Our treasure hunt took us down to Utah County to search in Diamond Fork Canyon. We had my dad's treasure book to guide us to the right spot and the rest was up to our divining abilities. Of course the coordinates were way off. We hiked around several sketchy paths up some pretty steep hillsides. After a few minutes I decided to check if there were any geocaches in the area on my phone. Wouldn't you know it - there was one which mentioned a strange carving in the rock. Sounds just about like we were looking for.
The trip was great. We had a wonderful group of teachers and other technology trainers from around the state. Most of the people I already knew and it was a fantastic chance to make some new friends with those I just met. I have to say that you really get to know someone as you sit around a campfire together. I've been in a lot of meetings with the trainers, but there's nothing to compare with sharing stories by the open flame. It was awesome.
One of the crazy parts of the weekend was the fact that we had electricity and wireless Internet out there in the middle of nowhere. How often can you say you were checking your fantasy football team while laying in a tent one hour away from a paved road? It was new for me, but a nice way to "rough it" in the desert.
Now that we've gotten that out the way here's what happened. Ross, Mitchell, and I started planning this trip around March. We knew there was going to be a lot of time in the car and we needed to keep the trip as short as possible. Try explaining to your wife and kids that you're going on a two-day geocaching trip. We used Google Maps to plan out every twist and turn along the way and our route was ready (BTW - if you're not using Google Maps, you should be). Rather than give you every detail here are some of the highlights based upon the states we visited.
Colorado: This was my first time caching in Colorado. Truthfully, it looked a lot like Eastern Utah. Until we got to Ouray that is. I've never been through Ouray before, but I would certainly like to go back. We all loved the Million Dollar Highway (well, Ross liked it a bit less since he drove around the tight curves and past the sheer drop offs) and the mountain scenery was awesome. It was the prettiest part of our drive and the only time the temperature dropped to my kinda level. We left the state with food from the Durango Taco Bell and 10 caches to our credit.
I had to laugh when the front clerk at the hotel asked where we were going and we said "Here." He asked, "Why?" I guess that sums up Farmington, NM. We woke up early and got back out on the road. I think my favorite cache of the trip was off the highway outside of Shiprock. We found a pretty cool petroglyph. Whether it's real or not - you decide!
I guess the secret came out about a month ago when the Spectrum (Cedar's newspaper) published an article about this fun little slot canyon just east of town. Sure enough, there were plenty of people in the canyon last Saturday when Tara, Big Al, Vaughn (my dad's friend), and I went in search of some adventure.
The first fall had a log ladder which helps you climb the 15 feet or so to get on top of the water. It wasn't too bad, just go slow and hold onto the rope. All four of us made it up in no time, but it's a bit trickier going down. I know going down was the whole reason Coleton didn't come with us on the hike. It's a bit scary to look down about 20 feet while holding onto a skinny rope.
The second fall was an awesome climb. We had encountered some 20 year old boys while in the canyon and as we approached the second fall they were debating about whether or not to go up. Knowing that we were in search of a geocache above the fall, there was no debate for me. I grabbed hold of the rope ladder and pulled myself up rung by rung. Once I got to a certain height, I was able to climb a log the rest of the way. Sure, I wasn't very graceful, but I was the first one to the top. You can only imagine that boys quickly followed me to the top, once a "old man" had made the climb first. It took a little more of an effort for Tara and my dad to make it to the top, but we realized that the log had several knots which made the climb manageable for everyone.
With a statewide ban on fireworks in Utah this year, we decided to spark up our own fun and spent the day geocaching. I know it's been a while since you've read of our exploits with this minor obsession, but now is the time to share. Rather than staying close to home we headed North and into Davis County. I figured it was the best way to get some company on our hunt since both Jared and Ross live in Kaysville. Splitting the difference in our trip was the most gas conscious way to make everyone happy.
Caching was relatively easy today. It could be due the fact that I only entered in waypoints for simple caches that were all normal containers. When you have 7 kids with you it really helps if they can find some treasure to trade. It also helps when you schedule a few caches near a park so the kids can go play. I think this was the real highlight of the morning, either that or the Happy Meals at McDonald's for lunch. Oh well, I guess there have to be concessions when you're dragging the kids around to look for hidden boxes in the 98 degree heat!
Kennedy and Alex had fun getting outside again. Yesterday we went into St. George and spent the day playing. Most of the afternoon we hunted for geocaches, but still managed to find time for a stop at the playground. You always need to find a good park for the kids after being cooped up in the car. Of course, Kennedy loved the slide, over and over and over....
The rest of us enjoyed the nice weather and found a ton of caches. It's kind of fun to find an uncharted area with lots of easy hides. Ruaniteit (Ross), Harmony Al (Dad), and crimson_ crew (Tara and me) had a respectable 16 finds yesterday. In fact, Ross found his 500th geocache! Only 250 more to catch up with the crew. All in all, it was a great day outside. The only things that stopped us was darkness and trip to Golden Corral. What a way for my parents to celebrate their 39th anniversary!
While we were in Springville, Ross and I went out on a couple caches to see what we could see. I had to laugh, cause one of the locations led us near my sister-in-law (Bonnie)'s house. It was around 3 o'clock when we passed the house and whose officially sponsored Mapleton police car was there - could it be Phillip's? It's nice to see our tax dollars are hard at work. Although I guess I can't say much since I was down in Springville in a state vehicle out looking for caches. Hey it's a tough life. Needless to say we found the cache at the top a nearby hill and I took a photo of the Mapleton Police Explorer to use for future blackmail. What a day!
Since the service project was sponsored by a local geocacher, all the garbage collectors received a button marking the event. Kennedy wasn't quite sure if she liked having something attached to her shirt, but it was a nice present anyway. CITO (Cache In Trash Out) Day 2006 was a lot of fun and it's good to get out of the house and help out around town.
The real reason we went out caching today was to attend a caching event up North. I know it seems crazy, but we went to an evening picnic on the 6th of January with relative strangers who cooked authentic "hobo stew." I think the key ingredients to hobo stew is - everything. They put stuff in that stew that I wouldn't consider eating if I wasn't being polite, but hey when in Rome..... Still, it was fun to see some friends again and talk about the good times out on the geocaching trail.
Coleton even hid his first official cache as part of our travels today. He's been wanting to hide a micro near his school for the past couple of months, so we finally accomplished his goal with the new cache, Late 4 School. It should be a good challenge for any worthy seeker. Coleton also found his 100th cache on our trip. We were trying to get to cache #400 for the Crew, but we only made it to #396. Until next week.
Last night we were out caching with my dad and it kept us out a little later than expected. Some people think we're obsessed, but I would say that we're "passionately committed".
