Geocaching!
We were turned on to this fun hide and seek game by friends of ours, Steve and Debbie. I had heard about it awhile ago but never actively pursued it. A few weeks ago they took us along on a night time find. It was a success and we were hooked!
Ron and I left our home base the afternoon of Dec 27th and headed to the California coast town of Caspar, nestled between Fort Bragg and Mendocino. The town itself is tiny but there are plenty of things to do around here. There are miles of beaches, historical buildings, quaint shops, a lighthouse, forests and of course caches to be found.
Our first day out we searched for and found 5 caches. Most were medium sized and had some 'goodies' in them. If you come across a cache with goodies (called swag) you can swap something you have or simply leave it. There's always a log to sign to show you were there. You can also log your finds at the official website. It's free to join but with a paid subscription ($29/year) you can access more caches, among other benefits. If you're also a geocacher, look us up. Our name is PolyMenders.
During our time in Caspar we found a total of 11 caches, four of which were in or next to cemeteries.
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| log reads: 12/29/2016, PolyMenders *our first find as newbies! |
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| Caspar Cemetery, it sits atop a small hill just above our campground |
Another cache was along Highway 1, next to a duck/goose pond.
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| I wonder how many visitors they've had since a cache was placed near their home |
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| full of SWAG (Stuff We All Get) that can be traded |
Our next three caches for the day were found at a new public recreation area along the coast in Fort Bragg. On our way there we accidentally drove along a private dead end road. One of the residents was not too happy to see us. He came out of his home as we were heading back to the highway. We stopped and spoke with him. He had no idea what Geocaching was so we tried to explain it to him. We calmed him down (apparently they get a lot of misdirected drivers) before we left on our way to the correct street into the recreation area.
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| find #3, next to a small cemetery with a view of the ocean |
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| sunset view at find #3 |
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| find #4, just a log to sign in the tiny cache |
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| our last find of the day happened after sunset, we needed a flashlight for this one :-) |
This trip was purely a vacation for us. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day we closed the shop. We had a great time geocaching along the California coast. There are many more hidden caches here for us to get on our next trip to the area.
Up next: more Fort Bragg and Mendocino adventures.
