiful months of the year. Add the extreme cold in January and February and I’m a seven months out-of-the-year fella. I don’t know about you but that’s too many missed opportunities for me.

So now we have to make peace with coming up short of 100 miles. It was great for us in that it caused us to get out on purpose. We’ve enjoyed many of our hikes, and discovered how tough our son is and how he can log the miles….. and it turns out that I’m the weak-link and when we set a goal next year we might have to convert from miles to the metric system.

Until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: Hiking, Backpacking, Climbing, Geocaching, Camping, Outdoor Recreation, 100 miles in 2012 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fresh and Ready for 2012

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Jayson

After a much needed and quite enjoyable break towards the latter few weeks of 2011, we are back and ready to dive in to the new year with some new material. As you can see we have a new name (The Bionic Chronicles) and I’ve been using ‘we’ a lot as well because…..drum roll please…… my wife is going to be joining me through out this year as a contributor! Let the confetti fly and the fanfare begin! She is going to bring a much needed female, mommy, wifey perspective and content to this blog and polish it up a bit.

The break was a nice time away and it certainly allowed for time to plan and forecast for 2012 and what we as a family and I individually want to accomplish. I’ll get into a few of the highlights to this year’s Bionic Family plans, but I wanted to make mention of a few things of noteworthiness.

Over the break we did have the opportunity to do some more climbing indoors at the gym. This personally was an eye-opening experience because it revealed something I didn’t know existed. Self-consciousnesses. Last week I went to the gym with my wife and headed upstairs to the bouldering cave. I was intent on climbing a problem on an overhanging wall. Probably the hardest problem I had tried to date. Since I have nerve damage to my hips and back the core section of my body does not function too well. This makes overhanging climbs a challenge because I have difficulty keeping my hips into the wall. This leaves my tail hanging out, that partnered with gravity helps pull me from the wall. No ankle and calf support makes keeping my toes and feet on hold while reaching up and back nearly impossible. So all of this combined leads me to believe I look ridiculous, and I fall often or pop-off holds and hang in space which does not help with weight distribution off my shoulder and hands. To make a long story short I was not all there mentally, the bouldering cave was crowded and I didn’t want to show off my pathetic lack of climbing skills to what seemed to be the whole climbing community of Minnesota. So I sat for about 5 minutes staring off before unlacing my shoes and quitting. That was s new one for me.

My wife was doing great. She’s really been working hard and experiencing a lot of improvement to technique and endurance. She’s really caught the bug. A new chalkbag to match her shoes and new harness helps too of course (Merry Christmas!) My son also got a new harness, shoes, and a chalk bag for Christmas and now he’s ready to tear it up. The grandparents were quite impressed with his sending feats! (FYI – by ‘sending feats’ I mean 8-12′ up a wall…..one foot a time!)

2012 Goals and Plans

So there’s the recap of a few mentionables and now on to the good stuff, what is in store for us this year.

100 Miles! - That is our hiking goal for the year. We want to log 100 miles on the trail for the calendar year. It may not seem like much but with our busy schedule and having a 5-year old child (turning 6 in July) 100 miles of hiking is a great goal. We’re hoping to knock out close to one-quarter of that on our summer vacation.

Rocky Mountain High - We’re heading off to Colorado on vacation! Well, we’re planning to head off to Colorado on vacation! We didn’t take a major road trip vacation in 2011 and we haven’t been out West since June of 2010 (Yellowstone and the Black Hills) so we’ve decided to conquer the Front Range. Preliminary planning has us seeing Rocky Mountain National Park, Florissant Fossils National Monument, doing A LOT of hiking, even quite possibly bagging my wife and son’s first 14er (Pikes or Gray and Torreys Peaks are the early front runners). Super ambitious? Of course. Crazy and wild? Absolutely. Done with planning? Not even close.  We may also throw in Great Sand Dunes National Park as well.

If we can’t venture to Colorado, we’ve got a back-up in a South Dakota/North Dakota loop trip with stops at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, The Black Hills, Badlands National Park, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll definitely head up to northern Minnesota or to northern Wisconsin. Or maybe to the local park……hopefully we can venture farther then that.

Winter Sporting  - We’re looking to try skiing this year. My son and wife have never been skiing, and I haven’t been on skis since my accident in 1999. We’re also going to go snowshoeing. I want to convince my wife to go ice climbing…..but she isn’t so happy with that idea. One thing at a time I guess.

More Hidden Treasure - We’re hoping to combine activities and couple the hiking with some more geocaching. I thought that it was great fun and so did my son. My wife wasn’t too pleased when I got us off trail and through the heavy brush to find a small cache….. ADVENTURE! I’m looking to do more this year by adding our own personal GPS to the gear closet (yes… I am behind in the times. If it weren’t for my parents we would still have 1 TV in the house that was bought in 1997. I’m not a electronic fanboy who needs to the top of the line stuff every year. I still use my laptop that I bought 6-7 years ago! I use an abacus too). So if you go geocaching in Minnesota and you find pretty plastic butterflies you’ll know who left them. Why butterflies? you may ask (or maybe you didn’t but you’re going to get educated anyways). We place butterflies in every cache we find in honor of our daughter Gabrielle Renee who died in April 2011 during birth.

Another Fall Trip - This time we’re going to do it right, no forgetting gear! If you don’t know what I’m talking about check out my trip report from our 2011 fall camping trip.

Actual Rock Climbing - We’re looking to actually try climbing on actual real rock….Actually! We have several places here as well as some great places about 5 hours away to throw up a top rope or throw down a crash pad. This goal may get pushed back because we’re looking at getting pregnant (well not me, but my wife…cause that would be very awkward and impossible). So bouldering would be a two person affair and my wife would have to sit out which is never any fun. Given that the gear outfitting for Colorado is nearly one-half of the cost for the entire trip (quality and comfort helps make a trip that much better!) this may have to wait.

We have many more goals which we’ll leak out throughout the year, but in the spirit of brevity (stop giggling) we’ll tackle those later. Look for additional changes this year. I’d like to add some video and much more photos. With my wife on board the quality of the writing and the posts are sure to improve so bear with us!

So until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Geocaching, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation, Skiing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What the…… 2012 is Almost Here!

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Jayson

‘What the?’ says my son, the Jr. Adventurer, far too often then I’d like. It’s his classic response to just about everything that confuses him or catches him off guard.

I had that same reaction when it dawned on me that we are just days from Thanksgiving, which means only weeks from Christmas which means the end of the year is almost here. In case you didn’t know I was voted ‘Most Aware of the Time and His Surroundings’ when I was in high school. Many years down the road I feel they made the right decision and couldn’t have chosen a better candidate.

After I realized that the year is nearing a close and that I can’t remember what happened to the last ten months I was met with a cold hard slap in the face.

‘DUDE!’ because I speak to myself in third person. I mean who doesn’t am I right? Is anyone going to back me up on this? Can you honestly say you’ve never had a conversation with yourself or referred to yourself in the third person? If you haven’t then my friend I am sorry to say this, but you haven’t lived.

‘The year is almost over, you didn’t accomplish any goals last year because you didn’t set any, man what a boneheaded move! Don’t do the same this year, get thy tail in gear’

Just to note, I tend to get a little harsh and Shakespearean on myself from time-to-time, it keeps me on my toes.

So I’ve been thinking long and hard about what goals, trips, gear, skills, things of a various outdoor related nature that I would like to see happen, do, buy, experience, avoid, create, imagine, etc in 2012 in addition to the goals I’ve already set for the family for other various interests. Here’s the brainstorm list I’ve come up with so far.

The list isn’t too deep and not too terribly adventuresome (yet). I didn’t say the brainstorm was a class five hurricane; I would say more of a sun shower that could yield a double rainbow in the right light. (warm happy feelings are flowing through me now!)

The Bionic Hiker’s Mondo-Epic-Phenomenal-Magnanimous-Outrageous Adventure List 2012

1. Not die (A great start to any list!)

2. Control gear buying addiction so that I do not have to sell my child to pay for the order I just put in to Backcountry.com, REI.com, and Moosejaw.com all at the same time. (No Self Control!)

3. Come to the resolve that just because some website/company is having a random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes for free outdoor swag doesn’t mean you have to rush to enter everything and then send the link to your wife so she can do the same. (Teamwork!)

4. Stop acting like your five-year old son when you don’t win any of the random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes and you think the system is rigged against you and ‘you never win anything, ever’. (Fail!)

5. Shake off that quitter mentality and enter every random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes you can possibly find because dog-gone-it you’re a winner! (I’m a winner!)

6. Get your five-year old child a Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail address so he can enter the random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes too because more entries means better chances. That’s just good statistics people! (Math!)

7. Have more children so you can re-create #6 and further improve your chances! (BEST IDEA EVER!)

8. Realize that this list is going nowhere and you’re just stalling because you lack anything of meaning or substance to say.

Truth be told I really only have one goal established for the next year. I want to take my family to both Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Badlands National Park as well as the Black Hills of South Dakota. A year-and-a-half ago we cruised through Badlands in the waning hours of the day just to say we went. We didn’t get a chance to hike a trail. The photos we took were horrible because of the failing light and I want to show them to have a better experience next time.

My wife and I are going to have another child, we’re trying right now. Well I mean not right now now, because that would be like seven kinds of wrong and I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate my writing this while trying to conceive.

We’re not sure when we’ll get pregnant and how that will affect the plans for future plans. I don’t want to drag my wife to the Dakotas in the summer time (can you say sweltering heat?) so major expeditions will have to wait for 2013.

A few ideas that are floating around in my head have to do with climbing. I haven’t been able to even get on the plastic for the last two months. I’m itching and I want to find out what’s going to work for me on real rock. I know that I may very well have limitations to what I can do, but I’m not sure what they are.

I also want to add a few more hiking trips, some geocaching, and camping trips here at a few Minnesota State Parks (especially Great River Bluffs). Of course there is the new project that I’m working on putting together that I am very excited about (cliffhanger!).

I don’t have an official list but it will come to me. It’s important to have one written down not just for outdoor adventures, but for every area of your life. Goals and plans are how we measure our progress. It’s how we keep ourselves accountable to each other and to who we are and what we want out of life. In the absence of a destination one will never know if they will have ever arrived (Quote!).

So what’s on your list? What is on the horizon for 2012? What are you looking to accomplish, overcome, and/or achieve? Let’s us know, we’d love to hear from you!

Until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Gear, Geocaching, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Whole New World: The Wonderful Mix of The Outdoors and Technology

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jayson

I never thought a marriage between electronic technology and the great outdoors could happen, but I was wrong. Very very wrong.

One of things I love about going camping, hiking, climbing, or any other outdoor activity is the ability to leave behind technology (with the exception of GPS for geocaching). No computer, no TV, and hopefully (when it’s safe) no cell phone reception. I have found that there is a way to bring them both together for the bettering of all mankind. It’s called Social Media and it helps bring it all together.

In media outlets like Twitter and blogs I’ve found a host of cyberspace friends that I never knew existed. They come from all walks of life, different cultures, ethnicity (Outdoor Afro), geographic regions, and interests. They open their lives and share their adventures, advice, tips, trips, and even gear reviews (@thegearjunkie, @geargals) with anyone who wants to listen. Some are just starting out while others are established. Some even give away stuff for free from their sponsors, how cool is that?

For those outdoor lovers with families (Bring The Kids, Family Wilds, Adventure Tykes, Cragmama, Tales of a Mountain Mama) we get the opportunity to swap stories and see their children grow up before our eyes via our favorite RSS feed readers. Through Twitter I met a guy who is traveling the country on The Most Epic Trip ever climbing here and there. Turns out we’re both from Ohio, from towns just 3hrs apart and that we both love to frequent the same amusement park.

I get to read trip reports of hikers, campers, skiers, and climbers who live both in Minnesota (Eliz Climbs) and in places where I’d love to live (Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained) and wouldn’t mind if I never live there (The Inspired Climb) but they are still great people. My wife and I don’t have many friends who undertake such adventures as the ones we’ve found via these internet outreaches so it is nice to connect with others and share our adventures and outdoor lives together through such an innovative medium.

There are so many more friends and blogs that I can connect with who share the same passions I do. We have different view points and perspectives but we can always agree on one thing, our love for the outdoors and the sports we can play out there. Curious about who I follow and might be reading? Check out my follow list here. If you have anyone to suggest to me blog or tweeter drop me a line and let me know!

It has certainly been a wonderful discovery and I hope that as time goes on maybe the opportunity will present itself to connect with a few or many of the terrific outdoor minded people and families I’ve found throughout this country. Who knows what other friends and connections can be made and shared with just a click of the mouse.

Until next time…..adventure on!

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Gear, Geocaching, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation, Skiing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ruining a Camping Trip in 5 Easy Steps

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Jayson

So you’ve decided that going on a hiking and camping trip (or a backpacking trip if you’re high speed and low drag. My low drag is a 5 yr old who can’t pack his own weight in gear….weak sauce) is in the near or foreseeable future but you don’t want to just go anywhere. The destination has to be epic, it has to be mind-blowing, it has to be colossal and be so wonderful that you consider never going anywhere else ever again. Well I have the recipe for blowing that vacation up, sinking it like the Titanic and causing one to swear off every camping and/or hiking ever again.

Perfect camping trip straight ahead. No serious what could go wrong?

This list was birthed out of a trip I took with the wife and son last year to Yellowstone. We went in June and arrived the day after the campground opened looking to take on Yellowstone before the 15.36 million other people descend upon it like a junkyard dog on a bone (??? – I don’t write this stuff so please stop making that face at me). From this trip we gleaned so many thing to do that will ensure your time sucks like no other. Disclosure: Three months after the vacation I turned to my wife and said ‘That trip to Yellowstone was such a tremendous vacation, it’s going to be hard not to go back next year.”

My wife looking at me puzzled and then nodded her head in agreement, she realized that my multiple personality disorder was acting up again, or that I have finally lost my mind. Didn’t matter to her, she scooted closer to the door and unbuckled her seat belt juuuuusssttt in case.

Step #1 – Plan so much that your spouse considers not even taking the vacation.

One of the best decisions you can make is pure obsession with the objective. The more you plan the less fun you’ll have, I guarantee it! Take planning to a whole new level, obsess over it! Get every brochure you can and shove it into the face of your spouse, then be sure that every conversation eventually ends up on what you can do and see while hiking. Or what you need to get to make the trip more comfortable.

Your child isn’t feeling well, who cares, there is multiple geothermic activity all over the park. I mean how cool is that, much better then a toddler with the runs (son was turning four the month after our trip). You had a bad day on your job? Sorry honey, but you won’t have a bad day while hiking on this trail!

Oh no Aunt Louise died of cancer how terrible, but you know how to avoid death by bear on the trail? Make noise and be aware! (Didn’t happen I got carried away)

Step #2 – Over plan your day so that by the time you get back to the campsite you no longer have the desire to make dinner or enjoy what happened earlier.

Wearing yourself out by trying to see everything in one day is a totally awesome way to destroy the fun you had been having. Not taking things slow and having to rush everywhere to see everything and failing to factor in drive times makes for an awesome stress inducer! Especially when you have a toddler who isn’t allowed to nap for more then 20 minutes at a time is the key ingredient to producing a stunning display of child fireworks, tensions, and exhaustion.

Step #3 – Plan elaborate meals that need time and effort to prepare

Cause simple just isn’t going to cut it, especially in the rainy spring and cold of Yellowstone, in bear country where everything needs to be cleaned and put away. Why have PB&J when you can have BBQ meatballs (that make you vomit inside the tent because in the dead of night you can’t find that stupid zipper. true story) grilled chicken with veggies, burgers, and so much more.

Make the messiest meals possible, and be sure to use real plates and silverware because not only is cooking in the rain and cold fun, but eating the food less then lukewarm really hits the spot! Clean up is tremendous without hot water that isn’t carried to the wash basin that isn’t allowed at your site. Good times are had by all.

Step #4 – Leave yourself no flexibility to your lodging and plans

Because you followed step one so well, you planned it all out. Reserved all the sites at multiple places and you were ahead of things. Of course the car accident that keeps you in traffic for 2 hours didn’t come into play. Neither did the blinding rain storm which would put you at the intended site way after dark and setting up in the rain and cold. Who doesn’t want to do that with an already tired 3 yr old and a wife who is fighting the urge to nudge you over a cliff because you’re been the model for a patient and calm travel partner.

A failure to plan is planning to fail….right?

Step #5 – Bring too much gear in a car too small

So you want to make sure everyone is comfortable and taken care of. You planned out all the meals, purchased all the food and brought everything that you know you need; problem is your car is too small. Stupid coolers take up so much space and you can’t leave the child home alone because the police and social services have warned you that if they have to come a third time in the same week you get put in parent time out. So what do you do?

Duh! You pack it all on the roof in a waterproof roof cargo carrier, BRILLIANT! Oh no your car doesn’t have a roof rack to attach it to, what to do now? No worries you need all that stuff and dog gone it that gear is coming with. So let’s strap it on and run the straps into the car, we can deal with the straps over our heads for 20+ hours, right? Who needs head room and leg room, it’s overrated! And when it rains you can collect the rain that floods into the car through the nylon web straps so no one will ever have to deal with thirst. Real Genius!

You too can ruin your offspring’s childhood memories and nearly force your spouse to question why they married you by following these steps to the letter. Anyone can be successful and punching your family’s vacation dream right in the stomach and then kicking it while it lays on the ground. Don’t be the person who helps there family enjoy the outdoors and want to do it again, because really……that’s just lame.

Categories: Backpacking, Family Vacation, Geocaching | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beware My Genius

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Jayson

So this past weekend my family and I got out of the house and headed over to a Minnesota State Park (Afton State Park) which is about a 10 min drive from our house. What’s wonderful about this is not only how close it is, but that it’s on the St. Croix River which allows for scenic overlooks, walking along the river shore, and multiple opportunities throw rocks at the state of Wisconsin  (it’s on the other side of the river), make spiteful comments about their citizens obsession with cheese, and in general ruin the day for Wisconsin. Hey I wouldn’t be a good Minnesota citizen if I didn’t harass our inferior neighbors.

We decided (me…..it was really all me) that it would be a great idea that as a family we should take up geocaching as a family hobby. I wanted an excuse to get a handheld GPS unit which is of course highly useful in saving ones life out in the woods, on a mountain, or if you’re up for a sweet game of high-tech ‘Hide and Seek’!

Back to the story

We checked out a unit at the park and proceeded on our adventure. We told our son we were going treasure hunting and that he could get some trinkets in the treasures.

Our GPS Unit and Instructions (which of course were of no use to me)

So off we began our treasure hunting adventure. I of course decided to wear a bandanna that day which gave me to cause to wonder if I were a land-locked pirate of some kind. (I referred to my son as a ‘lad’ and my wife as the ‘wench’ which then left me with a fear I was going to ‘fall’ down a hill at some point)

I thought this was going to be a spectacular outing, we’d find treasures, leave treasures, get exercise, and get some trail time in.

Oh how high and lofty were my thoughts.

The first cache we found yielded no treasures, it was merely an encouragement to find the other three. This of course was disappointing for the lad…er…..I mean our son but we punched in the second cache and off we went.

It was about 650 yards away and led us out towards the St. Croix ROver which yielded spectacular views on a gorgeous bluebird sky day. After a little bit of hunting I found (using my super-power of navigation……and the clues on the sheet) the third cache. The second cache was too well hidden and we never found it.

Arrrggghhh Maties, Me has found the second cache...where be the gold!

Inside there  were two trinkets, a silly band and a St. Louis Cardinals sticker. After much deliberation in his head the child decided on the sticker and then the fun really began.

Happiness After the Meltdown

My wife asked to take a picture of him with the prize and he just outright refused. The exact details of what transpired next escape me but needless to say words were said, war was declared, and the ground around that area will be radioactive free in about 200 years. When our son gets like this we affectionately call him Meltdown Charlie.

I stepped back and wondered what happened, who took the excited little boy who we were hiking with earlier and replaced him the Hellspawn of Lucifer? Well after the dust settled we sat down on a bench and had a snack, chugged some water, and things changed and he allowed us to take the above picture.

I’ll spare you the play-by-play but the rest of the day went in a similar manner.

Since I am a real genius though I’ve decided to try this again! This coming Saturday we’re headed to William O’Brien State Park for some more geocaching, swimming, hiking, and kayaking. A change in venue will assuredly yield different and better results…..I mean come on…..that’s just sound logic!

See you on the trail!

Categories: Geocaching, Hiking | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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