25 November 2007 Going Home






With a nice weekend in the middle, this one ended pretty much as it started, with a sick dog. On Wednesday evening, our dog Gwen was really sick. We were wondering if we would be able to go to Pennsylvania. She was up and about by Thursday so we were on our way to Pennsylvania. On the drive home to Ohio, our dog Eva got very sick after our first cache. She looked terrible all evening, but was up and about on Monday. I guess dogs can spread germs to each other.

I saw this woodpecker on a tree near our PA home. They are beautiful creatures.

24 November 2007 Logans Falls









We went caching for the afternoon with our friend Wes of kcepenn. The short days made for a quick trip. One stop on our trail was a return visit to Logan Falls in Forest County. The AGT cache listed as Logan Falls isn't very close to the falls, but it is located in an outstanding area of rocks. The little kid side of me always enjoys climbing around on these formations. The overhang entrance in the one picture is really impressive. For scale, Wes is standing on the rocks to the left of the entrance in the one photo.

After we found the cache, I walked off toward the falls. We've been to the falls before, but it was during a lower rain time of the year and there was reduced flow. I knew they would be grand today with all the rain we have had. I was also determined to get on the other side of the falls so I could get the best view for these photos. To reach them, I had to go about 200 yards upstream and cross the run. The run is about 20 feet wide so I knew I was going to get wet. My feet were soaked from the trip across and I was dripping from the return, but the photos are worth it. I hope you enjoy.

23 November 2007 Visiting Oz on the Kinzua Valley Trail









We spent the day caching with our friend Dove78. Our plan was to find a few AGT caches and head to the Kinzua Valley Trail to look for the Wizard of Oz series placed by Doo Wop Dee. We found a lot of caches and hiked a lot of miles. The weather went from blazing sun to persistent flurries and back again. Finding a half dozen daisies in bloom while it was snowing was a nice surprise. It was a really fun day. The Kinzua Valley Trail cache is currently 2.5 miles long and growing. The place where we started had a nice new parking area. Kinzua Creek is well worth a visit.

22 November 2007 Thanksgiving at the Beach






We were headed to the PA house and decided today would be a great day to stop at the beach :-). We were really excited when we arrived at the parking lot and saw no cars. It was ours! We were so shocked no one else was there :-0. We couldn't decide between relaxing in the sand or hanging on the waves so we found the cache near the beach and moved on. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

20 November 2007 Thanks






No these photos aren't recent ;-). They are from the right time of year, but they are from a few years back. We had a late fall trip to California and a visit to Pinnacles National Monument. Ali had just gotten her gps (our first) so we took it along to see how well it worked. We were idiots and lucky to make it back alive. It's amazing how much more we know today. Still, it was a great time and the photos are nice.

This is the time of year to say thanks. These make a nice pair to say thanks to all who visit this page. Without you, these would be electronic memories stored away somewhere. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for visiting.

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schweitzer

18 November 2007 Team Nature Nutz













GeaugaGarmin joined us for a day of cache hunting. This spring Cold One named the three of us Team Nature Nutz at a Medina Park Event. We liked the name and its stuck. Today our mission was to find a handful of caches in the Cleveland Metroparks. We started at the Canalway Park. As I was parking the geomobile, I looked across the lot and saw a familiar face. Buffalo Man was getting out of a second geomobile. He was joined a second later by Jester of Jester and Granny. With work, it has been a long time since I have seen either of these friends so we all enjoyed an enthusiastic 2 mile walk along the old canal. Jester found the great mushroom along the way.

After we left our two friends, Team Nature Nutz made its way to the Brecksville Reservation to find another friend's earthcache. We had a pleasant walk; took a few photos; and learned a bit at the earthcache.

After leaving the Brecksville Reservation, we diverted from the Cleveland Metroparks to visit the Bath Nature Preserve. We enjoyed a nice, long walk around the preserve and were treated to a view of a marsh hawk. It was a first sighting for all of us. We later sighted a second marsh hawk in a different section of the preserve.

We headed from the Bath Preserve to the Cleveland Metroparks Whipps Ledges for a fun cache hidden in the Ledges. It was nice to see all the activity at the Metroparks locations today. We dodged muggles and made a nice find while crawling through the ledges.

Our last stop was a quiet visit to Beyer's Pond in Cleveland Metroparks. After our last walk of the day we made our way to Malleys for an ice cream break. Yum!

17 November 2007 Summit and Portage










The last two months have been a train-wreck for me. My professional life was turned upside-down and really made me stop and look around. It also made me start to lose things and be forgetful. Last week, I realized that outside sources of support wouldn't always there when you needed them, and in the end, I needed inner strength. So far, life is a lot quieter, but it is working. I have resolved a lot of uncertainty in the last week. I still need to make more changes, and I am not certain how much I am going to like the added travel (I haven't so far). Even so, things are looking up. I found something last evening that I lost almost two months prior. Now if I could just remember where I left my planner...

For me, it seemed appropriate to visit Kent Bog today. We were going to cache around in Summit County and go to a friend's CITO event, but I just wanted a day away from everyone. Instead, we decided to make Eric's virtual at this nature area our last stop of the day. The bog was nearly deserted on a cold, rainy day, but it was a perfect time for a peaceful walk through the graceful tamaracks that populate the bog. It was also a good time to reflect on our lost friend Eric. It has been over two years since Eric passed. It would be nice to see his friendly, gentle face and visit with him for a spell, but his memory lives on and returns to us at places like this. We cached well today friend. Hopefully, we'll see you around the bend.

14 November 2007 Rocky Waters

11 November 2007 Off the Tanbark

10 November 2007 First Snow

8 November 2007 Over the Rainbow





Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me


I'm struggling with whether I want to post anymore. I seem to have lost my inspiration. It's tough to know a fun phase of your life has probably slipped away.

Israel Kamakawiwo's version of this song is a work of art.

4 November 2007 Visiting Ladue






I stopped here this afternoon for the latest in a recent long string of dnf's. I expect the cache was there, but I wasn't. The lake was low today probably a combination of this summer's drought and the draw-down in preparation for snowfall and run-off.

As long as I was here, I stopped and spent some time remembering. When I first bought my boat, Gangbusters, this lake was a really busy place. I would arrive about 6 on Sunday mornings with my brother-in-law and sometimes my brother. We would scoot under the low causeway and out to our favorite perch bed and grab a handful of perch. Later as the sun came out and the fish slowed down, we would move around the lake. I would mostly hang out and doze in the sun while my brother-in-law would work the shoreline for bass. He was always a good fisherman and could out fish me while sleeping. We would spend the whole day doing nothing useful except having fun.

When it was time to go in, we would scoot back under that low causeway and onto the dam side of the lake. We were always greeted by a flotilla of small sailboats. This was a time before big and horsepower ruled the land. Oftentimes more than 50 small sailboats would dot the dam side of the causeway. The horizon was filled with a rainbow of sails; sails with stripes, plain white sails, sails with patterns, sails with rainbows. The people with the sailboats would be a wide array ranging from young couples to empty nesters to older couples just looking to enjoy being on the water. Ladue never allowed any motor other than electric so it was always pleasantly quiet. The only sound you could hear on the lake was the sound of people having fun.

After I settled down and married Ali, my brother-in-law and I would occasionally head to Ladue for a little visit. We switched our time on the water to Saturday evenings. The little sailboats were long gone as were most of the people fishing, but we would stay until sunset grabbing a few fish, watching the graceful beauty of herons as they flew by, and enjoying the evening rise of the moon. We had both grown in different directions by then so these evenings did not last for long, but they were fun.

These days whenever I pass by Ladue in the nicer weather the lake is pretty much deserted. The houses that housed the sailboat owners and fishing boat owners of the past have been dwarfed by Mcmansions whose residents have eyes only for the biggest and fastest of anything. A quiet afternoon on a modest lake would do nothing to add to their prestige and image. Too bad for them. Ladue is still there waiting.

3 November 2007 Augusta Olsen Nature Preserve











Winter's almost here. It's not a pleasing thought. Almost all the farms have the fields ready for winter. I only passed one farm with feed corn still in the field on my drive out. On the drive back, they were two abreast in that field with the lights on bringing in the last of the corn.

I had to head into the woods to enjoy the last day of daylight savings time for the year. Besides it was a fine day to be out. A little list mixed with some sunshine during my drive. I have no idea why I headed to Wakeman today. It is nowhere near home and not really anywhere I've been. Maybe that was the key. It was someplace new. No matter how it happened, it was a bit of good luck as I ended up finishing my day at the Augusta Olsen Nature Preserve.

The preserve is a nice way to spend a few hours. The river looked great. I didn't see any wildlife, but I found a ton of bloodroot leaves. I expect the wildflowers are something to see in the spring. I managed to be the first dnf for two caches in the preserve so now there's a reason to return in the spring to check out the bloodroot. ;-)

I fear this may be nearly the last photos from my trusty Fuji. It seems to be having some problem with its power system. It always thinks newly charged batteries are discharged. It's been with me a long time through some big changes. If this is the end, I will be sad to see it. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures it (and Augusta Olsen Nature Preserve) have provided.