We got dressed for the day and started organizing our stuff so we can tetris it back into the Escape. We got all of our dishes packed up back in its tote, we got all of our clothes back in our bags, took the bedding out and folded it, sleeping pads, bags all rolled up, the tarp rolled up and put the tent and its pegs back into the bag. We put my seats down and started packing it all in. We put the cooler in last. We would have to go get some more ice on our way out of town.
We walked over to the event, TC 2019 CITO (GC88D1A) and asked how we could help. They had us move some signs, tables, covers and the cones and then we spent about a half hour walking around the park picking up garbage with our giant garbage bag. Yoke's donated some doughnuts, fruit, coffee and juice for the cause and it was a tad bit late.
I ate a maple bar (because they are my favorite doughnuts ever!) and had some orange juice because I am not a coffee drinker. Ben had some coffee and a couple of doughnuts. We will have to take a break from doughnuts for a while since we had several of them this past weekend. While we ate our food, we talked to a few cachers for a bit. We waited for Bob and Bev to show up so we could say bye but they took too long. We left the park at about 10 a.m.
We picked up two caches on the way to the gas station. The first one was not that far away from the park. That one was called Comstock Ave (GC523XY) that was found hidden among the shrubs. Sometimes you find them right away and sometimes it takes a while to locate it. Luckily, Ben found it right away.
We drove a little bit outside of the Richland to grab The Joke's on You (GCYEQP) because we wanted to find a regular sized cache rather than micros all the time. This one was hidden near some sage brush. When we approached it the cache looked like it had been thrashed. All of its contents were strewn about but it all seemed to be there. I picked up the contents, signed the logbook and put the lid back on it. We figured it was suppose to be by the sage brush so we placed it there hoping that the cache owner would visit it soon.
We drove back through town to find the cheapest gas and found one right off the main drag. Ben pumped the gas while I went inside to grab some cold drinks for the ride home. We got back onto the main road and followed the signs back to Yakima via I-82. I had Ben look at my phone for some upcoming caches between Prosser and Zillah. The first grouping were going to be in Prosser, a place I haven't cached since the Yakima Valley Cache Machine back in September 2012. Wow, that was such a long time ago.
We get off of the freeway and found out that Electric Pets (GC7AE24) was in a small rest area but we missed the turn and had to turn around. We found the turn and pulled into the closest parking spot we could. We got out and it was hot outside. We walked over to ground zero and found it quickly because it was a fake face plate. As we put it back, a carload of geocachers get out. Of course they are here to find this cache. They saw us and started talking to us. They asked who we were and if we went to the TriCities Geocoin Challenge. We told them that we sure did and we were now on our way back home to Olympia. They said they were from TriCities and on their way to a week long geocache adventure around the Olympics and the Valley Cities GeoTour. We told them to have fun because there is a lot to see and do over there.
We plugged the next one into Nuvi and she took us to Yellowstone Trail-OIE Prosser (GC7DQTA) which was in the parking lot of a car wash/vacuum facility. We had to wait until the lady had her back to us before we went looking for it. It was under a lamp skirt so we had to be quick without making a lot of noise. We signed the log and put it back without the lady being too suspicious of us. The next one, Detour in Wine Country (GC86PGZ) was also a lamp skirt but no one was around so we didn't have to be as sneaky when we found it. We continued on the road that paralleled I-82 for a while.
We moved onto Hose"ington" (GC79J3A) gave it a good scour but we ultimately couldn't find it. It must have been hidden very well...or missing. We headed to the next one, Hermit on Guard (GC79J30) which was exactly what it said in its title, guard. It was on a guard rail. It was a pretty quick park and grab.
We continued down the road and finally made our way into Grandview. We followed Nuvi and she took us up over I-82 and near the cemetery to get Guardians of the Cemetery (GC88QH5). We didn't have to go into the cemetery because again, it was on a corner inside the guard rail. It was another quick park and grab. We turned around and headed back over the freeway into Grandview. The Safe Way to Shine (GC86WJP) was located in the parking lot of the Safeway. We had to be careful because of the people going in and out of the parking lot. We managed to make the find without anyone noticing us.
We got onto the freeway and got off at one of the Zillah exits to grab one more, Yellowstone Trail - Hwy 410 -Teapot Dome 1922 (GC7DQTJ). According to the cache page, this was the original location of the Teapot Dome. As far as I knew, this dome had moved three times with it's final location in town as a rest area. I have now been to the three locations as of today. Just before we got out mom called to ask us where we were and if we were almost home. I told her we were in Zillah grabbing a cache and then we were going to have lunch in Union Gap at Miner's. She was like, woah you're still in Eastern Washington? Yeah, we usually take our time when we come home after the challenge, grab a few along the way and eat at Miner's. She said to have fun and drive safe. We found the cache, wrote our names and put it back.
We got back onto the freeway and drove into Union Gap/Yakima. I knew what exit to get off of since we've been to Miner's quite a few times over the years. This place is ALWAYS busy. Every time you go it's a gamble on how long you had to wait. We were hoping we picked a good time. When we arrived, around 1:30, the parking lot was packed with people, as it always is, we found a place to park and made our way inside the restaurant. When we got inside the line wasn't as quite as long as I thought it would be. We actually didn't have to wait that long to order. We ordered the usual, 2 burgers, a fry to share and drinks...Ben usually gets a shake with his. It cost us around $25 each time we go but it is totally worth it!
We found a place to sit and waited for them to call our number. I got up, grabbed my drink, napkins and our condiments we used to dip our fries into. I had to wait until the ketchup guy changed the dispenser to get ketchup and it took him forever! I was losing my patience. I wanted my ketchup! He finally came by and filled it back up. You could tell a lot of people were waiting for him to finally do it because a herd of people got up and got their ketchup including me. Our food came out shortly after. We were so excited to eat our burgers. The food is so good here. While we ate, we talked about the upcoming work week and the stuff we had to do.
We got done, got back onto the freeway and headed towards home over White Pass. We had no problems and got home around 7ish. We unloaded the Escape, started some laundry and got showers shortly after that. We relaxed a bit before bedtime with some of our TV shows and some snacks. We got ready for our upcoming work week and headed to bed. It was a long, fun-filled weekend. I can't wait for next year!
Next Adventure: The Hike to Monte Cristo and GCBC
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