20 Years of Geocaching!

My 20th Anniversary of Geocaching came and went without my notice.  It all began at Ash Grove on 10/2/2004.  I visited Ash Grove, an 18th-century plantation house in Fairfax County, Virginia.  In 1790, Bryan Fairfax built Ash Grove on Leesburg Pike, two miles west of present-day Tysons Corner, for his son Thomas Fairfax. The Ash Grove Bug Hotel (GCHF7Q) was created by Tim M CPA on 1/6/2004. I was inspired by the Ash Grove Geocache to create historical Geocaches when I returned home.

How To Puzzle Cache by Author: Cully Long

Faced With A Map Full Of Blue Question Marks And No Idea Where To Start? Geocaching novices and pros alike are often daunted by puzzle and mystery caches. Ciphers, enigmatic photos, nonsensical text, or just a blank page -- it often isn't clear what the Co wants or expects you to do, and even less clear how any of it will lead you to a cache. This Book Will Help You Ask -- And Answer -- All The Right Questions. 300 pages of lessons, tips, tricks and hints for dealing with even the trickiest puzzle caches, plus step-by-step techniques that start with examining the cache page and lead you through codes, ciphers, steganography, math, music, and dozens of other common puzzle cache types will have you on the trail in no time.

Reading about Geocaching

Gillin, Paul; Gillin, Dana (2010). The Joy of Geocaching. Fresno, California: Quill Driver Books. ISBN 978-1884956997.

Mike Dyer (2004). The Essential Guide to Geocaching. Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN 978-1555915223.

Jack W. Peters (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. ISBN 1-59257-235-9.

Joel McNamara (2004). Geocaching For Dummies. For Dummies. ISBN 978-0764575716.

Erik Sherman (2004). Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS. Apress. ISBN 978-1590591222.

Cameron, Layne; Ulmer, Dave (2004). The Geocaching Handbook (Falcon Guide). Falcon. ISBN 978-0-7627-3044-5.

John McKinney (2008). Let's Go Geocaching. DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0756637170.

CQ Products (2007). It's a Treasure Hunt! Geocaching & Letterboxing. G & R. ISBN 978-1563832680.

Road Scholar has changed but not for the better

In 1997 I began traveling with Elderhostel, a learning program. You had to be 55+ Years to travel the World with them.  The programs were geared toward older adults.  A few people traveled with canes, Sport Seats and Walkers.  The programs were fairly demanding but we all coped.  

Then Elderhostel became known as Road Scholar.  The age limit was dropped.  Younger people expected the programs to be physically challenging.  I am being encouraged this year by Road Scholar to sign up for less physically demanding programs: "Easy Going" which means less activity and more lectures. 

I basically need Road Scholar to supply the hotel, the meals and transportation so I can Geocache, host Geocaching Events and visit with Geocachers.  And a safe environment so I can still travel.

Geocaching in September 2024

My eldest son Jeff stopped by for a visit on Sept. 12-13, 2024.  Jeff and I went Geocaching around the Portland area on Friday the 13th.  We had lunch on the outdoor patio at McMenamins Rock Creek.  I found a couple Virtuals.

I found two Virtuals on Thursday, Sept. 19.  I enjoyed the live Harp Music at Leach Botanical Garden.  I had a late lunch at Starbucks in Lake Oswego.  I found two Virtuals on Friday, Sept. 20.  I had a dish of Peach Ice-cream at a nearby Brewery.  I was trapped at a train crossing off Water Avenue for 20 minutes on the way home.  I rode MAX Light Rail into Portland where I found two Virtuals along the MAX Light Rail lines on Saturday, Sept. 21. 

My son Christopher and I went to the Bend Oregon Cache Machine September 28-30.  We had separate hotel rooms as I was unable to get a separate bedroom suite. The weather was perfect.  I will be a happy person if I never encounter another traffic circle the rest of my life!  Bend even had a traffic circle in the high desert.  

I found three Virtuals: Wagon Road, Riley Ranch and The One and Only (Blockbuster Video Store).  I found 15 State Capitals Challenge cache and a few other caches. Christopher found many more caches than I did.  I was deeply disappointed in the Cache Machine Dinner on Saturday evening.  I did have a nice conversation with four women cachers.  We traveled home on Monday afternoon via Detroit/Salem.

My Geocaching name is Rose Red

My Geocaching name is Rose Red from the Brothers Grimm's story "Snow White and Rose Red."  Snow White was quiet and passive.  I'm not.

My favorite "Bite the Bullert" Quote

Sam Clayton: "The people some people marry."