Saturday, October 14

Early Birthday/Anniversary Weekend: Walla Walla Cache Machine and a Solar Eclipse

It was definitely not a typical cache machine.  This was the first time we started this late and kinda did our own route, mostly because we had to.  The alarm went off around 7:30 a.m. but we didn't get out of bed until about 8 a.m.  It was really hard getting up after staying up so late, especially when you are on vacation.

We got ready, ate some of our breakfast items we bought the night before from Walmart and made sure we had all of our geocaching stuff including the extra containers. It was going to be a warm, dry day and I was excited to wear shorts! I peeked outside the window and saw that the partial eclipse was starting.  I grabbed my glasses and watched it while Ben finished getting ready.  Once he was done, we grabbed our stuff and went downstairs to the Edge.  I made sure Ben remembered to bring his eclipse glasses.

We got down to the parking lot and we took a few minutes to watch the eclipse.  I still want to experience a total eclipse someday.  There is one in the eastern part of the US next spring but with all that is going to happen next year we probably won't be able to travel to it.  We will have to wait until the next opportunity.   I did manage to get a few pictures of it with my phone.   



We had to get gas, so I directed Ben to the nearest Safeway, which was southwest of our hotel on the main drag in town.  While he was out pumping gas, I spent some time looking at the eclipse through my glasses.  Then it got cloudy, and I wasn't able to watch it anymore.  He finished up at the pump and wanted a coffee from Starbucks.  So, we drove across the street so he could have his coffee fix.

Since we were near some of the caches on the cache machine route, we started with My First Hide (GCA7N32) and Muffler Art (GCR9RM). Both were somewhat easy to find once you got to the correct spot.  We spent a little too much time at the first one, but we found it without it being too awkward because it was in someone's front yard.  

We were heading to the next grouping of caches along the route, when all of a sudden, Ben HAD to find a bathroom.  I didn't know Walla Walla that great and where the public bathrooms were.  We were in the most inaccessible part of Walla Walla at that point.  I told him to hold on and we can make our way to Pioneer Park, since we knew where it was and that the bathrooms were open.  I have never seen Ben break so many laws and excessively speed through town before.  He had a really concerned and urgent expression on his face too. 

Let's just say we didn't make it to the restrooms in time and he was in there for a while. Instead of sitting in the Edge waiting, I went to go find the cache that was part of the cache machine, Near Waters Flow (GC9YN4F).  I was there, which seemed like forever, looking for this bison tube.  I checked all of the trees more than once.  I talked to Mom on the phone while I looked for this cache.  I really thought more cachers would show up while I looked to help me look for it, no...no one showed up.  I texted Ben to see if he was almost done and checked literally one more place and there it was.  I could not believe it took me that long to find!  I checked some of the other logs from the day and some people on the cache machine found it while others did not.  I got our names on it, a quick picture and walked back to the Edge.

Ben came out a few minutes later and he said he had to throw away his underwear.  We had to go back to the hotel so he could get cleaned up and put on a fresh pair of underwear.  I told him that I am going to hold this over his head for the rest of our lives.  He just looked at me and said, thanks. 

We went back out to the Escape and saw what part of the cache machine we were closest to.  It was the Lower Waitsburg series (GC6C8W4) and there were 12 of them to grab.  Mom called to chat with me for a little bit about Doug and his problems.  We just can't go on vacation without something happening at home.  Every. Single. Time.  Due to the spotty cell service, I told her I would have to call her back later and hung up.

We did the Nelson Road series (GC4NV7Z) and then the MRW series (GC5PP9V) with a cache called Need for Speed (GC3BF2Y) to finish off that area of town. We made our way back to town and drove out towards College Place to do that part of the route.  


Before we got too far into it, Ben said he had to go again, and we found the mall area and a Hobby Lobby.  We parked, he went inside, and I looked to see if any of the caches that were on the route were in this lot.  There was one.  I decided to walk over there to find it to give him time to get whatever out of his system, so we didn't have to stop anymore.  I meandered over to Urban Wilderness (GC7N5VQ).  Of course, it was a lamp skirt cache, so it was found quickly.  I texted Ben to see how he was doing, and he said he was just about done.  I got back to the Hobby Lobby and went inside to use the restroom and then I wandered down the aisles waiting for him. 

We finally made it back into the Edge and we went to Fort Walla Walla for an Adventure Lab and four caches. We decided to do the waypoints to the Adventure Lab first and then we parked near the small parking area for the Fort Walla Walla Natural Area.  We got out and started walking down the trail.  We came across ihavecats, rocketglider, NepoKama and FenchurchE and chatted with them for a few minutes.  Ihavecats asked if we were the people replacing and logging her power trails and I told her yes, we were.  She thanked us and told me that she would bring me some more containers at the event dinner to replace some of the ones of mine I had used.  I thanked her.  We continued walking with NepoKama and FenchurchE to the three caches, Savvy's Cache (GC2QHN7), Nadia's Cache (GC2QHN0) and Where Wildlife Roams (GC2V9Z7).




We found all three of them with ease and it was fun talking to the caching couple.  I have known of them for many years and got to know them better as we cached with them for about 45 minutes. We got back to the parking lot, told them to have a great rest of their day and Ben and I grabbed the last cache, Fort Walla Walla (GC388J9) before heading to the next grouping of caches along the route. 

We went into College Place and grabbed five caches. EZ$ 6 (GC2N1ZW), I Like Lame Micros and I Cannot Lie (GC6P4G4), Stash & Dash (GCNCND), The Sea is Calling (GC43ZH2) and Ace of Diamonds (GC1HFBG).  They were all quick grabs. 

We got onto the state line road that teetered the border of Washington and Oregon to get two more caches before going north back into Walla Walla.  The road turned into a dirt road and yes, we had a truck drive by and dust us while we were out there.  It was not a busy road but there is always one person that will drive by when you don't want them to.  We picked up Please Stop (GC39KHR) and Pluviometer (GC43MT2).  Both were quick finds.

We drove back into Walla Walla and picked up a few more including 31 Days of Geocaching: Table Rock (GC4HEMR).  That one took us a little bit to find because it was a fake rock within a ton of rocks.  Once you can find that fake rock it makes it easier but then you wonder why you didn't spot it right away.   

We drove to the Mountain View Cemetery to meander our way down the small, tiny roads, dodging other vehicles for Remembrance - Mtn View (GC9NTMH), to a parking lot at a church where we found an ammo can hidden in a water valve box next to a tiny library, Trinity Book Trader Cache and TB Motel (GC283JX) and finally drove past the back side of Walla Walla High School so Ben could use his height to grab us Abbott's Post (GC87WW7). 


We drove over to a wildlife area to find Reser Creek Wildlife Park (GC2WJQR) for one that I almost looked over but found it and then Ben and I drove over to the east side of town to do part of the Russell Creek series (GC5HJQG).  We did about 11 of those and had to replace a few of them along the way.  There were more along the road, but we were running out of time and needed to get about four more near the airport before making out way over to the cache machine dinner. 

We drove up towards the airport, crossed Hwy 12 and our first stop was at Easy Street 01 (GC5M7B7) but we had to go a roundabout way since they were having some sort of a wine tasting event and they had closed the road to through traffic.  It was a quick park and grab.  We got onto G Street and stopped for Rugby's Cache (GC56MZQ).  That one was hidden in a tree, and I was tall enough to reach it!

We made our way to the end of the road to where it meets up with the gated off airport property to find Easy Street 04 (GC5M7BP).  That one was also a quick park and grab. We drove away from the airport, back across Hwy 12 and into a neighborhood for the Little Free Geocache (GC92ERD).  It was one of those little free libraries up against a wooden fence and the cache was hidden nearby.  I checked out the books inside (because they are usually a mishmash interesting titles).  I saw one I wanted and so I took it.  It was a children's alphabet book and each letter had something to do with Washington State.  I saved it so I could give it to Erika for Christmas for when my nephew is old enough to read.

From there, it was approaching 6:00 and I wanted to get to the dinner early.  It's better to get there early before everyone comes and makes getting food take forever.  Ben and I rolled in to the El Sombrero parking lot around 5:50 for the Walla Walla Cache Machine II (GCACYG9).  This is my 11th cache machine since cache machines started back in December 2002.

We went into the restaurant and Ben, and I found a place to sit.  Our waiter got our drink orders, which I got a water and Ben got a Blue Hawaiian.  While we waited for our drinks, Brad and his group of people showed up and sat next to us.  We ordered our food.  I got the three small chimichangas, rice, beans and Ben got the Colorado burrito.  We had chips and salsa while we waited for our food.  We chatted with Brad about geocaching, the Cougars and random things. 


I was so glad we got there when we did because it filled up fast and we were already eating our food.  Andrew (AndrewRJ) thanked everyone for coming, we signed the logbook, and he explained where the next one was going to be.  It was going to be on the west side and in Centralia/Chehalis.  Ben and I got excited because it was near home.  We just had to hope that the weather was decent in January.  We finished up our food, paid, told Brad we would see him later and we left to go back to the hotel.

We got back around 7:30ish, got cleaned up, relaxed, logged caches on my laptop while we ate popcorn and watched Ant Man.  We ended up going to bed around midnight.  

Notes on the Day:

We found 69 traditional caches.

We went to an event. 

We did an Adventure Lab with five waypoints.

For a total of 75 caches on the day and saw a partial eclipse.

A three-day total 231 caches.

Next Adventure: Early Birthday/Anniversary Weekend:  More Power Trails, Milton-Freewater and Hop Thief

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