Even More Geocaching

I know, I know, you are probably getting pretty tired of hearing about Geocaching. But since that is pretty much all we do anymore, that is all we really have to blog about.

To keep our cache finding streak going, we have to find at least one cache a day. The trouble though is that finding a cache is just like eating Lays potato chips, you can't find (eat) just one.

We bested our best of five finds in a day with ten finds today.  It would have only been nine since we had a "Did not find" and had to take the kids trick or treating this evening, but right at sunset we scored with our tenth one of the day.  

A lot of the caches are in old spooky cemeteries, just like our tenth find this evening, and you always have to be on the look out for ghosts and such.  Tonight we had quite a scare when we were confronted by just such a spirit.

Maybe since it is almost a full moon, he decided to come out tonight.  Luckily we escaped with our lives intact and were only scarred emotionally.

The Scream Ghost We Encountered While At A Cemetery Geocaching.

Usually, we do not run into anything that would harm us while Geocaching. Sometimes you get some strange looks from the  Muggles, but they usually leave us alone.

One of the benefits, again, that come from Geocaching is the exercise you get along with the enjoyment of a beautiful fall day.

The LivelyRV Geocaching Crew.

It was a little brisk this morning when we first started looking for caches, but it warmed up pretty good by the afternoon.  

We only Geocached for about six hours today due to having to come back to Ouabache State Park near Bluffton, IN so the kids could trick or treat at their campground.  

By-the-way, it is pronounced Wabash not O-ba-chee.  Luckily the only person we said the name to was from Alabama and she did not know the proper way to say it either.

LivelyRV Crew Trick or Treating at the Ouabache State Park Campground.

To make this event we had to jump through some hoops to pull it off.  The time for trick or treat was 5 to 6 PM and since we did not get back in town until around 4:45 PM and the RV was a good ten minutes away, one-way, we had to find someplace to buy costumes and new bags for them to trick or treat. 

At the Middlebury KOA we met a lot of really nice individuals and one friend in particular, Kathy, gave all the kids new trick or treat bags, with candy of course.  Well those were the ones we wanted to use, but ran out of time, so had to buy more.  We could have just used Kroger bags, but we did not want to look too backwoods, so spent the extra $1.99 on the new bags.

Some of the decorations at the Ouabache State Park Campground for trick or treating.

Needless to say, we made it there in time and had a good forty five minutes to trick or treat, which was good enough for the kids to get way too much candy anyway.

How did we find out about Ouabache State Park?  Geocaching of course!  There were five caches inside the park to find, which we did find.  We also found an old fire tower that you could climb and some buffalo to look at.

This fire tower is one of fourteen still standing from thirty three total which were built between 1930 and 1952.  By 1970 planes replaced fire towers as the main means to track fires, so now the remaining ones stand as sentinels reminding us of a time gone by.

We were told that this particular fire tower is one hundred feet tall.  We did not measure it, to verify, but as we climbed it while carrying Avery, both up and down, we will say that it is more than tall enough.  And when we say we, we means me.

Fire Tower at Ouabache State Park.

The kids were up it in a flash, stayed long enough for a picture, and then went back down to play on the playground.  Avery and I stayed a little longer to enjoy the view and catch my breath.  By the picture below, you would think Avery carried me up the stairs!

Ethan, Courtney, Ian, Avery, & Tia posing in the Ouabache State Park fire tower.

The view was spectacular and one could only imagine how it would look with the leaves in full fall color.  Well, so not to deprive you of such a sight, you can go here to see just that.  You will have to scroll down through the first ten or so pictures to get them, but they are there.

View of the buffalo enclosure from the fire tower in Ouabache State Park.

 The buffalo in the park are a reminder of how buffalo herds used to roam and graze in Indiana prairies prior to the 1800's.  By the early 1800's all of the buffalo were gone from Indiana.

Buffalo at Ouabache State Park.

The park usually has around six or eight buffalo in their twenty acre enclosure year round.  Since it is estimated that each buffalo needs a minimum of five acres of pasture to be sustained, the park supplements their diets with hay and grain.

Buffalo grazing in Ouabache State Park.

Before we stop for this blog, we wanted to give you one more glance of the almost full moon just after the sun had set this fine October evening in Indiana.  The iPhone camera does not do it justice compared to being there live.

Moon rising right after sunset in Indiana.

So this past week we had another successful time of Geocaching and seeing other beautiful parts of Indiana before leaving it next week.  We are also glad that the kids got to do their trick or treating for this year too.

Until next time, God bless and be happy that you have what time you do on this Earth.

Thanks!

Don, Misty, & Kids.

More Geocaching

Last time we were telling you about our new hobby of Geocaching.  Well this past weekend Geocaching is about all that we have done.

First off, if you are reading this and Geocaching near our location in Indiana then you may not want to look at some of the below pictures, so as not to spoil any caches that you have not found yet.  

I will try not to give away too many details on where the caches are, but anyone who can put 2+2 together could figure out what caches I am talking about, so be warned.

Geocaching is a lot of fun and you can get some good physical and mental exercise from it.  We visited 11 sites this weekend and out of those we found 9 of the caches and came up empty for the other 2.  At one site we spent a good 3 hours looking, but never did find the cache.  Talk about getting a headache.

Today we worked on simple caches with a difficulty of no more than 2 (out of 5) so as to build up our confidence again.  It was a perfect day for being outside and getting some exercise.  I'm not going to say where we were, but the pictures may give it away.

A beautiful day walking outside today.

 Some of the caches are very tricky and hard to find.  The owners will camouflage their caches in ways you would never think or use containers that blend in perfectly with their surroundings.  One such container is below.  This one took me two days to find and was one of my favorite caches.

Cache camouflaged like a book.

Below is another cache hidden in a common pine tree on a trail near us.  This one took two tries to find due to the  Muggles that were there the first time.  It was raining the next day when I went back and so the Muggles were not as bad.

Geocache Spot.

This happened to be a micro cache which are usually only big enough to hold the cache log that you sign.  This one was not really too hard to find, but if you are dodging Muggles, it does not give you much time to be looking through the limbs of a tree.

Micro cache.

All in all we had a great weekend Geocaching and got plenty of exercise.  We also picked up a Travel Tag or Bug while hunting this weekend, which is also pretty neat.

Each Travel Tag or Bug has its own story and mission.  Some are to travel across America while others want to go overseas.  Some have very specific missions and so it is our responsibility to try and keep it on course.

This one's name is 'Anemone the Clown Fish Travel Tag' and he wants to travel to as many places as possible.  We help it along by taking it with us to all the caches we find and logging it online.  Once we find a suitable home for it, we will let it go so someone else can spend time with it.  Another request of its owner is to take as many pictures as possible of the places it visits. 

Our little pet (Travel But/Tag) that we picked up this weekend.

It was a great weekend to Geocache and I hope we can do it every weekend, even if it is just one.  With us heading south for the winter, we should have many opportunities to do so.

The LivelyRV Geocaching crew.  Ian, Ethan, Tia, Courtney, Avery, Misty, & Chloe.  Don is taking the picture.

The weather was wonderful with a perfect temperature and no wind or rain.  We did not have to worry too much about sunburn and the bugs were not out as bad.  Misty only had one friendly spider land on her arm but she did not receive it well.  All in all I would say it was a perfect day for Geocaching and doing something as a family.

Ethan, Ian, Avery, Courtney, & Tia posing in the sun.

 The below picture was one we had to take to satisfy a find for one of the EarthCaches we went to today.  This type of cache is more for educational purposes than finding a cache of goodies or signature log.  Today, the kids learned how towns know when the rivers are rising to flood stage, so they can plan evacuations properly, and they never even knew they were in class.

Courtney, Tia, Ian, Ethan, & Avery at the gauging station on the Wabash River. 

So, that was our weekend and a good one at that.  We are a little disappointed that we did not find all of the caches we set out to, but there is always tomorrow and with it we will have a new perspective, which should help improve our geosense.

God bless!

Don, Misty, & Kids.