13 August 2008 Visiting Holden










It was time for a summer's evening walk around one of our favorite places, Holden Arboretum. We started at the member's lot and headed for a walk around Corning Lake. At Corning Lake we were treated to two green herons hanging out in the same tree. The lake looked wonderful with late summer blossoms and color. Ali chased a few frogs (and got a few plops). We finished up with a walk through the deer exclosure, a trip through the evergreens and a pass by the sugar bush. There is always something to see here no matter which season and there always seems to be something we've never seen before.

11 August 2008 Flatness and Spirit Quest Caches






I was tired and not up for much caching so I stayed right around Columbia City at the end of the day. I spent a long time looking for a regular in the woods behind a park. I had been warned by the Columbia City Pyrocachers that the coords were about sixty feet off, but I still came away without the smiley. After that, I managed to strike out on stage 2 of the local Pyrocachers' cache. After that, I lowered my target to a couple Spirit Quest caches and an early evening.

10 August 2008 Pokagon State Park









We spent the day with Liz and Wes at Pokagon State Park. It basically covered everyone's desires. It has a ton of regular-sized caches so I was happy. It has four earthcaches so Liz and Wes were happy. It has a lot of trails to walk so Ali and I were happy.

I wasn't certain what to expect at an Indiana State Park. The northern part of the state is so flat that I almost expected the same at the park. I was really surprised and happy. There are three kettle lakes at Pokagon. The large lake at Pokagon is a kettle, but it is heavily developed so the lake has lost most of its features. The smaller lake is much closer to a bog and completely undeveloped. Access is with a small boardwalk and platform. The lake has some tamarack and is quite scenic. The park also boasts the highest point in the county and some nice hiking to reach it.

Pokagon also has the biggest tobaggon run I have ever seen. It is huge. It looks like a lot of fun. The web site says 35-40 miles per hour. I believe it.

After the earthcaches and a multi, we grabbed lunch with Liz and Wes so they could start their journey back to PA. We went out for a few more caches and were able to stop by the nature center to find a tribute cache for our friend Eric Sherwood. Ali had a long drive home. My day ended back in Fort Wayne with a few more travel days left.

9 August 2008 MidWest Geobash





It was a rough day at MWGB. I got sick really early and don't remember much. I remember seeing lots of friends, but didn't really take any photos. Sometime during the day we saw this sandhill crane.

8 August 2008 On the the MidWest Geobash

7 August 2008 Finished in Evansville






It was the last day of our meeting. My talented team posed for a staff photo before they headed home. After an afternoon of auditing I was only good for hunting a really old cache along the river. After that I packed up and got ready to meet Ali at the Midwest GeoBash.

6 August 2008 Kentucky











I really thought about taking my staff geocaching for our recreation activity during our meeting. Instead, one of the local staff offered to arrange a VIP day at Ellis Park to watch horse racing. This was an experience for me. I almost never gamble and have never put money on ponies except for a few amish harness races at the Columbiana County Fair.

The afternoon was interesting. I only bet on about half the races, but my horse won one. With the win, my losses were really tiny (about $5). It didn't really do anything for me. I'd much rather watch draft horses in the horse pull at the local county fair. I have forgotten how unpleasant it is to be indoors with a bunch of smokers. I left prior to the last race with a huge headache and most of my money.

I was intent on caching Kentucky since I was in the state. There is a state park very near the race track. I got a few caches, but was completely turned off by the near complete use of micros. The state park was all micros with one small. A nearby local park was almost all micros. I finally found a regular cache (and had a good time) in a park along the Ohio River. The huge train trestle was impressive, and the river was peaceful at sunset.

5 August 2008 Caching Milestones






I had a dinner scheduled with my staff in the evening so there was only time to grab a couple caches. I went out with one of my staff so he could grab his 200th find. His milestone came on a nice trail behind a cemetery. We also stopped at this cemetery and made a find. It was a very nice old cemetery with lots of Civil War veterans and an old stone structure built around the water well. The dog statue was impressive. I'm not sure of the history behind New Salem Campground Cemetery or how it got that name, but it is a unique name for a cemetery.

4 August 2008 Alone in Evansville








I arrived in Evansville before most of my staff. I spent the day auditing before heading off for a few caches in the evening. I grabbed a couple at the park closest to our facility and a few others before packing it in and heading to a series of quarry lakes. The only cache in the area is on an island in one of the lakes so without our kayak, there was no caching to be done. I had guessed it would be a quiet place to spend the end of the day. It was a beautiful place and a grand sunset. One of those moments when I wished Ali (and the kayak) were with me.

3 August 2008 Olive Branch Cemetery











I was on my way to Evansville and county hunting when I stopped for a cache called Oregonia TB Motel. I almost passed it by because the description said little, and it looked like I was trespassing. I had no idea there was an old cemetery at this location and was completely unprepared for what I saw. At one time this was a large cemetery with about 250 graves. Now there are about six still standing. For the most part the old flat headstones are stacked in piles at different locations while a number are just lying on the ground at the southern end of the cemetery. I'm not sure what happened to bring this cemetery to this state of disrepair, but it was sad. They cache page said someone is trying to put the cemetery back together. I hope so.

2 August 2008 Just Relaxing


It's a beautiful morning,





I think I'll go outside a while,





And just smile.





Just take in some clean fresh air!





Ain't no sense in staying inside





If the weather's fine





and you got the time.





It's your chance to wake up





and plan another brand new day.






Either way,





It's a beautiful morning,





Each bird keeps singin' his own song.







So long!





I've got to be on my way, now.





Ain't no fun just hangin' around,





I've got to cover ground, you couldn't keep me down.





It just ain't no good if the sun shines







When you're still inside,






Many thanks to the Young Rascals for saying it so well. Someone recently visited this blog through its Waymarking page and refered to the visit as feeling like a voyeur. I never thought of it that way. Our journey today never got more than 6-7 miles from home. We visited in order the farmer's market in Russell, the art show and trails of Geauga Park's Westwoods, Muggleton Farms, Frohring Meadows, and Fantasy Island. If your either a geocacher or a Harry Potter fan, you have to smile at the thought of walking or caching at Muggleton Farm. It was a special summer day. I hope you enjoyed the photos. :-)