Diner at the Yonke's

This evening when I got off work we headed to a couple caches and then went to Brian and Carlin's home for diner. What a treat. We really enjoyed a wonderful meal with them and Brian's mom. And if that wasn't enough Brian took me caching. We located one cache together then he took me to a couple he and Carlin had already found. They were tough and he had to give me a little hint. After caching we went back to Brain and Carlin's house for desert. What an outstanding evening. We really enjoyed ourselves. Carlin just out done herself preparing the meal. Thank you Brain and Carlin for an outstanding evening. I don't know how we can ever repay you. Thank you.

Today's Stats:
5 Geocaches.
6141 Steps Today - 3.48 miles.
3389 Aerobic Steps.
340 Calories Burned.

Caching Minneapolis to Kansas City

Today was our final day of vacation. We slept late and left Minneapolis about 11:00 a.m. We found 12 caches that were close to our route home. The caches cost us a little time but really broke up the trip home and made it a lot more pleasant.

The highlight of our trip home was a stop in Dows, Iowa at the Train Depot. They had restored the depot and made a museum out of it. We would loved to have spent several hours there but we were already running late getting home. We found 3 caches and the folks in town were very friendly. We met OgreAndCo who gave us a pair of Memorial Day ear rings so we would have something to trade. She seemed to really enjoy geocaching.

We stopped in Osceola, Iowa for diner about 7:00 p.m. at The China Star. It was really good.

We got home tonight about 10:00 p.m. A lot later that I had planned. I guess we cached too much.

Today's Stats:
12 Geocaches.
6606 Steps Today - 3.75 miles.
368 Calories Burned.

Caching In Minneapolis

Our route today is around Minneapolis geocaching and visiting the Mall of America.

After 10 days of travel and caching we decided to sleep in a little extra this morning. We left the motel about 9:30 a.m. and cached hard until 3:00 p.m. After 3 DNF's in a row we decided to do something different. We went to the Mall of America and spent the evening. We had a great time and really enjoyed our time there.


Today's Stats:
9 Geocaches.
8121 Steps Today - 4.61 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
458 Calories Burned.

Caching north of Minneapolis

We got up this morning in Drummond, Wisconsin and started caching our way down to Minneapolis. We didn’t get far until we ran into one of the “Yellow Brick Road” caches. We got started and couldn’t quite until we did the whole series and found the “Emerald City” cache which concluded the series. We had lots of fun and now we’re trying to figure out how to do a series like it in Kansas City.

One of the most interesting caches we did today was the Eagle cache where we observed an active eagle nest.



Later we found “Scribner’s Rest Home for Retired Engines”. We really enjoyed this place.


Today's Stats:
12 Geocaches.
8071 Steps Today - 4.58 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
445 Calories Burned.

Wisconsin-Michigan Caching

This morning we started out in Duluth, Minnesota and grabbed a few caches before heading over to Wisconsin and Michigan. We wanted to add them to the list of states that we have cached in. One of the nicest stops was at the Amnicon State Park where we took a bunch of photos of the several water falls.



We made a short little loop over into Michigan this afternoon and grabbed a few caches. We saw some of the most beautiful wild flowers on one of the forest roads.



Today's Stats:
10 Geocaches.
7469 Steps Today - 4.24 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
392 Calories Burned.

Thunder Bay, Ontario

This morning we got up to cool temperatures and partly cloudy skies. We located 7 caches in Thunder Bay before heading south.

We stopped on the Canadian side of the border to find a cache at High Falls on the Pigeon River. I walked over two miles and could not find the cache. The water fall made up for not finding the cache. This was a very nice hike in some beautiful woods.


This afternoon we saw many water falls. I don't know which was the best but Gooseberry Falls was very pretty.


We had dinner at Granma's. We really enjoyed our time here.


Today's Stats:
11 Geocaches.
11320 Steps Today - 6.43 miles.
1473 Aerobic Steps.
656 Calories Burned.

Welcome to Ontario, Canada

This morning we left the motel about 7:20 a.m. and headed to our first cache, about 10 minutes away. The air was very cool with slightly overcast skies. The walk to the cache was about .2 mile. The forest was alive with birds singing and big fish jumping in the nearby lake. The forest was absolutely beautiful and smelled wonderful. This was a very enjoyable hunt for the “Trans Canada Travelers” cache. It was our last cache in Manitoba.


We found our first Ontario cache in Kenora about 9:45 a.m. this morning. The forest was beautiful. Lots of evergreen trees and the violets were blooming. So far the drive in Ontario is much prettier than Manitoba. Lots of rocky mountains and beautiful forest.


We drove off the main highway about 5 miles to go after the “The Great Canadian Blue Lake Geocache” at the Blue Lake Provincial Park. The park folks were so interested in geocaching that they wanted to go help find the cache. Randy and Skye led us to the trail head and accompanied us to the cache site. Skye found this one first after Randy walked right by it. It's also her first ever geocache find. It was a real joy to have them accompany us on the hunt. Mary said it was a little ruff on her new knee. Mary saw a splintered tree lying across the path and Skye said a bear had peeled the bark and splintered the wood. The woods were absolutely beautiful.



After we left Blue Lake Park it started some serious raining. I found the next several caches in the rain. I got soaked. The umbrella was about useless in the dense foliage and using a GPS in the rain is very hard with the dense tree cover. The woods are wonderful. I saw bear marks on a tree near the “Thunder Creek” cache. The water was just roaring over the falls on Thunder Creek.


WOW! We would have missed this falls I'm sure had it not been for geocaching. It's been pouring down with rain all afternoon and I'm sure the falls must be at their peak. The only problem was the mosquitoes. We were killing mosquitoes for the next 30 minutes or so in the van.


Today's Stats:
10 Geocaches.
8494 Steps Today - 4.82 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
443 Calories Burned.

Riding Mountain National Park

This morning we got up to clear skies and a beautiful day at the Elkhorn Resort. We enjoyed a great breakfast on the south edge of the park in Wasagaming before driving through the park.


After all the National Parks that we have been to, Riding Mountain National Park was a let down. We didn’t not see any wildlife to speak of. The mountains turned out to be hills. The forest were beautiful with lots of evergreens and birch trees. There were no caches to chase. There were hundreds of kilometers of trails but we didn’t have time to explore them.


After leaving Riding Mountain it was a lot of driving all day to get back to Winnipeg.

Today's Stats:
7 Geocaches.
6782 Steps Today - 3.85 miles.
3721 Aerobic Steps.
385 Calories Burned.

Caching To Riding Mountain National Park

This morning we slept in a little extra. We made the drive to Riding Mountain National Park. We stopped at the Happy Rock to retrieve a cache on the way.


When we got to the park it was raining so we decided to spend the night at Elkhorn Resort and make the drive through the park tomorrow.

About 6:00 p.m. we looked out and the sun was shining and the skies were blue so we went after the only cache in the area. The cache description talked about lots of wild animals including black bear. I didn't see any. The area was kind of a swamp because of the rain. I ended up wet up to my hips. The forest floor kept giving way and I was wet and muddy when I came out of the woods. I did find the cache and the forest was beautiful. The only animals I saw were a couple of squirrels chasing each other. They nearly ran over me.

The food was too expensive at the resort so we went into Onanole, a nearby little town, to eat.


Today's Stats:
7 Geocaches.
5337 Steps Today - 3.03 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
263 Calories Burned.

Winnipeg to Hecla Island

This morning we got up to rain and 54 degrees in Winnipeg. We headed north of town to drive a few hundred miles. Our first stop was Oak Hammock Marsh, a wildlife reservation. It was raining and the north wind was howling. I thought I was going to freeze while retrieving the cache.


When we realized there was not a petrol station anywhere north, we turned around and visited Selkirk, Manitoba. The girl at the gas station was really excited about our geocaching adventure. I had to tell her all about it. Her boyfriend has a gps and now they’re going geocaching. We found 2 caches while in town. The one on Red Wing trail was very nice.

We found this big cart at Selkirk. It must be about 25-30 feet tall.


About noon we stopped at Camp Morton to find a couple cache. The woods are full of cross-country ski trails. It was really pretty along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.

The leaves are just bearly budding out up here in Selkirk.


About 12:30 p.m. we were driving north on Hwy 8 about 70 miles from the motel and Mary spotted a moose just a few feet from the road. We stopped and took a few pictures. We didn’t seem to disturb the moose in the slightest. He just kept on eating.


About 1:15 p.m. we made our way out on Helca Island in the middle of Lake Winnipeg. The “Quarry Beach” cache was the most fun so far. The sun came out and the temperature is just right. A truly beautiful day. Mary walked through the woods with me to the cache site, but she made me climb down the cliff to retrieve the cache. After retrieving the cache we drove to Gull Harbor and then on to the very tip of the island. What a beautiful sight.


Today's Stats:
10 Geocaches.
7498 Steps Today - 4.26 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
415 Calories Burned.

Fargo-Winnipeg Vacation Day-3

Our route today was from Fargo, North Dakota to Winnipeg, Manitoba.


Mostly we just drove today. We did manage to grab a few caches along the way.

Here the old Dodge Van makes it to Winnipeg, Manitoba.


Today's Stats:
16 Geocaches.
7116 Steps Today - 4.04 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
384 Calories Burned.

Omaha-Fargo Vacation Day-2

Today we added three more states to the list that we’ve covered during this vacation. (South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota) We’ve now been in seven states this trip.


We visited the gravesite of Sergeant Floyd (a geocache site), the only man to die on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.


We made it to Wahpeton, North Dakota about 6:00 p.m. this evening. The sign says they have a street dance tomorrow night. We’re just a day early, but Mary won’t dance with me anyhow. Wahpeton is a beautiful little town and a whole lot bigger than I was expecting. The parks where we found two caches were very nice. People everywhere doing their park thing. After we left Wahpeton we went north on US Hwy 75 and ended up in Minnesota.


For dinner tonight we went to the Space Alien. We ordered the Alien Feast for 2 and we had enough food for 4. We really enjoyed the meal.


Today's Stats:
11 Geocaches.
5295 Steps Today - 3.00 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
277 Calories Burned.

KC-Omaha Vacation Day-1

We were anxious so we left for vacation this evening. We were passing a couple of caches in our 100 mile circle on the way to Omaha so we had to stop and find them. We are spending the 1st night at the Sleep Inn in Omaha.

We’ve been on vacation for just a few hours and we’ve already been in 4 states. (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa)

Today's Stats:
2 Geocaches.
3808 Steps Today - 2.16 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
195 Calories Burned.

Troubles With My Blog Site

Tonight I spent a lot of time fixing my blog site. I don't know what's going on but I finally got the permissions right for my images and now I view and post new images. After vacation I'll have to try to fix my "Believe It or Not" blog and my last years vacation slideshow.

I've got over 3000 waypoints loaded for caches along the way on our vacation. That ought to keep us busy. I'm really anxious to find some of the exciting places in Canada. They sound like fun. Stay tuned. We start our vacation tomorrow evening. We plan to spend tomorrow night in Omaha, Nebraska.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
6013 Steps Today - 3.41 miles.
3731 Aerobic Steps.
354 Calories Burned.

Troubles With Blog Site

This evening I discovered problems with my blog site. I can not access any of the graphics on my web server. I worked on it for a while but got discouraged and decided it would have to wait until another day. Now we're getting ready for vacation and I wanted to post pictures along the way and I find that my images directory is not accessible even by me the owner.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
5325 Steps Today - 3.02 miles.
2902 Aerobic Steps.
294 Calories Burned.

Preparing for Vacation

Tonight I started getting ready for vacation. We plan to leave Friday and head north. We hope to go up into Canada. I'm trying to download all the caches along the way. We may come back down through Minneapolis, MN. I've spotted some places north of Winnipeg that sound like a lot of fun. This trip is not planned very well. We'll just head north and see where we end up.

Today's Stats:
1 Geocaches.
5806 Steps Today - 3.29 miles.
3672 Aerobic Steps.
330 Calories Burned.

Return From Arkansas

On our return trip from Arkansas we made several stops along the way to grab a few caches. I guess we got carried away caching because we didn't get home until about 10:30.

Today's Stats:
12 Geocaches.
2936 Steps Today - 1.66 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
126 Calories Burned.

Trip to Flatside Pinnacle

Today we headed out to Flatside Pinnacle to replace our cache. This is the second time it has been stolen. Scott drove their Ford Expedition. Lori, Ashley, Bradley, and Drew were along for the trip. Bradley nearly came unglued when he encountered a snake on the mountain.

We ended the trip at my daddy's Blue Grass Park where we had a great family reunion. My cousin Buddy and his daughter brought their guitar and fiddle and played some great blue grass music. Everybody joined in with some singing and we all enjoyed ourselves. Great food.

Today's Stats:
1 Geocaches.
5967 Steps Today - 3.39 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
274 Calories Burned.

Caching at Round Mountain

On our way to Arkansas today we caught a few caches in Springfield, MO. After we hit Arkansas we decided to take Highway 7 from Harrison south to Russellville. We stopped off at Round Mountain south of Jasper, Arkansas to grab a couple caches. This turned out to be a great adventure. I walked about 6 miles on and around this mountain. One of the caches was the crash site of a B-25. The plane crash happened back in 1948. It was very sobbering to stand at this site. There is still lots of debris left from the crash. The trails were rustic and the woods were alive with spring. I really enjoyed my time here.

Today's Stats:
14 Geocaches.
15645 Steps Today - 8.88 miles.
6622 Aerobic Steps.
942 Calories Burned.

Cache Number 22530 Missing In Action

We went after cache number 22530 in Sedalia this evening. We could not find it. After much discusion with Guitar Nutz, the cache owner, we determined that the cache is missing in action. He ask me to replace it and claim it.

We are spending the night in Springfield, MO tonight.

Today's Stats:
1 Geocaches.
2583 Steps Today - 1.46 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
121 Calories Burned.

Dinner At MiMi's Cafe

This evening we cashed in a $30 gift certificate at MiMi's Cafe. It was a very good meal. We really enjoyed it.

After dinner I loaded up the computer and GPS with caches for our trip tomorrow to Arkansas. There's over 600 caches within 40 miles of our route to Scott's house.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
4979 Steps Today - 2.82 miles.
2799 Aerobic Steps.
278 Calories Burned.

Waterproof Paper

Mary and I have been trying to put together a special cache for Arkansas that involves using waterproof paper and and sheet of magnetic material. We've found everything execept the waterproof paper. Our friend, ajayhawkfan, said he would meet us tonight and give us a sheet of waterproof paper. We met him and now we're prepared to make the special cache.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
6219 Steps Today - 3.53 miles.
3332 Aerobic Steps.
346 Calories Burned.

Belated Mother's Day

Since we were out of town Sunday, Robby and Alison took Mary out to eat tonight at Cinzetta's on Metcalf. I got to tag along and we throughly enjoyed the meal. Rob presented a gift certificate to Mary from all the boys.

Today's Stats:
1 Geocaches.
3230 Steps Today - 1.83 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
158 Calories Burned.

Encounter With The Springfield Police

Today we wanted to find all the caches that we could in and around Springfield, Missouri before we had to leave for Kansas City. One of the caches we tried to find was on a pedestrian bridge over a 4 lane highway. I have had so much trouble with bridges that I just would not quit on this one. I did not want to be whipped by another bridge. We were rained out several times during our search. I was carring an umbrella during most of the search. After a couple hours of total desperation, I called FireFighter's Wife in Kansas City for help. She had found the cache a week before. She talked me through in great detail where the cache was hidden. It was gone. As I was winding up my search I was approached by two Springfield Police Officers. I had been reported as having a gun on the bridge. They were very nice and wanted to know more about geocaching. All I can figure is that someone mistook my umbrella for a gun.

Today's Stats:
6 Geocaches.
7624 Steps Today - 4.33 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
439 Calories Burned.

Caching in Pittsburg, Kansas

We spent the night in Pittsburg, Kansas last night. This morning we grabbed all the caches in and around Pittsburg. We headed up to Nevada, Missouri and over to Collins, Missouri. We ended the day down in Springfield, Missouri. We ended the day with a great meal at Lamberts (Home of the throwed rolls).

Today's Stats:
14 Geocaches.
7681 Steps Today - 4.36 miles.
1100 Aerobic Steps.
464 Calories Burned.

Caching Southeast Kansas

Turkey Eggs 15 feet from a cache.
Today we took off down toward Fort Scott, Kansas. We were able to grab 11 caches from our 100 mile circle. It was the perfect day for geocaching. Most of the caches were not too hard and took our time and enjoyed ourselves. We are spending the night in Pittsburg, Kansas at the Comfort Inn. Wireless internet. I'm right at home. I love it.

Today's Stats:
11 Geocaches.
1671 Steps Today - .94 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
77 Calories Burned.

Big Walk Around The Sprint Campus Outter Circle

Today we walked the big outter circle around the Sprint Campus. I think we were all pretty tired when we finished. I need to bring my GPS and check it, but it appears to be about 4 miles.

Today's Stats:
0 Geocaches.
7886 Steps Today - 4.48 miles.
5153 Aerobic Steps.
463 Calories Burned.

Cache Popped Up Close To The House

This evening I had just settled down in my chair for the evening and I checked for new caches. There was a new cache less than 10 minutes from the house on Nall Ave. I said, "I'm too tired". I went on watching TV and reading my email. Then I started working on my map plotting caching for the weekend. When I plotted this new cache I could not stand it. It was just too close. We jumped up and went after it. Sure enough Guitar Nutz had beat us to the punch. I should have gone when I first saw it. We went ahead and did another cache farther north. This gave me the extra walking I needed today.

Today's Stats:
2 Geocaches.
7293 Steps Today - 4.14 miles.
2896 Aerobic Steps.
470 Calories Burned.

Replaced Missiour's First Cache

We got word that our Watt's Mill cache had been stolen. We put together a new cache and went out and hid it a little better than the last one. Hope it stays put this time.

The gang at work took Kevin and I out for a lunch treat for our birthday at Jack Stack at 95th and Metcalf. It was delicious. Thank you SODS team.

Today's Stats:
2210 Geocaches.
0 Steps Today - 1.25 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
99 Calories Burned.

Caching in Kansas City

This evening we located the five remaining caches in the city. We still lack 12 caches in our 100 mile circle. Our closest cache is 42 miles away down Hwy 69 south.

I replaced the battery in my pedometer this evening before we started caching.

Today's Stats:
5 Geocaches.
5156 Steps Today - 2.92 miles.
0 Aerobic Steps.
293 Calories Burned.

Geocaching in Lawerance, Kansas

We went over to Lawerance, Kansas to catch up the new caches over there. We located 4 caches and headed to Kansas City. We met Brian Yonke and Jim Shilt and spent the afternoon caching with them. I still have not replaced my pedometer battery. We did some caches that required a lot of walking. I think we did 11 caches today. It was a great day for caching and we had a good time.