Seahawks Game, Mud Mountain Dam and Enumclaw Caching

The next morning we got up late and Ben made some of his breakfast sandwiches and my eggs were not runny enough so I gave him a bad time.  I was really surprised on how nice the day turned out.  I was thinking that this could be the last day of summer-like weather and I really wanted to go out and cache but the Seahawk game was on.  Of course we had to watch the Seahawks game...they were playing the 49ers! 

Trish made nachos to have during the game.  We all wore our jerseys and watched the Seahawks dismantle the 49ers.  It was awesome.  A quick recap of what happened:

The offense took a big step forward--they scored touchdowns on their first two drives and Christine Michael carried 20 times for 106 yards.

Doug Baldwin was unstoppable--he caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, one of the best games in his NFL career.

Jimmy Graham was a big part of the offense--he had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, his second 100-yard game as a Seahawk.

The defense was impressive again, including a takeaway--through two games the Seahawks had allowed the fewest points and yards in the NFL.

That was vintage Kam Chancellor--he finished the game with eight tackles.  When the Seattle's defense is at its best, Chancellor is in the middle of everything, making opponents feel is presence-literally and figuratively. 

Boykin made some nice plays and a rookie mistake--he came in for Wilson, who left with a knee injury, completing 7-of-9 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown pass to Baldwin...he did however thrown an interception right to the 49ers linebacker, luckily Seattle was in a comfortable lead when the turn over occurred.

We took it from the 49ers 37 to 18 and never looked back.  The game was awesome.

I still was antsy about going outside and enjoying the sunshine.  I talked everyone into going geocaching with me.  I chose the four in the Enumclaw area.  I looked at some of the logs to make sure they were all there and if they have been found recently.  Since we drove Ben's car we made room in the back for Amy and Trish. 

I've never been out to the Mud Mountain Dam area but I have been on the road only to the south entrance to Pinnacle Peak.  I was hoping the park was open but it was Sunday.  We meandered along the road talking about random stuff.  I asked Trish if she had been out here and she said yeah, but it has been a long time. 

We reached the gate and sadly it was closed so that meant the park was closed too.  We had to park in the small parking area and walk along the trail to the cache site.  I was really excited to see the dam.  I guess we will have to come back when it's open.  Rainier100 2:  Mud Mountain Dam (GC63VE0) overlooked the Puyallup River but from here we could not see the dam.  The coords took us near the fence but we didn't find anything so I expanded the search area closer to the bench and found a pile of sticks covering the container.  Everyone met me there, we signed our names and took a group picture before putting it back.

We walked back but this time on the road instead of the trail.  Ben gave Amy a hard time the entire way back to the car.  Trish and I brought up the rear talking about Ben making fun of Amy.  We followed Mud Mountain Dam Road until it reached 410 on the Enumclaw side.  I saw where it popped us out and had once stopped here on my way to Yakima a few years ago.  Of course it was to stop and get a cache.

The next one on my list was Rainier100 1:  A Family Farm (GC5VMD0) and it was placed with permission by the owner who owned the property.  I read the hint and it was going to be hidden inside a chicken feeder.  I was excited!  We arrived at the said coordinates and got out.  The place was adorable.  It's too bad we were here on a Sunday with everything closed.  It was called The Mason Jar Farm and it believes in bringing the rewards of farm fresh to families and teaching children about food and what it means to be sustainable.  I would definitely come back here at some point on a day when it was open.  I had Trish open up the chicken feeder and there was the cache!  We signed our names, took a picture and put it back where we found it.  We admired the little farm a couple more minutes before we headed back towards town.

We went back into town towards the library.  I've been here twice now getting a cache.  There is a puzzle cache nearby, Kasey Kahne Tribute (GC2D1DM) honoring Kasey Kahne, the NASCAR driver from Enumclaw. I solved the cache and got it back in 2013 with Bob and Bev.  The place was crawling with teenagers.  We solved the questions to the multi, Rainier100 3:  A Logging Legacy (GC6KW9B) as best as we could.  Trish actually had fun gathering the answers.  We figured out the coords and I knew exactly where the final was.  However, we were going to go get the other one in town before we headed to the other end of town. 

Rainier100 4:  Promotion to Glory (GC6QAG9) was also in a spot I've been to previously.  It was at the veterans memorial with the large purple heart.  We parked in the lot next to it and walked over.  I was hoping the container wasn't near the guy sitting on the bench with his bike.  It was a little further nestled inside of the bushes off the edge of the grass.  It was a dumb place but it had to be hidden away and there just wasn't that many spots at this little park.  We signed it, put it back and headed back to the car.

We headed to the final to A Logging Legacy.  I also have been here a few times.  Once with Bob and Bev and another separate time with Ben.  They must have had to archive the one that used to be here for the geotour one to be able to be here.  I let them find it.  We admired the rings on the log and talked about some of the dates that were highlighted on small metal plaques. 

We headed back to the house and started packing up our stuff.  We always hate this part mostly because we don't really get to see his mom and sister very often and the time seems to go by fast while we are there.  We couldn't stay for dinner unfortunately and we said our goodbyes.  From there we headed over to Walt and Wendy's house to visit and to talk about the upcoming haunted house they do on their property every year.  Last year the weather ruined it so we didn't have it.  We stayed until about 9:30 and then it was time to head the hour home.

We got home, I took everything out of the car, got ready for bed and passed out.  Mondays area always busy and you need as much sleep as you could get.

Next Adventure:  Weekend of Fun:  Karaoke, Crafting and a Mariner's Game

Nick and Nickey's Wedding

After ten years of dating Nick and Nickey were finally getting married.  They were introduced to one another through Brenna, one of our friends I met through Nickey.  Brenna was Nick's roommate and Nickey was bound to meet Nick at some point.  I remember when they first started dating because to "consummate" their relationship they told me on November 18th, at a Cougar football game, they did just that on my birthday (November 13th).  Gee, thanks guys!  I will remember that forever now.

The journey of those two was definitely fun to watch.  We went to football and basketball games together, countless parties, fastpitch games, practices and events, New Year's Eve 2006 in Seattle, car rides, birthday parties, spring break down to California for a week and even the hype up until Nickey and I graduated in 2007.  Yes, we were both there for 5 years.

I kept in touch with both of them throughout the years on Facebook, texting and seeing them at football games in Seattle.  Then Nickey went to a school in the Caribbean for a few years.  I wrote her letters and she wrote them back.  I went to her party a few years ago when she got her white doctor coat.  She was finally what she wanted to be, able to work with animals in a clinic. 

She and Nick moved into an apartment together in Kirkland.  I had the opportunity to go up and visit them for the afternoon since I wasn't able to go to her bridal shower or bachelorette party.  I was able to go to the wedding.  I couldn't be more excited.

That weekend we planned on being up in Bonney Lake to visit with Ben's mom and sister and to be closer to Snoqualmie.  On Friday after Ben got off work, we packed up his car and headed to his mom's house.  We got there around 8ish and Trish was making dinner.  We had rice, beef and veggies mixed together with some Mediterranean sauce.  It was tasty.

After dinner we watched the Mariners and played rummy and I had a couple of good hands.  I ended up in second place.  We made an ice cream run at Safeway and it hit the spot.  Eventually I got tired and needed to go to bed.  I went to bed just after midnight.

The next day I got up around 10ish and demanded that Ben feed me.  We had pancakes and the rest of Brad's bacon.  I was pretty sure I would be full until the reception.  We lounged around for a little bit and then we talked to Trish about the sinks we were suppose to replace the faucets on.  She had not prepared them for us to work on them. 

Around 1:30 I started getting ready.  I took a shower, dried and straightened my hair, got my dress on and then put some make up on.  This is one of the very few occasions I wear make up for.  I finally got Ben moving so he could get his shower and suit on.  He takes a long time to get ready for stuff.  He did his hair and I was now waiting for him so we could go.  It was going to take about an hour to get to Snoqualmie from Bonney Lake.

On the car ride there I wondered who Nickey invited to her wedding.  I knew I was going to see Brenna but who else was coming?  I knew Slurs, Ashlee, Shannon and Becca probably wouldn't come because of the distance but I didn't even know if they were invited. 

I had forgotten the invitations on the fridge when we left so I had my dad check up on my cat while we were gone and had him send me pictures of them from the fridge.  Turns out we really didn't need them because Nick had posted the invitation online the night before.  Plus, there is only one popular golf course in Snoqualmie.

The invitation said that the ceremony was going to start at 5 and we arrived around 4:15ish.  I wasn't sure how many people she invited and how large the area was so we just hung out a bit and enjoyed the view.  You could see Mount Si from the location as well as the other mountainous areas looking towards the east.  They had really lucked out with the weather as well.  It was sunny most of the evening while we were there with some scattered cloud cover.

I used the restroom before most of the people arrived and just to get it out of the way before the wedding started.  I saw Jodie and Andrea and talked to them for a few short minutes.  I met Ben outside and we found some seats near the aisle.

As I would expect, their wedding ceremony was unique and very catered to their personalities.  Nick and the rest of the wedding party walked out to a musical rendition to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia theme song, Nickey walked out to one of her favorite songs and there were some references to professional wrestling when the rings were being exchanged and there was even some nerdy things during the ceremony.  The flower girl needed help throwing the petals on the ground and it was adorable.  Some weddings that I've been to there is always some sort of "we're combining our lives with one another, let's demonstrate that" such as lighting a candle with two fire sources or colored sand that each person dumps into a container that mixes together.  Nick and Nickey did a science experiment with beakers and goggles that combining two elements bind together to make one, then they mixed dirt from their hometowns together (Bellevue and Ephrata) and then had a tree.

Nick kissed his bride and the pastor announced Mr. and Mrs. Graffis!  We got our beer from the bar and headed upstairs.  We had to wait about 45 minutes before they let us into the reception area for food, dancing and visiting.  We sat with Brenna, her fiancé, Jodie, Andrea and some of Nickey's people, we really didn't talk to them very much.  Ben hit it off with Jodie and Andrea.  We talked about a lot of things while we sat there, memories, WSU, how I met Ben, the fact that we haven't see each other since at least 2007/08 and what they've been doing in Portland and Boise. 

The food was delicious.  They had two kinds of pasta, salad, meat, bread and various desserts.  Their decorations were pretty cool, they had a giant blow up N and a G, lights, a tiny dance floor, our souvenirs were guitar picks and medicine bottles with personalized M&M's inside them.  Like I said earlier, their wedding was perfectly planned with their personalities and the things they were interested in.  I got my picture with Nick and Nickey, thanked them for the invite and decided to head out.  I used the bathroom one more time and when I came out they were getting ready to send them off with sparklers!  I couldn't miss sparklers!  They drove off in a large SUV with a drone filming the entire thing.  We left and headed home.

I could not wait to get out of my dress and into my comfortable clothes.  We lounged a bit and I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed.  I passed out hard.

Congrats to Nick and Nickey!

Next Adventure:  Seahawks Game, Mud Mountain Dam and Enumclaw Caching

Hosting Game Night

Since we have started game night I have never hosted.  It was hard to host a bunch of people when you still lived at home and your parents wanted to go to bed at a certain time and for everything to be quiet.  Now that I've moved out Ben and I were finally able to host a game night.  We picked September because it gave us some time to settle in.

That day, I got up earlier than I would have to go get ready to attend a funeral.  My previous boss, Melanie, her dad died the week before and Laura called to ask if I was going.  I hadn't planned on it but I told her I would go if she was going to go.  I went to the wrong cemetery so I was just getting there after it had started at 10.  I listened to the speakers, Taps played by the State Patrol and then we talked to Melanie after the service.  We met her daughters, her mother and her sister.  Then we headed over to Pelegrinos for cake and refreshments.  I spent most of my time talking to Laura and Joe.  We stayed until about noon and I had some cleaning to do.  Melanie thanked us for coming and that she really appreciated it.

I headed home and had some lunch.

Between the many college football games, we cleaned everything, put boxes and stuff away, hung pictures, did the dishes, laundry, swept and mopped the floor, made the bed, vacuumed the carpets, cleaned my cat's food and potty areas, cleaned the bathrooms and even had some time to go to the dollar store to decorate the tables I borrowed from Susanne.

Earlier that week I got some pizza dough for the gluten eaters.  Everyone else pretty much had all of the toppings, sauces and desserts together.  I had planned on playing bingo so I borrowed the bingo cards, the cage and balls from grandma.  I had everyone bring some small prizes for the winners.  We had quite the array of prizes ranging from a bobble head Jesus to scented candles to a toothbrush/toothpaste combo bag.  It amazed me which prizes went first and which ones didn't get picked at all.

Everyone started to arrive pretty punctually at 7 p.m.  I gave everyone the tour of the place and to my amazement my cat let people touch him.  It was weird.  He usually didn't like a bunch of people in his house and would go and hide.  We moved the futon into the spare bedroom so he really didn't have a place to hide except our bedroom on my side of the bed.

I got the oven prepped and we all started making our pizzas before we started in on games.  I was really sad that mine and Ben's pizzas were last and everyone pretty much ate all of the pepperoni.  I got two pieces.  Oh well, at least there was enough cheese and olives.

Everyone was pretty much done with their pizzas by the time Ben and I ate ours.  We started bingo shortly after and I decided to be the number caller as well as run a page of six bingo cards.  Apparently Justin was the lucky one this time, he basically won every time we played a game.  We did a normal bingo, a postage stamp, around the free space, large picture frame and finally blackout.  Everyone at least won a prize or two.  I ended up with a scented candle.  Megan, Matt, Mason and Miles had to head home.  We thanked them for coming out.  They even had time for a picture.

I cleaned up the bingo stuff and Nicole wanted to teach us a new game she acquired recently.  It was called Red Flags.  Basically we got three sets of cards, two good attributes for someone to date and the person to our left would add the "but".  So my set of cards could say, "my perfect date would be someone who has season tickets to my favorite football team, loves pets but doesn't communicate."  Depending on how many players were playing you would contribute your neighbors card to the round.  So there would be a no communicate card, a doesn't shower card, every time they got drunk they cheated card, says like every other word card, has Nazi memorabilia card, so on and so forth.  Some of the red flag cards were minor and some of them were pretty bad.  I chose which card I could live with and that person's card I chose got a point.  Everyone went twice. 

We cleaned that game up and Nicole also had Pit.  I love Pit!!  Me and my family used to play it all the time.  We sat on the rug and I taught Pit to everyone.  We started out without the bull and the bear and added them to the game as everyone understood.  We kept forgetting that if you are the two people after the dealer you would have 10 cards in your hand.  You would have to pay closer attention to your cards to corner the market.  The game got wild and for some reason Celeste always ended up with the bull or the bear or both.  We laughed a lot. 

It was just after midnight and everyone decided to head home.  Del never made it over after the wedding he went to earlier.  I guess we would see him next time when we carve pumpkins over at Celeste's house.  I think we decided on a Sunday afternoon while we watched the Seahawks.

Ben and I stayed up a little bit longer and cleaned up a little bit.  I knew we wouldn't want to do it the next morning when we got up.  Overall, I believe our first time hosting went well.  We will probably host some more once Christmas is over.

Next Adventure:  Nick and Nickey's Wedding

Rainier100 Series: Electron, Wilkenson, Carbonado and Fairfax

I was in need of a good most-of-the-day caching trip.  Since three of the Rainier100 caches have been published up to this point I kinda wanted to go get some of them in sections because I know there are over 75 more of them I will have to get at some point.  As of today, I have over 25 with the fourth series going to be publishing September 16^th.  Ben picked up a shift at the station to cover for someone so I called mom to see if she wanted to go out for the day.  I told her a ghost town would be involved and she kinda got excited about it.  I made myself a lunch because I knew where we were going there wouldn’t be a lot of places for food.

Ben left for work around 10:30 and I got up and started getting ready and mapping out the caches we were going to go get.  I left here around noon and headed to mom and dad’s house.  I hope she was read y to go so we could just go when I got there.  She wasn’t.  I asked if she wanted me to make her some food and she said no.  Later she regretted that but she said she thought I was making it for her to eat before we left.

We didn’t leave until almost one.

I had to get some gas before we continued on so we stopped at the Arco and topped off. 

We were on our way to our first cache via Hwy 702 and then got onto Hwy 7 and then onto the Kapowsin Highway.  I didn’t realize at the time why these two caches were called Batman and Robin # 1 (GC5GNPV) and #2 (GC5GNPX) until I realized we were near Lake Kaposwin, the “Kapow” sound in the comic books.  Clever. 

They were both guard rail caches.

Our next stop was the small unincorporated town of Electron, a place I have not been to yet.  Electron sits along the Puyallup River just northeast of Lake Kapowsin and is the site of the Electron Hydroelectric Project, a power plant operated by Puget Power.  Above the plant, 10.1 miles upriver, is the Electron Diversionary Dam, which runs water to the power plant via a wooden flume.  The dam and power plant project was constructed in 1903-04 and began operation on April 12, 1904.  Electron was the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the 1930’s.  A mudslide destroyed the original powerhouse in 1936; rebuilding was partially completed in 1937 and fully rehabilitated in 1941.  There is a small park in Electron.  Today the place is operated and maintained by 7 people.  The powerhouse generates 26 megawatts of electricity.  This can provide power to about 20,000 homes.

There was literally one road that took you to the town/park.  The other road was restricted to Puget Sound Energy employees only.  Right there on the corner was where the coords took us.  It was the remains of a cement structure used by the CCC in the 30’s.  Only a little part of it still stands.  The cache, Rainier100 2:  Electron (GC63A78) was hidden in a hole underneath a section of the cement.  We found it pretty quickly.  I sat in the alcove and wrote our names down.  We put it back, took a few pictures and headed up the hill to the small park.  I wouldn’t even know this was out here without geocaching.

I had to go get Electrifying (GC4C98) it was the closest old one besides the one I still have to get in Steilacoom, Scooby Doo’s Sister Stash (GC589). I recently found out that it’s been archived because the owner neglected it.  We will see if they fix it soon.  We found the small out-of-the-way-park, parked in the lot and walked over to the tree the ammo box was hiding next to.  There is just something satisfying about finding a cache that has been around since 2002.  I took the coins out of it just so they wouldn’t rust if the container was compromised.  I signed the book and then mom and I spent some time admiring the viewpoint of the small dam and river.  I had to climb on top of the fence to see because the sticker bushes and brush had overgrown making it difficult to see over.  We also looked at some of the old vehicles and buildings in the area before heading back down the hill onto the main road.

We drove the back way towards Buckley but took Hwy 165 towards Wilkeson, a town Bob and I have geocached the crap out of, over the last five years.  Rainier100 3:  Wilkeson (GC6HZVV) took us to a really cool building.  One of the two cool sandstone buildings in town, the city hall and the other was the old elementary school.  We got to go to the elementary school.  We just parked in the parking lot and walked over towards the cache.  We noticed three girls wandering around the area and had to kinda be sneaky about looking for it, plus across the street was an ambulance and some EMT’s responding to some sort of call.  We hoped that person was okay.  In the meantime, we found the location, used the code to open the lock and out came the cache.  I signed our names, took some pictures, locked it back in its hiding spot and we headed back to the Escape.

I figured since we weren’t that far from the coke ovens I wanted to take mom over there to see them.  The coke ovens were also a part of the Rainier100 series but Ben and I got this cache over a year ago after our Mowich Lake/Tolmie Peak adventure.

There was one more nearby and we picked up Wilkeson Creek (GC6MPXW) before we left town.  I should have found it right away but where it was hidden, someone had shoved it really far inside the stump.  I walked down to the creek and then came back to the spot.  I reached as far as I could and touched the container.  Lame.

We headed to Carbonado.

I have actually never been inside the town only to the sign next to the road to grab a cache a few years ago.  We drove the back way to town via the coal miner’s cemetery.  I told mom about the last time I was here with Bob, we had gotten a first to find with some guys from Seattle.  I also told her that there are bits of coal in the area too.

Rainier100 2:  Carbonado (GC63JF9) was on the edge of town near the old historic Carbonado Saloon that was established in 1889.  Wow, that’s when Washington became a state!  We parked next to the road near a pullout and walked the short distance to the cache.  It was next to some trees near some more old ruins of what used to be.  We weren’t sure what used to be here but we found the cache quickly, took some pictures and moved on to the next one.

We continued on up Hwy 165 and towards the Fairfax Bridge.  In the last few years I have been across the bridge at least 6 times and before that never.  Yay geocaching!  We parked at the suggested coords, grabbed the stuff we would need and walked across the bridge to where the “trail” started.  We had to jump/step over the guardrail and make our way down the steep hill next to the structure.  Luckily there was a rope you could grab on to so you weren’t as nervous repelling down the hill.  I didn’t have any problems and neither did mom.  We got down to the bottom and realized that there was an actual trail down here.  I thought we would have to bushwhack our way to the cache.  It was well used and you could tell a lot of three wheelers and quads run up and down this road quite often.

An Asian family followed us down about 10 minutes later and they had previously asked us about the trail and the ghost town earlier up on the bridge.  Mom and I made our way to the first cache, Just Another Rock in the Wall (GC64ZRG), indeed…it was hard to miss!  It was also a really cool location for a cache.  We walked along it admiring its test of time.  I found the location of where the cache could be and found it quickly.  The Asian family saw us down there and wondered what we were doing.  I explained geocaching to them and they were very intrigued.  I told them stories, places I’ve been, the different kinds, the events, power trails, caching etiquette, the cool people you meet, etc.  They were on vacation from Arizona spending time around Mount Rainier.  They said they even might start doing it once they got home and could do research on it.  I put it back in the way and we continued towards our next cache.

Rainier100 2:  Melmont Ghost Town (GC63JF8) was near an old abandoned dynamite shelter.  I looked at some spoiler pictures so I knew which group of trees to look near.  Sure enough it was right where it was suppose to be.  I showed the Asian muggles the cache because the size and content differed from the first container.  This one even had a trackable inside so I could explain their significance. They were pretty stoked.  We took our pictures, signed the log and put the cache back.  Mom and I decided to walk to the end where the rest of the old buildings were plus there was one more cache left to get.

We walked by several groups of hikers and asked where the rest of the ruins were.  They said when you got to the fork take the upper portion.  Good to know.  When we did get to that said fork, I took the lower one that led us to a steep hill of where the main part of the town was before it burned down, that is where the last cache was.  Mom decided to stay behind and I went down really quick.  The cache, Skeleton in a Ghost Town (GC5N9HH) was hidden near an uprooted log and I found a glass jar container.  I rarely find these…mostly because they can break so easily.  I signed it, put it back and found a place to pee.  I went back up the hill and followed mom to the rest of the Melmont ruins.

We spent about a half hour up here taking pictures and admiring the history.  We discussed how we thought the town was oriented and what these buildings were used for.  We started heading back towards the bridge.  It didn’t take us long to walk down the trail. 

We got to the bridge and noticed that someone had untied the rope and mom complained.  I told her to go up slow and I will help her from behind.  She actually did alright getting up the steep hill. We stepped over the guardrail, walked back over the bridge and to the Escape.  I was hungry so I ate some of my sandwich and chips on the way to the next couple of caches. 

We followed the road to the Carbon River Entrance to Mount Rainier.  I can’t recall if I have been to this area before.  We were here to do the earthcache, Rainier100 2:  Carbon River Aggradation (GC63Q1E). 

We got out and answered the questions and took some pictures.  The cache was pretty easy.  We measured how long the bridge was with our odometer and then found one more by the gate, Carbon River Entrance Cache (GC2K7DR).  We headed back towards Orting to look for something to eat.  Mom wanted some food.  I really didn’t because I had eaten my sandwich not too long ago.  Then I saw Herfy’s, a place I’ve seen so many times but never had a chance to try.  I even made fun of the name.  We went inside and had the burger and fries.  The food was pretty good but I think I may have made a mistake by eating my sandwich and my burger and fries.  Time will tell.

We went the back way home on the Graham-Kapowsin Highway and I had to pull over to go potty.  We got to Hwy 7 and then Hwy 702 to McKenna.  I dropped mom off at home, helped her put the chickens and ducks away and then headed home to shower and relax a bit.  I logged some of the caches, posted some pictures and called it a night.  I hope to go and get some more of this series soon before the snow starts falling.

Next Adventure:  Hosting Game Night

Placing my Rainier100 Series 3 and 4 Caches

I volunteered for the Rainier100 geotour last fall mostly because I knew it would be hard for our project manager to find people that wanted to maintain caches far from the places they lived.  She has someone from Bellingham maintaining some caches.  I requested that if she could keep them close for me like around the Eatonville area that would be awesome. I missed the first round of them but participated in the second, third and fourth installments.  I had plenty of time to do them but when it came to series 4, I spent a lot of my July and August moving and I didn't have internet, which made it hard to meet the deadlines.

I was given instructions through an email for my series three and series four caches and I didn't know I was doing two for the fourth series..   The containers were mailed to me right away.  I got my third one taken care of as quick as I could. 

On May 26th, I asked grandma if she wanted to come with me to talk to the Pioneer Farm Museum and Ohop Indian Village manager to get permission to place the cache.  She said sure.  We headed there in the afternoon and I haven't been here since my last grade school field trip.  We parked the Escape and we walked in.  The manager seemed frazzled because she was on the phone.  We just waited until she was done before I pitched her the idea.  We probably waited a good half hour until we got to talk to her.

I introduced myself and told her about the WSGA, geocaching and our geotour.  See said she's heard of geocaching and she said that there used to be one here a few years ago.  I asked with her permission, if we could put another one at this location and told her why.  She said it would be cool but it would have to be across the street on the Ohop Indian Village side of the farm because the museum area closes at a certain time and they didn't want people coming in while the gate was chained up.  I told her that would be okay and I thanked her.  I let her photocopy some of my stuff and I gave her the contact information for the project manager.

Grandma and I went outside and scouted a good place to hide it.  Originally, it was suppose to be a multi cache but that wasn't going to work now that we were off limits to a lot of the museum area and old buildings.  We created one anyway but placed the cache as a traditional.  That would have to do unfortunately.  I took coords and made sure it was hidden well.  I jotted down some notes and made sure we had all the correct information before we left, including the code word for the passport. 

On the way home we stopped by I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes #2 (GC63VHP) just to pick one up for the day and we were driving past it.  I found it quickly while grandma guarded the Escape.

I received another email right away for our 4th series caches.  This time I got two and I didn't ask for two.  I did them anyway.  She included links on the page for some references, people to contact etc.  She told me not to contact Northwest Trek until she established a connection with them then she would let me know to pursue them.  I waited until I heard from her.  In the meantime I packed, moved, was busy with work, unpacking, getting rid of stuff, the geotour was out of sight out of mind at the time and we didn't get internet until late August.  I got a reminder email stating what we needed to get done and sent to her before Sept. 16th, that is when they went live.  I sent her a quick email asking if she had contacted Northwest Trek yet and she replied with,

"I gave you the information on your contact at NW Trek months ago, and I thought you'd contacted her well before now (the deadline!)."

I just went with it and didn't even want to bring up the fact that she told me not to until she contacted them first and once she did she would email me.  I never got such an email.  I got frustrated.  I got a hold of the South Pierce County Historical Society about the Van Eaton log cabin and got permission from them to place my other cache.  I tried calling the lady at Northwest Trek and jus got her voicemail.  I left a message hoping that she would call me back in the next few days.  I didn't hear back.  Her voicemail never indicated she was on vacation or an extended amount of time.

Ben and I headed to Eatonville to place the Van Eaton cache at Mill Pond Park on September 3rd.  Earlier we had helped my parents cut down and few trees in the yard and saw them up.  I wanted to go place the caches just to get it over with.  We got to the park and I realized I have never been here.  I scouted a few places that they suggested and found one that would keep it out of the weather and be hidden from muggles.  We took coords and I got my photo with it.

Then we went after a cache, Center Point (GC5Z7HE) that was nearby but took the hardest way possible to it.  We crossed the Mashel River and we didn't even have to.  It was fun anyway.  We had to take our shoes and socks off to cross twice.  Once we got to the location we were like wow, we could have just walked to it from the parking lot.  I didn't know!

We headed back the same way we went.  We left Eatonville and attempted to place the Northwest Trek one just in case they said yes to the cache.  It was closed when we got there so we just went home.  Northwest Trek had become annoying now.  I would have to come out here again.

Grandma accompanied me again to Eatonville in the middle of the week with plans to place the cache inside Northwest Trek just in case they got back to me.  As I was picking up grandma I got an email from our project manager stating that the person from Northwest Trek called and decided against having a cache there.  Ugh, now what?  I was still going to go and find some caches in Eatonville anyway.  When we got there, I tried figuring out what we could do with that 25th cache.  I emailed her back and forth and she decided against putting one in Eatonville.  I let her worry about it.  We continued on with our afternoon.

We drove to the west side of town to pick up Where the Sidewalk Ends (GC1NACC).  It was at the end of  a cul-d-sac.  Grandma decided to stay in the car while I looked.  The coords did put me at the end of a sidewalk but I couldn't find a container.  I read some of the logs and knew exactly what I was looking for.  Found it!

I saw that there were three along a road outside of town I didn't have yet.  I do remember going down this road with Bob and Bev a few years ago and that's where we met Hoppingcrow, a lady who volunteers up at Mount Rainier.  We picked up a few that day.  I went back down this road again today with grandma and it had changed a lot.  A new state park was created and it opened on January 20th of this year.  Rainier100 3:  Nisqually State Park (GC6JKCP) was hidden behind some of the stump carcasses on the edge of the parking lot.  The hiding spot wasn't ideal but found it, got my code and signed the log.  We moved to the next one down the road.

Ammo Can (GC1MNBN) threw me off a bit because of the power lines (my brother used to call them hotoos and hossies) and I wasn't thinking out of the box.  My coords eventually took me to underneath the electrical transmission tower and I was like, where could there possibly be an ammo box?  I thought about it for a few seconds and duh, it's a tiny ammo can!  I signed my name and taped it back together because someone had broken the lid.

We headed to our last cache of the day, Rainier100 2:  Remembering Soo-Too-Lick (GC63WZ0) at the end of the road.  I had no idea there was a cemetery out here.  We parked, got out and followed the GPS into the brush.  I should have known it would lead me astray.  When we got there I knew I should have looked under the bench first.  I looked under the bench and there it was.  I signed the log, took a picture and put it back.  I admired the tiny Indian cemetery for a few minutes and then we headed back towards Rainier.

We stopped by Wendy's house for a little while to visit and to pick up some aluminum cans. I took grandma home shortly after, hung out at the house for a while and then went home.  I sure hope the 25th cache was figured out.

I got an email a few days later asking me to meet our project manager in Eatonville so I could give her the cache.  So after work I left and met her at the Bud Blancher trailhead.  I told her I could be there around 1.  She called me and told me she was going to be late and to leave it with the cache that's there.  I told her okay. 

I walked down to the cache and placed the container with it and covered it with rocks.  On the way back to the Escape, I thought to myself, a cacher will show up as I am trying to leave and wonder why there are two containers.  Sure enough, a couple got our of their vehicle and started walking.  I asked them if they were geocachers and they said they were.  They were on their way to Mayfield Lake for some camping and decided to stop and pick up a few along the way.  I introduced myself and told them the situation.  Their caching name was Rianthe and they were from the Puyallup area.  They thought it was fun meeting another cacher and they said they do not do that as often as they would like.  I told them to have a fun camping trip and headed out of Eatonville.

I stopped by McKenna for another cache near the Subway.  This would be the third cache at this location the past five years.  Yawbus 0 Fat~Low Calories- 2 (GC6MZGK) gave me the run around for a few second and then I zeroed in on it.  It was a park and grab lamp skirt cache.  Lame.

I saw there was another one close by.  Since I was in the area why not right?  I was really hoping I would not need boots or a rubber raft to get Polliwog Pond (GC6JM4X).  I figured since its been dry I wouldn't have any trouble.  Of course it was in Nisqually Pines. I followed my Nuvi through the winding driveways to a small park.  I parked the Escape and walked to the coords.   They took me right towards the pond.  There were tons of cattails and I took a few home to show to Ben.  The cache was easy to find and I was glad I didn't have to get my shoes wet.

I headed back to my parent's house and then went home after a while.  I was glad to see this situation finally done and over with.

Next Adventure:  Rainier100 Series:  Electron, Wilkenson, Carbonado and Fairfax

Another Trip to Bordeaux and Caching

On Valentines Day 2013, I made my way to the ghost town of Bordeaux.  I heard about it through geocaching and revisited hearing about it from Bob and Bev.  They've done some caching out that way in the Capitol Forest.  I decided to grab the cache and check out the area myself.

My mom heard about it and wanted to go out and see it.  I checked out the area to see if there were any more caches I needed to get and there were a few in the Mima area.  I got home, changed and headed towards my parent's house.  Mom had gotten off work later than she wanted so we had to stop at the new Eagen's in Tenino so she could get a burger.  I ate at work and worked on the bulletin board with Suzanne so I wasn't hungry.

We stopped just outside of Tenino to get a new one by the trestle and the Welcome to Tenino waterfall structure.  I had been here once before with mom to grab one here over 4 years ago.  It's weird how you can get a different cache at the same place over and over.  Mills Summer Camp II (GC6NFAH) was pretty easy to find but it's at a busy intersection that people can totally see you.  I tried to do it in between cars to make me less suspicious.  It was a small lock n lock container hidden in a tree crotch.  It signed my name at the nearby picnic table and put it back while mom sat in the car eating her burger. 

We followed 'Ol 99 to 183rd, then took Sergeant Road to Littlerock Road.  We continued on to the town of Littlerock and then turned onto Mima Road then to Bordeaux where we found a place to pull over and park off the road. I haven't been out here when there were leaves on the trees.  It looks very different during the late summer early fall.  There were some cars here as well.  Probably kids hanging out at the ruins.

We grabbed our stuff, hid our valuables and followed the trail to the bridge.  I made sure I had my selfie stick.  This time there were boards missing from the bridge but the bridge was dry.  You had to really be careful where you stepped or you would step into Mima Creek.  Mom followed be along the trail.  You couldn't see the ruins with all the leaves on the trees.  Last time you could see everything from the bridge.  We walked past two kids walking their dog heading back towards the vehicles.  Mom started taking pictures when we entered the area with the most standing set of ruins.  We saw two teenage kids inside smoking pot.  We waited until they left to go inside and get our pictures so we explored the outer area of the ruins.

I brought my jerseys and mom's jersey so we could do a photo shoot and practice different settings, angles and lighting with the camera.  The pot kids left so we went inside and started taking pictures with our phones and our good camera.  I had her take a couple of me in my Cougar jersey and then some in my Seahawk jersey.  I made her get hers on so we could get a few together.  We were there for about a half hour.  Then we explored the area by the creek for a few minutes watching mom take a series of photos.

We walked back across the bridge and headed towards the Escape.  I remembered there was a block house on the other side of the road for mom to go and explore.  She took several pictures of that as well.  We decided to head out so we could get one more cache near the town of Mima, inside of a cemetery that was very well hidden.  I put the coordinates into the GPS and had Nuvi lead the way. 

Spirit Quest - Mima Prairie Pioneer Cemetery (GC4ZDKT) was indeed a pretty well hidden cemetery.  I had no idea one was even out here and I've been out  here a few times in the past.  We got off the main road and turned onto a dirt road.  We parked as close as we could to the cache.  I went and found the cache and mom wandered around the old pioneer cemetery taking pictures and reading tombstones.  I knew where the cache was going to be.  There was a giant tree and the obvious pile of sticks hiding the container.  I grabbed it and it was covered in pitch.  Ugh!  Sticky hands!  I signed our names and put it back.

We got back into the Escape, drove through Mima and followed the road all the way to Moon and then we got onto Hwy 12 and drove through Rochester and then Grand Mound.  We headed down 'Ol 99 into Tenino and took a pit stop down 507 to DJ's.  About a month or so ago I noticed a Seahawks logo painted on the fence near the store.  I wanted to get a picture there.  I thought it would be a really awesome mother-daughter picture with our jerseys.

I took mom the back way home through Skookumchuck and Johnson Creek Road.  Mom told me stories about Alice's Restaurant.  We got home shortly after.  I put the pictures we took off of her camera and onto my computer so I had them.  I went back to my house and did a few things before it was time to go to bed.  We were going to get up the next day and help mom and dad fall a few trees in the back yard.

Next Adventure:  Placing my Rainier100 4 Series Caches