Geocaching March 2022

Looking around on the Geocaching website, I discovered the statistics page that gives all sorts of sorts of our geocaching data. There's a line graph that shows the cumulative finds by month, bar graphs for types of caches and containers, a chart showing finds by difficulty and terrain, and one showing finds for each calendar day of the year (February 20th is the frontrunner with fifteen finds--February 20, 2006, was our best day with ten finds, so that spiked the number for an otherwise random day). This last chart caught my eye and I've started filling in days that had no finds. As I run errands, I check to see if I need a find for that day. Sometimes the weather is not cooperative or there's too many other, more important, things going on. But I've managed to fill a bunch of holes. March is down to five days without any geocaching activity. April has thirteen days; hopefully I can whittle that down some. 

After donating blood early in the month, I found Mindfulness right by The Mall in Columbia. The hide was near the parking for the blood donation center.

Somewhere in there

Later that weekend, after dropping my son off to see The Batman with his friends, I went caching around a local hospital. My first find was across the street at a strip mall. The coordinates for HAPPY HOLIDAYS CACHE... were off. I went to the obvious spot. Perusing the online log entries, I saw that several people needed help from a picture in an earlier log. I found the picture and made the cache find quickly with the new information.

View from the cache coordinates to where the cache is actually hidden

Further down the road but still across the street from the hospital is The Big Big Stone... which was exactly where the coordinates had it. The spot was obvious too.

You can see the hospital through the trees

The hospital's parking lot has three caches so I found a parking spot midway between them all. The first one I attempted was Making My Appointment... which had no geocache in the obvious ground zero. I looked around at other places but didn't find anything. I checked the hint, and sure enough the obvious ground zero is the right spot. I left a note online for the cache owner who has subsequently replaced the cache. Maybe I'll get back to this in April?

Not in there somewhere

Kiara's Cache... was a lot easier to find at the other end of the parking lot.

The obvious spot and actually there

My final find was Exercise Your Body... (I don't know why this cacher likes ellipses at the end of cache names). Some people were hanging around about seventy-five feet away but I was stealthy enough not to get notice (or at least, not to get talked to).

Rehab place in the background, the spot to exercise

I was back at the mall to pickup an on-line order a few days later, so I picked up Daily stretching is important. The cache is hidden near the new supermarket in a spot that practices what it preaches.

Where do you think it is?

About a week later, my daughter had a medical appointment. After I returned her to school, I found Trails to Nowhere (MW#4) which was not too far from the school. I needed the hint for this one and took a picture of the nearby trail that ends abruptly.

The geocache and the trailhead in the distance

Shortest trail ever?

The kids had a half-day at school in the middle of the month so we went swimming at our gym and then found a geocache neaby. Icarus' cache was a pretty easy find in a very climbable spot.

Having fun

Too cute

On a trip to one of the local libraries (we're at the corner of three counties, so three different systems to borrow from!), I found Laurel Grove Community. The Grove was a community of African Americans in Laurel, Maryland, that dates back past the American Civil War. The open area with oak trees hosted a lot of picnics, 4th of July celebrations, Emancipation Day celebrations, and other events. The grove is gone and the area now has the public library and Emancipation Community Park which has a playground, small amphitheater, basketball courts, and other recreational stuff.

Historical info

Youngin #2 is a cache in a series that had some information in the lid of the cache. I dutifully wrote down the information in my phone's notetaking app. Looking online, it appears numbers 4 and 5 have been archived, so I may not be able to complete the series!

Somewhere in there

On yet another errands run, I found Happy New Year 2018!, a cache from four years ago. This one is a typical park and grab cache.

There is the spot!

Another series of caches I started is based on Legend of Zelda. LoZ Series: Lon Lon Ranch is off on its own in the town of Fulton, Maryland. The rest of the series is in different areas. Maybe the kids will be interested. At least, they can tell all about the Zelda locations.

I wonder how this gas price will look in the months and years to come

I found Not Not Columbia (MW#1) to fill in another day on the "days of the year" chart. The street where the geocache is seems to be a border between Columbia, which has a lot of rules about mailboxes, sidewalks, and other stuff, and the free world, which does not have those rules.

I guess I gave away the location of the cache...

YES Outlet #2 (Ridgeway Drive) is another of the series we've seen before where a "No Outlet" sign is, in fact, a lie! The cache was one of the very small containers that have a log rolled up on a pin. Luckily, I always carry a pen so I was able to sign the log.

The cache location is in the picture

I just wanted to point out this cool-looking house across the street

More to come next month!