Favorite Cache of the Week / June 26 - July 1, 2011

June 28th marked the start of our vacation and the beginning of our trek to GeoWoodstock IX. We started off with my first Taste of Chicago and another attempt at the virtual cache: Cloud Gate aka The Bean. Two years ago we took the picture incorrectly (with the Bean in the background of the picture rather than a reflection off of it). This time we actually read the cache requirements and were good to go. Days later the camera died and we have not been able to get the pictures downloaded. So.... it looks like another visit to Chicago and maybe the third time with this virtual will be the charm for us!

After a drive through Indiana and Ohio, lots and lots of Spirit Quest caches, a stay in Amish country, and a visit to the Tristate Marker, we arrived in Warren, Pennslyvania, site of GeoWoodstock IX.

Tristate Marker - Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

July 1st was a three event day! Got up and headed over for breakfast at Come Meet the Mama's II at Richard's, a local restaurant down Route 6 in Youngsville, PA. This little place was prepared for the massive crowd of geocachers by offering a buffet and setting up a large tent outside with tables for seating. We opted to skip the buffet (the line was moving but very long) and found a place to sit for table service. We sat next to and met a wonderful local geocacher, hunters2, who shared information about the area and it's caches.

After breakfast we went to meet the train riders of the GeoWoodstock Express at the Oil Creek State Park. Could not believe how many people were on that train! Wow! With so many people waiting in line for lunch, JCAZ and I decided to walk over to Petroleum Centre Cemetry even though we don't normally do multi or mystery caches and this one is a little of both. Before heading up to the cemetery we were joined by friend Maingray and his entertaining son Seth. These are the times I love at GeoWoodstocks! Spending time visiting and caching with friends whom I may only get to see this one time a year. As anticipated, finding the cache was not difficult as during most large events like this it is more standing in line to sign the log than it is actually searching. Even so Petroleum Centre Cemetry was one of my very favorite non-event cache finds of the week because of the company.

After visiting at the event, JohnnyCacheAz and I continued caching southward towards Oil City before starting back up to the fairgrounds to attend GWS Pow-Wow on The Little Brokenstraw Creek the meet-and-greet event for GeoWoodstock.

Log 'book' for the GWS Pow-Wow on The Little Brokenstraw Creek was a tepee!

Favorite Cache of the Week / June 19 - 25, 2011

I have gotten really behind on logging my finds. Again.

But I'm fairly close to getting current so here are my favorites from three weeks ago!

Summertime means most of our caching is done in cooler climes than the ridiculous heat of home in Phoenix. This week Tim's overnights were in Reno and Boise. So, I have two favorites this week, one in each city!

In Reno we enjoyed a late champagne brunch and then set off on foot to explore and find a couple of downtown caches. My favorite was Sweet Tooth, a simple but effective hide. Sometimes it's not about the hide itself but the place it brings you. The cache name is a play on the location, near a business called 'The Chocolate Bar' and a dentist's office. Cute! The cache can be reached from sidewalk but is not recommended for the shy geocacher. It is hidden inside the railing of the bar/lounge's outdoor patio very near the tables. Stealthiness was required. While signing the log Tim and I were intrigued by the The Chocolate Bar as it is not at all what we expected to see in downtown Reno. Evidently this area has gone through a revitalization as this place is modern, dark and even a little swanky. We sat at the bar near a big flat screen showing (in gorgeous black and white) Sabrina and discovered it was miraculously Happy Hour. Perfection on warm summer day we ordered a pitcher of Sangria for $10. The bartender made it with fresh fruit, a nice merlot and peach schnapps, wonderful! Without a cache placed here we would have never discovered this local gem.

Later in the week we traveled to Boise, rented a car and cached north of the city around the Horseshoe Bend area. My favorite cache of this trip is Bread Loaf Rock. The cache is located a couple of 100 feet off of the scenic Summit Ridge Road. From the cache site is a great view of the local landmark the cache is named after: a rock formation that looks just like a loaf a bread with a slice taken off. Someone went out and painted the inside of the "loaf" white years ago. Here's a pic from the web of how cute it is: