A NO ICE CREAM FOR YOU KIND OF DAY

We were at it again this weekend with some good successes and one big frustration. Check it out:

Our trip took us from the depths of the forest to the downtown city lights of Princeton WV. We found caches, scenery, poison ivy (yes, welcome to summer in WV), but had our difficulties finding ice cream.

Bowles Falls is situated less than 100 feet from a well traveled, and surprisingly well maintained, dirt road. I wonder how many have even seen the falls. Unlike a lot of our scenic spots this one is free from trash, garbage, and drug paraphernalia. Maybe because it lies on fairly rough ground that requires some effort to travel across. The forest here has made amateur photography difficult, even with the standard digital camera. But the area actually did seem this lush and green. Beautiful spot...

And with a cache as an additional draw for coming here. A lot of caches are placed at or near scenic spots and the seeker is rewarded with something of interest or beauty in addition to the cache find. This one was nestled in the roots and rocks directly behind me.

After lunch at the very best sit down restaurant in Hinton WV (in the words of the locals, "that'd be the Durry Queen") we traveled on. But let's take a break here to discuss geocaching and upscale dining.

Our lunches are usually a hurried affair for one of several reasons. First, we probably have waited far too long to eat and are totally famished. Or secondly, we are forced to eat too early because the next cache is located some distance away and in some remote location. And finally, we are simply in a hurry to get back to caching. We seem to become drawn to "just one more, just one more..."

We have become connoisseurs of the American Hot Dog. I've heard that hot dogs are sort of death by chemical, but we seem to have gravitated to the quick and easy hot dog and french fries. I guess all hobbies and interests have their downsides. But quick and easy it is for lunch. Grab something to eat and back to caching.

Lunch is over, back to caching.

Later we were treated to a trip to a remote ridge line and a great walk in the woods. Parking was here at an old but still active church. if I remember correctly, this one has a sign indicating it was founded in the 1880's.

Sister Sally (BatikFreak10) and Joyce (Wiscongranny) model the find. This was an exceptionally nice hide. Lots of upscale swag and even an actual official Geocaching log book. The thoughtful owner even sent us a thank you note for visiting the cache once we logged our find. How nice is that? It is we who should thank him/her.

We cached on into the afternoon, finding caches hidden here and there and seemingly everywhere. We saw some clever hides and some not so clever hides. We even found a cache (not pictured) that required that we buy or improvise a tool in order to retrieve the container from its hiding place. Fun!!

And then it was time for ice cream. Friends, have you ever tried to find ice cream when you're far from civilization? Actually we weren't even far from the big city lights of Lenora WV. The owners of this store have missed a sure bet. I think their business model (I'm sure mom and pop actually know about things like business models, business plans, and market research) have chosen not to sell ice cream!! What makes this decision so incomprehensible is that they are located less than a half mile from a major state resort park (Pipestem State Park), a major destination for family camping and other types of extended stays. The store sells all kinds of shoddy trinkets, food items, beer (of course), but no ice cream. So what did we do??

We went another half mile down the road to the store that does sell ice cream!! And we were happy :-).

For more, read BatikFreak10s Geocaching Blog.