2018-01-28: Two First-to-Finds and a Beautiful Sunset

Hello and welcome back to AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures blog. Not a very long one today. Today begins the first of many days to come of caching solo. So I guess you could say "Away I Go's" blog. My job continues back in West Texas. Candy is finished traveling and training other DOR's because her new facility in Killeen finally opened and she starts work there tomorrow. That's why we had been making trips to Killeen the past few months because we started renting a house there in preparation for this moment. So today it's just me driving back the 300+ miles on Sundays to Monahans for my work week.

My first Geocaching stop was in Lampasas behind the Walmart. Most Walmart parking lot caches are micro containers underneath one of the lampskirts. This geocache (GC3HAYF) however was a regular sized container up on a hill behind the store. That made it easier not to have to worry about muggles watching you. A quick find and off I go.

It wasn't long before I remembered that there were two NEW geocaches published last week back near Monahans. So I looked them up and they STILL had not yet been found. First-to-Find opportunities await! I forget about all the other geocaches that I'm now bypassing and head west.

Arriving in Penwell, off of I-20 on the west side of Odessa, it's pretty much a ghost town now compared to what it once was. But there is this drag strip south of the highway where they still race cars in season. Right now there nothing going on so it was easier to find the geocache. I found the "Thunder Road" (GC7HKBE) cache quickly and signed the top of the blank logsheet at 5:44 PM for a FTF!

I jump back on I-20 and continue west. Passing through Monahans and just on the west outside of town is a community called Pyote. The "I'll Fly Away" geocache (GC7HG53) was at the cemetery that I mentioned briefly with a couple photos in a blog post back in December. So instead of me coming back to hide my own cache, WestTexasAnnieOakley beat me to it. But that's OK with me because now I get a FTF at 6:20 PM!

Perfect timing to watch a beautiful sunset and have a train come by as well for a few extra great photo opportunities! Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your comments or share this blog with your friends. Look us up and follow us on Facebook too! See you next time!

Looking Westbound

Looking Eastbound

2017-12-17: Driving 5 Hours and 300 Miles for 4 First to Find Geocaches!

Hello and welcome back to the AwayWeGo Adventures Blog. Today was one of those "You Might Be A Geocacher If... you drive for 5 hours and 300 miles just to get 4 FTF's!" Yep that was our day today.

Started out this Sunday morning with nothing on the agenda except relaxing. We had decided to stay in Monahans, TX this morning instead of driving over to Killeen for the weekend. My wife had just returned from her trip late Friday, so didn't plan much.

But then I said, "You feel like going for a drive?"

Her: "Where to?"

Me: "To get First to Find on a few Geocaches that have been there almost a week."

Her: "Where are they?"

Me: "To the south about a 150 miles away."

Her: "Sure why not."

So off we went. Taking Hwy 18 south out of Monahans down into Fort Stockton, and then US-67 south from there, we arrive at our first cache (GC79NHA). Just a quick picnic area rest stop cache halfway between Fort Stockton and Alpine.

Just a few miles past that one was our first FTF Geocache (GC7FYYN) at 12:20 PM. A quick park and grab and AwayWeGo!

Another couple of miles further down US-67 and our second FTF Geocache (GC7FYYN) at 12:33 PM. Another quick find and AwayWeGo!

Continuing on and still on US-67 was our 3rd Geocache FTF (GC7G0M1) at 12:46 PM. AwayWeGo again!

Now heading eastbound between Marathon and Sanderson, we arrive at our 4th Geocache FTF (GC7FQ35) and our final cache of the day.

So yeah. We might be those Geocachers who'd drive 300 miles over 5 hours just for a few First-to-Find's! The sad thing is that while it was a nice drive, I only took one photo. Just a sun-bleached carcass of bones laying on the side of the road near one of the caches. Until next time, Go Geocaching for your next adventure!

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...

2016-11-20: Hiking and Geocaching in the Fort Davis Mountains State Park

Today was a day where the weather was finally cooling down enough here in West Texas to go out and do some hiking. YAY! We decided to start with an easy trail in the Fort Davis Mountains State Park. If you have been following along with us, you'll recall we made a stop here in Fort Davis not too long ago during one of our Geocaching Adventure trips. However at that time we didn't have time to do any actual hiking, just touring the remains of the fort.

For our first hike of the season, we chose the Indian Lodge Trail. With a length of 1.37 miles and having a "challenging" rating, I would have called it more of a moderate hike. The trailhead begins behind the Indian Lodge and ascends to the views of the Davis Mountains. The trail ends connecting with the Montezuma Trail leading down to the campgrounds. Adding in the short walk back to the lodge along the road, and I'd say our total hike was just over 2 miles in length.

And of course, what's a hike without doing a little Geocaching along the way! We found a total of seven caches today, including a FTF (first to find GC6VDZP) and re-found my very first Geocache (GCHE45) which I found back in April of 2006! The log had since been replaced so I couldn't get a picture of my first signed log though.

Overall it was a great hike on a perfect weather day with some great views! We'll have to come back soon and tackle some of the other trails and caches. Thanks for stopping by to read our blog. Be sure to leave your comments and let us know you stopped by. See you next time.

Re-found my very first cache from April 2006!

2016-09-03: Geocaching Through More Texas Ghost Towns and Cemeteries

Welcome back to another one of our Geocaching Adventures. We got off on a late start this morning because we had a few errands to run around town. Then about 11:00 AM we headed east along I-20 towards Odessa. Our first stop was a new cache (GC6RCF4) and an attempt at being the First-to-Find (FTF). Upon arriving to the cache site, we find the parked car belonging to gaxguy and gaxrose. They had pulled up just moments before us and were signing the logsheet. Congratulations on the FTF. We'll settle for the 2TF. We chatted for a few minutes and then headed off to Starbucks for a much needed coffee.

Now back to I-20 eastbound and in hunt of some more West Texas ghost towns and old cemeteries along the backroads north of Big Spring. Our next Geocache (GC1HK91) brought us to the last remnants of Iatan, TX. The Iatan Cemetery is the only thing that remains of the town of Iatan. The settlement was established in 1881 in Mitchell County when the Texas and Pacific Railway setup a station along the line there and immediately became a shipping point for cattle. Daniel Crowe was granted a post office on March 20, 1890 and it remained until moving six miles east to the town of Westbrook September 10, 1924. A school, which also served as a Methodist church, was established in 1891. In 1930 sixty students were enrolled, but the district was consolidated with the Westbrook school district in 1938. The population of Iatan in 1940 was reported at 125, but by 1950 it had declined to twenty, where it remained for at least the next ten years. By 1972 only a railroad station remained at the site. And today only the cemetery remains.

Just a few miles up the road from Iatan, was the New Hope Cemetery and our next Geocache (GC1MZEW). I couldn't find any history about this small cemetery on the internet. I also forgot to take pictures too. But there were only 8 graves there ranging between 1907 and 1918 including two unknowns and one more recent 1977. The slightly unkept cemetery sat on the outskirts of a farm by the roadside in a fenced in area.

Moving on to the intersection of Farm Road 670 and Farm Road 1229, comes our next Geocache (GC1P58R). This structure is the former Rogers School. The oldest documentation comes from the Mitchell County Commissioner's Court Records dated February 15, 1908. However the school could date back to as early as the 1890's when the county first began establishing community schools. In 1934-1935 the community schools began consolidating into seven district schools. Though I could not find an exact time, it was probably during this period when the school was permanently closed. Across the street appears to be an old farm house.

If you head north on FM1229, you'll find the next Geocache (GC1N468) at the Handley Cemetery. The site was given by John J. Handley (1842-1935), Confederate veteran who settled here in 1892, after living earlier in Georgia and in Smith and Comanche Counties, Texas. A farmer, John Handley lived to see agriculture rival ranching. The Teville (named for "T" Junction in road) post office was opened here in 1906; but closed in 1910. W.B. Berry, along with W.H. Badgett, surveyed the 4-acre cemetery in 1914. Graves were moved from across the road into this ground. Later in 1945, Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Strain gave one acre of land to enlarge the cemetery. There are four generations of Handley's family and neighbors at rest here.

The oldest marker that I saw here was among the McGuire family. Little Baby Ora, daughter of William Thomas and Rosa Lee McGuire, born on February 7, 1896 and died a few short days later on May 18, 1896.

The next Geocache (GC10TB0) was just a few minutes away and the site of another ghost town. The community began in 1890 when D. T. Bozeman, a teacher in a nearby country school, settled in the area and built a wagonyard and a store. A post office was granted to the community in 1891, with Bozeman's wife, Ellen, as postmistress. The post office and town was named for a family friend, Thomas Cuthbertson. A school was started at the community in 1893 but lasted only four years. Bozeman installed a telephone switchboard in his home in 1904, and his wife served as the operator for local subscribers. In 1907 a new county school district was established in Cuthbert.

During the teens and early 1920s Cuthbert grew to include two stores, a church, a blacksmith shop, a gin, a school, and a telephone office. In 1920 the T. and P. Abrams No. 1 oil well, one of the first commercial oil ventures in the Permian Basin, was drilled just over a mile north of the town. A post office, two businesses, and a population of twenty-five were reported at the community in 1936, the year that its school was consolidated with that of Colorado City. After World War II the improvement of rural roads in the area led to Cuthbert's decline as it lost its trade to Colorado City. The Cuthbert post office was discontinued about 1960, when the town reported one business and a population of twenty-five. By 1974 only a cemetery and scattered farms remained in the area.

One of the sad tombstones was for Ruth and Baby Hester Hewett whom they both died during childbirth on February 24, 1928.

Next on the agenda was a tragic place in history. The Marcy Expedition geocache (GC1HA61) was at a historical marker along State Road 350 at the Colorado River. From the marker:

At a grove of mesquite and wild china trees by a creek near here, Captain Randolph Barnes Marcy's expedition camped October 7, 1849 while blazing the famous Marcy Trail. They saw nothing deadlier than quail and wild turkeys in the area. But the next day tragedy struck.

Lt Montgomery Pike Harrison (1826-1849), grandson of President William Henry Harrison and older brother of later President Benjamin Harrison, left camp alone to scout a ravine. When he did not return by dark, the company fired a howitzer to signal him but received no answer. Searchers the next day found signs that Harrison, always friendly to the Indians, had stopped and smoked with two Indians, believed to be Kiowas. 

He was disarmed, however, taken one mile south and then shot with his own rifle. The Indians scalped and stripped the body and threw it into the ravine on Canyon Creek. They were pursued but never captured.

Marcy later reported that when his men heard of Harrison's death, many hid their faces to conceal their tears. The body was packed in charcoal and taken in a coffin made from a wagon bed to Fort Smith for burial. 

Despite this tragedy, Marcy's Trail became a major wagon road, taking gold seekers to California and troops and supplies across the West Texas Frontier.

Driving over to the town of Dunn we found our next Geocache at the Dunn Cemetery (GC27ZJK). On State Highway 208 ten miles south of Snyder in south central Scurry County, Dunn was originally a watering hole for freighters carrying supplies from the Texas and Pacific Railway station at Colorado City north to Snyder and Lubbock. The town was founded by a man named W.J. Richardson and was the ancestor of the Geocacher who hid this one.

The town was named for and began on the land of Alonzo Truesdale Dunn, who's ancestors along with 8 other families came from Ireland to America in 1821, living first in Charleston, SC, then in Boligee, AL. In Dec. 1833 they began trek to colony of Sterling C. Robertson by ox-wagons and carryalls. The Dunn home became a way station and mail drop for mail and passenger hacks, and Dunn became postmaster when a post office was granted to the community in 1890. That same year a school opened. Over the years the town grew into a trade center. A cotton gin opened there in 1930, and eight years later the old Dunn well was filled and covered to make way for State Highway 208. In 1980 and 1990 Dunn had a post office and reported a population of seventy-five.

A few ordinary Geocaches later and we arrive at Ira Cemetery (GC1HHHP). Mr. Ira Green went into business sometime at this location in the early 1890's. His wagon broke down while he was traveling. When Ira unloaded his wagon to make repairs, the merchandise-starved settlers came and bought him out. So Ira Green decided to settle here and built a general store in the area sometime before 1893. The store soon became a popular meeting place and a way station and mail drop for the stagecoaches and mail hacks going north from the Texas and Pacific Railway station at Colorado City. By 1893 Ira had its first school. When the post office was established in 1896, Green became postmaster. In 1899 new lands in the vicinity were put up for sale, and many new settlers moved to Ira. The first producing oil well in Scurry County was drilled near Ira in 1923, but the Sharon Ridge field, where the well was located, was never fully exploited. Though Ira had reached its peak in the early 1900s, it weathered the later period when many small Scurry County towns were disappearing and in 1980 reported a post office, twelve businesses, and an estimated population of 485. In 1990 its population dwindled down to 250 where it is close to that today.

A few miles north of town up Farm Road 1609 is another small cemetery and our next cache (GC1H7RC). A somewhat neglected cemetery, Canyon Cemetery contains 24 graves dating back to 1892 up through 1970. I'm not sure why it was called Canyon as I couldn't find any information about a official town name. It may have just been a small community of settlers.

By now it was time to started heading back. Having gotten a late start and driving around these back roads all afternoon, we were hungry and in need of a bathroom! So we headed south towards I-20 and Big Spring. Just as we entered town and a few blocks north of I-20 there's the Mt Olive Cemetery and two more caches. We just HAD to stop for a quick look! Because it was a quick look, we didn't find the first cache (GC1KBQE). However, we did find the second cache there (GC1R1P5).

Finally, we stopped at McAlister's Deli before heading home. Whew! A busy day today and another great Geocaching Adventure. We also learned some history too. Thanks for stopping by and we hope you have enjoyed our blog. Feel free to share it with your family and friends. Until next time...

2016-08-21: Standing on the corner of Texas and New Mexico

Welcome back! Today we headed north up into New Mexico for a couple more First-to-Finds (FTF's) and a few other Geocaches along the way.

Our first stop was a little town about 20 miles north in Wink, Texas. Known for being the hometown of Roy Orbison from the age of 10. He started his first band while attending high school here. There was a historical marker there at an empty lot which we assumed the house once stood.

After reading the sign we drove to the nearby community park and our first cache (GC6QCTC). Another new Geocache placed by MedicoJoe and another FTF for us. This was a nice park and we walked the entire perimeter to take pictures of the Looney Tunes character statues on display. 

Our next stop was just on the outskirts of Wink. There along the roadside sits a historical marker for the Old Wink Cemetery (GC6QK7Z). The exact locations of the individual graves are not known. The Old Wink Cemetery is the burial site of 26 persons who died during the early days of the oil boom, 1926-1929. Shifting sands over the years have erased all vestige of the graves. According to the old timers in Wink, the cemetery is located in the Monument Draw. Although it is dry now, during the 1950s - 60s it was flooded with oil field runoff water and the area was under water for over 10 years. Several of the Wink residents remember fishing and hunting here. There are no current signs of the cemetery today. It is part of a local ranch.

As for the Geocache, we searched for about 15-20 minutes but came up empty. We found the rocks from the hint given, but no cache container. I believe it was too close to the historical marker and muggled by someone stopping to read the sign. (As a side note, we did find the cache two days later after the MedicoJoe replaced and moved further away from the sign. Another FTF!)

Continuing north for a few more miles, we reached the state line between Texas and New Mexico and our next cache (GC6QK3N). Another new cache placed by MedicoJoe and another FTF!

The next town was called Jal, NM and our next cache was at the Jal Cemetery (GC6QK3B). In the 1880s, several brothers brought a herd of cattle to Monument Draw, six miles southeast of the present city. The cattle were branded with the initials of the previous owner (John A.Lynch) and the cattle soon came to be called the JAL Cattle. The men who worked the herd referred to them as the Jal cowboys. In time the name became synonymous with the settlement itself. Though after finding the Geocache, a quick walk around the cemetery and we didn't notice any old graves so we didn't take any pictures. But we did get another FTF!

Closer into the center of town was a community park and another FTF (GC6QK43).

Driving SW on Hwy 205 a few miles to a town called Bennett, NM was our next Geocache (GC2H0NE). This next cache was a piece of history which goes to show how government usually makes matters worse and not better:

Here are the ruins of a whole way of life, apparently gone forever. This “camp” was started in the middle 1930’s when the natural gas boom sprouted out of the oil boom. In the 1940’s the pipeline system was finally becoming part of the infrastructure we know today, but even then you could drive from Jal to Odessa and beyond at night just by the light of the flares that were burning off the natural gas so they could pump the oil. Then the natural gas became valuable and furnaces, stoves and even “ice boxes” (refrigerators to you newbies) were powered by natural gas. 

El Paso Natural Gas Company Jal #1 plant was built to collect, treat, and pump natural gas all the way to California. To support the plant, houses were built for the employees and their families. An instant middle class was formed by the camps that sprouted all over the oil fields. Other companies like Phillips, Shell, and Texas-New Mexico quickly joined suit. Jal, New Mexico was then advertised as the “Gas Capitol of the World”. More natural gas flowed through these companies’ pipelines here than anywhere else in the world.

The plants were unique communities. Every employee had a house as a benefit of employment. Every house had indoor plumbing, free water, free electricity, free garbage collection, and of course, free natural gas! It was a Company Camp. The plants had to make their own electricity to run, and the camps benefited. The plants had to obtain their own water and the camps benefited. The houses were built and owned by the companies because the plants ran 24/7 and the workers were conveniently nearby working shifts. The kids that grew up in the camps virtually lived in a large family setting. Everybody knew everybody and lived in a homogeneous mix of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters where we learned to get along. We still get along and call ourselves Camp Brats. 

Jal became sort of a Company Town, with many plants surrounding it and the Main Offices located there. The Company built a golf course. The Company built the Clinic and hired/attracted a doctor to come to Jal. Company ball teams were formed. 

The tax structure of the State, at the time, benefited Jal, New Mexico. The oil and gas royalties off the School Lands in the area went directly to the local schools. Jal had a great school and great teachers! Virtually every Camp Brat had at least an opportunity to go to a college or university, and most of us did. Life was good, life was great! What could go wrong? 

The “Government” is what went wrong. Local, State and Federal government intervention went wrong. Free houses? Can’t have that, there aren’t any taxes paid. Free water? Can’t have that, there aren’t any taxes paid and it is just not fair to everybody else, so they said. Same for the electricity, the utility companies just weren’t getting their cut. State school land taxes were shifted to the general fund and Jal lost most of its school funding to the northern population centers of the state. 

By the 1970’s our way of life was falling apart. By the 1980’s the camps were being broken up and the houses torn down and/or moved away, lock, stock and barrel. What you see left here 20 to 30 years later is government’s handiwork.

Continuing north again going through town we came to our next Geocache which was a multi-cache (GCJ77H). It also brought us to this huge work of art. "The Trail Ahead" was sculpted by local artist Brian Norwood and dedicated in September of 2000. The statues consists of seventeen metal silhouettes stretching for approximately 400 feet. The largest measures over twenty feet tall! They honor the ranching heritage of Jal, New Mexico.

Circling back around towards the south and back towards home, we come to our next cache (GC2AB0) and the corner of New Mexico and Texas. The COMPROMISE OF 1850. The results of the Mexican War (1846–48) brought Texas into serious conflict with the national government over the state's claim to a large portion of New Mexico. The claim was based on efforts by the Republic of Texas, beginning in 1836, to expand far beyond the traditional boundaries of Spanish and Mexican Texas to encompass all of the land extending the entire length of the Rio Grande. Efforts to occupy the New Mexican portion of this territory during the years of the republic came to naught.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue, Senator James A. Pierce of Maryland introduced a bill that offered Texas $10 million in exchange for ceding to the national government all land north and west of a boundary beginning at the 100th meridian where it intersects the parallel of 36°30', then running west along that parallel to the 103d meridian, south to the 32d parallel, and from that point west to the Rio Grande. The bill had the support of the Texas delegation and of moderate leaders in both the North and South. Holders of bonds representing the debt of the Republic of Texas lobbied hard for the bill, for it specified that part of the financial settlement be used to pay those obligations. The measure passed both houses of Congress in the late summer of 1850 and was signed by President Fillmore.

This square marks the corner that divides the two states. While I'm standing on the New Mexico side, Candy is standing in nearby Texas! Maybe not as cool as Four Corners, but still cool.

Our last Geocache of the day (GC69XEN) was at the Sand Hills. Mapped by U. S. Government, 1849, for gold seekers and settlers. Known earlier to Indians and many Spanish explorers. A 100-mile belt of sand in Winkler and 4 other Texas counties and in New Mexico. Width varies from 3 to 20 miles; outer dunes are held by dwarf oaks. Water at 2' depth supports willows, cottonwoods, and a plum thicket. (The plums gave food to early settlers.) Many dunes more than 70' high. Heavy, shifting sands a natural barrier to travel. Campsite and game reservation for Indians. Now part of expansive cattle ranges and rich oil fields. Being from Florida when we saw this much sand it usually had a large body of water on the other side.

So that was today's Geocaching Adventure. We hope you've enjoyed it and maybe learned something new. Perhaps it has also inspired you to get out and explore the area around you.

2016-08-13: A Walk in the Park and Some Geocaching FTF's!

Mission GC Souvenir

Today was a short day in comparison to our other Geocaching Adventures. We only had one goal in mind for today. We had to find a Multi-Cache in order to receive a Souvenir in the Mission GC task. A Multi-Cache is a traditional Geocache that has more than one stage. Typically went you arrive at the posted coordinates you'd find clues that would give you the coordinates to the next stage until you find the final cache container. So I looked up the nearest Multi-Cache that we have not yet found which was over in Odessa and we set out to find it.

So as we were getting ready to leave Monahans this morning, we get an email notification from Geocaching that a new geocache was published 21 miles to the north of us in Kermit, TX. A detour was made heading north to Kermit to try and get First-To-Find (FTF) on the new cache.

We arrived in Kermit to the "downtown" area and the former Bud's TV shop. According to the cache page description, Bud's TV used to be a video rental store as well as selling TV's, VCR's, and the hot new DVD players back in the day. We looked around for about 15-20 minutes before finally giving up. I don't like DNF's on a cache, especially on a FTF.

So we leave empty handed and drive east towards Odessa. Our first stop in Odessa was the Starbucks of course! Then over to Memorial Park and the Buffalo Wallow Multi-Cache (GC4CQA1). A buffalo wallow or bison wallow is a natural topographical depression in the flat prairie land that holds rain water and runoff. Originally this would have served as a temporary watering hole for wildlife, including the American bison. This particular wallow grew rather large due to the number of bison in the area. Plus with the construction of Odessa and this becoming the water runoff location, it's now a scenic lake. There's also numerous statues around the lake which made for a nice walk on a beautiful day! We saw lots of ducks and turtles too. Plus finding two other traditional caches around the lake was a bonus. (GC2MW9G, GC4DBMC)

As we were leaving Odessa and headed back to Monahans, the phone beeped again and three more new caches were published back in Kermit! So we took the long way home again. The first cache we came to was called Barry's Lease (GC6Q514). It was another new cache published by a new Geocacher "MedicoJoe." We searched for a few minutes and was coming up empty. So I began expanding the search area. I finally found it about 140' away! I also found a nice clean logsheet where we signed the top for a FTF! WOHOO!!

At that time we see an ambulance pull up and the CO steps out of the vehicle. We had a good chat and he explained that he realized the coordinates were off and he was getting a more accurate reading. He also said he corrected the coordinates for the Bud's TV cache also.

We made two more stops and two more FTF's at GC6Q4W6 and GC6Q51D before heading back over to Bud's TV for another look. With the updated coordinates, we found the cache quickly for a total of FOUR FTF's on the day! Thanks MedicoJoe for placing these new caches.

That's it for today. Like I said, not a big adventure for today but a beautiful walk in the park with a beautiful girl and some FTF's. See ya next time.