Kelso/Longview Caching Adventure

Saturday evening I was asked if I wanted to go with Bob and Bev to Kelso/Longview on Sunday.  She said we would be leaving around 6:15 a.m....ouch.  I said yes and immediately started getting ready to go.  I made a query, got my clothes ready and made some food because I didn't really have a lot of money to spend down there.  I set my alarm to 6 and went to bed.

My alarm scared the crap out of me.  I knew they would be here soon so I had to get up and get ready.  I got all my stuff done and as soon as I walked outside they were coming down the hill.  I had to grab my phone charger out of the car.

I put my stuff in their car and hopped in.  It was sprinkling.  I was really hoping it would go away.  Once we got to the Denny's off of 13th Street in Chehalis, it kinda died down.  I ate my Captain Crunch so I didn't have to buy anything.  The waitress and cook ended up messing up so I got a free pancake.

Bob had made a written list of the ones he did not have yet.  My GPS list would be very different.  He would have to be patient while we figured out where we needed to go, we'll see how it goes.  The rain stopped completely once we got past the Onalaska/Napavine exit.  Our first cache was off of Ostrander Road on a guardrail.  A quick and easy grab.  

Kelso/Longview was a tricky town to cache in because there is I-5 we had to worry about and the Cowlitz River that made it hard.  Plus the GPS maps were slightly off and you couldn't tell if it was on one side or the other. 

We hit up a few on the same road, The Garden Stops Here, The Path Less Traveled (one we should have read the cache page on) and Geo Library (we thought it was at an actual library, lol.)

Last time we were here together was in October and had a couple of DNF's.  We got rid of four of them and it was awesome.  The first one was at a church by the Bearsnme, who has over 200 hides in the Cowlitz area.  That little bugger was hard to spot.  We saw there were five caches along Mt. Brynion Road.  We went to the cemetery first and got one that was part of a cemetery series and I think we had a couple others from past adventures.

We went further up the hill to First on The Hill, Room with a View, Gov. Block Rd and Miners Payback.  It would have been way cooler if the sky was clear, we would have gotten to see Mt. St. Helens.  We found all of them.

We went back down the hill into Kelso and to the Three Rivers Mall to get rid of another previous DNF from October.  We would have so seen that one the first time.  It had to be missing.  Afterwards, we went into the Target to use the restroom.  I bought popcorn because their popcorn is awesome.

This is where we got confused because of the freeway and the effing river.  We had to back track and flip some u-turns.  Bob got a little upset but if he were navigating we would be lost as well.  We picked up I Can See the Freeway and A Smile Goes a Long Way.  We tried for another but had to figure out how to get there first so we went for another on the trail in Tam O'Shanter Park.  That one took us a while to find for some reason, those frickin' nanos!

We figured out how to get to the tunnel cache but we had to walk a ways from the parking lot of the Dairy Queen.  It actually started to get warm and we started getting rid of coats and sweatshirts.  We reached the tunnel and we literally walked underneath I-5.  Bob made the find and we were second and third to find.  I took pictures.

We walked back to the car and went for the next closest one according to Bob's list.  That took us up the hill again to this meadow area that looked like it once had a parking lot in it.  Bev found the cache and saw that Bak09 and ZenKitty were just here.  I wonder where they were now...

Then it was taco time because Bev says it's always taco time.  We headed down the hill and back to Kelso for lunch and hit up Taco Time.  I brought food with me so I just went in to hang out.  I ate my sandwich in the car later on.

From there we crossed over the bridge into the industrial area of Longview.  We missed the first exit off of Tally Way so we had to improvise and get off at the next exit for a guardrail cache and one by an old Walnut tree.

The next section took us to Lake Sacajawea, a place I've heard was cool, but have never been to.  It didn't disappoint.  The first one we looked for took a while.  Previous finders have been here multiple times.  Bob and Bev had been here once before and could not find it.  We looked at past logs and it had to be in the bush we were molesting.  A few minutes later we had our hands on it.  It's amazing how well some of these containers blend in with their surroundings.  Then we did others along the lake.

There were a few muggles around but they were more interested in their fishing than watching us find containers.

After the lake we went to the old part of town and found one that required a magnet to retrieve. And apparently the entrance to Narnia is in Longview.  Haha.

We went over to the next one and got distracted by the large squirrel statue in the middle of the grassy area surrounded by the road.  I had to get a picture with it.  I'm one of those people who like to find the weirdest things and take pictures of or with them.

Then we walked over to the cache site.  There were signs that talked about the birthplace of Washington State and we soon found a problem.  There were two boys sitting on the benches hanging out listening to music.  Bob started reading the boards and I went in to find the cache without looking too suspicious.  I read the hint and found it quickly, all while listening to Gangham Style.  I signed the cache and put it back before anyone noticed.

We went to a few others and then we were taken to the Cowlitz County WSU extention building where people can take classes to learn about horticulture.  The cache was easy to find.  GO COUGS!

Just for the halibut, we went to a fish and chips restaurant to grab another one to add to our growing cache collection.  This one was tucked inside the hole of a post with some buoys on it.  The building looked like other buildings you would find at Ocean Shores.

We drove to the industrial area again to find a few more we had previously DNF'd last October.  The first one we looked for was over by the Lowe's and a storage facility.  It was hidden very well.  I give props to Bearsnme it was a great hide.  I have no idea how I found it or what I was thinking while I looked for it.  It just looked out of place and I picked it up and saw the nano on the backside of it.  The next one was at a pet store that we DNF'd as well last fall, that one was actually missing because of the recent landscaping, this time it was there and Bev found it.

We went into a feed store to find the next one, it was in a cow planter.  Also, Bob bought some starter onions to plant in his garden. 

We moved onto the Weyerhaeuser area to find a cache and to stop at the Texaco to use the bathroom.  Some lady and her husband saw our GPS's and asked us about geocaching.  She was very excited to find out that there was one less than 500 feet from where we were.  We drove west to get a few others.

There was one at the mint farm and two just up the street with a Christmas theme by Bearsnme.  I found one that a previous cacher could not find.  We saw a few snakes.

We found one at a rock pit with no trespassing signs, some cemetery ones and even a multi because we didn't want to be traditional hogs.  The multi was done by a cacher named Kyle, his grandparents were buried in the cemetery.  We had to go collect dates from the tombstones and do a little math to figure out the final coords.  Yay, we did it right!

By this point, we drove around to the next few caches just to make our 50 for the day.  We searched at a park, at a coffee stand, a park and ride and a bank next to the Columbia River.

We stopped at Papa Pete's in Longview off of Hwy 4 to have some dinner before we hit the freeway for a 2ish hour drive back to Rainier.  The weather was awesome, the caches were all there except for one that was missing on the lake and we had some good food, good company and many laughs.  Onto the next adventure!

Yakima Visit Day 4

My alarm went off at around 9.  On my way to the bathroom I noticed he was asleep on the couch.  I'll give him an hour.  I went back in my room and started packing up my stuff.  It's always harder packing on the return trip home.  I managed to fit most of it in my duffel bag.  The rest will have to just be piled in the van.

I went back out in the living room and he woke up.  He said he made some doughnuts, I laughed because I could see they were from Safeway.  I had a maple bar and a sprinkled one.  We did a few things before deciding to do some errands around town.  I ran out of socks so I had to wear flip flops.

We got in the truck and picked up some meds for Shannon.  We hit up the McDonald's in Selah and he bought some ice cream sandwiches for Shannon's 4th graders.  I ate my lunch in the truck.  We drove over to the elementary school and had lunch with everyone in the classroom.  He's been hiding a dollar somewhere around the classroom and he gives them one clue everyday until they find it.  A group of girls found the most recent hide right in front of us.  It was on the sink.  After lunch we went out to the field and played whiffle ball with the whole class.  We had a great time in the sun.

We went back to the truck and he asked if I still wanted to go to Moxee for some caches.  I said yes and that I will be the navigator.  We got there in about ten minutes and found the first one underneath a lamp skirt in a small park off of Hwy 24.  The second one was at a guardrail not far from the park.  The third one was at a cemetery but was not there.  Dang it.

We went back to the house and I started slowly packing the van with my stuff.  I gathered the cans, left my Sega behind for him to see if he could get it working again and we talked about the next time he would be over on the west side.  We said our goodbyes and I was off.  I stopped and got gas in Naches at the Arco, the price was $3.29.  I grabbed some snackies and a Dr. Pepper for the way home.  I was hoping I would not get stuck behind a semi on the pass.

I got to the tunnel and this time I did not have to stop but they were still blasting.  I did get stuck behind a slow car though.  Just before the climb to the pass, we did get stuck behind a semi truck but he was nice and let us all pass him.  A very large victory for a two-laned highway mountain pass.  I ate my apple, had some of my chips and chex mix along the way.

I got into Morton and texted mom and Willmarth to let them know where I was.  When I got to McKenna, I called Grandma to let her know what I was going to do.  I didn't have enough time to go home and go back up to Lacey so I just went to Lacey for my soccer meeting with Kat and her people about the evaluations.

I got to the RAC way early so I called some people, used the bathroom and hoped that I went to the right building.  A bit later, I walked over to a building and the guy inside said it was the right place.  He commented on my Coug sweatshirt and he said he went there and graduated in 1982.

The meeting was interesting.  I just sat there and listened.  Kat tried to get me to coach.  I don't have the means right at this moment but maybe someday...

Afterwards Kat, Eric and I chatted in the parking lot for a while.  Uh oh it was almost 10:30!  I needed to give Grandma back her van.  I headed home and got there just before 11.  I traded the stuff out of the van into my car and went home.

I brought in a few things, made a sandwich, got ready for bed and passed out.  5:30 a.m. comes too fast.

Yakima Visit Day 3

I got up around 10.  Early this morning was really crazy when they were trying to get the dogs to cooperate while trying to get ready for work.  Willmarth was subbing again at Naches and he had to take Shannon to work.  It was going to be a long day for the both of them.

I took a shower and realized there was only one more towel.  When I was done I decided that I would earn my keep, plus I was home, to do a little laundry for them while they were gone.  I put whatever was in the washer in the dryer and did a load of towels.  While that was doing its thing, I made a few little corn dogs for lunch.  I had no idea when they were suppose to be home this time around.  I ate my corn dogs, watched TV and logged more ET Highway caches.  I was determined to get it done.  I let the dogs in after I was done eating.  Once again, they looked for Willmarth and Shannon.

About a half hour later, they both passed out on the couch. 

A little bit later, Willmarth showed up and we got ready for basketball practice in the Tri-Cities.  We grabbed Shannon from work and took her home and immediately headed east on I-82 towards Kennewick.

We stopped in Prossor to get some food at Taco Bell.  Then he got a phone call that lasted until we got to Kennewick.  I just watched the scenery out the window.  We got to Park Middle School and went inside.  The floor and backboards were covered in dust.  When the basketballs came, I put on my shoes and started shooting.  Girls funneled in one at a time.  I was hoping we would have more than four people.  We got lucky, nine girls came to practice.

Practice looked and felt just like all the practices I had in high school.  Nothing has changed except for the girls and the years that have gone bye.  I threw myself in some of the drills just to see how the girls would react.  They actually reacted well.  The rest of practice we worked on zone defense and zone offenses.  It was a lot of fun.

I met Willmarth's Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob, they try and come to all of his practices.  Afterwards, we went over to their house and she made us almost a Thanksgiving dinner.  I am never really that hungry after running around so I didn't eat very much.  Betty is hilarious and I enjoyed her stories.  It was getting late so we grabbed some gas and a drink and headed back to Yakima.

We got home almost 10:45 but had some time to get a peanut buster parfait.  Dairy Queen was actually closed but the owners allowed us to order and pay.  We drove up the hill and made it home.  The dogs went nuts and Shannon was on the couch looking miserable.  I guess she fell down today when she wasn't suppose to go outside...

I went in my room and logged a few more of my ET Highway caches until he came in and said he was going to go to bed.  We basically covered every aspect of what I needed to know about Ebay and PayPal.  I got my bed ready and watched TV as I logged.  Around two, I finally fell asleep.  Tomorrow was going to be a long day.