3000 Caches Later!!

In March of 2004, Linda and Larry took us out to show us what geocaching was all about. We made our first find at this cemetery. By May of 2004, we were official geocachers and the fun began. 2999 caches later it seemed only appropriate to return to the "scene of the crime" so today we returned to find our 3000th cache. Yes, it was a different cache!

Over the last two and a half years we have toured the state of Nevada, climbed just about every mountain in the Reno area (many times), visited places we didn't even know existed, and made so many friends. It has indeed been a journey we have enjoyed all the way. Now on to more new and exciting places and more people to meet.

The Road to Elko and Home in 35 Hours

Linda and Larry were on their way to Utah to visit Larry's mother and we decided to tag along as far as Elko. We were on a caching quest to get a cache in every Nevada county.

We started out at 6:30am Friday morning and managed to turn a 5 hour trip to Elko into an 11 hour + trip. We arrived in Elko at a little before 6pm after picking up caches in 6 different counties. Counting the counties we already had we have completed 11 and have 6 to go. Those six are in southern Nevada so it will be fall before we even attempt them. The heat in southern Nevada at this time of year is awful.

Our trek began with Mike climbing a tree. He's done a lot of that since we started caching!! We also visited the infamous windmill that Mike and Larry have been taking pictures of for years. We decided that we needed some people in a windmill picture so we each posed under it.

After arriving in Elko, we had dinner at a Basque restraurant and had a delicious meal. Then it was home to bed for 4 very tired cachers.

The next morning we cached around the Elko area, had lunch, and then each headed our separate ways. Linda and Larry to Utah and Mike and I home. We arrived here about 5:30pm - 35 hours after we started.

Alpine Caching

Last week Mike and I spent two days geocaching and exploring in the Monitor Pass and Lake Tahoe areas. The first day we climbed up a dirt road off of Highway 395S that took us straight up the side of a mountain into alpine meadows and aspen groves. We had a beautiful view of Topaz Lake and the valleys to the east. We traveled down the other side to the Monitor Pass area and continued on to Markleeville and Grover Hot Springs. The second day we went up Spooner Summit to Genoa Peak Road that took us on a forest service road along a ridge above Lake Tahoe. When we reached Kingsbury Road we went on around Tahoe which we discovered is a 72 mile trip.

2006 GBES Rally

The 2006 GBES Rally is over and we survived! Team R & R Jeepsters (Mike, Cynthia, Linda, Larry) started the weekend Friday night as we followed a route and found caches in the dark. Mike was the driver and did a great job. Linda and Larry found caches and I coordinated all the GPS units. Saturday morning we were back for the grueling day rally. Again we followed a specified route and found caches hidden in the desert. This time I got to get out of the jeep and run for caches too. Some parts were fun, but some were VERY challenging. After 8 hours of climbing mountains, navigating rock filled roads, traveling down creekbeds and fording streams, ALL of us were very glad to hit pavement. This was our second year as a team. Last year we placed 5th. This year we decided to be in the non-competitive class so we could just enjoy the scenery and ride. One thing we discovered is that no matter what we are competitive. For next year the big question is “will we be back”. Time will tell. The picture shows our routes. The yellow line is the night course, the red line is the day course.

Early Morning Adventure!

Mike and I were up before the sun this morning so we could place some caches in area parks. As we were working on the first cache, we could watch the sunrising from the east and the moon setting in the west. From there we moved on to another park to plant my Galena Kids Cache. I've been eating lots of kids meals while on the geocaching hunts so I could fill an ammo can with "treasures" for the younger set. Our grandkids love to exchange treasures and they are arriving next week so I wanted to have a cache they could find. Next we moved on to a very big tree, where we placed the cache up very high. Mike's plan A didn't work, so up the tree he climbed. Plan B became please don't fall out of the tree. We were successful at all three locations and headed home for breakfast and a shower.

Traveling Along Highway 49

Today Mike and I, along with Linda and Larry, traveled along Highway 49 from Sierraville (outside Truckee) to Nevada City. Of course, we were geocaching too. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was fantastic. Along the way we saw a bear run across the road in front of us, a beautiful waterfall, an old mine, a quaint little town, and a raging river. And to top it off, by the end of the day, we had found 20 caches.

We never cease to be amazed by the experiences we have enjoyed while geocaching. Today was no exception.

4-Wheeling in Nevada!

Yesterday we were in the Carson City/Gardnerville/Minden area geocaching and 4-wheeling. The roads were a little worse for wear after our second record breaking winter. Several places were a little more rough and scarey than we bargained for. After both Cynthia and Linda got out of the jeeps, both men navigated a particularly rough area of the road. The pictures don't do it justice. Mike went first with his new anti-sway bars and then he helped Larry. Several times various wheels on Larry's jeep were hanging in mid air. It was a very stressful day and we were glad to reach pavement.

Lake Tahoe on a Rainy Day!

We spent today touring Lake Tahoe. It was supposed to be a pretty, sunny, warm day. Surprise. We awoke to rain this morning here in Reno and very dark clouds over the mountains between us and Tahoe. What to do. You guessed it - neither rain, wind, cold, fog or a little snow would stop us on our planned rounds. This was the first time we cached in the rain. We managed to find all but one. We had to finally give up on that one when we were soaked to the skin from the POURING rain. It was hard, but we headed back to the car. We didn't reach sunshine until we arrived back in Reno for our last cache of the day. We're glad to report that Lake Tahoe is even beautiful in the rain!!

Jeeping Over Peavine!

We spent Friday geocaching on Peavine Mountain north of Reno with Linda and Larry. We traveled over, around, and sometimes it seemed through the mountain and saw some beautiful places. We saw Aspen groves, meadows, beautiful birds, and even some left over snow. The weather was cold and windy in some places and beautiful and sunny in others. Take a look at the map to see just how extensive our trip was. We had a great time!!

Biking Along the Cascade Canal

Mike and I spent Mother's Day biking along the Cascade Canal with Linda and Larry. They were checking on the 8 caches they had planted and we were finding them. This was the first time I had ridden a bicycle since the girls were little. We bounced over rocks, carried our bikes over catwalks, avoided hikers, and balanced precariously between steep drops on one side and the canal on the other. Boy did the end of the trail (9 miles later) look great!! It was a fun way to spend Mother's Day.