Geocaching Glory - Part 2

And so the saga continues.......

We left off with my GPS finally working, or more like me finally figuring out my way too technical for my own good GPS.

Teresa came into town, without taking the long way/wrong way through El Paso, Texas. Needless to say I think her drive was a little bit more enjoyable this time.

As my wonderful husband cooked us hamburgers for dinner, we pulled out our Geocaching packs and started discussing a game plane for Saturday morning. We decided we'll get up really early and start caching as soon as the sun comes out.......

Source

Needless to say, we maybe made it out of the house at like 1000 Saturday morning, my husband did cook us an amazing breakfast... in order of importance, caching comes right after food.

So we finally headed out, ready to seize the day! Ready for geocaching glory!


Source

 To start off our day, I took Teresa to a couple caches that I had already been to and were close by. TB Refuge - an easy puzzle cache and LA LUZ - a quick park and grab (P&G).

Than we headed off down the road for some caches I had been saving for our little caching adventure!

Pennies From Heaven was a lot harder than it should have been for us, and after taking way to long to find a 1.5 difficulty rated cache, I started worrying about the outcome of our caching glory.... Pretty much we looked under all the wrong damn mesquite trees, getting battle scares in the process, before we realized the hint "Look in the middle of 3. It has a purple lid" was right in front of us. At least we prevailed, so there was hope for us yet.

By the end of the day we were cussing armadillogal, who placed a majority of the caches we found, or didn't find over the weekend.

Its about this time, after only the third cache of the day that I started to develop GPS Envy. You see, my GPS isn't a paperless GPS unit, meaning mine doesn't hold info like the cache hints or last logged entries or cache description. Mine only shows the cache name and the Latitude and Longitude. Teresa's is far more user friendly, shows ALL the cache information from GEOCACHING.COM.... AND it's in color.. yeah total envy.

Mine is NOT in color like the picture here, it is more of a grayish screen which holds no information while Teresa's is a plethora of information that I only have dreamed about up until this moment. No wonder I have wanted to throw mine off a mountain so many times.. I bought the damn wrong GPS..

Needless to say I will be purchasing a Magellan Explorist in the VERY near future!

So next down the road came Gnome, which after reading the description, we both got somewhat excited to see a large garden gnome out in the middle of no where..... We were instead extremely disappointed by what we found.

After disappointment at the Gnome, we drove down the road to The Purrfect Cache a pretty easy P&G if you pull on the right piece of metal. The cache had a large container, which isway more fun to find than micros so we loaded it up with goodies. The next cache, I Hear the Train a Comin, was one of those caches which is just a piece of Tupperware in the middle of a desert under a mesquite tree.... And we love it for its simplicity.. There is no aggravation, such as we found at the next cache.

So on we go down the road to the next closest cache, Flashing Allowed Here. Let me just say to the Cache Owner, Necki, "DAMN YOU"! This was such an awesome hide! It took us literally like 20 minutes and us almost giving up before we found it and commenced to beating our heads on the ground! The cache "experience" for this one goes something like this....

Pretty much after reaching Ground Zero (GZ) where the cache was supposedly located, we looked under some sticks picked up a piece of a 2x4 and looked under it, put back the 2x4, looked on the barb wire fence for anything magnetic, looked in the tree, looked on the fence again, looked under the 2x4 again. Decided to give up, wait no lets look just a little bit more. It has to be right here under this 2x4............ I really wish we had brought our camera for this one, but no way in hell was either one of us walking back to the truck to get. The cache was IN the damn 2x4. We had picked up the 2x4 at least 3 times to look under it... but neither one of us noticed it was drilled into the end of the 2x4... yeah great hide Necki. Thanks for making us hate geocaching for 20 minutes!

Thankfully the next few were pretty easy and soon restored our faith in Geocaching and our caching abilities. We found Nuts About You quickly, loved the container, and took a picture with a horse of a different color.



The disheveled look must be from the previous cache...

What-A-Nut! was another easy find and we took a picture next to well..... a Big Nut.

 



<-----Tiffany





                    Teresa -------->




           One Big Nut

Better Out Than In was cute and gave this pregnant girl a place to relieve her bladder in a dry creek bed in the middle of nowhere.

It was after this cache that tragedy struck. My truck suddenly lost all power and my V-8 Hemi turned into a 4 cylinder... clearly not good. So I called the husband told him what was going on, he said he'd call the dealership since it's still under warranty and see when they could get it in the shop. And because we're not ones to sit around wasting precious caching time, we decided to continue caching until we heard back.

 Little Yellow Spider was a quick P&G although it was located in what seemed to be someones garden/walking path. Neither Teresa and I are real comfortable yet with caching on someones private property... thankfully it was an easy find! After that cache the husband calls back and says they can get it in that day but they closed at noon, it was 1130. So wedrove as fast as our big ass Hemi 4 cylinder would go and headed into town.

I'm not really happy at this point as we were loosing precious caching time and the new truck we just bought was already having major problems... When we got to the dealership, they surprisingly don't argue when we ask for a rental replacement. They handed me the keys to a nice...... car.. Really a Hemi for a car...

We decided to have lunch while we are in town, loaded up in the car and started to back out of the parking lot.... The most horrible noise imaginable came from the breaks. So I stoped. I started to back up, and again... most horrible noise ever. Teresa and I looked at each other and our face both had the WTF expression.... So we looked over at the dealership employee standing next to the car.. and he  didn't even react to the noise coming from the brakes... either he's deaf or just ignored it in hopes we didn't notice........

I looked at Teresa, told her oh hell no, so we went back into the dealership to tell them about the brakes, and they handed us another set of keys. This car however, was not even located on the lot. Third time is a charm though and they handed us the keys to what soon became known as the Clown Car....

The PT Cruiser is obviously smaller than anything I usually drive. See exhibit below:

Therefore, not only did I feel like Teresa and I were extremely close in proximity (which didn't bother me, I love you Teresa, just an observation) but I also felt that if there wasn't a windshield, I could reach out and touch the pavement.... not a comfortable feeling. I basically felt like this for the rest of the weekend....

God bless the Shriners

Stay tuned for Part 3: The Finale

Geocaching Glory - Part 1

You all have obviously heard my endless complaints concerning my lack of geocaching activity. I have been in a bad, bad drought... I can now say the drought is over!!!!!

Teresa from yousguys came to visit me on February 24th and 25th to attempt geocaching glory, i.e. find as many caches as possible in 2 days. Can you say.....

Source

I mean my husband actually gave me permission to act like I was single without child for a FULL weekend!

So in order to prepare for our Glorious Adventure that was soon to commence, I decided I  had better hurry and update my GPS with the most recent local area Pocket Query... this of course happened on Friday afternoon while Teresa was driving all the way from Arizona just to go geocaching with me... can you say BAD IDEA for the technically challenged.

The following encounter is not to be attempted by an impatient, pregnant, frantic woman while also trying to act normal sitting at her desk at work....

About 0900 on Friday morning, I turned on my computer and much to my dismay realized my computer had been re imaged a few months ago and all my Internet downloaded programs, like my GSAK geocaching application, were gone. I groaned and downloaded the program back to my computer. Then I had to open Geocaching.com and transfer all my pocket queries back onto GSAK. About 45 minutes later I plugged my Garmin GPS into the computer and tried to send data to my GPS.... error no GPS device found.. oh crap.

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I remembered I needed to re download all the Garmin Communicator and Garmin Plug-ins required for you Garmin because of the re image..... So another 15 minutes later I retried sending a data file to the GPS.... error.. no GPS device found... dammit! After trying a few more futile things like unplugging and replugging in my GPS, shutting it down and turning it back on, and finally trying to send a single geocache file to the GPS to no avail... I realized I would have to call the Garmin help desk.

The man who answered the phone at Garmin was, like usual, smarter than God when it came to geocaching applications and all things about a GPS. After a bunch of trouble shooting things that didn't work, he asked me to make sure my GPS was plugged in.. well duh yeah it's plugged it I'm not a complete idiot. After making sure the GPS was plugged in correctly he asked me to try the port with a jump drive or something to make sure the port worked.. which I did. Guess what, the stupid port that I had the GPS plugged into didn't work. Therefore it wasn't connecting to the computer.. and panic set in until I remembered there are some extra ports on the back of the computer.. tried the ports, guess what GSAK recognized my GPS and the data file was successfully sent. Feelings of utter relief set in and I may have told the guy from Garmin I loved him.

So crisis adverted. I had my updated pocket query on my GPS, we were ready for two full days of nothing but pure caching glory, right? Wrong.

As I unplugged my GPS from the computer and attempted to look at a few geocaches to check the data transfer, I realized to my horror.. THERE WAS NOTHING THERE!! What in the hell!! It's probably noon at this point, Teresa is just hours away from arriving, I'm trying to be calm at work and not cause a scene... (didn't happen, I think I still owe a few dollars to the Buck Bucket for cussing)......

I, of course, called back the Garmin help desk. This time however it's not my long lost love who has all the answers to my dumb technologically challenged questions, instead its a sweet way to perky girl who knows NOTHING about geocaching, any geocaching applications, or the particular model of my GPS.... great. Doom is near, I am a failure. I am sorry Teresa I have failed you.

I'm sorry that is mean, she might have been a brunette....

So I quickly recap my day so far and all the trouble shooting that was done with the previous Garmin employee. She has me try to send some data over the GPS while she is on the phone with me and than check my GPS to see if it transferred... Well no it didn't, imagine that. Why do you think I called you?

She says "We may need to reset your GPS". At this point, its like, okay what ever the will fix it. So we run through the steps, which requires a person to hold down 6 buttons (exaggerating again, only 3) on your GPS at the same time until it restarts, well I either cannon physically hold down all these buttons at the same time or something so I can't get it to reset. Then all of a sudden she says, "WAIT, do you have maps loaded on your GPS?" ........ Well yeah... She says,"It might erase the maps off your GPS if we reset it, if they are saved to a disk take the disk out first." So basically I am hoping that my failed attempts at resetting the GPS, were in fact failed attempts. After removing the disk, I try to press all the tiny buttons again, at the same time, for like 20 seconds, and finally it resets. We try to send more files to the GPS, it says download successful, but once again when I try to search for geocaches on my GPS there is nothing there. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm screwed and won't have a working GPS this weekend.

Then she says to go the Geocaches folder on the GPS and look in there instead of trying the Find Geocaches button... I do.. HOLY SHIT!!! They are there!! Angels start singing, the heavens part!! I have caches on my GPS!!! Then I hurry up and slam my maps disk in the GPS and ta-da the maps are there as well!!

As we both think about it for a minute, I'm pretty sure we both came to the same conclusion at the same time..... I'm inside a building with tons of metal, my GPS isn't picking up satellite signal, so when I tried to "Find Geocaches" on my GPS, nothing would come up.............. yeah....

I was finally ready for my Geocaching adventure to begin, and thank god cause Teresa was just about there by that point. I got completely nothing done at work that day.. well I loaded caches onto my GPS, not really part of my duties as a wildfire dispatcher, but still really important to my mental well being.

Source

.... okay not the best picture for metal well being... I mean, really, HOW IN THE HELL could this be comfortable and relaxing... how is it even humanly possible......



Stay tuned for Goecaching Glory - Part 2 which includes a clown car, a small grass fire, and a police officer

Geocaching Cult Rivalry

by RadioAngel

It seems that some "in-house" rivalry has started within the ranks of the The Geocaching Cult.

I received a text yesterday from Team yousguys member Teresa about her fiance ,the other member of the team. It read:

"so last weekend andrew calls me

while he's working and says,

'don't be mad, but I saw

Tiffany got a cache

so I had to go and find 3 more'"

I texted her back and asked her, "doesn't he know it's not a competition?"

Her reply, "Everything is a competition to him!"

This I find amazingly hilarious as this is the guy who claims he only goes caching with Teresa to keep her "safe"!

Which is nothing like this: 

But more like this:

So my conclusion: 

Andrew is a closet geocacher!

Of course him trying to "beat" me at geocaching is sorta like beating a 90-year old lady at a foot race, or beating a dyslexic person at a Spelling Bee..

Come on Andrew I have a child that I have to go pick up everyday after work, I can't just go run out caching on a whim, and I don't get paid to drive around all day.

But you know what, in the spirit of a little healthy competition:

So there you go Andrew! Let the games begin!

About The Cult

By RadioAngel

THE CULT

The "Cult" transpired out of endless teasing at my expense about my new and instant addiction to Geocaching. I would ramble on and on about this most amazing new thing (not new started in 2000) I had been introduced to.

When people would ask me what in the world was Geocaching, it is said I would get a crazed look in my eyes and say, "Let me tell you all about the wonderful world of Geocaching". My co-workers would joke, "Oh no, she's got another one to join her cult!"

Therefore, my Geocaching Cult was born....... and it's thriving! I attempt to lure any muggle (non-geocacher) I can!! I have even asked my cult members to join me in writing a blog about our new found addiction to Geocaching. ~ Tiffany

THE LEADER
Tiffany A.K.A RadioAngel


My second cache ever, GCQ532

 My obsession with Geocaching began in August of 2011. A co-worker, Megan from Idaho Falls posted on her facebook "I need to go geocaching......" I had to ask her what in the heck she was talking about and in an instant my world changed forever. My husband, TEAM She Made Me Go (more on that later) curses that day in history.

I work for the Forest Service as a Wildland Fire Dispatcher. I have a wonderful husband who cooks, cleans, changes diapers... back off ladies he's mine!! I have the most amazing and adorable son, and no I'm not just being biased. 

Jase, 1 1/2 years old, Bisbee Arizona, GC1KJEK

We have two dogs, Black Mouth Curs, that go caching with us. They are really the only reason I get to go caching most of the time. I sweetly smile at my husband and say, "Honey we should take the dogs out today, let's go to (insert location)." Of course, by coincidence, there always happens to be caches there.


Bud, Buster, Weston, and Jase. GC152F3



CULT MEMBERS

Shannon and David A.K.A TheLarsons23

Teresa and Andrew A.K.A TEAM yousguys

Team Araiza

Team Stooges - Team is comprised of Tiffany A.K.A RadioAngel, Shannon from TheLarsons23, and Teresa from Yousguys

Shannon, Teresa, and Tiffany

The three of us grew up together. We were in 4-H and Rodeo Queen Contests together. We raised hell together. Okay so Tiffany raised hell and Shannon and Teresa were usually just along for the ride!!

We used to call ourselves the Three Musketeers

Which turned into the Three Amigos

But it wasn't long before everyone else started calling us the Three Stooges

Three Stooges stuck.

Although we have all grown up, or at least tried to ;) we still manage to stay in touch and see each other when we can. And of course like any good friend would do, they were invited to join The Cult. It didn't take long before they were Geocaching Addicts!!!

TEAM She Made Me Go

Comprised of Tiffany's husband Weston and son Jase.

Weston, Jase, and Buster

The name is pretty much self explanatory. The name came to be while on a FTF hunt with RadioAngel. She begged and pleaded with him to go find a newly published cache. While out hunting, Weston asked if he found it first did he get to claim a FTF? Only if he had a user name of course. Team She Made Me Go was born!

How it all began....

by RadioAngel

DAY 1

How did it all start? I blame my friend Megan A.K.A firefightergroupie . A simple FB post of "I need to go Geocaching". A simple question of "What in the world is Geocaching?" WHAM!!!  There you have it hook line and sinker!!

Hello my name is Tiffany A.K.A RadioAngel, and I am a Geocahcing Addict.

The Geocaching experience started with a planned trip to Capitan NM and a visit to the Smokey the Bear Museum. Megan is.... well no easy way to put it, a Smokey the Bear fanatic.



Tiffany and Megan at Smokey Bear Museum



Megan and Smokey

 



Alot of pictures followed, playing with puzzles, Smokey the Bear trivia... than a "Hey there is a Geocache here!" Oh really........................

It was a puzzle cache (GC1TMP9).
(To date, not my most favorite type of cache.) Anyways on with the story............

So we proceed to answer all the questions pertaining to Smokey the Bear. It didn't take very long thank God! What I soon learned about puzzle caches is that you have to answer the questions to get the correct coordinates to the Geocache location......... We pretty much  assumed that the cache would be close by.... You know what they say about assumming?? It makes an ass... okay okay.. So I guess we didn't read the whole description of the cache before we started solving it... So the cache wasn't there but instead in the old forest fire burn scar where Smokey the Bear was found.

Due to time (and the fact we were in a Official Government Vehicle) we decided it wouldn't be beneficial to our careers to go chasing down a cache ... which led to some of this

which then led to some of this

Okay, so it wasn't THAT bad.. but I was pretty disappointed. However, the most amazing thing in the world did happen that day!!!

We saw the worlds most amazing mullet



Thank you Tera for posing for this picture so we could
get a picture without getting our butts kicked!!


As Day 1 of my introduction to Geocaching concluded, you would think that my fascination with Geocaching would have ended with my first DNF. But it didn't, much to the dismay of my husband!


DAY 2

The next day we went to Cloudcroft, NM to the Mexican Canyon Trestle for a little hiking (or death march depending on who you ask)

Megan informed us there were two caches!!!! The first at the END of the Mexican Trestle hiking trail... hence the death march..in my defense the "Sky was angry" as Megan said

and I didn't feel like killing visiting dispatchers!! So I maybe hiked a little fast...... okay so I hiked really fast!

But Alas we made it the end of the trail AND Megan even let me have the reins.. or at least her GPS

Tiffany Looking for treasure

And after turning over some rocks and looking under the tressel and thinking about hiking down the ravine......

MY 1st GEOCACHE

Tera, Connie, and Tiffany
Mexican Canyon Trestle
GC1ZAWG

 

Connie is actually the one who spotted it (also her first cache, also Tera's first cache) Hell we were all Geocaching Virgins until Megan came along!!!! It was still so cool to find something that you would have never even know was there if you weren't looking for it. How many times have I walked right by a Geocache and not even known it. How many Geocache finds had I missed over the years of hiking around the forest!!

 Now I was HOOKED!!!

Of course more caching quicly followed! The second one was at the trail head, and took a little bit of bushwacking, and to be quite honest I was a little hesitant. But my fearless leader Megan showed me the way.Victory and happiness followed...

 

Tiffany at Cloud Climbing Rest Area Geocache
GCQ532



And so the adventure continued and we drove up to Sunspot so we could see White Sands and Alamogordo from the Overlook....

Sunspot

 What we really saw was this....

Lack of a Scenic View

I think they need to do a little tree trimming!!!


But on a happier note... Guess what??? There was a Geocache there, and yes we found it!!!

Connie and Tiffany at Sunspot Cache
GCG4NK

There you have it! The day four people lost their Geocaching Virginity, all because of Megan!! Who could have know that this day would cause the forming of a cult.

A Geocaching Cult!!!



Tonya, A.K.A BluBogs, Connie, Tiffany, Megan, Tera, and Juan