New BBQ

Ben and I moved out of our parent's houses in July 2016.  Of course we wanted it to be sooner than that but life gets in the way and you have no control over it.  Mom and Dad gave me their BBQ to use so when we had people over we could grill.  Most likely we would be having a lot of the family gatherings over at our place anyways so it was fine with me.

I can't remember when exactly they bought the BBQ but it had to have been close to 2004 or 2005.  It's been well used since then.  Mom and I have replaced parts several times, it's gotten a good cleaning every year and it was well used and loved.  

Last year, I stripped it down to it's bare parts, gave it a good scrub with the metal sponge and shop vac and even bought some high heat black spray paint just to make the BBQ look a little better.  It definitely saw better days but I actually made it look pretty good.  We had several gatherings over the course of the spring into the summer.  Ben cleaned it out and we put it away for the season.

This year it was getting warmer and almost time to get the BBQ out again.  Ben went to go clean it out and just didn't think that we could resurrect it one more time.  We've had this BBQ for five years now and it was getting harder and harder to get it going again.  It was rusting, wearing thin in areas and really hard to find the replacement parts that go to it.

Ben and I had talked about getting a new BBQ for the past few years now so we just went ahead and did it.  Ben did some research on the ones that he wanted.  That included looking on Amazon, Lowe's and the Home Depot websites.  He decided on one from Home Depot.  That Saturday we went out to Hawks Prairie and looked for the one Ben wanted.  We asked one of the associate's if they had the make and model we wanted and he said that he would have to go look.  Meanwhile, we needed some grass seed so I found some that would work for a project of mine.  I met back up with Ben and he said that this Home Depot were out of the BBQ he wanted.  The guys said that the store on Fones Road had six of them.  That's where we went.

Once in the store, we wandered around the BBQ are and did not find the one we were looking for so we had to ask someone.  Ben was on it while I looked at the sledgehammers.  I called Dad to see if there was an extra sledgehammer at Grandpa's that I could borrow and he said there might be but most of them don't have handles on them.  Then he asked me to go see if they had any bathtub repair kits.  I went and looked while an associate got the forklift and got our new BBQ down from the shelves outside.   

Ben called to ask where I was and I told him that Dad had asked me to check up on something and that he was in the parking lot waiting for me to come help him.  I helped him put the BBQ into the Edge and then I said we had to go back in to see if they had the tub stuff.  Ben ran into an ex co-worker that used to work at Lowe's with him so we chatted for a while and she helped us find the tub stuff we were looking for. 

We took it home and left it in the garage for a day.  The following afternoon we assembled it in the dining room and of course the kitties needed to help.  I could not believe how much plastic, Styrofoam and cardboard came our of the box.  We took it outside, repaired the BBQ cover and made plans with Dad on what to do with the old one. 

We wanted to use the BBQ so we invited the Pablo's over and ate burgers, beans, potato and macaroni salad, chips and had cookies for dessert.  It was fun to host friends over to break in the new BBQ.  I know this is the first of many BBQ's, friends and family gatherings and many dinner experiments to come.  

Next Adventure:  Erika and Zach Move Again

Lewis County Adventures: Onalaska, Carlisle Lake, Two FTF's and Harold's Burger Bar

This weekend was suppose to be the warmest weekend this year yet and I wanted to go do something since it was nice, I wanted to get out and drive the Escape somewhere.  A couple weeks ago some caches published in Onalaska.  Mom and I went down there this past October and walked partially around the Carlisle Lake and wondered why there weren't any caches there.  That changed about six months later.

I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to go first since I know they've both been there before.  Then I asked Bev if she was interested in going.  She said she was but wasn't sure about Bob.  I told her Bob can go if he wants to.  As the day got closer, it was just going to be Mom, Bev and I.  Bob wanted to stay home and work on his yard and Dad had to go help Doug with some defective outlets in his house.  I told them when I would be in Rainier to pick them up.  

I got up around 9:30 and got ready.  Ben was on a 24 hour shift in Tenino so he left earlier that morning.  I put the recycle in the Escape and headed into Rainier.  On the way to Rainier, two more caches published and guess where they were?  That's right.  The exact place we were going!  I was hoping we would get the FTF's but I wasn't going to hold my breath. 

I dropped off the recycle in Rainier, topped off with gas (my Escape has a capless gas hole), picked up Mom and then picked up Bev.  We headed west towards Tenino chatting about various things as we drove to I-5.  Traffic was stupid in some places and I let everyone know that I was irritated with it.  The sun comes out and a lot of dumb people start driving around.  We got onto I-5 south and then got off at the Onalaska exit.  We followed Hwy 508 on the short drive to Onaslaska.

We turned off at the fire station and drove into Carlisle Park.  We parked the Escape, got out and noticed there weren't very many people here like we thought there would be...especially the fishermen.  There were probably four other cars here and as far as we could tell, non of them were geocachers.  There is still a chance at two FTF's!

We walked to the first one on the east side of the trail, we walked the lake counter clockwise.  First one was one of the FTF's, Sneaky Pete and His Dog Diego (GC984BR).  We walked to it and it took us slightly off the gravel pathway near some sticker bushes.  I doubt the cache owner wanted us to walk in a patch of sticker bushes.  We fanned out either way and looked at the most logical spot.  I found the tree it was hoisted up in.  There was some fake dog poop nearby as well.  The string was pretty long so that took a while to unwind.  I lowered it down and had Bev open it up and the logbook was empty!!  FTF!  Woooo!  We put everything back and moved onto the next one, just up the trail.

Stonehenge in Onalaska?  (GC984CK) was a surprise.  Mom and I did not notice this are the last time we walked along here...but then again we weren't looking for it.  We knew it was going to be a rough search because it was a 4.5 in difficulty.  We walked up to it and started searching.  You could see that some people had pulled some of the moss off of it.  We tried not to.  I thought it was going to be a loose rock that had a tip clued on to it poked into a void in the wall.  I was right and we all over looked the cache.  Bev called Frisbee'r to get a hint so we weren't there for a long time.  We found it soon after.  It was poked in there good.  I had to pull hard to get it out.  We took a couple photos and we were on our way to the next cache.

Whistlin Willy (GC98554) was at the opposite end of the lake where we parked the Escape...right when you turn the corner to be on the west side of the lake.  We all guessed it would be at the lone tree but what were we exactly looking for?  It was hidden pretty well and when we moved the branch to see, we all thought it was a real bird.  Haha!  I unclipped it from the branch and we got the logbook out of it.  We all signed it and said that it's been a while since we found a fake bird cache. 

The second FTF was the next cache, Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum (GC984BT) and we never saw any other cachers walk by let alone anyone so far, so another FTF was in our future!  We followed the lake trail until we came upon a well used side trail.  We followed it past a large tree and a sharp curve in the trail that lead up the hill.  I saw some downed logs and stumps in the curve and a spot perfect for a cache.  I found the lock n' lock with the fake bread glued to the top.  The fake bread threw me off for a couple seconds.  We opened it and found the blank logbook!  We signed our names, got a photo and put it back.

We walked back to the main lake trail and looked the next one up on our phone app.  Twin Peaks:  Log Lady (GC9838J) was slightly off the trail.  We had to walk up a dirt hill about 300 feet.  Bev decided she was going to stay while Mom and I walked up because she is not an off road vehicle.  Mom and I walked up the hill and found an area of trees that looked like the cache would be nearby.  We checked every tree and every downed log.  It was a fake log that had been carved out to hide a container.  We signed our names and put it back where we found it.  We walked back down and joined Bev.  We told her what we found and where it was.   

As we rounded the next part of the lake, before we got back to the parking lot, was another cache named Fairies ONLY...NO TRESSPASSING (GC984A4).  This one was slightly off the trail as well and Bev stayed behind once again but we could see her while we were trying to pinpoint where the cache was.  We walked in and it could have been anywhere.  Mom and I both saw the ivy on the trees but thought nothing of it at first because there was ivy everywhere.  After a few minutes we walked back to the place where we saw the ivy and it looked off.  Mom told me it looked fake so we inspected it and yep, it was fake.  So cleverly hidden.  Hanging off of the ivy was a small ammo can. 

The last one, Are You Up For Trolling? (GC984A1) was at the end of the trail near the small fish hatchery.  There was a small bridge that was half covered in tree limbs that the city had cut down recently.  At first we didn't see the small bridge but when we got closer we saw it underneath all the debris.  I saw where the cache was hidden.  Someone had made a ledge for it and you had to awkwardly grab it from the west side of the small bridge.  Mom and Bev thought the cache container was pretty cool.  We signed our name and put it back.

It was a nice stroll around the park and we got two FTF's!  We got back in the Escape and headed back towards I-5.  Bev was telling us about a multi cache her and Bob did a while back and they couldn't find the final.  I told her we could stop real quick on the way through and look one more time.  She said sure, we could look one more time with more eyes.  We stopped at Stan Headwall Park and looked to see if it was there and we couldn't find it either, even with a hint from Frisbee'r.  Bev was going to email the cache owner.

For lunch, we stopped at Harold's Burger Bar because it had opened back up since it's closure at the end of 2018.  I remember Dad sending us a photo of it earlier this year when he first visited it with his friend Randy after a day at the gun range.  We parked, walked up to the window and all ordered the same thing except I got a soda and they each had a shake, Mom a strawberry and Bev a chocolate one.  We ate it at one of the empty picnic tables.  The food was delicious!

We drove the back way through Bucoda, stopped in Tenino to say hi to Ben really quick and then drove to Bev's house to drop her off.  We hung out with them for a while in their yard visiting.  Then I took Mom home and asked Dad if he could take me over to Grammie and Grandpa's house so I could borrow the truck for a dump run the next day.  I really didn't want to leave the Escape at my grandparent's house unattended.  I found some flower pots and then headed to Grandma's house to pick up her garbage cans.  I dropped off the ladder with Doug and then went home.  I loaded my garbage cans into the back of the truck, ate popcorn, watched Chopped, took a shower, worked on my blog, logged the caches and got ready for bed.   

Next Adventure:  New BBQ

A Hawks Prairie Caching Adventure: The Path Through the Trees

This week was suppose to be the nicest week so far this year for us Pacific Northwesterner's.  I was super stoked to be having tank top and shorts weather so soon this year.  I had many things planned over the course of the week such as mowing the lawn (and Grandma's lawn), smashing cans, moving stuff around in the garage and some geocaching after work.  

We both went to work.  For a Wednesday, my work load was very light but there were a lot of date extensions.  I hate doing more than 50 date extensions a day and today there were 64!  Ughh!  At lunch time, I got the pulled pork ready to go but because Ben's crock pot is lame and I thought I had pressed the on button.  Apparently, I didn't and it wasn't cooking for almost an hour and a half.  Lame!!  I went in and made sure the button was pressed.  Now, dinner is going to be an hour and a half later than we anticipated.  I told Ben and he told me I was lame.  

I said to buy time he could meet me in Hawks Prairie to go get a few caches that published last week.  I told him where they were and he said sure, it will waste time while we wait for our food to get done.  I told him to let me know when he was off work so I can plan when to leave so we get there about the same time.  He said he will do that.

I logged off at 4, changed my clothes and did a few things before checking the food one more time.  I fed the kitties and Ben called to let me know he just got off work.  I got my shoes on and headed out the door.  I gave him the parking coordinates for the caches and there was probably going to be room for maybe three or four cars if you did it right.  He got there before I did because I got stuck in traffic.

I told Ben that the last time I was out here was with Bob and Bev several years ago in the winter time.  We picked up a few of them around the north Hawks Prairie area because Bev got a few solved puzzles and their coordinates from Frisbeer.  Before that, is when I first started caching and we grabbed the seat belt/wrecked car cache, the one that I was going to let Ben find once we got on the trail.

The first one we walk towards was This Cache Has Been Sanitized! (GC97V0X).  It was at least 200 feet off the paved trail hidden in the tall bushes.  We were getting close to it but weren't seeing it.  Ben got a better angle on it and saw it.  He pulled it out and I wasn't expecting a repurposed Diaper Genie.  Hahaha!  We took the lid off of it and got to the container.  We signed our names, got a fabulous photo of Ben and the cache and he put it back how he found it.  I can definitely say that this is a first I've found a Diaper Genie cache.  

We walked east on the trail so Ben could get Make Your Mark (or, Don't Take the Pens!) (GC1BP06) and I told him it was pretty straight forward as far as what you had to do.  It was an old broken down car and you signed the seat belts.  I found it on 4/8/2011 which seems like a very long time ago.  Life was very different back then.

We got back on the path and headed west again to get the rest of them cache.  The next one, Texas Bison (GC97T65) was thrown into the bushes by the last set of cachers.  We had to figure out a way to get around the pokey bush to grab the huge container without getting destroyed.  Ben, since he was wearing pants, did manage to grab it unscathed.  The lid was hard to get off of it but we pulled it and it came off.  There was a bunch of stuff crammed inside of it.  We found the baggie with the log book in it, signed our names, posed with the container and Ben threw it back in the bush.

I read up on the next one, Rainbird (Rainbird???) (GC97T63) to see what we were in for and what side of the trail it was on.  I knew we were looking for a sprinkler head but where would they have hidden it on a path in the woods?  Since the coords were a bit spotty (because of the trees) we looked on both sides of the trail for good measure.  We saw the large stump and found the sprinkler head.  We got the logbook, signed our names and put it back.  

We got back on the path and enjoyed the short walk to the next one, Keep Your Ammo Under Cover (GC97T5Y).  Ben read the hint wrong so we were looking in all the wrong places for the next 10 minutes or so.  I looked everywhere 18 inches from the pavement on both sides of the trail.  I reread the hint and I was like, Ben, it says 18 feet from the paved trail, not 18 inches you dork!  He said, oh, I read it wrong.  Derp.  We finally found it.  It was within reach quite a few times for the both of us.  We signed our names and put it back where we found it.

Now onto the last one, Pond View (GC97T5N).  This one was further away from the rest of the caches in this tiny series.  We saw that there was active construction, cut trees and branches, barriers, new ponds, stumps and construction flags everywhere.  We got closer to the cache and saw where we needed to go.  We had to step around a huge stump to grab the ammo can.  Ben stayed on the trail while I went and signed our names.  I got a picture of it with on of the several ponds.

We made our way back to the vehicles.  We knew we had to walk quickly so we could get home and check on the pulled pork.  I was hoping that it was going to be done after my mistake from earlier.  We both got home and we checked the crock pot.  I had Ben check it to see if it was ready to take out and pull.  He said we should give it another half hour.  I got the buns ready to put in the oven, cooked the beans, grabbed the extra BBQ sauce and the Cole slaw.  We got one of our giant plates out and Ben shredded up the pork, slapped it on our buns and added some more BBQ sauce on top.  I  added beans and some chips to my plate and found a show to watch and we ate our food with delight.  Pulled pork sandwiches are sooo good!

Next Adventure:  Lewis County Adventures:  Onalaska, Carlisle Lake, 2 FTF's and Harold's Burger Bar

My First Experience Purchasing a Vehicle: 2017 Ford Escape

About a month ago, I took the Escape into TK to have the driver's side baring's looked at because the noise it was making was getting louder and louder.  I parked it at Mom and Dad's house and had him take it in one day during the week.  Dad gave me a call after a few days and told me that TK couldn't fix it because it wasn't the baring's but something worse.  He said the differential was going out as well as the transmission showing signs of aging and will poop out on me if I let it go on for too much longer.  I was so upset.  I didn't want to fork out the money to fix those things and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a newer vehicle.  Ughhhhh!   I was really hoping to have the Escape for at least a few more years.  

For the next couple weeks I only drove to the grocery store and into Rainier to get stuff done.  I didn't do any excess driving like going on longer drives to get geocaches or stuff like that.  It was hard staying home knowing that my freedom was limited.

I started the process of looking into other vehicles and finding out how much of a loan I was able to get from the bank.  I found another Escape on Korum's website and talked to Trish about it.  She was able to get me in touch with one of her people that she's worked with for other 30 years.  All I had to do now was to find out if my bank would give me a decent loan and interest rate.

Dad was able to take a day and drive me to the bank.  After meeting with a loan officer, we found out that they were able to get me a loan at 12% interest.  The reason being is that I was debt free.  I got out of debt back in 2014.  I thought credit scores stayed with a person once it was established but apparently not.  They sent me an email of the contract if I were to choose to go through them.  I kept it in mind.  I might be able to find a better interest rate somewhere else.  

I scheduled a date with Frank at the used Korum lot in Puyallup.  I told him what I was looking at, what I could afford, what was available, etc.  He said we will find something within my price range.  I chose Saturday at 10 a.m.  Early but not too early because Ben has to be at the South Sound Speedway for his EMT shift at 4.  I knew we would be there for a while.

Ben and I got up early and headed into Puyallup.  I made sure to bring all of my paperwork, pay stubs and anything else we thought we would need.  I wanted to make sure we left early so we had enough time to get up there and have time just in case something happened.  You know traffic or something dumb like that.

We got there a little bit before 10, parked and walked into the building to meet with Frank.  We sat down at a desk and took care of some paperwork, you know, my license, bank info, insurance, the vehicle I was interested in, etc.  I told him that I went to my bank and got pre-approved for a loan but didn't like the interest rate they were going to give me because I don't have credit anymore.  He said they would figure out something for me.  

The next step was to test drive the vehicle in question.  He put the temporary license plates on it, gave us the key and told us to go drive it around.  Ben and I got in and pulled onto the road.  Ben said to take River Road because there are different situations we could put the Escape in.  We drove it through traffic, used the brakes, drove it fast, drove it through a neighborhood with speed bumps, drove it in circles, drove backwards in circles, stopped quickly, swerved around in it, used the blinkers and even found a nearby park to make sure it was geocaching worthy.  

We rolled up to Sam Peach Park and there were lots of kids practicing baseball and softball in every square inch of that park.  We got out and it was very cold.  The first one, Neighborhood #2 (Laika) (GC7FPDM) was hidden at the bench.  So we had to inconspicuously look for it so we didn't draw any attention to ourselves.  Ben made the find so we took it back to the Escape to sign our names. 

We got back out and put it back as smoothly as we could.  We walked around the park to the next one.  We assumed that Neighborhood Park #1 (Tunnels) (GC7FJM7) was going to be the same hide since there really wasn't that many places to hide caches in this park.  We searched for about 15 minutes and couldn't make the find.  We gave up and DNF'd it.  I hate not finding caches.  

We walked back to the Escape and drove back to the dealership.  We parked, got out, met up with Frank again while he took the temporary license plate off and we handed him back the keys.  We went back into the office and talked about the next step.  We would have to wait a bit for the finance guy to get to us.  So we went to the bathroom, had some dried apple slices and some water while we waited.

We went into Aaron's office and he gave us the run down of what we would be doing as far as the financial part of it.  He found a institution that was willing to give me a 9% interest rate instead of the one my bank was going to give me at 12%.  He said, if I kept at my payments for the next 18 months I could refinance to get a better interest rate.  I would have to establish credit to prove I am worth a better interest rate.  Hmmm, being debt free sucks in this case.  Being responsible also sucks in this case.  This sucks altogether!  I accepted the rate and the contract because I need a car and was running out of time.  I had to put down $5800 to get that rate.  It's a good thing I was employed through Covid, got all of those stimulus checks and didn't do anything last year huh?  I signed the paperwork, received copies and we were pretty much done.  I did say to him, twice, that anything that requires my mailing address/and or getting mail send it to my PO Box, not my parent's physical address, we do not get mail there.  He acknowledged me twice.  

We thanked Aaron and Frank for their help and I was walking out of there with my very first purchase of my own vehicle.  Frank taped in a paper temporary license plate, handed me the keys and Ben took a photo of me with my new Escape.  I made a post on Facebook, texted Mom and Dad and asked Ben where we wanted to go have lunch.  We drove across the street and had teriyaki.  I called Mom, Grandma and Dad on the way home.  

Of course we got stuck in traffic at the 512/I-5 junction.  The first time I get to drive the new Escape and I have to be stuck in lame traffic.  Yay!  

We got home in time for Ben to chill for a minute before getting ready for his shift at South Sound Speedway in the aid unit and I took a nap because apparently purchasing a new vehicle makes you tired.  I got up about an hour-ish later, ate some popcorn, worked on my blog and watched some movies until Ben came home.

I am now a proud owner of a blue 2017 Ford Escape.

**Update:  I got a spare key and my license plates in the mail about two weeks after I brought the Escape home.  They put the wrong address on my paperwork (even though I said it twice) for the financial institution in Texas so I never received any paperwork in the mail so I had to call and wait on hold for 35 minutes until it was fixed.  I purchased floor mats for the front, back and the trunk because the Escape didn't come with them.**

I am currently getting the red Escape ready to sell as it is to someone who wants a project vehicle.  So far I have taken every thing out of it and vacuumed it out.  I still need to wipe it out and wash the outside.

Next Adventure:  A Hawks Prairie Caching Adventure:  The Path Through the Trees

Victor Falls and a Bike Ride in Orting

I was in need of a day off really bad and I wanted to take the 16th off so I asked Mom which Friday she was going to take off in April and she said the office is closed on the 9th and just to take it then.  She talked me into it so I changed it to the 9th and put in leave for it.  I really didn't care as long as I had a three day weekend soon.  I kept asking her where she wanted to go and she didn't know.  The weather was going to be a huge factor here as well.  That would determine where we were going to go.

The night before she said she wanted to go to Victor Falls in Bonney Lake, which is right down the road from Ben's mom's house.  I told her that wasn't going to take very long and asked her what else she'd like to do in the area.  She had no idea so I suggested we bring our bikes and ride one of the trails in Orting.  She said she liked that idea.  She told me to be ready by 10 and she didn't come until 11.  Lame.  I was ready by 10 too.  She wasted an hour of our adventure time. 

Before we left Lacey, Mom decided she wanted a breakfast sandwich from McDonald's so we drove to the one off of Sleater-Kinney.  Once we got to the drive thru I decided since we're here might as well get something as well but I wasn't in the mood for breakfast.  She got a sausage muffin and a chocolate milk and I got the two cheeseburgers meal.  We ate it in the Hobby Lobby parking lot just down the hill.

We got onto I-5 when we were done eating and traffic was terrible through JBLM and we had no idea why.  It shouldn't have been but it was.  We got onto 512 and then onto 410.  It was like driving to Trish's house but we weren't going there.  We went through Sky Island as I explained to Mom some of the stuff I've learned about Bonney Lake since I've been driving up here over the past eight years.  We were on the back road that takes you from the Orting Valley up to the backside of Bonney Lake.  

We approached the falls and pulled into the gravel parking lot.  We were the only ones there.  She was like, oh, we're here?  I said, yep...this is it.  Right off the road like I mentioned.  It's not far from the road and it's a short walk from the parking lot.  Mom grabbed her camera, we locked the Expedition and we made the short walk to the view.

I have been here two times prior and now a third time as of today.  The first time I came here was with Ben and we found a cache here and then enjoyed the falls and the creek that dumped into it.  It's on the other side of the road.  The second time I came here with Ben and his Mom and sister.  Trish said she's lived here for more than 30 years and has never come down here to see these falls.  I was in disbelief.  This was literally down the road from her house.  We also picked up another cache since the previous one was archived.  Today, we were here just so Mom could see the falls.  

We spent probably a good 40 minutes here looking at the different vantage points.  I told her about the previous times I was here and some of Ben's stories about people getting too close, falling and dying.  We went beyond the fence at our own risk so Mom could see the top of the falls.  

We didn't stay for a super long time.  We walked back up to the small parking lot and we drove up the road so I could show her the new development Tehaleh.  I told her on a clear day, there is a great view of Mount Rainier from that community.  She had seen a post recently on one of the groups she follows on Facebook and saw that view and I told her that picture she saw was from this place.  I showed her exactly where it was because it was a cloudy day and we couldn't see Mount Rainier.  She was astounded how many houses were back there.  I told her it's grown exponentially since I first came out here back in 2014 when Ben showed me.

We drove towards Bonney Lake High School and through to where all the businesses were.  I told her that the 7Eleven on the corner literally sprung up over night.  We made the turn onto Hwy 410 and on to the Walmart so Mom could pick up a few things.  She had never been to this one before so she said that we should since we were here.  We parked and Mom picked up the stuff she needed. 

We got back onto Hwy 410 and drove down the hill to the Valley Highway towards Orting.  There were several places to park to get on the trail along the Puyallup River.  I chose the one near Orting Middle School.  Bob and I parked there last when we were here a few years ago.  We unloaded the  bikes, made sure we had everything, locked the Expedition and road the bikes to the dirt trail.  I brought Ben's bike today because his is easier to transport than mine is.

I set the first cache, PRS "Old Dike" Redux (GC6P0GN) which was on the river side of the trail.  We couldn't get it from the trail we were on.  I figured out there was another trail on the other side of the dike.  We made it over to where that trail started and left my bike with Mom and walked over to where the cache was hidden.  I wasn't sure where to start looking because the coords bounced all over the place and there were a lot of potential hiding spots.  I saw the large tree with a crook in it and decided that's probably where it was.  Found it!  I had to pull it out with a stick because I was too short.  I signed our names and put it back with the same stick.

Further up the trail and a bike ride under the road, was Snake's Eyes (GC5TRR6).  I thought it was going to be in the void of the trail but it was actually on the other side hidden amongst the rocks.  We had to move a couple rocks but we found it.  We got our names on it and put it back.

Orange Ya Glad (GC7B368) was a quick and easy find because it was the only thing in the area that was orange.  They had hung a bison on a metal wire and hung it from the white PVC pipe and small orange and black sign.  We signed our initials and put it back how it was.

We road on down the dirt trail.  We passed a few people who were enjoying the day with a walk and some walking their dogs.  We passed two people who were out near the river bank using their droid to film something they were working on.  

The next cache on the list was, Puyallup River #178 (GC2N193) was hidden behind a stump a few feet off of the trail.  I overlooked it the first time but found it on the second sweep.  They had it hidden under some blended moss.  We also saw a lizard missing a tail on the other side of the stump.  We got a picture of it before he got spooked.  Mom got onto her bike and I was looking at the next one when my phone fell face down on the ground.  I gasped because it doesn't have a screen protector on it.  I know, I know, why don't you have a screen protector, you ask.  Well, I've had two on it and they don't stay on very well and they both came off within days of me putting them on.  Anyway, I turned it over and it left a small blemish in the left hand corner of the screen.  I was really hoping it didn't get any bigger.  That kinda ruined my day because cell phone's aren't cheap and I just paid this off not too long ago.

Lightening Road by the River (GC39CXK) was pretty straight forward.  It was the dead tree that looked like it got struck by lightening.  We saw the last person who was here didn't find it so we were still hoping it was here.  There were a bunch of holes in this tree and we totally overlooked it the first time we scanned the tree.  Mom saw something poking out of one of the holes and there it was.  We signed our initials and moved onto the next one.

We passed a few more groups of people walking the trail on our way to Hide 'n Cedar (GC1BP35).  That one was off the left side of the trail next to a large Cedar tree.  I had to walk down a small hill, stepped in the wrong spot, my foot sank in the ground and I fell backwards.  Mom laughed at me.  We found an ammo box behind the tree tucked away.  I looked at its contents, signed the log and put it back without falling this time.

We got back on our bikes and went to our last cache, Big, Big Leaf Maple (GC7B37B).  That one was also on the left side of the trail, behind a maple tree and was an ammo can.  We signed our names and put it back.  

I asked Mom, you ready to ride back?  She was ready.  Of course it took us less time returning than going because we weren't stopping to grab caches.  We made our way underneath the road again and almost biffed it because the rocks were super deep and the tires lost traction.  We got back to the Expedition, put the bikes back into the back and got situated.  We road about five miles and found seven caches.  I asked Mom where to next?

She was hungry and wanted to go to Herfy's in the middle of town.  I wasn't hungry but I told her I would have some of her French fries.  I sat in the Expedition while she went in and ordered her food.  She came back and told me they would bring it out to her when it was done.  We hung out for a few minutes chatting about random things.  Her food finally came out after about 10 minutes or so and we left.  I decided to go home the back way because I knew that the freeways and highways would be packed with people since it was Friday after 4 p.m.

We went through Graham and into McKenna.  Once we got to McKenna we were backed up from the light almost to Harts Lake Road.  We were going to be here a while.  We went the back way through Yelm to avoid traffic lights and went through Nisqually Rez so we could get gas.  We got onto the Yelm Highway and to my house so Mom could drop me off.  We unloaded Ben's bike and then Mom went home.  

Ben and I hung out for a bit before we decided on pizza for dinner.  Ben drove us to the Walmart where we picked up the pizza, ice cream, chicken and a couple other things to get us by since I didn't go grocery shopping this week yet.  I was trying not to drive my Escape anymore since the noise is getting louder and louder.  I really didn't want to be stranded just in case something went wrong.  We ate food, watched movies and got ready for our day tomorrow in Puyallup.

Next Adventure:  My First Experience Purchasing a Vehicle:  2017 Ford Escape

Easter

Last year we didn't have Easter due to the beginnings of Covid and how freaked out everyone was because of it.  I mean we could have had it but everyone decided that they didn't want to do it so we didn't.  This was probably the second time in my whole life that I could remember that I didn't celebrate Easter.  One year it was in college and I couldn't come home because I didn't have any transportation and Easter 2020 is the second time.

This year, Kevin, Karla and Tracy weren't coming and Grandpa would come but he can't physically leave the facility he is now residing in.  He moved into Bonaventure in late February which is literally half a mile from my house on Yelm Highway.  So if something were to happen, I am nearby to help out. 

A few weeks beforehand, Ben and I were trying to find a new recipe that didn't involve making a ham for Easter dinner and came across something called Rotini Spinach and Artichoke Casserole and everyone but Jenn and Mom would eat it.  I didn't care because I wanted to do something new.  I went to the dollar store a couple times, a trip to Walmart and Fred Meyer to pick up goodies for everyone's Easter baskets and wanted to get people stuff that they would actually like and or use.  I got the Easter baskets down from Grammie and Grandpa's attic and cleaned them up and put new grass inside them on the Tuesday before Easter.  They were looking pretty good with some TLC.  They've been up in the attic for three years.  I washed all of the plastic eggs in the bath tub on Wednesday.  I filled the Easter baskets on Thursday and Friday.

Dad put money inside of the plastic eggs from Grandpa's safe (something Grammie and Grandpa did for years) and I put candy in the bigger eggs.  Grandma gave me some more eggs and candy on Saturday when I was in Rainier dumping off the recycle and working in Mom and Dad's yard.  I spent Saturday evening working on putting stuff away, vacuuming, laundry, moving tables and getting the decorations out.  I was so exhausted after helping Mom, Dad and Doug in the yard.  I was ready to go to bed.  Ben was on a 24-hour shift at the station so I talked to him for a bit before I crashed.  

Saturday evening I made a cake out of my dinosaur shaped pan I found at the Goodwill.  It was Easter Funfetti with yellow confetti frosting.

Sunday morning I got up around 9:30 and I wanted to die.  I was so sore and still kinda tired from the day before.  I think I over did it.  I ate a light breakfast and started working on the stuff I didn't get to the day before.  I wiped down all the tables, got the Easter decorations all set up but had to make sure the cats didn't bother them. 

Once Ben got up from a short nap, he got home at 8 a.m., he could help me with some stuff.  He didn't get much sleep the night before because they were busy.  I let him sleep until around 11ish.  We moved the Total Gym into the garage and helped bring in the chairs.  We put the table cloths on, he put the plates, silverware, napkins and cups on the table while I started getting the dinner ingredients out.  

I wasn't sure how long this meal would take so he helped me chop up the artichokes, the onion, the butter and the spinach was already chopped up so we didn't have to work that hard.  I got the water boiling for the noodles and off we went.  I followed the instructions word for word so we didn't mess up the meal.  We drained noodles, got the sauce mixed up, the casserole pans all greased up and we had to be creative splitting the batch into two.  We made it work.

We got the two casseroles into the oven and I proceeded to clean up some stuff in the kitchen because the mess was overwhelming.  I got the ingredients out to make Mom a mac n cheese dish because she was not going to have any of the casserole.  Jenn doesn't eat carbs and is on the Keto diet so she wasn't going to partake either.  She ended up eating most of the salad I had to go with the casseroles after everything was said and done.

Everyone arrived around 2 and Trish, Amy, Doug and Jenn were a little late...and they brought their dog, Charlie.  Ughh, he will have to stay outside.  Thank goodness it wasn't raining.  We dished up and ate food.  Everyone said the food was pretty good for it not being the traditional ham and mashed potatoes.  Best part is no one died from eating it!  Success!

Trish and Grandma helped do the dishes while Ben and I got the baskets and eggs ready to go hide.  I opened both gates and we split up the baskets and the eggs and hid them both in the front and back yard.  Some were tricky and some were very obvious.  That took us a few minutes and then we gathered up everyone into the front yard, told them the rules and boundaries and set them free to go find Easter baskets and eggs!

We pretty much grabbed them all but checked the yard one more time for overlooked eggs.  We found one that we all missed.  We went inside and went through all the eggs and baskets.

Trish finished up washing the dishes while some of us went outside to play with the dinosaur RC cars that Erika bought for Ben, Doug and Zach for Christmas.  I really thought Dad got one too but he didn't.  This was the first time we actually got to use them because it wasn't raining or dark outside.  We raced and even came up with a "soccer" type game with a tennis ball and goal.  Zach won 2-0.

Everyone got their stuff ready and leftovers (if they wanted some) and headed home for the evening.  I knew everyone would be here for at least a few hours.  They thanked me for a good time and everyone headed home.

Ben and I spent some time cleaning up and putting away decorations, tables, chairs, vacuuming, putting my work computer back together and wiping down all the counters and tables.  Ben took a short nap before his meeting at 8 in Tenino.  Meanwhile, I talked to Trish to make sure they got home okay, talked to Mom about how much we owed on our upcoming trip to Peru we didn't get to take last year because of Covid and worked on my blog, read my book and watched Chopped while I had popcorn.

This weekend was sure busy but I was glad we could get together with family and I am actively trying to succeed with keeping the Easter tradition alive even though not everyone is here with us this year.

Happy Easter everyone!  

Next Adventure:  Victor Falls and a Bike Ride in Orting