I got up and got ready. I put the recycle bins in the Escape and headed to mom and dad's house to check up on Jonas and the pellet stove. They went to the ocean to celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary. I hung out with Jonas for a while because I knew he was missing mom a lot. He sat in my lap while we enjoyed the warmth from the stove. I told Jonas that mom and dad would be home the next day and to be a good cat and guard the house. I headed out.
I had my list of caches and my last minute route. I was now on my way towards Shelton. The weather was holding up for now.
My first cache was Randall Preserve (GC7YXK1). This was off of Mud Bay Road in a little quaint preserve right off the highway. I had no idea this was even here. It had a small parking lot and I was really glad I was the only one here. I could take my time and not feel like I was in the way.
The cache was not too far from the parking lot. I took the small trail and found ground zero. The container was hidden inside of a downed trunk.
Back in February 2001, I was a junior in high school and I had just started my math test. All of a sudden we heard a really large rumble bang noise and then the school started shaking. I got under my desk and held the legs because it was trying to walk away. The school suffered a little damage but the Olympia area got hit the hardest. This cache, Earthquake Slide 2001 (GCGN06) was placed here to remember that said event. For years, water had been flowing underneath this area and when the quake hit it destabilized the area causing a slide. The road and part of the bridge was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. I found a place to park and ran across the road to the cache. It was a plastic Oreo cookie container hidden amongst the rocks. It didn't take me very long to find it.
I continued the back way towards Steamboat Island Road off of Hwy 101. Honoring WD (GCH31V) was not where I was expecting it to be. I had to do a couple of U-turns to figure out a place to park. Then I trekked across an open field towards the tree line (you could see Hwy 101 from here the entire time) and found the correct tree. I had to step down a dirt incline to grab the container. Apparently it used to be an ammo can but now it is a sandwich Tupperware container. I signed my name, put it back and jogged back to the Escape.
The rain started to fall and I was unhappy. I was going to get soaked.
I got onto Hwy 101 for a short time and then immediately got off on the Old Olympic Highway. I haven't been on this road in years. Probably the last time was when I did Mile Post (GC1B112) back in July 2011. Wow, it's been that long?! Anyway, I parked down below the gated road off to the side and headed up the short hills into the trees. The coords were a bit off so I had to expand my search area by about 30 feet. I tried to keep this short and sweet because the rain was coming down steady. Once I found the bark it was hidden under I made quick work of it. Then my screen protector started to come off my phone. The moisture from the rain had seeped underneath it and took all the stickiness away. Ugh.
TB Café and Cache Machine Hotel (GC7QH3Z) was a cute container and I grabbed the one trackable that was inside. I hid the cache back in its spot and headed back to the Escape.
Just up the road I stopped again and found a pull out just near the bridge.
As I got closer to where I thought the cache, Kennedy Creek Bridge (GC7QH3H) was I could see tons of Seagulls and smelled the rotting fish. I approached the bridge and saw all the dead fish being eaten by the flock of birds.
The smell was bad so I was hoping to find the cache fast. I checked the guardrail near the posted coords and came up short. Then I had another idea. I climbed up on top of the guardrail and checked the yellow and black slash sign. It was a bison tube hanging from a wire on the back of the sign.
I got my name on it, put it back and walked back to the Escape. The rain had let up a little bit.
I followed the road to the next cache, Old Olympic Highway Revisited (GC7QH25) which was essentially a park and grab. It was a film cannister hidden in a nook of a large tree. It didn't take long and I didn't have to really be in the rain either. Double win!
My next one was across Hwy 101 near the water on the other side of the Old Olympic Hwy. I saw there was another person sitting in their car near the pullout. At first I thought it might be another geocacher but they never got out of their car. I sat there for a few minutes and they decided to leave. I got out and walked down the small trail to Mudflat Buffett (GC6ZDJD). I made it into a quick find since I didn't really want to be out in the rain for too long. I signed my name, put it back and jogged back to the Escape.
I followed the road until I had a choice to keep following Old Olympic Hwy or turn onto Hurley Waldrip Road. I got onto Hurley and followed it to the end where it meets up with Hwy 101 again. The cache Rock of Ages III (GC687X1) was hidden in an underground water meter box next to the power pole. There was a small pullout for one vehicle. I made quick work of it. Sadly, my phone got too wet and my screen protector finally fell off.
I crossed over Hwy 101 again and still remained on Hurley Road to my next cache. That one was my 11,300th cache not that I am counting or anything. R/R Crossing (GC33DM7) was on someone's property and the cache owner did get permission. I am still not a fan of going onto another person's property unless it is indeed the cache owner. I have one in my yard but I am also a geocacher which makes it less weird. I see the Altoids tin on the back of the R/R sign. I am also short. How was I going to grab this one? I figure if I can get a running start I could jump up and grab it. I got it on my second try. I signed my name and ran and slapped it to the back of the sign.
The next two were further down the road, Guard Rail Cache (GC6A88A) and The Swamp (GC6A87B) both had dogs barking at me and both were film cannisters. It was steadily raining so I made these finds as quick as I could.
I followed the road to where it dropped me onto Hwy 108 which took me into Kamilche and I got onto Hwy 101 and headed north towards Shelton. I had solved Mariner Mojo (GC10HQM) a few years ago. It is one of R-L Painter's caches. I put the coords into the GPS because I read some of the logs stating that driving in and turning around was weird. It was a dirt driveway and it was a bit wonky turning around to drive out. I made sure I read the hint since we were in the trees. I basically saw the stump it was hidden in and found the ammo can instantly. I logged my find, got my picture and traded some stuff before putting it back.
I probably should have waited until a nicer day to do the next cache. Eh, I'm here so might as well right? Let's do this! I follow the coords to this wide pullout near a corner of a less used road. I see a girl in a sweatshirt walking down the road and she is sopping wet. At this point the rain is coming down harder and I wait to see if this girl disappears. I have this phobia that if I leave my Escape while I grab a geocaching and it is not in my sight that someone is going to break the windows to steal the stuff inside. I sit there for another five minutes debating whether or not to go grab it. Finally I just go for it and head down the trail. The cache, Bayview Overlook (GCJ36X) was about .25 of a mile away from where I parked. I hustle up the trail trying to avoid all the blackberry bushes. This cache hasn't been found since 8/2017. The weather was absolutely disgusting. I was soaked. I could literally wring out my clothes. I get to the cache site and start looking near all the stumps in the area. I see the obvious spot and bam, there's the container. I get my name on it and put it back and I start jogging down the hill. I had to get out of the rain.
I finally get into Shelton and I stop to grab A Little Library (GC74BYR) and I am stuck in the downpour. Ughhhhhh. I barely get my name on the log and I am running back inside the Escape. Gross!
I stop to take a picture of the iconic Welcome to Shelton sign. I'm not sure if there used to be a cache here in the past but it could have used one today. I'm sure the view is nice from here as well on a nice day.
I drive down the hill and notice there was another one, Knees? [OPG2] (GC7ZJHX) in Kneeland Park. I feel like I've been here several times over the years grabbing caches as I passed through. This one was part of the Olympic Peninsula GeoTour. A series I have never done and probably won't do. I parked and walked to GZ. I had to avoid giant mud puddles. It was in the corner near the fenced off area and for some reason I couldn't find it. I walked around to the outside and saw a piece of the container but couldn't reach it from the outside. I walked back into the park and grabbed the cache. I took the TB, signed my name and put it back. I jumped over the puddles again and back into the Escape.
I headed up the hill towards the hospital part of town. I pulled over in an open lot to grab the Rhododendron Forest Cache (GC5E9H7) which was across the street. When I found the cache, it was nowhere near a rhodie. It was also a glass jar (which I rarely find) with a toy pony sitting next to it. I thought it was weird.
I drove over towards the hospital and stopped a Son of a Boulder (GC81024) which was a quick park and grab. I needed to hurry because it was starting to get dark and I wanted an even 20 for the day.
I looked around on my mobile app to see if there were a couple more easy ones I can just park and grab. I got back onto Hwy 101 and headed north out of Shelton towards the airport. There were two caches that were easy to get to but not park and grabs. The first one was at the tractor supply just outside of Shelton. I park in the lot next to a small pedestrian trail and found She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy (GC7CPMD) in the crotch of a tree. It was a very quick find. I needed one more before it got dark.
Old Snag (GC2X9G3) was the last physical cache of the day. The rain was coming down steadily and it was getting dark. Plus, I wanted to get to the restaurant before it was packed. I knew no one was going to be on this road with me so I just parked, left the Escape on with the windshield wipers on while I ran into this area that was worn around a tree snag. It was a quick find. I was so soaked.
I drove down the hill and back into downtown to find Sister's. I found a spot right in front and went inside. I figured there would be a sign stating that there was an event here or something that said reserved. The waitress knew nothing about it and was pretty adamant about not knowing anything and added that she was the only person working at the moment until 5. I just found a place to sit and I ordered a burger and a Coke. I texted Bob and Bev to let them know I was at the Shelton Cache Machine Dinner (GC80D8C) event. They said they should be there soon.
I sat there really wishing I had brought some dry clothes to change into but I didn't. I was getting cold waiting for my food. My food finally came and Bob and Bev came through the door. More people started to file in. I found out the owners of the restaurant were geocachers and to remind the waitress what was happening.
Most of the time was talking to Bob and Bev and Gabe when he walked through the door. He and his wife got divorced some time back and he had started dating again. He said he was going to meet her in Tacoma after the event. I talked to Frisbee'r, Peach & Pete before I decided it was time to go. I was going to stop by the mall to see if Best Buy had another glass cover for my phone. Around 67 people attended and logged the event dinner. That was quite a few people for a cold, rainy, winter Pacific Northwest day.
I found a glass cover that would work at Best Buy and I went into the Seattle Team Store to check out the merchandise. I found a 2018 Sounders jersey for a reasonable price. I bought it for Ben's birthday that was coming up in February. I headed home, got cleaned and warmed up and relaxed a bit. I don't know what my next cache machine will be. It would depend on where it was and what was going on. I sure hope to soon.
Next Adventure: NYE, Sparklers and Friends
No comments:
Post a Comment