We Went A Cachin On Sunday...............

with a group from Yuma...........off we go to an area near Buckeye, AZ. The Sun Valley Parkway has been saturated with caches so we thought we could capture over a hundred.

Met up with JJ, Bronco Busters, tbly, Billybe and Roberta, La84fishn, Third Times Charm and myself. Had breakfast at 0600 in Yuma and headed East. Think we arrived at the first cache somewhere around 0900.

From then on it was climb into the car, drive a short distance, climb out of the car, look for cache, climb back in and etc. etc. I feel like we climbed in and out of that car at least 500 times! Some of the caches were easy.........some were difficult. Pictures are of one cache we spent some time looking for; but, we couldn't leave without a find. Rest of the time we were too busy to think about taking pictures.

We finally finished up about 1430 or so and headed back to Yuma. Our total finds for the day: 115 caches. The best day ever. Of course it always helps when you have 18 eyes looking for them.

I came home, ate supper, logged caches and hit the hay about 2200. Didn't wake up until 0830 this morning.

That was our Sunday..........I'm so far ahead of Becky in finds now that she'll never catch up. She's been silently gloating for the past umpteen months............so now it's my turn for awhile! That'll teach her to go to Hawaii.

That's it for now...........I'm still tired. W

Been Doing Some Caching, Some Loafing and..........

generally piddling time away. Larry placed a series of 9 caches in the desert about 2 miles south of us and it turned into a mad rush for that First To Find. You had to visit all the caches to gain information to find the final one. I got there late; but, still managed to get one FTF. I met up with Billybe and group and we pooled our information to search for the final cache. We were missing one number but thought we could still find the cache as others were searching in the area we thought it was hidden. I did find a "cute" tarantula ambling through the desert. First one I have seen down here. In the end, Judy made the final find so we could all sign the log and call it a day.

One of the local cachers we affectionately call the "Queen of Mean" because she comes up with some really difficult to find caches. I came up with the idea of placing a cache as a tribute to the "Queen". Larry did the "artwork" and I finished and placed the cache about 2 1/2 miles from where we park in the Foothills. A lot of other gung ho cachers live in the same area and it's always a race to get there "First". The QofM cache was no exception. I submitted it and about 3 hours later it was published. The race was on.

The cache was published, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. I was the closests and on my way through the desert I had to pull over and let the others pass me and shower me with rocks. Jim and Linda (Linda is the QofM) passed me first, then I was passed by Skibum1 and both cars arrived at the cache at about the same time. It was a race over and through the rocks and the QofM barely nosed out Skibum1 and made the first to find.

Here's pictures of the race and mini event that transpired. Linda, the Queen of Mean is in the center of the collage. Had quite a few comments on how much resemblance there was!! (Now I never said that...........her husband did).......

Larry lives a considerable distance away and was the last one to arrive as the rest of us were leaving the area. He discovered why Linda got there first............he found her broom which she had forgotten and left laying under a tree.

Larry and Audrey picked me up for lunch yesterday and we went to Ligurta for one of the best burgers in the area. Just before we left nine new caches were published. They had been placed on the bombing range. We mulled over going to hunt them but the quest for burgers proved stronger. After lunch Audrey drove herself home and Larry and I took the Suzy to go look for the caches. Sam and Sandy had just completed all the FTFs when we arrived. We shot the breeze briefly and then we figured out it was going to be about a mile and a half to walk to all the caches. Larry and I started off............two cripples in the desert who didn't know any better. By the time we got half way through we had to continue because it was about the same distance back to the car as it would be to complete the string of caches. We finished the string and staggered back to the car and met some other cachers arriving. On the way out we met Third Times the Charm and Andy just getting started. Also we were stopped by a deputy sheriff who was looking for some illegal border crossers............he said if we see anyone........."Don't Stop!" We thanked him and drove on. Looks like it might be time to start "carrying" as illegal activity has been increasing along the border.

So ends the last few days. Today I made a stop at Wally World, Swap Meet, got a haircut, visited the new Marine Corps Exchange which just opened on the base and then I drove out to the "Q" casino to get my $10.00 birthday present. I parlayed their $10.00 to $23.00 and left.

Cooked up a steak for dinner and now settled back to watch the tube. W

Spent BD Caching With Friends..........

after breakfast at the Daybreaker. Good start to the day as JJ sprung for breakfast. After that we went a cachin..........JJ, tbly, La84fishn, micus22 and myself. Here's a few pics of our start.........the little sign that ses "no motor vehicles" should be heeded........the car in the background was buried up to its axle and no one in sight. They probably got stuck last night sometime.

I started out for breakfast in the Rhino and after about 8 blocks it began to fall flat on its face!! Limped back home and took Suzy to breakfast. These are pictures of the first few caches we found. JJ was driving his new Razor and I was more than a bit PO's because the Rhino almost died on me. After we left this area we headed to the bombing range and Larry and I stopped by the M/H while the rest of the crew went in search of some caches we had already found.

When we got back to the M/H I changed the fuel filter and the Rhino came back to life. We switched to the Rhino and headed for the desert. Man, I need a Polaris Razor "S"...........there's was no way I could keep up with JJ.......can't run as fast and the suspension on the Razor smooths everything out. Maybe someone will get me a Razor for Christmas (?).

I don't remember how many caches we found; but, I finally caught up with Becky..........by the time I leave at the end of the month I should be so far ahead of her that she'll NEVER catch up with me!

Turned out to be a nice day, a little chilly when we started with some breeze; but, still a terrific day to be be wandering around the desert.

Later. W

Had A Nice Veteran's Day...............

.......Applebees was handing out "free food" for vets yesterday. Drove by the closests one and the parking lot was full. Drove on by, went to the Paradise Casino to see if they had a give a ways for Vets day.........they had lunch 2 for 1 and gave you a $10.00 match for blackjack. Didn't partake of either one so drove out to the new Q Casino. Showed them my ID card and they put $11 worth of free slot play on my card. Played the eleven bucks and finally cashed in $20.

Stopped by at JJ's office and shot the breeze for a while and then I tried another Applebee that was closer to downtown........took me about 3 minutes to get a seat at the bar, had a sirloin steak lunch with smushed tatos and veggies and a Pepsi. They didn't even charge for the Pepsi. Tipped the bartender with 5 of my 20 winnings.........primarily because she was friendly and firmly developed. Went to the other casino and discovered that they had no freebies for the Vets. Invested my remaining 15 bucks and left with $26.00.

Today I went out and hunted down a few caches...........have to keep my average of one find per day for the winter. I'm OK until sometime in January with my finds. Still working on getting the Rhino licensed for the street. Have to haul it down for inspection tomorrow and with about $155 I should be in business. If I get it licensed we're going caching on Sunday, JJ with his new Razor and me with the Rhino. Should be fun.

CSI on the tube..........gotta go. W

Becky Made It To Hawaii...............

yesterday afternoon, she called about 1500 (AZ time) and then they went eating and shopping for the remainder of the day.

I got back to Yuma about 0930, checked the computer and saw a new cache had been placed about 6 miles away. Out the door I go to find that La84fishn had found it shortly before I arrived. When his Blackberry went off he was only about 1/2 mile from it. After that we both visited some other caches and I finally ended up the day with 6 or 7 finds. That gets me closer to Becky's total..........think I'm about 29 behind her now and her lead will be shortlived as she left her GPS here..........she won't be looking for any in Hawaii.

Tried to stay awake when I got back so I wouldn't mess up my days and nights. Went to dinner with Linda and Jim and we tried to hunt one cache down in the dark with no success. Went to the Two for $13.99 joint so I brought one dinner home with me. Ordered stuff that I could microwave so have a lunch or dinner sitting in the fridge.

Haven't done anything this morning and now it's starting to warm up a bit so I may have to head for the air conditioned spaces at the casino...........haven't been to the new one yet so maybe it's time I made a trip out there.

Later if anything happens. W

Sunday Evening And We're In Phoenix..............

got here about 1300, found motel and checked in. Yesterday Becky finally checked her airline reservation and discovered that her flight was leaving on Nov 9............NOT the 10th as she has been telling me for the past 3 weeks!! I made reservations for the motel for the 10th, called them and they said "no problem". I guess there was no problem as the parking lot only has 4 vehicles in it. Motel is downtown and not far from the airport...........I was kinda worried about what we would find; but, it's OK.........an older motel but it's CLEAN, has a small refrigerator, 70 channels of cable TV, microwave, free wi-fi, iron and board; but, NO coffee maker.........which doesn't bother me a bit. They gave Becky a number to call for a shuttle ride to the Hawaiian Air terminal so I don't have to try and fight my way to Sky Harbor.........something I didn't particularly care to do at rush hour on a Monday morning. The shuttle will pick her up at 0620 and she has to be sitting on the curb waiting for it...............sure hope she makes it OK.

I'll be snoozing and will head back to Yuma when I finally wake up in the morning.

After we arrived we headed for a casino that's about 17 miles away. Thank goodness for NUVI..........found it with no problems. Smaller casino so it didn't have a restaurant...........just a snack bar; but, I had a half pound burger and Becky had a French Dip tri-tip sandwich. They were both good. I sat and watched football which Becky tried her luck on the slots. When I found her she was grinning like a possum eating crap out of a wirebrush. The first slot she played put her about $90.00 ahead. After that she wandered from slot to slot, I made my contributions and finally found a machine that put me $7.00 ahead...........I quit and Becky did the same. She had money stuffed into all her pockets, socks, money belt and bra...........looked pretty good with a full bra! When we left she counted her money and figured she was $80.00 + ahead. Not a bad way to kill a few hours.

Got a call for an early wake up............Mac Burger is a couple of blocks away so might be able to grab a breakfast sandwich before the shuttle arrives.

That's about it for this weekend.............I'll fly out on the 30th and we both have the same return flight.

W&B

Made It To Friday....................

....no geocaching today (what's with that??); but, did manage to get the laundry done this morning after we had breakfast at Ligurta. Was going to pig out on biscuits and gravy; but, when we got there I decided on their morning special..........walnut pancakes, egg and sausage. Not too bad! As usual, Becky opted to have the most expensive breakfast on the menu........well not really, she had chicken fried steak. All in all it was a pretty good breakfast.

After laundry was done we just hung around the M/H as it had cooled down today and temps will drop a little more through the weekend. I did get the Suzy's oil changed and picked up some insurance for the Rhino. Gonna get Rhino licensed for the street so gotta have insurance. Insurance cost wasn't too bad.......$95.00 for a year. Will get license plates next week.......all I need to do is add a lighted license plate bracket and I should be in good shape. Thought I would have to haul it down to get it inspected and was kinda worried about noise level...........talked to my Yuma friend and he said all I have to do is sign a statement that the Rhino meets all requirements for the street..........don't have to take it down there. Arizona is pretty lenient about these things.

Had a couple of cachers stop by today...........recognized them.........their faces that is; but, naturally couldn't place a name with the faces. As it turns out we met them last year when we were staying at Casa Grande.

Tomorrow breakfast is being hosted by one of the local cachers so we'll go over to their place about 0900 and see how many show up. Should be a nice get together as more winter visitors are showing up.

Becky getting ready to leave on the 10th.........she has to be at the Phoenix airport at 0600 so I just booked a motel room for the 9th. Have no desire in getting up about 0300 to drive to Phoenix.

That's about it for now..........after breakfast have no plans whatsoever for tomorrow.

Later. W&B

What We Been Doin??.......Geocaching Of Course......

These nutso people down here are placing new caches faster then we can find them and it looks like we'll have to get down here earlier or spend the rest of the winter playing catch up. Twelve new caches were published so I contacted La84fishn and away we went to the Bombing Range. Becky and I finally managed to grab a couple that Larry and I placed last March before we left. We need to sign the log when a cache is placed if we're along with the cache owner. Not exactly kosher I don't believe; but, it would save us bone-jarring trips over rocky and rough roads just to sign the log. I believe the bombing range "roads" are getting worse for the wear. We met some cachers we knew at a little series of caches placed by a guy who really puts a lot of work into his caches. Everyone has a neat little hand-crafted container......they are easy to find; but, most of them require a bit of walking over rocks and through washes. Here's a couple of them.........leave a note and another one of his "Peanut" series. He must eat a lot of peanuts as the caches are placed in a Planters Peanut container, with his hand crafted container.

Our first stop of the day was a cache placed in memory of a fellow cacher who passed away in October........"Buddy V", a cacher from Oregon. It was placed by his sister and brother-in-law, Billybe and Berta. We later caught up with them in our quest for new caches. We also ran across Skibum01......a cacher who has the FTF Fever bad. He was out before sun up yesterday and grabbed a numbe of FTFs.........also ones that took him about 25 miles down onto the range. Some new came out last night even further down the range and I'm sure he was up before daylight again hunting them down. He's holding a breakfast get together at his house on Saturday morning. We're going to the breakfast and it's almost guaranteed that someone will place some caches to be published in the middle of breakfast. A couple of Blackberrys and phones will sound the alarm and the race for the FTF will be on. New cache placements will really break up a party FAST!

Don't think we'll be doing much today as my old knees are still trying to recover the from hiking we did yesterday. Even Becky's butt was dragging after we found 20 caches on the range yesterday.........and she "claims" to be quite young you know! We may go out and find Larry's three new caches...........they're only about 5 miles away and his usually don't require rock climbing or long hikes.

Got an appointment with Rheumatologist tomorrow so maybe some knee injections will keep me going for awhile.

Later if anything interesting happens. W&B

Bigger Picture of Big Horn Ram......

See next post........you'll probably be able to see the Ram a little better here than in the following post.

A Little Update For The Weekend..........

Did a little caching the other day and found this cache screwed to a pole......interesting method of attachment....it certainly won't blow away or get covered with sand. When we had breakfast at Ligurta this lil pup was staring at us when we parked. Looks a little bit like a fox.

Sunday I called Jim and Linda to see if they wanted to hunt down some la84fishn caches which neither of us had found yet. They were game to go so we loaded the Suzy and off we went. Found some along the canal and visited one of Larry's fishing holes. A local was fishing and he had some nice bluegill. Becky took a picture of me at the fishing spot where Larry had placed a cache. This little dog is another la84fishn cache that we've seen placed the last 3 or 4 years.

Highlight of the day was spotting a Big Horn Ram a short distance from the main highway. We certainly have never seen any of these critters around here so it was quite the sighting. Becky captured him on film; but, wasn't using her 12x camera, you'll have to double click this image to get a little larger view and you can see the Ram a bit better. He stuck around, looked at us and then ambeled off.

Getting a little warmer today.........supposed to be near 90 the next few days. No A/C on yet...........although I got a floor fan running and it's doing a good job of moving the air around.

We're just kinda sitting around and watching the computer............our reviewer must have been out doing some caching himself because we haven't had a new cache published since Thursday. When they're published there will be a mad dash for the FTF. I know two of them have been placed on the bombing range so I've already called in to report that we were visiting the range today so if they get published at a reasonable hour we'll hop in the car and go. We're only about 1/2 miles from one of the entrances to the range. I also placed a cache at the back of our lot so maybe they'll head for mine and we can get a head start to the range.

More later if anything interesting happens. W&B