Tarryall, Colorado's Oldest Geocache

We started the drive up to the summit of Pikes peak at 11:20 AM and were on the road to Lake George by 3:00 in search of the oldest geocache in Colorado. It was nice to be away from traffic and people as the road getting to Colorado Springs is heavy traffic and of course, this time of year, any of the tourist attractions are busy. We were looking forward to some time on the back roads.

We passed MANY timber and chink houses and buildings in this area. This one was unoccupied, but many were occupied homes, on farms and in small towns. Most had newer windows, and it was obvious they were living in the chink houses.

There was road construction on the way to Tarryall. We stopped and waited maybe 20 minutes for the  pilot car. I was surprised to see these folks take out their chairs, guitars and entertain the waiting travelers.

More green countryside on the way to Tarryall. There is a community with that name, but we were headed to a geocache with the same name in the vicinity of its namesake.

some wild roses along the road

some blooming prickly bear on the walk to the cache

and there it is

an orange 5 gallon bucket hidden under wood

while waiting for the pilot car, a car with MN plates

pulled up behind us

we knew the geocachers!

small world

Tarryall is behind one of the three

interesting rock formations along the road

and yet another cemetery stop

you'd think we were scoping out property

we've seen so many in so many states

nothing spectacular about this one

a rebuilt chick house as a museum

the geocache was hiding behind one of the hanging 'tools'

the sunshine made the water of Lake George glisten

lots of deer in the tall grasses when we have been

geocaching in CO

So, not only did we get a personal best with the caches at 14,000+ feet, we also found Colorado's oldest geocache, placed July 2, 2000, less than 2 months after geocaching started. We now have geocaches way above sea level and some below sea level after our visit to Death Valley in April.

Tarryall makes four of the oldest caches we have found in the states of Kansas, North Dakota, Arizona, and now Colorado. Finding Tarryall so easily was the frosting on the cake for an awesome geocaching day on July 5, 2016. Beautiful scenery was the cherry on top.

Driving Pikes Peak

"Pikes Peak forms a stunning backdrop for Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. With an altitude of 14,115 feet above sea level, it ranks 31st in elevation among Colorado's 54 'Fourteeners.' Few places in the world so grand in scale are also accessible to experience first hand. The safe scenic highway provides you the opportunity to enjoy Pikes Peak at your leisure."

The last time we went to Pikes Peak (late 1990s) Hubby, son and I rode the cog train. The weather at the base was perfect. Halfway up the mountain in moved the clouds making it so foggy at the summit, we could barely see our way from the train stop to the gift shop. I did not move around outside because I was afraid of falling off the mountain. REALLY. It was that foggy.

Hubby was stationed at Colorado Springs in 1990 before his deployment to Desert Storm. He saw the mountain many days, but never went to the top. So he was equally disappointed on the cog train trip.

One of the events for the GeoWoodstock14er geocaching gathering was scheduled on the summit of Pikes Peak. We planned to go and in fact, made arrangements with two other geocachers (one from TX and one from Germany) to ride along. The weather forecast was not good for that Friday. In fact the road was closed at the 11,000' elevation station because of snow and fog. Many geocachers did make the drive and later that afternoon, the road was opened and those who wanted were able to drive to the top. We decided not to go when we heard rain/snow was forecasted. The point of making the road trip is to actually SEE from the summit.

Fast forward a few days. The weather system finally moved out of the area. Tuesday looked like a good day to drive Pikes Peak and it was.

"Take the 19 mile two-lane highway to the clouds to explore Colorado's most famous peak."

there are 3 lakes along the highway

Sasquatch carving

our destination on the left

several groups of bicyclists were on their way down

as we were driving up

a view of what we left behind

because it is not a national park

there are physical geocaches along the way

and at the summit

this one was important because it was placed by a MN

geocacher whom we have met

tundra wildflowers growing just above the surface

maybe 2 inches high at the most

just one of many hairpin curves

total of 18 mile markers 

we were there on July 5th

delicate wildflowers

a marmot at the summit

we crossed paths on the way to a geocache

Woo Hoo! I found it amongst the boulders

another view from the summit

the clouds moved in and snow crystals fell

the view when the 'system' moved in

Hubby made some purchases

he visited with a woman in the gift shop who had 

hiked 12 miles up the peak (they start at 7,000')

she also had a broken arm...before the hike 

the t-shirts we bought

we did not do a lot at the top as we both 

were huffing and puffing, even after

spending a week at 5,000+ feet

Hubby searching for a cache on the way down

interesting formations

yellow wildflowers at a lower elevation

they are taller

another of the 3 lakes

we made it!

a popular stop, but no Santa that day

We were glad we had waited until Tuesday to make the drive. There were lots of people at the top, but it wasn't as crowded as it might have been on the scheduled geo day.

It was on this trip we were told not to run the AC on the way up or down because "your engine could overheat" like what happened to the minster in my last post. Another of the Rules of the Road: "Plan on at least a half tank of fuel. The trip to the summit and back is 38 miles and uses 80 miles of fuel." This was also the first time we had a brake check by a ranger. There was a mandatory check for all vehicles at the 11,000' station. We were good to go, well, the truck was good to go, and the driver for using that low gear as recommended in the Rules of the Road.

The brochure also says: "The drive is not recommended for infants under the age of 6 months or anyone with a history of cardiac or respiratory problems. The thinner air at the summit makes it difficult to breathe."

We can check this one off the Bucket List!

To top an already quite awesome day and successful geocaching day (I think we found 8) we decided to drive to Lake George to find the oldest Colorado geocache, about 30 miles away as the crow flies. I'll save that for another blog post!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Geocache

We are nearing the end of week two in Denver CO. We are here because of a huge geocaching event called GeoWoodstock14er which happened on July 3rd. There were many events prior to the big one and even one event after on July 4th. We have stayed because we are having a good time and we are seeing CO friends. And because there are also so many geocaches...and not enough time.

We have done a little caching each day; some days more than others. Internet service at this campground is horrid most of the time. When it works we log what we did for the day and try to plan the next day. Tonight, I chose to sit outside and Lo and Behold...I have internet, and neighbors who are not streaming movies.

So, I am way behind on some of our adventures. They will slowly make it to the blog, hopefully before the next adventure. Bear with me.

I just have to share what happened today. Hubby and I had decided to do some geocaching in Boulder, about 20 miles from our campground. We had some specific caches on the agenda, one involving driving to Flagstaff Summit, a high peak southwest of the city. There were two geocaches to get on the mountain drive. They both involved stopping at specific destinations and locating specific information required by the cache owner. These are called Virtual geocaches.

As we approached the second location for the second geocache (it required 3 stops) the car parked next to us was smoking. Hubby got out of the truck to ask the older gentleman if he could help as he appeared to be alone and rather uncertain as to what to do.

When we drove in to park, I noticed a younger gentleman dressed in a white shirt and black pants talking to the older gentleman. Hmmmm

Then I saw the younger guy let two dogs out of his vehicle, put them on leashes and place flower leis over their collars all the while a photographer videos the task. OK. I think I know what is happening. (Hubby is unaware of all this.)

Hubby offers to duct tape the engine coolant hose that broke. (He probably used the AC on the laborious trip up the mountain. That is a No-No. We learned that on the drive to the summit of Pikes Peak, but that is another story.)

In conversation with the gentleman, we learned he was performing a marriage ceremony. His son was the photographer, who came in his own vehicle. They were waiting for the bride to arrive in a white limo...and she did.

Anna was a beautiful and gracious bride. There was a flower lei, for her head, waiting for her when she finally met up with her husband-to-be. Yes, it matched the ones the dogs were wearing. 

She hugged her friend the minister, and then posed with Hubby and I, for photos...at the request of the photographer. She won't forget this day!

After Hubby did the best he could with duct tape, and we used our bottle of water to fill the coolant tank, we learned 3 of the 4 bride party members had AAA. they probably needed AAA because the hose still dripped and all the water we added was gone. In further conversation, we learned the father and son had just been to SD where the wife/mother was raised. They had visited the Black Hills and Aberdeen. Small World!

The amphitheater was rented for only one hour, so we all shook hands, said the appropriate words to a young woman about to get married, took photos to commemorate the event, and headed in different directions. I hope the minister made it back down the mountain. I know he did not make it back to Denver with out a real mechanic.

just one of several switchbacks on the road

Denver area is so green right now

a view of the University of Boulder

red tiled roof buildings

visited the campus for Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

back in the late 1980s

another geocache near a rushing stream/creek/river

can't resist wildflowers

this is a xenolith

learned something new today while geocaching

look it up

more wildflowers along the stream/creek/river

Boulder CO

We stopped at a brew pub for some lunch before heading back to Denver. The World Soccer Games are still in progress and the pub was getting crowded. I took this photo for our son, the soccer fan.

I hate selfies.