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We were rather excited when "it appeared" that two great events were about to culminate, and if we timed it correctly, they would happen at the same time at the same cache. The first was our son's travel bug, which he started in Australia in 2006. Matt was a United States Navy Chief Petty Officer at the time so he named the TB "The Chief". Its goal was to get to us, Frogwarts & Bearfr in Montana. We had received word a few weeks before that the TB was in Wilcox, Arizona in the hands of OldRanger1. We contacted him and asked if he would let us know when he dropped it and we'd try to get to it. He said he would and we waited. On Sunday morning, March 29, we received the notification that he dropped it in TMP TB Hotel, just west of Tucson, only 20 miles from us.
The second event about to culminate was our 1000th cache find. We were sitting, we thought, at 997 caches and had been discussing what we were going to do for our 1000th cache. Milestone cache finds should be marked with a special cache, and picking up The Chief was special. We checked Geocaching.com for other nearby caches, planned how we would do it and headed out.
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#997  Pink by cache mastersons
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Arizona - March 28, 2009 |
[log] Liked the Kranny.
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| #998 The Green Machine by Mackeymartin |
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[log] Easy find. Green??
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#999  Do You Know Jack Too? by Monte Z. Revenge |
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[log] Nice to have a simple puzzle. And the walk was worth the cache hide - great one and so appropriate. Loved it. |
#1000 El Tour de Tucson: Mile 050 by AZTech
Achievement of 1000 finds
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The Fiddlin' Foresters |
[log] Picked up this one on our way to the Friends of Sabino Canyon Music Festival. |
| #1001 Found Tall Saguaro by Fear It Caches and Tucson Websters
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Arizona -March 29, 2009 |
In our rush to find the first one, "Found Tall Saguaro By Webstar", we managed to approach it view the scenic route, taking much longer than we had planned.
[log] Took the scenic route down the wash before climbing out to find the cache. |
| #1002 Bryce's Cache by geost4fun |
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On "Bryce's Cache" we found the correct trail right off and then, after spotting numerous blooming cactus, realized we didn't bring a camera to record this auspicious event we were working our way toward. Drat!
[log] Nice nature trail walk on the way to the cache. Hedgehog's were in bloom everywhere. |
| #1003 TMP TB Hotel by 7844RETIKON |
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And then it was on to our goal, our "1000th" cache & "The Chief". We found the cache straight off. As Penny opened it and started digging around I realized that I had my camera phone. Here is the resulting picture and the log entry. Needless to say, we were bummed. We went home, dejected. By the time we made contact with the party that picked up the "The Chief", they were in Montana, of all places, and had dropped it in Bozeman. Its goal, after all, was to reach us, Frogwarts & Bearfr, in Montana. We had never thought to have Matt change its goal when we moved to Southern Arizona.
[log] We had gotten word from OldRanger1 that he placed a TB here that our son started while on Navy duty in Australia, with the goal to get back to his Dad, Frogwarts in the States. So we thought; this would be a great way to celebrate our 1000th cache by picking up the bug. Imagine our surprise when we realized that another set of cachers had beat us to our prize; they had picked it up the day before, but not yet logged it. So Frogwarts took a picture of Bearfr as she looked in vain for The Chief; maybe some day it will make it's way back home to Arizona again. We discovered another TB and a geocoin, but left them for others to move on. |
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It was some time in the following week that I came up with the idea to start an online memoir/journal of our geocaching adventures and began building the skeleton of pages and navigation. In the process we started looking at a discrepancy at Geocaching.com. They had our cache count listed differently in two different places. We had discovered this discrepancy a few months before, but had decided at the time that it wasn't worth pursuing. Now, suddenly, it became important, especially when we realized that what we thought was our 1000th cache, was not. Now we had to know. Penny took on the task, spread-sheeting it all and then going through it one-by-one.
A half day later, she had the answer. It seemed that on that morning when we thought we were within 3 caches of 1000, we were actually at exactly 1000. Unknowingly we hit it the evening before at the 14th annual Music in the Canyon Festival in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Knowing we were going to the festival, which started early on that Saturday evening, we dialed up Geocaching.com and searched up 4 caches to grab along the way. The first three, Pink, The Green Machine, and Do You Know Jack Too? we found reasonably quickly, the third one being a bit more unique. Don't want to give away what made it unique as we wouldn't want to be the spoilers for the next finder.
Then it was on to the music festival, though we weren't done caching just yet. The fourth cache as near the parking for Sabino Canyon. The parking lot was packed full so we were redirected to a school parking lot down the road. We read later that 1,200 people showed for this event. It was a fund raiser co-hosted by the Coronado National Forest and the Friends of Sabino Canyon, the latter being an organization dedicated to enhancing and protecting Sabino Canyon plant and wildlife. The fund raiser consisted of live music, silent auctions, stories and star gazing - a number of amateur astronomers were on hand with their telescopes. It was not dark yet so they were just standing around talking to people who paused near them. Candle luminaries were lined up along the trail leading up to where musicians were already performing, their music flowed down the canyon. Though drawn by the sounds of fiddle and guitar, we turned instead in the direction of our GPS pointer and El Tour de Tucson: Mile 050, knowing it would be much easier to find this fourth and last cache of the day while we still had a little daylight. We had done a number of El Tour de Tucson caches before and knew they could be a little tricky, if for no other reason than that they were always at busy intersections. We wandered through the parking lot, through the trees and out to the corner of E. Sunrise Dr. and N. Sabino Canyon Rd., a very busy 4-way stop. We knew that people driving by intent on their own lives would pay little attention to an older looking couple standing on the corner looking around like they dropped their last quarter. After a minute of searching we found the cache, signed the log, and headed for the Sabino Canyon trail. We never did find the quarter.
The Fiddlin' Foresters -
Through lively and entertaining musical performance, we provide conservation education, enhance employee morale and communicate the value of public service and federal land management in a new century of service. |
The walk up the trail was a couple tenths of a mile; people chatting, kids running, the low lying sun warm on our backs. Even though the temperature was in the mid 70s, we carried jackets. Even in Southern Arizona, darkness in March can drop desert temperatures 10° to 15° in short order. The music was no longer a nice sound off in the distance. As we got closer and passed through the money takers, the music became a great sound with speakers set up all around. We perused the vendors, picked up some literature about Sabino Canyon, looked over the silent auction and then rooted through the nearly full bleachers until we found a spot wide enough for two, and settled in to watch and listen to the Fiddlin' Foresters. This was a nationally recognized music group is made up of Forest Service employees. They performed songs that carried messages about conservation, the dangers of wildfires and other public land topics. They were humorous and plain old fun to listen to. |
In the end we weren't quite so bummed out. We wanted our 1000th cache to be something special and attending the music festival at Sabino Canyon certainly was that even if it did take us until May, better than a month later, to figure it out. After The Fiddlin' Foresters took their encore and their last bows, we waited and watched as the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus set up for their performance. What we discovered during this waiting process, and as the night settled in, was that we should have brought heavier jackets and our own comfortable chairs. We were freezing and our butts were sore. We listened to several pieces by the world famous Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus who had been performing for some 70 years (not the same boys of course), then took our leave and shivered our way past the luminaries, past the star gazers, past El Tour de Tucson: Mile 050, and headed home. It was a great 1000!
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Notes: Based on the hexdecimal code for colors, this puzzle is made from waterproof, "always writeable" paper. |
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| We had the honor of being invited to a hummingbird banding by some new friends in our Sonora neighborhood, Moe and Cris. It was at the San Pedro House in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, just east of Sierra Vista. Being in the middle of the week, we declined, but after taking a closer look and realizing we'd only have to take a half day vacation, we called them back and accepted. Of course, we had to check out the Geocaches in the area, however, as Moe and Cris were hosting us in their van, we couldn't exactly tell them that we needed to run around here and there. We decided to choose only one cache, just off the highway only a half mile from the San Pedro House, and since we arrived early it was easy to suggest. |
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| We parked as close as we could resonably get to where the GPS pointed to Mammoth's Trunk and then walked down a dry rain-rutted road. I handed the GPS to Moe, hoping it would spark a bit of excitement in this game that Penny and I love. He found it mildly interesting. Oh well, Geocaching, we have found over the years, is not for everyone. It would have helped if the cache was in a real cool place, with a captivating challenge to it. Instead it was a quick find in a rather drab, litter strewn area just off the highway. Such as the way it goes. We logged it and headed on to see the hummingbirds. That cool event can be read about on our Hummingbird Banding page. |
[log] Logged this one on the way to the San Pedro hummingbird banding.
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Notes: Some of our most enjoyable Tucson caches |
| #1005 Greasewood Travel Bug Drop by The Crazy H Crew |
Arizona -April 18, 2009 |
[log] We didn't read the lastest logs before setting out for the park; navigated to the first set of coords, solved the puzzle from the sign, and found the site of the cache hide - but it was gone. In looking at the owner log, we realized that the county must have redone the signs, since they were brand new, and the owner has not had time to rehide the cache. It appears everything is good to go for re-hiding it at the original location. The park and puzzle hide were delightful. |
| #1006 Critters #1 by 5daughters |
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[log] Finding the cache was a simple process after calculations were finally dug out; the number of conflicting web sites on information was a bit daughting - especially when a crucial number was needed. The park however was delightful. The cache lid is cracing seriously; we tried to put it back in such a way as to prevent water problems inside the cache. |
| #1007 diego by lil' cache mastersons |
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[log] What a delightful place to visit. We spent hours here. |
#1008  Courage by Team Zulu |
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[log] Two caches for the price of one in this area. This area has great possibilities for a camo hide. |
| #1009 Happy Trails by ChadsClan |
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[log] We loved this one; we'll have to check out the rest of the series. |
| #1010 BeCause by Tucson Geodogs |
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We logged this, but the cache needs serious work. People have put a bunch of stuff in the cache that is strickly junk - not even kids trade items - just junk, like old house keys, broken lamp sockets etc. Probably needs owner cleanout and restock. |
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Notes: A quick three-some. |
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Notes: Decided to do a series of caches by 5Daughters near my office. |
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Notes: Bored on a Sunday afternoon, we headed out. |
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Maybe should have done these early morning; temperatures were hitting over 100°. We were never known for being that smart. We've cached in the rain; we've cached in the snow; here we cache in the heat. Have to admit, heat is the hardest. Electric Avenue was a fine little cache, the kind of hide we like to be challenged by. Bearfr's attention to detail had her finding this rather quickly. Not so sure I would have seen it after an hour of looking. Order In The Court made me a little nervous. The court house parking lot was empty as we pulled in and then a Sheriff's Deputy pulled in right behind us, gave us little more than a quick look and continued on his way. We waited a few more minutes as a civilian muggle made her way through the parking lot and then jumped out, made the grab, did the logging thing and then got out of there before the deputy came back. We didn't want the second look.
We next made our second attempt at Meema's Tween Granchildren 3 . The first attempt was a month or two back. It appeared to be in the middle of a state land trust area and we couldn't find our way in with the maps we had with us, which was not much as we left them at home. This time we were properly armed, having researched the best approach and printed out the maps, which we then left at home, but . . . we had a much better mental picture. We located the correct housing development off of Desert Bell Drive, turned west on Calle de Oro and came to a dead end at the entry to the land trust. From there it was on foot through the desert for a half mile, which often turns into twice the distance as the GPS bounces us around. This time, maybe .7 mile and we were within a few feet of were the GPS said it was supposed to be. Did I mention that this was a puzzle cache and that sometimes we solve them wrong? If you're thinking we might have done so on this one, well, we searched and searched and finally came to the conclusion that you're right. The irritating part of it is that Geocaching.com has a link to a site that will verify if you have puzzle coordinates correct. It won't tell what the correct one is, but it will tell you you're right or wrong. We never checked, but did so this time when we got home. Sure enough. Penny found the error, corrected the GPS, and set it up for our next round. We may not have found the cache, but we did find some great views.
 So, having given up on Meema's Tween Granchildren 3 this time, we headed after the next two caches on our list for that day. The first was Santa Anna Winds. After the dissapointing trek into the desert, Penny was whipped. "I'm not doing anything that requires a hike of any kind." I totally agreed as my spring chicken hiking days in 100 degree weather was way behind me. We guzzled a half bottle of water each as we tooled out La Canada Drive, down Continental Road, and turned south on Abrego Drive. As we pulled up next to the cache—it wasn't but 15 feet off the road—I immediatly eyeballed it, and pointed it out to Penny. "You get it," she said. "I'm too tired to get out of the car." I considered jockying the SUV so that she could reach it from her window, and then thought better and got out. Some caches are like this one, hidden in plain sight, but in such a way that only a geocacher would see it; virtually invisible to passerbys. A fine little cache this was, set by Daisie Duck . As tired as I was I could not help but notice the aroma of the nearby bushes.
Shuffle Off to Abrego Drive , another cache by Daisie Duck found us realizing just how much of a retirement community Green Valley is. Where else are you going to find a shuffleboard club?
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Notes: Decided to do a few of Meema's and Desert Jean's caches |
| #1031 Meema's Tween Granchildren 3 by desertjean |
Arizona -May 16 , 2009 |
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Alas we got the coords right and finally found Meema's Tween Granchildren 3 . As we were looking a lady walked by with her dog and then stopped to chat. Had a great conversation for about 10 minutes, during which time we gazed about but didn't let on as to what we were doing hanging about. We left her with the impression that we were admiring a Oreander bush/tree, which was in fact quite beautiful. Curious if she spoke of the strange couple to her husband when she got home. |
[log] Got this one on the third try with the right coords. Had a nice visit with a local lady and her "people walker" dog. The bushes were in gorgeous bloom nearby.
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| #1032 Muggles, Muggles by DesertJean
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As we searched for this cache in an area dominated by active muggles on four wheels, we found ourselves having to do so while trying to stay out of notice of bees swarming out of ground-level utility box. Fortunatly they seemed wrapped up in thier busy-as-bee duties and gave us little concern. We located and logged the cache, and then scooted out of there.
[log] Nice "middle" find.
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Cars everywhere, but no one paid us any attention |
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| #1033 Daisie Duck Turns 80! by desertjean
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As has been mentioned numerous times throughout this journal is the fun in meeting other caches while on the hunt of a cache. At Daisie Duck Turns 80! we ran onto Hornytoad. He filled us in on his friends, desertjeand and Daisie Duck, as well as an event they were planning for the fall. The Family event at Anamax Park took place on November 7th and ended up being a great time. It became our cache #1066.
[log] Joint find with our new friend Hornytoad; may have to join him at the next local event. |
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Notes: A trip to Montana; had to cache! This was a lone trip by Bearfr to visit friends. |
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Notes: Bearfr's first lone event; saw Leonata and got introduced. |
#1040  Second annual Capital City Geocaching Event by Wile E, BKButtons |
Montana
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[log] Had a fabulous time with friends new and old even after arriving late due to another engagement in Townsend. I was on a trip from Arizona to visit my son and friends and couldn't resist dropping in. I was amazed at the growth of caching in Helena -YAH!! Picked up a bug to take home to Arizona. Bearfr
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Notes: More solo Monatana caching. |
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Notes: The last of my Montana caching |
| #1044 house call by Wile E |
Montana - June 16, 2009 |
[log] Loved the double entendre on this one; took 3 tries before it was muggle-free. Great one. Thanks. |
| # 1045 Vélo Helena by Red Hot Mama |
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[log] The things Bearfr will do to log a Red Hot Mama cache. She was on her last day in Helena and down to a dress and sandals, but she climbed the terrain and logged that puppy. Took a golf ball for Frogwarts |
| #1046 Retired Once by bkbuttons |
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[log] The agony of being short. Four trips and lots of searching, even when I knew what I was looking for, but just before I had to leave for the airport I got it! Last of a dozen in my 5 day trip. Bearfr |
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Notes: Back in Arizona getting our daily cache fix. |
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Notes: Two for today. |
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Notes: Caching's a great way to celebrate Independence Day with a trip to a new haunt - Roosevelt Lake |
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| #1050 Tribute to Veterans by AzHobo
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Arizona - July 3, 2009 |
[log] This was a very special cache for Frogwarts; he is a Navy veteran and his son returned home safely from his 4th Navy EOD deployment this week. It was a wonderful cache in a great location for both of us and our first of 10 for our day trip from Sahuarita. |
| #1051 Boat Problems? by Kathi, D.J and Trinity |
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[log] Found, signed and talked with DJ |
| #1052 PHA-KA-WEE PRIDE by jeraus |
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[log] Very nice cache; our 3rd for the day. Picked up Skippy, the turtle bug. |
#1053  Mystery Cave by Tonto National Monument |
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[log] Looking out at the valley from below the Lower Cliff dwelling, we could imagine a fertile valley with a meandering river, rather than the huge lake we see now. Diversion dams would help water the plantings we made for food. We chose this home for it's protection from the monsoon rains, the harsh summer suns, and any enemies who might come by, but we we were generally a peaceful poeple who saw many visitors from other tribes travel through."
This was an amazing short hike to a very interesting site; Well worth the time and fee, plus we logged our first earth cache. Thanks for the site. Frogwarts and Bearfr |
| #1054 Cottonwood Frazier by Frieza |
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[log] Easy find - #5 for the day. TFTC |
| #1055 Roosevelt View by Frieza |
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[log] #6 on a beautiful visit to the lake from our home in Sahuarita. |
| #1056 "Cholla View" by Team AJ.JR |
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[log] Lots of "Cholla" streets, but fortunately not much actual cholla to avoid. We found this cache "misplaced" near the cords location and used the hint to replace it in it's original home. We actually found it easier to park along the main road and hike to this one, rather than do a longer walk from the campground parking. |
| #1057 18-S by mrmomtwins |
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[log] Clever title; Frogwarts stayed with the car since we didn't have a recreation permit and couldn't see a place to get one. Bearfr was meant to find this one; she left the car without a pencil, found a Sharpie marker 100 feet up her path and went on to log the find. |
| #1058 Bully! Teddy by noblindholes |
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[log] Frogwarts really liked this one; thought it was a clever hide. Bearfr stayed with the car - no place to get a recreation parking permit and you couldn't park for any length of time without one. |
| #1059 Inspiration Point by Frieza |
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[log] Our last and #10 cache for the day before starting back to Sahuarita over the Apache Trail. We envied the people below the dam swimming off their boats! |
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Notes: Just a couple quickies for the day. |
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Notes: A solo find by the Frog. |
| #1062 OO Owls 2 by TJTucson1 |
Arizona - July 18, 2009 |
[log]Near Frogwart's work so this was an easy lunch hour find.
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Notes: What a nice way to start the weekend |
| #1063 The Sahuarita Sundial by Team Gadsden |
Arizona -August 3 , 2009 |
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[log] Loved the sundial connection in this puzzle, and the clever use of local time. Frogwarts solved and found this one for us.
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Notes: Another short cache spurt. |
#1064 Twisted Root Overlook by Daisie Duck
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Arizona -September 12 , 2009
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We parked and got out with some 500 feet to Twisted Root Overlook, and started hoofing it down the trail. 100 feet in I stopped and looked at where it was taking us . . . another street. I could probably drive around the block and come up right next to it. Bearfr chose to keep walking. I retreated to the car and met her at the other end, only a handful of yards from the cache. Quickly found and logged it and got back into the air-conditioned vehicle. In the heat of southern Arizona these little victories can feel very good.
[log] Parked at the wrong end, so Frogwarts drove around while Bearfr had a nice quiet walk down the path. Cute hide. |
| #1065 I'm Puzzled by DesertJean |
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| Sometimes puzzles can be too much of a challenge; fortunately these were not the case, not to say they weren't hard; we just didn't give up as easy as on some others. As usual Bearfr was first on figuring out "I'm Puzzled", however Frogwarts got his glory on The Sahuarita Sundial. It all evens out in the long run.
[log] Bearfr remembered one like this from Montana, so we quickly had the coords. Loved the hide also. |
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Notes: Our 67th Hide - a puzzle based on the first word in each sentence of a paragraph to lead to webpage with the cache coordianates. |
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Notes: A great fun event in Sahuarita |
| #1066 Family event at Anamax Park by DesertJean, and Daisie Duck
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Arizona -November 7, 2009 |
| This was a fun event put on by desertjean and Daisie Duck. For their first event they did a bang-up job. Lots of food, some cool games, meeting some terrific people; even a fine looking mascot. See photo of all the terrific people (and mascot) below. We even discovered a couple from just up our street in Rancho Sahaurita. In the photo below Daisie Duck--a fine looking 80 years old--sits on the ground on the left. DesertJean stands directly above in the same white, event T-shirt. Yours truly (Frogwarts) sits on the ground also--black shirt and brown hat--with my wife (Bearfr) seated behind me--green shirt and black hat. |
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[log] What a great event - so many new friends, wonderful food and games, and 20 new inovative caches to find. Thanks Jean and Daisie.
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Notes:Caches found following the Anamax Park event. |
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Notes: One week following the Anamax Park event we returned to Green Valley in an attempt to pick up the remaining of the 20 caches set by desertjean and Daisie Duck |
| #1076 No backups here by Daisie Duck
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Arizona -November 14, 2009 |
[log] Absolutely loved the "clever camo" on this one. Great Job!!
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| #1077 Dog Distraction by desertjean |
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[log] Yup, we drove the one dog who was here nuts!
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| #1078 Are you well? by desertjean |
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[log] Now this is true camo!
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| #1079 Top technology by Daisie Duck |
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[log] Had to nab this one when Frogwarts walked right by it. - Bearfr
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| #1080 Meema's Grandchildren cache #6 by desertjean |
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[log] Thanks for the parking tip; saved a lot of bushwacking. This one was very exposed, so we gave it a little camo help when we left.
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| #1081 It's a Fine Line by desertjean |
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[log] Oh you are So o o o clever Jean; we saw why on the walk back!
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| #1082 Meema's Doll Treasures by desertjean |
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[log] Nice walk to both the dolls and matchbox cars. TNLN Thanks
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| #1083 Meema's Matchbox Treasures by desertjean |
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[log] Nice walk to both the dolls and matchbox cars. TNLN Thanks
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| #1084 Come Any Tiime by Daisie Duck |
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[log] Had the wrong GC number to log; got it now. We actually had found it at the event, but didn't log it since it wasn't published yet. We went back today to sign the log.
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| #1085 I know it's here somewhere by Daisie Duck
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Arizona -November 22, 2009 |
We managed 9 more but I know it's here somewhere kept eluding us. We circled over and over, approaching from different directions with the GPS, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The Cable Guy was nearby but he probably distracted us more than we did him. He appeared to have no curiosity in what we were doing. After some 30 minutes or so of searching, we gave up and went on to the next cache. It was only after going home that Bearfr discovered the error. We entered the coordinates wrong in the GPS. The following weekend, November 22, we ventured out just for I know it's here somewhere. Success!
[log] #1085 Amazing that you can find the cache if you enter the coords in the GPS correctly; second trip with correct coords a success!
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Notes: It was a month and a half before we ventured out again with the GPS. That really was amazing because on the weekend of the 5th we flew to Virgina to witness our new daughter-in-law join the family and did no caching. Son Matt did it up right with a "SURPRISE" wedding for his fiancée, Nina. You read that right. It was a surprise. Read about it and see the pics on Matt and Nina's wedding page. It was a wonderful weekend.
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#1086 Jennifer's Este Wash Cache by AZTech
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Arizona -December 20, 2009 |
The company I work for (Allegra) was having the company Christmas party way up in Northeast Tucson so we decided to head out early and do some caching on the way there. We also just received a new Garmin for our car from Matt & Nina for Christmas so we had to give it a run. WOW! Can't believe we've lived without one all this time, though it didn't do well for geocaching. Got us to the area nicely, though. Once out of the car we relied on the handheld.
On the way to the company Christmas party.
[log] Took tb Nice walk on a sunny day
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| #1087 Katherine's Este Wash Cache by AZTech |
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[log] Nice find. Exchanged an Alabama quarter for the Geocoin.
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| #1088 Fallen Heroes 1by FuzzyOso |
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[log] Nice memorial TFTC
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| #1089 WASHOUT by PASSKEY TWO |
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[log] Middle of nowhere cache
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Notes: It was a cold Saturday the second weekend in January when we ventured out again. Again we ended up near Penny's office to cache. |
| #1090 Shane’s Honey Bee Troll by Mike9955
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Arizona - January 10, 2010 |
We had planned caching on our anniversary, January 2, but the day before, New Years Day, while riding her bike, Penny's shoe lace lost a battle with the chain and dumped her onto the street. She was sore but seemed otherwise okay. Then about 3 AM she awoke in terrible pain. Hence we spent the early morning of our anniversary in the emergency room. Her gift for the special day was a broken arm.
Still, after only a week she was ready to get out again. The break was in the elbow so there was no cast. It was in the low 30s so we layer up and drove up to Oro Valley for a morning bird watching tour of a local park. It was a 2-hour walk, but we only made it 45 minutes before the cold and wind got to both of us. Didn't we used to live in Montana? We retreated back to the car and in the warmth looked over the list of caches we had planned, deciding to skip those deep into the cold and windy park we had just vacated. We still had enough to reach 1100 finds, but in the end it wasn't to be. Several eluded us, or they were missing in action. We finished up the day at 1098 and rewarded ourselves with a Subway lunch.
[log] Nice hide. Found quickly. Tnlnsl |
| #1091 Crested in Rancho Vistoso by Mike9955 | |
[log] A little bit visible. Rehid. |
| #1092 Bring a Coin by kurt | |
[log] Forgot to drop the coin. Tnlnsl. |
| #1093 Everyday People by Adopted by Team2002 | |
Everyday People was the favorite of the day. On each corner of a crossroads in a shopping center parking lot were life-size statues of "Everyday People". We sat on the bench with the girl looking at the dog and contemplated the location of the cache, at the same time admiring the art before us. The guy with the newspaper appeared to be distracted by the girl leaning from the stop sign. These were some really cool creations. The cache was cool also, taking us about 10 minutes to locate.
[log] Loved the art. Took plenty of pics for our web site. Thanks for bringing us here. |
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Notes: Off to the office cache area for a toughie. |
The last time we spent a day caching, January 10th, we had one cache we couldn't find. It was Dog Day Afternoon. Puzzle caches are not fun if you don't wind up finding the cache. This one had all the earmarks of being fun because . . . well . . . it was easy enough for us. The coords dropped us into the parking lot of Hohokam Park in Oro Valley. From there it was a treasure hunt for facts about the park until we built the coords. We didn't have to know anything or have a twisted puzzle solving mind; we just had to follow directions. The hints required the solving of three simple word puzzles, again fairly simple.
Less than fifteen minutes after arriving at the park, we had a set of coords. Easy score, we thought, and headed deeper into the park to find and log the cache. An hour later we are recalculating the coords, analyzing the hints, and trying to second guess where we went wrong. One of the questions was, "How many volleyball courts are in the park?" We got to wondering if we missed one and wandered all over the place looking for others. We reread every sign, and recalculated, and then played the what-if game, i.e., what if they changed the number of rules on the Tennis Court Regulation sign? The sign didn't look new. Of course anytime we at first can't find a cache, we say, "Must have been muggled," meaning someone not having knowledge of Geocaching has stumbled onto it and taken it.
In the end we gave it up and went on about our caching day. Bearfr later wrote the cache owner for a hint. He came back with something like, "Look up, not down." Well, duh! We're seasoned cachers. We looked everywhere; I even climbed a tree.
Two+ months later, on the morning of March 19, Bearfr said to me as we headed out the door to our respective cars, "Why don't you come up to my office after work and we'll try that Dog Day Afternoon cache again and then go to Outback for Dinner?" Bearfr's new job (1 month old) takes her way up into Oro Valley, not far from the elusive cache. I had never seen her office. Dinner at Outback on Friday. Three good reasons. It was a date.
After a day of designing graphics, or whatever it is I do to make the mortgage payment, I arrived at Bearfr's office where I got the tour and met her boss. Then it was off to the cache. To be truthful with you, when she mentioned Dog Day Afternoon, I had no idea what she was talking about. It had been over 2 months and I claim senioritis. It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot that the 5 watt bulb came on. It used to be a lot brighter than that, I think. Can't remember for sure.
One thing the cache owner confirmed for Bearfr is that we had the calculations correct, so we were in the right vicinity. Still, it eluded us. I almost climbed the same tree again with the "look up" thought in my head. We persisted and suddenly, success! There it was. It wasn't in the tree. As always, we said, "How did we miss that the first time?" We do have to give 4x4jeep credit, though. It was very well hidden, and a great little fun cache. The "Fun" part showed up only after we found it, of course. That's just how puzzle caches work. |
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Notes: We like Oro Valley, have even considered relocating our home there with Bearfr's new job. Will See. Here is a great late-day view of the Catalinas.
[log] On our first visit we solved the puzzle and got the correct coords, but simply couldn't spot the cache. After checking with the owners to make sure it hadn't been muggled, we went back for another try. It's a great little park - well worth a second visit. Still took some major looking even with a hint, but we finally scored it! Very well hidden, guys. TFTC and the puzzle fun.
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Notes: Our 1100 find! |
As you might have noticed from our 1000th cache, we like to mark milestones with something unique or special. Even #1100 warranted something a little different if we could work it out, maybe something we have to work a little harder for. We analyzed the newest caches that had been placed in Sahuarita and just weren't seeing anything that might fit the bill, until Bearfr noted the hint in Iris's Pecan Park. "Trees are made for climbing." Yes! #1100 here we come.
Ok, ok. It wasn't a 20 foot climb but for these old bones and muscles, 5 feet was quite enough. The park was located in Madara Highlands, a new development on the edge of the pecan groves. As a matter of fact we were allowed to pick up pecans in the park which had a dozen or so pecan trees.
Getting up the tree wasn't too bad. Getting down . . . this was a no brainer when I was 10-years-old. What happened???
After the dust settle from my contact with the ground and I was certain all was well, we meandered back to the car, picking up a few pecan shells along the way. A couple were fully intact so we enjoyed a little snack. |
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| #1100 Isis' Pecan Park by heathatlas
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Arizona -March 21, 2010 |
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Notes
[log] Number 1100 for us! This was a great park, but a special challenge for 2 seniors - one too short (5' 2") to reach even if she climbed. Frogwarts did the honors instead, but he barely got it with his 5'8". We had a fun time and got some snacks in the process, but maybe the difficulty rating might be up-ed a little.
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Notes: We continued on with our afternoon, geocaching. It was a beautiful first day of Spring, the temperatures pushing the high 70's. Couldn't ask for it any better. All told we did 10 caches; not bad for starting out after 2:00 and arriving back home just after 5:00. |
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I imagine I'll get heck when bearfr finds out I not only took this picture at Track 3, but then published it. All part of the fun of Geocaching. |
#1106 Lost Copper by solarworks
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Arizona -March 21, 2010 |
[log] #7 for the day; hung around until we got this one with no muggles.
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| #1107 Gate Keeper by CLNKBLANK |
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[log] #8 for the day - one of our favorites, because we knew where it was and still had to look 3 times. Great hide!
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Notes :
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We parked for the Gate Keeper with the thought, "This is sure obvious" then spent ten minutes searching for it. These are the type we enjoy, and right in our neighborhood.
[log] #1107 #8 for the day - one of our favorites, because we knew where it was and still had to look 3 times. Great hide!
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#1108 Midfield by Philbeer
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Arizona -March 21, 2010 |
[log] #9 for the day. TFTH
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| #1109 Arizona’s Ghost Airfields No. 4 by Desert_Dust |
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Notes: We stood in the middle of the road and looked both ways after finding Arizona’s Ghost Airfields No. 4, imagining what it was like to set down a small plane on what was then a dirt runway, cactus defining the out-of-bounds on each side. Were there many mishaps and were the skeletons of those mishaps still hidden among the saguaros, ocotillo and mesquite?
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[log] #1109 #10 and final for the day. Great history lesson; odd to walk down a runway and feel the ghosts of past planes.
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Notes: An even half-dozen today |
| #1110 Roadrunner's I-19 by BudVisor&CharDNay
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Arizona - April 4, 2010 |
[log] It wasn't a roadrunner; it was a coyote chasing a quail! Nice area and walk. Frogwarts had long enough arms. |
| #1111 Mission Twin by kimba off track |
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[log] Clever hint; very criptic. Exchanged a fancy paper clip for a tiny Christmas ornament. |
| #1112 Evangelical Tree by kimba off track |
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[log] Way too easy, but very nice area. |
| #1113 Arid Garden by desertjean |
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[log] This was our favorite of the day simply because of the gardens; it was fun to see how many of the species we had in our own cactus gardens at home. The hints are right on; you just need to stay on the path, and relax while finding the cache. Well, well worth the visit. |
| #1114 Rec Facility by desertjean |
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[log] Liked this one; with just a tiny bit of camo it could be a real challenge. We need more of those. |
| #1115 Totally Tubular !!! by The Skeleton Crew |
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[log] Our last for a day of six. The hint in the driving directions was "blue" when we passed on by the first time, but eventually we smartened up - very clever. Nice hike, not even too bad for two 60 year olds. TFTC. No geocoin; it was picked up earlier in the year by Jess & Tod. |
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Notes: Caching in the Sycamore subdivision |
| #1116 Los Bomberos (The Firefighters) by Atomicpunk67
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Arizona - April 12, 2010 |
[log] Bearfr's employer is part owner of this development, so it was fun to find a cache here.
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| #1117 Sycamore by Coatimundi |
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[log] We followed the driving directions, then parked the SUV for the last 1/2 mile walk because the road is washed out badly-even for 4 wheel. It was a gorgeous spring day for walking and following the power lines brought us right to the cache. Left a personal fan and took the lip balm before it melted. |
| #1118 Ocotillo Ranch 1 by TLC_MATTHEW |
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[log] Didn't even need a writeup to find this one; found it by the coords on the way out of a Sycamore Canyon hike. TFTC
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#1119  A Historic Cache by BudVisor&CharDNay |
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[log] Went back a second time for a find after rechecking our coords with the owners. Question: will this location survive the saws? |
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Notes: An anniversary cache about the GPS |
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[log]The 10th Anniversary of Geocaching - we thought it deserved a cache find that embodies the spirit and technology of caching. Downright Gooey caught our attention with it's clever name, and kept it with a fun puzzle based on our favorite piece of equipment. Thanks for the interesting construction and use of Geochecker; We had a great time celebrating Geo's anniversary and our #1120.
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Notes: Caching in California due to a wedding |
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Notes: Starting a really fun new series of caches. |
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Notes: Continuing our tracking series finds. |
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Notes: The end of the 7 cache tracking series, along with others to celebrate 10/10/10 |
10/10/10 day
#1128 Wolf Tracking (read description) by Mindfulness
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Arizona - October 10, 2010 |
[log] Out to get the last 3 of this series to celebrate 10/10/10!!! Don't trust your car GPS on this one; follow the great directions in the cache writeup. |
| #1129 Bobcat Tracking (read description) by Mindfulness |
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[log] Second for 10/10/10. Directions were excellent. |
| #1130 Wildlife Linkages Tracking Challenge by Mindfulness |
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[log] Finished the series to celebrate 10/10/10 with #1130 for us. Thought at first we might be off, because the final is definitely not in the Sahuarita area where we live. We didn't have wireless on the fly, so we just took a chance and bagged it. Traded for a nice souvenir gem keychain for our efforts. Thanks for a fabulous series!! |
| #1131 Cal's cache by ambesten |
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[log] Amazingly no muggles. Good Hint. TFTC. |
| #1132 Tess & Dani's Hide... by Lucchese Family |
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[log] Bearfr beat out Master Frogwarts in spying this one. Clever hide. Should make grandma proud if she's a cacher. Last of our 10/10/10 run.
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Notes: Doing some AZ trail caching in Madera Canyon |
| #1133 Nature Trail Gem by JesandTodd |
Arizona - October 12, 2010 |
[log] Little cutie for the cache! We walked up the road, bushwacked across the stream above the private property, found the cache, and came back down the trail to the Ampitheater. It was a gorgeous day for a hike, and a nicely placed cache in a beautiful area. |
| #1134 Underneath the Mistletoe by CopperWings |
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[log] Once we located the right trail; NOT the one from the top of the campground, but one a quarter mile before, we had a great time with this cache. The mistletoe and it's story were fascinating, and the hide was well done. We "heard" the cache before we saw it; the metal pinged it's location to us. Very nicely hidden. Worth the hike up a rough road for the knees. TFTC |
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Notes: Continuing our finds in Madera Canyon. |
| #1135 Green and Gold by shortstuff7
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Arizona - October 17, 2010 |
[log] Didn't even know this area of Madera Canyon was developed. A beautiful tiny stream and a pleasant bench made this a wonderful place to stop for a cache.
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| #1136 Proctor Road by Copper Queens |
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[log] We found it, but wonder why we wanted to. The road was rough, the area unscenic, and the cache was hidden in a woods filled with stinkweed. Are there no beautiful places to hide a cache in Arizona? Even the cool saguaro growing in the middle of a mesquite tree that we saw on the way out would have provided more beauty. |
| #1137 Path to Titan II (CE06) by Philbeer |
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[log] #5 and the last of a Madera Canyon run for the day. The location near an authorized personel only sign had us looking over our shoulders repeatedly, but fortunately it was a fast find. Too bad we couldn't get to see the actual site. |
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Notes: Just another 4 cache day ending with an event. |
| #1138 Agua Callente by Jolly Stomper |
Arizona - October 30, 2010 |
[log] Don't trust the car GPS on this one; took us the long scenic route! But once we were in the right area, it was an easy find. TFTC. |
| #1139 Thanksgiving Picnic by Copper Queens |
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[log] What a nice area that we didn't know existed; traded for a mini-flyer glider for our grandchild's 8th birthday. Gorgeous day - gorgeous area. Thanks so much. |
| #1140 S T A R G A Z E R by Team Obsidian - Bill & Paul |
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[log] Third for this area today; it was a totally beautiful day which should turn into an awesome astronomy night. Thanks for a nice placement; the cache is good. |
| #1141 Pancakes in the Park by KennyV |
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[log] Frog and I plan to be there with syrup for the pancakes. Bear. |
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Notes: Caching in Catalina State Park, Tucson AZ |
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[log]Beautiful hike in Catalina State Park. Picked up TB.
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Notes: Back caching in Catalina |
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Notes: Caching while visiting the Ostrich Farm |
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Notes: A trip to Rainbow Lake |
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Notes: Caching in Pinetop, AZ - one of our favorite AZ places. |
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Notes: The second day in Pinetop. |
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Notes: Caching near Sahuarita AZ |
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Notes: Caching to celebrate Independence Day weekend |
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| Notes: Bearfr got this one solo while visiting her daughter for graduation. |
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[log]#1179 On vacation in Baltimore; will send email to owners with log info.
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Notes: Caching on a Utah trip up from Tucson on the way to Montana to celebrate James' retirement. |
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Notes: Our first attempt at caching for simply numbers; probably won't do it again. |
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Notes: Some more caches on the way to Montana |
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Notes: Celebrating being home again. |
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Notes
[log] Met one of the volunteers who are fixing up the cemetary while we were finding the cache. They are doing a great job!
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Notes: Had to go Missoula caching while we're here. |
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[log] Easy find on a light misty rain day
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Notes: A 14-cache Missoula day. |
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Notes: Headed up to Glacier through Seeley Swan |
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Notes: Vacation was too short; headed back to AZ again. |
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Notes: Needed a cache fix. |
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Notes: More clever caches |
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Notes : An easy to reach TB Hotel just off I-19 by the entrance to the Asarco Mine at exit 80.
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Notes: Grabbing a souvenir for International Geocaching Day 2011 |
International Geocaching Day 2011
#1242 D.J.L. by passkey two |
Arizona - August 19, 2011 |
[log] Nicely done hide in an area with lots of possibilities. |
#1243 Tic-Tac-Toe by 2CrazyGapes
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[log] Intact but lots of geo junk. |
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Notes: At the Asarco mine near us, we planted a TB cache. |
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Notes: Some of our favorite AZ caches by Fatab and Minerva |
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