The Reason for This Adventure

There were several reasons for taking the road trip we are on this week. The health issues of this past winter and the surgery happening next month had some influence. We had planned to attend a 'big' geocaching gathering in Lincoln NE on the way home in April, but didn't, so this BIG event later this week was to make up for missing the earlier one. We know other geocachers attending this one and look forward to seeing our geo-friends. But the biggest reason was what happened today.

I (and sometimes, Hubby) have goals in this game of geocaching. One of our goals for 2018 was to find double digit (10 or more) geocaches on each day of the calendar year. We completed that goal in April. Now all 366 days have 10 or more logged geocaches. In 2017, one of my goals was to find a geocache in each of the 15 counties of AZ. We had done that for SD and because we spend almost half a year in AZ, I wanted to complete the AZ map. We did. Having goals helps keep the fun of the game alive. My goal for 2018 was to find a geocache placed/hidden in each month since geocaching was created.

See that blank month? August 2000? There are only 3 geocaches in the United States left that had been placed in August 2000. One is in Utah. Another in Georgia. The third in Michigan. Finding that Michigan geocache was the priority for today.

And there it is! A large plastic jar covered in camo duct tape, placed under some sticks. Nothing very special. It was a 300' or so walk from a non-maintained country road, easily accessible with the truck.

trees with itty bitty white flowers

patches of pretty white flowers

This is similar to the area we walked to get to that much needed geocache, except it was not flat ground! And you noticed the walking stick we used to reach that hidden geocache.

don't know what they are called

other than dandelions, this is the only flower we saw today

Since we were driving through Michigan from north to south, we were also looking to find and sign a geocache in each county we encountered. As soon as we saw a sign along the road indicating a county change, I grabbed my phone and looked for a nearby geocache. Sometimes we really lucked out!

This cache talked about a training area for the 101st Airborne during the Vietnam Era and the fact some soldiers went AWOL. So we pulled off the freeway, parked the truck and took a short walk in the nearby woods. This is what we saw.

ammo can hidden under the tarp

VERY creative geocache hider

We also stopped at a sculpture memorial honoring the Michigan DOT workers who have been killed in senseless traffic accidents. A very cool sculpture at a welcome center and a good reminder as we travel the roads.

two more counties to get tomorrow

the green counties show where we have traveled

the green one in the lower left was a county we visited

in 2014 or so when we stopped to visit friends

On to Cincinnati and GeoWoodstock...