ODDITY

A quick note about one other find this past Sunday.

This travel bug--named Sweet Home Alabama--has just started on its trip to visit the 50 states. It is on only its fourth stop. But pause to checkout its travel history: It left Alabama a few weeks ago and with only one intermediate stop found its way to a cache I own. From there it traveled to a cache BatikFreak10 owns. Then Sunday I picked it up to move forward on a later caching expedition. In other words, this TB has made only four stops thus far, and three of those stops have been in my or Sallys' hands. Interesting.

ROOTS, RAIN, & THE BEST SIT DOWN RESTURANT IN MULLENS WV

Lots of things to talk about today. In a nutshell we had a busy, successful, and interesting day Geocaching yesterday. Grab a coffee, turn on the Ipod and let's get started.

Early morning (there are some who consider 9:30a.m. as early) found us back on the road. The first pic is, I suppose, kind of an Easter only cache, but it worked on a nice Sunday in June too. The cache is in the largest egg. Quick grab and go. This one was in the cache owners front yard so no problem with reaching into his property.

One of the caches on our "must seek" list for the day was located at the site of the baseball diamond at Tams WV, just a mile (or less) up the "holler" from Stotesbury. So we took the time to visit Stotesbury while in the area.

Quite some years ago (about 1950 to be exact) our dad worked for the Koppers Company as a company store manager. At that time he was based in the coal camp town of Stotesbury WV. Stotesbury, and its attendant mine was founded by the E. E. White Coal Company. There is a long and interesting history of Stotesbury available on line. Check it out here. The photos alone are worth the visit. Neither one of us had been back to Stotesbury since we were little kids and have fond memories of Dad and the store where he worked so hard.

BatikFreak10 (sister Sally) told me about going to the store for the day with Dad during the Christmas Season and touring the third floor toy display. The display must have seemed like a visit to Santas' workshop. I remember Dad taking me to the buyers display in Beckley WV where he would make toy selections for the coming Christmas Season at the Company Store. I'd look briefly at the toys for the "little kids" but would move quickly to the real stuff--the sleds, paint by number sets, and of course the forbidden B. B. guns. What a time!!

Dad and the friends and hangers on around the Company Store usually played horse shoes during their lunch break. Dad was supposed to have been one of the top players and had a "dead on" aim for the peg.

We knew that Stotesbury had pretty much ceased to exist many years ago--the mines long since played out and most everyone moved away. The church above now occupies the site of the Company Store. The store itself burnt about 1960. Interestingly, the church was moved from a nearby ridge (hillside to flatlanders) and positioned on the store site. Dad would have played those horse shoes right about where the picnic shelter now sits.

Stotesbury now consists of about 5 well maintained and properly kept up homes, but their origin as company housing is still quite obvious. Most of us picture coal camps as places of misery and squalor, and sadly sometimes we are right. But coal camps could also be places of happiness with a strong sense of community.

Our cache assignment was located at the Tams Ball Diamond site. Now completely reforested, the site gives little hint as to what it once was. But push through the rank undergrowth into the trees and civilization can be glimpsed. Cut stone, rusting sheet metal, broken tools are in evidence if you will but pause to look. We made a quick find and were on our way, leaving Tams and Stotesbury to the quiet past in the memories of those who lived, played, and worked there. More about Tams.

And now for the rain part of our adventure!! The shot below was snapped in extreme haste. I was far up on a ridge top, BF10 not far behind, with the almost constant crackle of thunder in our ears. Seconds after taking this shot we were deluged in a major Thunderstorm.

I signed some piece of paper I found in the cache for both of us. I have no idea whether it was the actual log or not, and then we dove for cover behind some nearby rocks. We were 50 feet or so below the top of the knob so weren't too worried about being struck by lightening but were scarcely out of the rain at all.

How do you photograph wet? Neither of us are professional photographers and all we had was our digital cameras, but we are well and truly wet to the core.

I have an idea: Want to experience how wet we were? Head out into the back yard, turn the hose on full force and have someone spray you--head to foot and everywhere in between-- for 15 or 20 minutes. Turn frequently, leaving no spot unsoaked. You'll get the idea.

But at the same time we were not overly uncomfortable. The day was warm, the rain warm also. In due course the rain stopped, clothes were wrung out and we continued on. Most of us think we simply cannot be wet, after all Mom said that it was so. But being wet in the summer can be a fairly negligible experience.

Fortunately lunch was actually before our shower. We are at the very best sit-down restaurant in Mullens WV. Like much of coal country, Mullens is not in the very best of shape economically. Truthfully I think this is perhaps the only sit-down restaurant (or perhaps the only restaurant of any kind) in Mullens WV.

Finally, we had a nice day and found some nice caches. We found some of our roots slightly the worse for wear, but still bright and shiny in our memories. What more can you ask.

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.

A (WAY) OUT HOUSE AFTER A LONG DAY

Two days later we were at it again. BatikFreak10 (worthy sister), wiscongranny (dear wife person), and I headed out for what would prove to be a very long day.

Our first cache stop also gave us an opportunity to view the present state of education in western Greenbrier Co. WV. Things like this are all too common in todays world. I wonder if the "educators" here even noticed the misspelling or just didn't bother to care.

BatikFreak10 had wanted to collect a cache we had placed in remote Greenbrier Co at a wind generator site, so after she captured that one we headed out for the rest of the day.

This has to be the biggest cache I've ever found.

If you happen to meet BatikFreak10, ask her about wind generators.

One of the advantages of spring geocaching is the chance to see all the latest offerings from the world of plants and flowers. We all seem to enjoy seeing them as they arrive for the season:

As best I can identify this one, it seems to be Golden Ragwort. But there are many other ragworts that are quite similar in appearance. It takes a trained eye to spot all the differences.

Star Chickweed, although it doesn't look like a weed to me.

We checked two different flower and plant guides but never did find anything even close to this little guy. Do you know what it is? Please leave a comment if you do.

You may not be able to see it here, but I am standing in several inches of water. The good news it that I'm standing on a flat rock. The not so good news is that a few seconds earlier I was standing in mud, and several more inches of water. But the cache was on the other side of the ditch and there was no place else to stand.

Geocachers have to be willing to be...well...mildly inconvenienced for their sport

Several of our finds today were located along a fairly new rail trial. Although the B&O RR left the area many years ago, traces still remain of their presence. A box of unknown use slowly returns to the natural world.

Joyce (aka wiscongranny) poses in front of a view of the Gauley River at a spot known as "Crupperneck Bend", a turn of more than 180*. The B&O grade mentioned (and pictured) above extended beside the river below as the railroad once made its way north and to the outside world.

Finally, we had to admit that we had been out a long time and were in need of a rest stop. How very convenient when we found this luxury rest facility. Evidently there had been a house, or some other place habitable by our fellow man for extended periods located near this spot. All that now remains is this decaying outhouse. Soon it will be just a pile of rotting boards covered by the encroaching plants, and when enough time passes, even that will disappear.

We'd been out for a long day, more than 12 hours and more than a few miles. We'd had a nice time and seen some wonderful scenery during our trip. There were some quiet and tired little geocachers in the truck during the long drive home.
A COMMENT ON TODAYS WORLD:
We all know the price of gas today. As this is being written a gallon of regular gas costs $3.99+. During our two days of geocaching in one week we filled the tank twice. Total cost $150.00!! While I don't plan on giving up a hobby I enjoy, I think we will probably have to reduce the frequency of our trips. We are truly fortunate in that we are retired and don't have to drive to work every day. The hardship placed upon those who have to travel every day has got to be enormous.

WE'LL CROSS THAT CREEK WHEN WE COME TO IT

Yesterday's trip (just Joyce and me this time) held some interesting surprises, and one fun wet foot adventure. Ready? Here we go!!

We had to check up on a cache of mine. Some less than creative seekers were having trouble finding the secret code, even when they literally held the container in their hands. We stopped to make sure all was well (it was) and found a hillside fully decorated for spring.

Details: Lower right is one of very many Trilliums. Trilliums are an early spring wild flower and while not rare are not overly common. They need shade and damp ground. At 4000ft, it's still early spring. The flower on the upper left is a wild Geranium. Again, not too frequent a find.

I think the Trillium is my favorite flower.

A bellwort. There are several varieties so I cannot give any further details. A nice wildflower we had never seen before.

Joyce makes the find!! We were working on a three stage multi cache (a cache with more than one step--and hide--required to find the hidden treasure) and Joyce found two of the three stages. Yes, she was always jumping out of the truck before I could even get fully stopped. LOL

The yellow blaze does not mark the cache location. It is a blaze for the Alleghany Trail, a 300 mile hiking trail extending from the WV/PA border to the VA line near White Sulphur Springs WV.

Here I am, modeling some of the latest in swag at our last find for the day. We only found three caches on this day (we had one DNF). The caches were all well hidden and required some hiking and hunting. Plus there were flowers to look at and admire. Caches like these are so much more rewarding than the guard rail quickies that are all the rage today.

Finally one of two creek crossings required. The water is only 6-8 inches deep here. The second crossing required using four wheel drive and was nearly running board deep. Fun!!

I once took that Land Rover Driving Experience off road driving course. Never thought I'd ever use the things I learned during that day. One never knows when some odd knowledge or experience might come in handy.

SOMETIMES LIFE SEEMS LIKE A TRAIN WRECK

Sometimes, no matter how you try, your life just seems to become a train wreck. No matter how you try, things just seem to turn out wrong and you are helpless to stop it. All you can do is watch, wishing you could cover your eyes and go back to bed. More about that later. First the cache part:

We are back at Lake Stephens #2 Cache. A few weeks ago we searched here in the gathering dark and in the falling rain and snow for a cache that (we later found out) had been muggled--disappeared, stolen. I am a highly goal oriented individual and after having found 14 caches earlier in the day, this last failure left me frustrated, so when the owner sent out a note that he had replaced the cache with a new one we were back to look for it at our first opportunity. BatikFreak10 (sis) and wiscongranny (Joyce) and I are here early on Sunday morning and the weather is cooperating. Spring is on its way.

BF10 models her re-find. She was the actual finder of the hidden box and gets to sign the log first. We were the first finders of the newly replaced cache.

I hope you can see the detail in this photo, click to enlarge if needed. Can you see them? I told you spring is on its way. There are a goodly number of tadpoles in the picture. The little beings are less than a half inch long at this point but will shortly become top notch hoppers and croakers. Frogs and toads are facing an uncertain future. Global warming is taking its toll on the little guys. Will we follow some day in the future?

This has absolutely nothing to do with Geocaching , but how can you pass up the opportunity to photograph the turn off to Hoo-Hoo Hollow--or as is more properly said, Hoo-- Hoo Holler. No, we didn't go.

Now for the high point of the day. We are near Oak Hill WV and behind the WalMart. Can you see the cache? We spent about a half hour looking for the cache here. We crawled around--practically under-- this electrical transformer unit. We touched every joint and seam and tugged at every nut and bolt. Nothing!! We walked away and walked back. We searched and searched. Nothing!! We read and re-read the description and clue and logs. NOTHING!!!! Finally, more in desperation than hope, BatikFreak10 touched the numbers and sesame opened.

What followed was a victory dance and war whoop to equal any seen after the winning touchdown in the worlds greatest Super Bowl game. I think that if BF10 had been just a little younger we would have seen a series of hand stands and jive dancing.

The numbers themselves are the cache!! The hider had used a set of magnetic numbers and letters to place a fictitious serial number on the transformer. The backs of the numbers themselves are the log. How cool is that? And congrats to BF10 for giving us 8 for 8 on the day.

Now for the train wreck part of the day: Sometimes things just don't work out and your day turns out baaaaddd. And that's what happened to the crew of this train. About a week before we returned to Lake Stephens, this wreck had occurred. It's a small wreck as those things go, only a few cars and a few hundred tons of coal. But someones day was sure ruined. I'm sure someone just wanted to cover their eyes and go back to bed rather than face the bosses and an inquiry into why this happened. Someones day was a total, complete and absolute train wreck.

SOMETIMES THE CACHE IS SECONDARY

Sometimes you go geocaching and find something much better, and maybe even important. Follow along.

Yesterday BatikFreak10, wiscongranny, and I went caching. The weather seems to have finally broken winters back. Spring is truly on the way. In case you tuned in late, BF10 is my dear sister and wiscongranny is my good wife Joyce. WG doesn't go caching too often, but even she needed to get out in the warm air and check out the flowers. What we found was even better, and longer lasting.

We had been caching for several hours and had made a few good finds when we targeted a cache near Lewisburg WV. This cache was one in a series using the Greenbrier River as a theme. The caches were hidden in or near a variety of parks, public boat ramps, and near bridges over the Greenbrier. We noted in the description of the cache hide that the boat ramp/public park contained a labyrinth which has the Greenbrier and life along it as its (the labyrinths) theme.

What we found was wonderful, and maybe even good art.

I am standing at the juncture of Spring Creek and the Greenbrier. Spring Creek is about a mile or less from our home. If you look in the near (lower) foreground you can see the carving in the concrete labyrinth illustrating the Greenbrier. Looking towards the far end of the path, just below our truck, the two forks denote the east and west branches of the Greenbrier nearly a hundred miles north of Spring Creek and Renick WV. The flow of the river is towards me.

BatikFreak10 and wiscongranny admire some of the art. The walking surface of the labyrinth was completely covered with art, some serious, some less so, but all about the River, its inhabitants and life along the river. Even the many beer/fishing/more beer parties received notice.

Below are several examples of the art. Wonderful things.

We put aside the geocaching for quite some time. No one was in a hurry and we were all impressed by the art, but I don't think any of us was impressed by the same pieces of art as the other two. Each one of us took away something to remember from the outing on the Greenbrier River Labyrinth.

When we got back to geocaching, BF10 caught my picture at one of the River Trail caches. I'm getting ready to open it and sign the log.

You've read before in this blog about swag--stuff we all get. Here's an example of swag for the uninitiated and unwary. When--if--you desire to take home a priceless example of swag you are supposed to leave something of equal or greater value, that way the cache stays supplied with goodies but the treasures are always new and interesting.

At one of our finds yesterday I was charmed by this "eye ball" and had to add it to my collection. I'm swapping a new shiny car for the priceless (to me) eye ball. I don't collect a lot of swag. I have only 6 or 8 pieces in my collection, but they are interesting and fun to me. I think that probably even the most hard hearted geocacher has some small swag hidden away somewhere where he or she can take it out and fondle when alone at night and no one is looking. Swag, stuff we all get.

An update on the entry below: Just before writing this post, I learned by way of my Geocaching Watchlist that the one cache we were unable to find in the snow and darkening day was truly missing in action and was renewed by the owner earlier today. I feel relieved and absolved of blame or oversight.