2015-10-18: Out for a Sunday Drive and Geocaching Along the Way

Today was a day for a Sunday drive down the backroads of Florida to see what we can find while Geocaching along the way. Took the Turnpike north to Clermont where we stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. From there we headed out west on SR-50 all the way to Tarrytown. I think the last time out here we turned north on Hwy 471, so today we turned south.

We picked up a quick geocache at a guardrail crossing the Little Withlacoochee River. Then turning into the Richloam Wildlife Management Area to get a few more geocaches. The next cache we came was called JayJay's Swamp where our recent purchase of rubber boots came in handy!

A couple of more caches in the woods and a little bit of bushwhacking. When we started out this morning we didn't have any intention of doing ANY hiking today. But when you're so close, it's hard to resist! And then there was this one... We drove as close as we could get, we put the rubber boots back on and began the short hike along the trail. Even with the boots though, the water was starting to get too deep. It was heading towards the river. So we passed and backed out.

 

Continuing down 471 southbound, we found a few more roadside caches before picking up US-98 into Lakeland and heading back home.

2015-10-17: Geocaching and Hiking at the Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve

Today we decided to try someplace new. We drove west down to Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve. It's a Hillsborough County Park just off of I-75 near Gibsonton, FL. The day started out bright, sunny and cool around 9:30. But it didn't stay cool very long and there wasn't much for shade either!

After 4 hours and hiking 5.5 miles of scrub later, we called it quits. We did find 20 Geocaches with only 1 DNF. We'll definitely have to come back another day to finish Geocaching when it cools off more!

2015-08-08: Just Out For A Drive And Grabbing Some Geocaches

So today was one of those days without an agenda. Just driving around, seeing what's there and Geocaching along the way. From south Orlando, we drove north on the Turnpike and had breakfast in Clermont. We continued heading west on Hwy-50 through Clermont and Groveland and decided to turn north on Hwy-33. Picking up a few caches along 33, we then turned west on CR-470. Several more caches found along CR-470 and we made our way over to Inverness. Our last cache for the day was an earthcache at Henderson Lake. From there we took Hwy-44 over to I-75 and the Turnpike back home. Here's a couple of photos from the day today.

2015-06-28: Road Trip Day #9 The Last Leg Home

Well today was the last day of our summer road trip. Tomorrow we go back to work so we can rest from our vacation. We started out with a little more than 400 miles yet to go. There were still some Geocaching counties left along the way so we just grabbed some quick ones. None really worth mentioning except for this Veterans Memorial Monument in Dawson, Georgia.

WOW, what another GREAT summer road trip! We drove 3,496 miles through 7 states, 227 Geocaches, lots of photos, great memories, history, sights, and much more. We can't wait for the next one!

2015-05-16: Ghost Town Cemetery and Geocaching with Friends

Today we were meeting some friends to go Geocaching on the west side of I-4 in Sanford, FL. They were driving down from North Florida and wasn't going to get there until late morning. So with Candy and I having time to spare, we decided to get some of the other area caches before hand.

Did you know there was a ghost town right there off of Hwy 46? Probably thousands of people drive by on that busy highway every day and not know about it. Well thanks to Geocaching, it told us there was once a small town there called Ethel established back in the 1800's. We parked down the road to the Rock Spring Run State Preserve and made the 1.5 mile round trip hike to visit the Ethel Cemetery.

After returning to our car, we made our way over to meet up with HorseshoeChamp, Geoturtlelover, and Parkhoppers to find the "Lucky 7" series of puzzle caches nearby. It was a pretty fun time and we ended finding a total of 39 caches for the day before heading home.

2015-05-03: Geocaching in Sumter County Florida

For today's adventure, we decided to drive west over to Sumter County, Florida. After driving up the Florida Turnpike and exiting onto State Road 50, our first stop was the Cracker Barrel in Clermont for a big breakfast! Then we continued west into Sumter County.

We then turned north onto US-301 and started Geocaching along the way. A few miles up the road was an undeveloped community that came to a halt during the real estate bust. There were 7 caches hidden among the pot holed roads and overgrown lots.

After that we continued west on Hwy 50 a few miles over to Withlacoochee Trail State Park. Instead of taking the paved trail, we took the Ridge Manor Trail Head into the woods. We hiked about a mile and found three caches, but wasn't much in a hiking mood. So we decided to return here another day and continued our drive.

We made our way over to CR-673 and completed the SKP power run of caches. We found 37 caches in total, saw a lot of ranches and pastures, and just enjoyed the day.

2015-04-25: Geocaching, GeoArt, a Butterfly, Celebrities, and Friends

OK so you're probably getting tired of me saying this, but WOW what a day! A big day today so we drove up last night to Gainesville, FL and stayed in a hotel so that we wouldn't have a long drive this morning. Today we were meeting up with YankaBucs, MsYB, CoalCracker7 and Parkhoppers to go Geocaching. The goal was to complete the Butterfly GeoArt and the Celebrity power run caches.

We got an early start and conquered the Butterfly caches first and it was OUR first GeoArt ever completed! GeoArt is what you get when all the cache coordinates arrange to form a picture like such:

This was a very creative TB hotel.

Some poor dog was bagged and tossed to the side of the road.

Looks like lightening split this tree in half.

After the Butterfly, we headed over to another power run series each named after different celebrities. Plus there were a few miscellaneous caches mixed in that were nearby. The total finds for the entire day were 155! That sets a new record for us for the most caches found in one day! Plus caching with friends always makes for a fun day. This is such a great game. If you're not a Geocacher, you really should look into it at Geocaching.com.

2015-04-04: Geocaching and Roaming Around Back Country Roads

Most of the time when we decide to go Geocaching, we don't really have anyplace in particular to get to. I just sorta pick a direction and we head that way. If I see a road we've never been down before or it looks interesting, we take it. I also have the live Geocaching map open so that if there's a cache nearby, we'll head towards it. We just roam around and see where we end up.

After spending a lot of time recently going north to Ocala, this morning I decided to go southwest. We drove west down I-4 to US-27 and turned south. Reaching Davenport, I saw a cache called "Horseshoe Creek One Lane Bridge." Well that sounded interesting so we went to check it out. We found the narrow bridge, the small creek, and of course the cache.

At the end of that road was the Lake Marion Creek Wildlife Management Area where another cache was located. After parking, it was a short 0.3 mile hike to the cache. A quick find and back to the car and down the road.

From there we drove over to Old Bartow Lake Wales Rd which runs through some ranches and cow pastures. There were quite a few caches down this stretch of road so we found all those and a few more nearby before heading home. A nice drive, a short hike, 20 caches later and another great day.

2015-01-31: Geocaching and Hiking in Gemini Springs Park

Welcome back and thank you for joining us on another of our adventures. We have a long hike planned for tomorrow, but still wanted to get out and enjoy another beautiful Florida winter day.

Staying closer to home, we made a short drive up the road to Gemini Springs Park in DeBary, FL. Gemini Springs is a 210 acre county park located in Volusia County. We found seven geocaches located along the mile long nature trail and throughout the park.

It was a nice relaxing stroll by the springs and through the old Florida landscape of hiking trail along the banks of Mullet Lake.

At this spot below, we ventured off the hiking trail towards the swampy marsh you see beyond the trees to grab a Geocache. As I approached and got close to the cache, I saw a gator sunning on the edge about 40' away. I took a few steps to the side to try and get a better photo through the trees, when I startled him and he launched into the water and swam away.

One of the cache containers called Farmer Brown

That was all for today. We'll see you back again tomorrow and I'll tell you about our long hike in the ONF.

2015-01-17: Cacheapalooza 9 Geocaching and Hiking in Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Today was the day for Cacheapalooza 9, a huge Mega event located in South Florida at the Jonathan Dickinson State Park. A Mega event means that more than 500 geocachers have to log their attended in order to qualify. I think this is my 3rd trip done to a Cacheapalooza and Candy's first.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is an 18 square mile park located just south of Stuart, FL in Martin County. It contains miles of hiking and biking trails, canoe and kayaking opportunities, and more.

They day started out fairly cool and warmed up slightly as we began hiking. We checked in, signed the log book, and looked around at the crowd to see if any of our caching friends were here. We saw some of their cars in the parking lot but not at the pavilion. They must be out already on the trails.

So Candy and I selected one of the many trails and began hiking through the scrub. Starting out at the pavilion, we headed north along the Kitching Creek Trail to the Connecting Trail finding caches along the way. That trail takes you over to the Red Loop Trail.

After hiking up the Red Trail for a little bit, I turned west on the Ocean to Lake Trail when I should have turned east. But I didn't have a trail map and I couldn't remember which way I had taken on previous visits. Anyway, we continue finding caches, crossed over Kitching Creek and turned left again on the multi-use trail headed south. This should take us back near the pavilion and the parking lot, right? Hmmm

Continuing south and grabbing caches, I noticed on my GPS that the caches started curving to the west past and away from the pavilion. Looking at the satellite view, there looked to be campsite trail that might cross back over the creek so we could return to the pavilion. Well the photo below shows what we found at the end of the trail. There was no bridge to cross over to the other side.

So it was either continue southwest and loop WAY around the bottom and then back north OR backtrack the way we came. We chose the shorter backtrack route! After six miles of hiking, we finally made it back to the pavilion. Saw a couple of friends and chatted for a little bit. Then we drove into town and found a Chili's to grab some food, drink, and relax a while before the long drive back up to Orlando.

Another great day of adventure! See ya next time...

2015-01-01: Geocaching a Power Run and a FTF

Today was a day for some easy Geocaching finds to boost my finds total. There was a power run down near Bartow that I had started a couple years ago, but never finished. Today would be a good day for that.

On the way down however, we stopped in South Clermont near the Four Corners area to grab a few new caches that had recently been placed. There were four along CR474 and we managed to be First To Find on one and Second on the other three. Yippee! It's always fun to get the FTF!

After that, we continued towards Bartow. We ended up with 28 caches for the day, a FTF, a nice drive enjoying the fresh air, but only one photo... this pretty cool moth on a tree:

2014-12-26: Geocaching and Hiking Wekiva River Preserve

Today was a day to go hiking in Florida! It was nice and cool, yet clear and sunny. Perfect weather for a long hike through the woods and Geocaching. We drove up to the Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park which is located west of Sanford, Florida along State Road 46.

It was a nice hike at around 8 miles. Even going through the scrub with full sun was bearable because of the cool temperature. We were here a few months back, but it was too hot and didn't get very far. We found a total of 11 Geocaches and DNF'd two. Overall it was a great day.

2014-12-14: Roaming Around Sumter County, FL

Today was another day to be outside enjoying the fresh air, Geocaching, and exploring new areas. Yesterday we went south. As usual and with no particular destination in mind, we jump on the Turnpike heading north getting off on Hwy 50 and head west. We drove all the way out to Sumter County, caching through Tarrytown, Webster, Center Hill and Bushnell. It a nice drive up through there with a lot of oak lined roadways.

Then we came across the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. On December 28, 1835, Indian warriors ambushed 108 U.S. soldiers at this site, and only three soldiers survived. This ambush started the Second Seminole War. Within the 80-acre park is a hiking trail, natural Florida landscaping, and a few memorials.

Passing underneath I-75 to the west, we found the Florida National Cemetery. And we like Geocaching in cemeteries because of the history there. Though we're not used to seeing all the headstones of the same size and lined up in perfect rows.

Also nearby and even more interesting was the Wild Cow Prairie Cemetery. Not much is known on the history of this Cemetery, but the graves date back to the early 1800's.

A few more caches later and we decided to call it a day and head on home. It was another great day of exploring the back country roads and small towns of Florida.

2014-12-13: Two Events and Some Random Caches

Because of today's date 12-13-2014, it was a day for Geocaching events where cachers get together and share stories. Our first event was only a mile away from home. It started at 10 am and we gathered for 11 minutes. Therefore it was called: 10-11-12-13-14! So after quick hello's and a little cit chat, we disbursed.

Some of us headed down to Winter Haven, FL for the next Brunch Time event. Along the way, we stopped to grab a couple of other caches too. When we arrived at the restaurant where the next event was being held, it was standing room only! So another few quick greetings and off we went down the road.

A couple more caches later and eventually we found one at Sample Park on the shores of Lake Hamilton. After finding the cache we strolled down by the lake to enjoy the view.

The next cache took us south to Lake Wales and then east on FL-60 over to the Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation. Not a really big day, but a good day seeing some caching friends and exploring some new areas around.