Showing posts with label power run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power run. Show all posts

Saturday, October 30, 2021

2020-05-10: Jeeping and Geocaching in a Florida Forest Finding some Creative Caches!

WOW, it was a fun day! Welcome back to my AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures Blog. Normally my adventures are roadtrips finding geocaches that focus more on the destination. Today was all about finding some creative geocache containers in the Osceola National Forest. So come on aboard the GeoJeep and let's see what kind of crazy caches we can find...



After talking to some of our local geocacher friends, we heard about a fun power trail (a lot of caches along a road at or near the minimum required distance apart) where the majority of the geocache containers were unique and amusing. These were located within the Osceola National Forest in North Florida, not far from the campground which we were staying in Fort White.



After a few hours of wheeling and tromping through the woods, we had found a total of 41 geocaches with only 1 DNF. Unlike the other of my blog posts, I give you the caches GC# and link to the geocache page. However for this blog, because I'm showing you photos of the geocache itself, I'm not going to provide that info so that you might be pleasantly surprised when you find it yourself. Your only hint as to the location is that they are just a few of the nearly 1000 geocaches hidden within the Osceola National Forest.

I leave you now with photos of these creative geocache containers. If these are sparked your interest in this hobby, feel free to ask a question or leave your comments below. I always look forward to hearing from my readers.

See you next week...
 























To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you favorite of these social media platforms: FacebookMeWeGabRedditParlorTwitter, and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

2018-07-02: The Quest For 10,000 Geocaching Finds Day #1

So here we are once again for AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures Blog. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have been enjoying my stories and the history I'm finding through Geocaching.

Some of you have asked me that I have in the title. Yes, I'm actually two years behind in my writing. But trying my best to catch up while working 55-60 hours a week at the same time. I even took 3 months off from caching at the beginning of this year to spend the time writing.

Now returning back to July 2, 2018, the 4th of July falls on a Wednesday and I have the whole week off from work. Unfortunately, my wife still has to work, so it'll be a "stay-cation." What to do, what to do? Hey I'll go Geocaching!



Actually I've been thinking about this for a while now. I've been approaching the big 10,000 geocaching finds milestone. So I have to make it a truly remarkable, fun and memorable geocache. And I think I've found the perfect one. But I have to get there first and that's my goal for this week.

Starting the day off in Killeen, Texas at #9910, I head over to Dunkin' for a caramel iced coffee and a bagel. Then I drive south towards Georgetown. There's several power runs down there where I can get the numbers quickly.

So I get started on the "Hero's of War" series (GC2RBR8) and the "CR-207" series (GC515FD) of geocaches. In the midst of those are some other miscellaneous geocaches that I've found and others I've hidden. The power runs are just roadside caches, so I'll focus the rest of my blog on the stories of the scattered caches.

First up is the Santa Rosa Church Cemetery (GC7T2VK). Also known as the San Jose Cemetery on the Williamson County Historical Society Map. With just over 100 interments, a maintained cemetery still in use today. Although the little gazebo has seen better days. I couldn't find much history other than it's located near the town of Andice which only maintains a population of around 25 or so since the 1970's. There wasn't a geocache here, but I couldn't let that continue. So I hid one myself outside the gazebo.



The next site of interest was the ghost town last known as Gabriel Mills, Texas. From the historical marker: "Samuel Mather settled here in 1849, building a gristmill on the North San Gabriel in 1852. John G. Stewart opened a store near the mill. A small log cabin was in use by 1854 for church, school and lodge meetings. A post office was established in 1858, Mather being postmaster. W. L. Brizendine owned the mill by 1865, adding a cotton gin. Known as Mather’s Mill, Brizendine Mill, or Gabriel Mills, the village thrived until Austin & Northwestern Railroad bypassed it (1881); then a decline began. The post office closed in 1905, and by the 1920's the town itself had disappeared."

About all that remain are a collection of cemeteries and a few old houses. The first cemetery I came to was also another Geocache find (GC1260A). Jonathan Bittick was born in North Carolina September 11, 1796, and his wife Jinsy (Butler) Bittick, born in Georgia on June 8, 1805. He moved their family from Antoine Township (Clark), AR to Teneha District, Coahuila and Texas in 1830 along with Jinsy's parents, George and Elizabeth Butler, and her sister and brother-in-law William and Polly Ashabranner.

In October 1835 he received a grant on the east bank of Teneha Bayou one half mile below Bittick and Alford mill. Another grant was in Shelby County on Ayish Bayou. Jonathan was a miller and fanner who owned land in several Texas counties. In 1853, the Bittick's moved here to the frontier in Williamson County. Jonathan died in Gabriel Mills September 22, 1869 and Jinsy died there February 6, 1872 and are buried here in the family cemetery.


Around the corner just a mile away is a collection of three smaller cemeteries all connected together, the Mather Family Cemetery, the Brizendine Cemetery, and the Mt Horeb Cemetery (GC7T37F, GC7T380). There wasn't a geocache here so I hid two here myself. Rather than go into the long detailed history of the families that first settled this area, I ask that you click on the GC# link to the cache page. There I've posted that history if you're interested.


Most of the cemeteries were well kept as you can see in the photo above. But there were parts of it that was a little overgrown with some weeds. And there were a few worn and weathered flags from a previous holiday that were laying in the grass. I picked those up to be properly disposed of.


The next few photos are some of the remaining buildings left in the area. The first looked to be still maintained, but the rest... well you can see.




Some of the locals checking me out while I was taking pics.




Next up down the road is at the Connell Cemetery (GC2H9Q6). Alabama native Sampson Connell Jr (b. 1822) came to Texas with his family in 1834. Sampson along side his father, Sampson Connell, Sr. and his brother David Cook Connell supposedly delivered the last load of supplies to the Alamo before it was attacked by the Mexican Army. Later the three fought side by side in the "Battle of San Jacinto". Following Texas winning its' independence from Mexico, Sampson Connell, Jr. received a land grant in Williamson County from the Texas Republic for his efforts and patriotism. On his headstone is the bronze plaque for "Citizen of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1846." There are 20 burials here beginning with Sampson Connell Jr in 1873, to the last burial in 1939.



The geocache container was rather interesting for a cemetery. It appears as though one of the bodies didn't have all the pieces parts buried with it!



The next geocache of interest is at the William-Buck Cemetery (GC3A1YR). From the historical marker: "Legend surrounds the first years of this burial ground. Local oral history relates that among the earliest graves are those of a slave called Willie Osborne and an unknown Indian. Members of the Stephens family, ambushed by Indians in 1854, are said to have been buried here in their wagon. The oldest marked grave is that of infant Polly Williams, interred in 1854, on land owned by W. W. Williams. A cemetery association was organized in the 1960's. Many honored veterans of Confederate and U.S. Armed Forces are interred here. Fifteen graves were moved from the Bullion Cemetery in the 1970's when Lake Georgetown was formed. There are over 250 burials here."

My last stop was at the Perry Cemetery. I didn't find the cache (GC2H9QW), but I did find a story. James Wesley and his brother John Montgomery Perry both were members of the Scout Co. D. 12th Division Texas Calvary during the Civil War. They first served in Texas, then they were sent to Arkansas where they took part in battles of Searcy's Lane, Cotton Plant, and Langee River. They then went to to Louisiana, where they fought in battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Yellow Bayou. It was at Yellow Bayou that James was wounded in the right knee on May 16, 1863. He was in the hospital for some time, and then sent home on furlough. After his leg healed, he rejoined his unit, but was in no more battles. At the close of the war, the company disbanded at Falls County, TX.


That's enough for the day. Between the cemeteries and the power run, I've found 60 geocaches for today. But at 3 PM on a Texas July day it's pretty hot!

Now I'm at 9970 finds. Only 30 more to go! Do I make it tomorrow? Come back again and you'll see...

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

2017-12-10: Geocaching Cemeteries, a Ghost Town, a Power Run, and More Around West Texas.

Well it started out a sad morning. I had to drop my wife off at the airport this morning in Midland, Texas. She had to take a business trip up to Boston, Massachusetts for a week to train a Director of Therapy at a nursing home there.

So I went geocaching solo today. I didn't go far, just taking the long way and backroads to Monahans. I drove north out of Midland-Odessa on US-385 to grab my first cache at a picnic area (GC2KBRC). It would have been a quick park and grab, but there was this old wind mill there with this hawk or falcon sitting up on it. I probably spent about 15 minutes trying to get a decent picture. But you can only do so much with an old phone camera. I couldn't really get a closeup shot of the bird itself. It just made me miss my old Nikon. Gotta get a new camera one of these days.



Finally I decided enough photos have been attempted and continued north a few more miles. I arrived at a geocache called November 24 (GC3B1RT). It is one of a series of Power Run caches scattered about Midland and Odessa named for each day of the year. Along this stretch of road, I managed to get another 19 of 22 of the calendar dates. There were three along this road that I could not find. 

Looping back around to the south on Farm Road 181 and about 4 miles west of Goldsmith, I came to this intersection. On the one side out in the fields are these old buildings. Couple houses maybe? I'm not sure. I couldn't find any information on them. If you know what they were, please comments below. On the other corner is an active business. The Pioneer Cafe looks to be a combination cafe and convenience store. Though it was closed today so I'm not sure.

 

So I made my way back to Monahans and stopped by the Monahans Cemetery. I hid a cache there last year (GC6X29H). It had gone missing so I made a new one and replaced it today.

Instead of going home, I decided to continue heading west. There was a new cache listed in Pecos and the FTF (First to Find) was still up for grabs. Instead of jumping back onto I-20 so quickly, I decided to take the Old US-80/TX-57 highway westbound for the scenic drive and to see what's there. It goes through Thortonville, then Wickett, and into Pyote. Just before you get into Pyote on the east side of town was this small cemetery. There wasn't a cache here but I checked it out anyway. Hmmm I don't have a cache container with me so I'll have to bring one back and hide it here.



Continuing on into Pecos, I arrived at the roadside picnic area north of town where the cache (GC7FVHA) is supposed to be hidden. Looked and looked where the coordinates lead me to but no luck. Then I spend another 20-30 minutes looking based on the cache name and hint. Nope! Finally after about an hour I give up and log a DNF. Maybe next time.

Well while I'm here, I might as well get a couple others in town. This next cache (GC6XM70) was outside a restaurant. Fortunately small town Texas means closed on a late Sunday afternoon. So no muggles made it easier to find.

Another stop by the cemetery here on the south side of town without a cache. This one was kinda divided into three sections. The main cemetery which was neat, orderly, and lined up like you would expect a cemetery to be. Another section which was also normal. But in between the two was a spare section with a few scattered headstones from the 1800's. Some out in the open and near the dirt drive path that could be easily driven over if you weren't paying attention. Either way, another spot to hide a cache at soon!


Well that's it for now. Back to the lonely apartment without my better half. Well me and the Chihuahuas anyway. Until next time...

Monday, October 14, 2019

2017-11-05: A Couple of Virtual Geocaches, Some Cemetery Caches, and a Power Run

Welcome back for Day #2 of caching around Austin, Texas while my wife was busy in a work related seminar. Yeah she got stuck in a boring hotel meeting room while I got to go out exploring and Geocaching!

This first one was just a block away from her hotel but I completely forgot about it yesterday. It's called Texas Virtual Movie Cache (GC2B6C) and that's about all I can really say about it without giving away any answers. A "Virtual Geocache" is a cache that doesn't have a container and logsheet to sign. You gather information from the location and answer the questions in the cache's description. Then send the answers to the Cache Owner and log it as a find online. This one is a building and it was in a movie. If you've seen the movie, then you've seen the cache.

Also nearby was a Challenge Cache. Now a Challenge Cache is like a traditional physical cache. Usually they are pretty simple to find, like a lamp post cache, and not necessarily in a particularly cool location. Like this one for instance. Just an easy micro container in an office park. But the difficulty and/or terrain rating can be high based upon the "Challenge" to claim a find. This one is called AlphaNumeric Cache Name Challenge (GC3MH9W). The terrain rating was a "1" which means wheelchair accessible, basically anybody can retrieve it. However, the difficulty rating was a "4" out of 5. The actual container in reality was probably a 1/1.5. But the difficulty raised because of the challenge: "To successfully accomplish the AlphaNumeric Cache Name Challenge you must find and log 36 caches (on any date past or present) which have names starting with a different alphanumeric character, "A" through "Z" and "0" through "9." So not necessarily an easy task.

Next up was another Virtual Geocache (GC7F71) along with a traditional cache (GCMZXC) in a cemetery. Now because of the virtual, I can't say too much without giving out the answers. It is in an unusual location though. I think this may be the first cemetery I've been to located in a city park. I mean with a playground, walking trails, a pool and more. The one thing I did like was that they took some of the older broken headstones and placed them in concrete to keep them from further falling apart. This one below dates back to 1872. I did find a story about the place being haunted. Supposedly people have seen ghosts placing flowers on the graves. I don't know anything about that. Most of the time when I'm discussing ghost stories with someone who is making the claim, there were other "spirits" being consumed if you know what I mean. I think that's the reason they're seeing things if you ask me! 

Moving on down the road to the south, I decided to grab a few caches within a Power Run. A Power Run is a line of caches close together, most of the time easy to find but sometimes harder, designed to give you a boost in your total number of cache finds in a short amount of time. This one was called Monkey Letterbox Series (GC6FX73), hidden by a cacher who goes by the name of CuteLittleFuzzyMonkey or CLFM for short. I think all of his hides, and he has a LOT of hides, has the word Monkey in the title. So a Letterbox Cache combines Geocaching with Letterboxing. Letterboxes have a rubber stamp in them which you can use to stamp your own booklet (if you participate in that activity, which I don't). I found a quick 10 of them before moving on to more cemeteries.

Speaking of a cemetery, next up on this list was Evelyn Cemetery (GC2X05N) located in Mustang Ridge, Texas. Mustang Ridge known for ranching in the 1800's and a popular stop for herding because of small lakes in the area. Around 1900 residents began farming cotton and that took over until the Great Depression hit. Then people went back to ranching. Sadly there were only two forgotten headstones here along the road at the edge of someones property. This one standing and the other fallen over. This one looks like it could have been 1925, but I couldn't get a good look at them.


This next cemetery cache I couldn't find. At the Burch-Vance Cemetery (GC2X080), most of the headstones have been knocked over. I suspect it was neglected for a long period of time and had become overgrown. But now it is maintained on a periodically. There are 15 graves here from the Burch and Vance families ranging from 1886 through 1940. Perhaps one day, I'll make it back to this area and will find the cache.


Finally to end the day, my last cache brought me to Salem Cemetery (GC1DMVV) next to the Salem Lutheran Church. There are 345 interments there going all the way back to 1884 and still in use to this day. I like these old iron fencing that I see placed around the family sections or even just a single grave. Unfortunately I couldn't find anymore information for this area or even the church itself. 


Well that is all for today. Back to the Omni Hotel to rescue my wife from the boring training seminars! Thanks for riding along. Until next time...

Thursday, February 11, 2016

2015-10-03: Geocaching in the Ocala National Forest

Today was a day for Geocaching in the Ocala National Forest. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of caches in the ONF. As I said before, it seems never ending because the often get archived and new one are placed because of the events that are held throughout the year.

We we cached along the SW edge of the ONF. We started out at a huge tree. It looks like there used to be a structure here by the tree that has since been removed. The challenge was finding a micro cache underneath all the leaves that had fallen on the ground.




From here it was a short hike to a virtual cache through the woods. Not a whole lot to see along this trail except this bright orange fungus growing on the trunk of a tree.


The rest of the caches for the day were park & grab power run caches. We ended up with 63 finds for the day and several DNF's. Overall it was a sunny cool day to be outside.