I can’t believe this bug was still in this cache! When I saw it’s name and read the cache page, I knew I had to grab it at some point. But I really didn’t expect it to be so soon! Anyway, I have quite a story to tell. I was that cacher who was at The Anza-Borrego Desert Cache Tour by Parsa (GCGZRM) with FlagSon Andrew. We spent the night Saturday, October 25th to, among other things, celebrate my 1-year geocaching anniversary. I also completed the 25-cache Sea To Sea Challenge on that Saturday. We got up the next morning, Sunday October 26th, and remembered that due to the time change, we had an extra hour. So we went on a group hike up the hill to bag RUSCAL’s cache. Then we headed home – about 9:00 a.m. or so. By the time we got to Dudley’s Bakery, FlagSon Andrew noticed some smoke. We were listening to Sunday morning pre-game warm-up on the radio and there were some vague references to some fire near Alliant University in Scripps Ranch. No big deal, or so it seemed. We were getting a little hungry and decided to stop in Ramona at a pizza place run by one of Andrew’s friends. When we got there, the sign said, “Closed Due To Fires.” That sort of threw us off. As we left Ramona, we saw a huge orange fireball that we were driving into. I decided to check my voicemail messages on my cell phone – battery almost dead from being left on. I managed to get a few messages, all from either Kathy or Evan, each with an increasing level of urgency, telling us they had been evacuated and begging us to check in so they would know we were safe. I tried to call and the phone went dead. We joked that if our house was gone, we would at least be able to sleep in the tent. We made it all the way to Poway Road on Hwy 67 when we were diverted – no traffic south of that point. We took Poway Road to Community Road to Scripps Poway Pkwy to Pomerado Road up the hill to Scripps. Now we were really starting to get worried. By that time, the smoke and flames were literally bellowing over the Jeep. We reached the top of Pomerado Road and were then diverted down Spring Canyon. I squeezed one more call out of my cell phone and reached Kathy this time. With zero battery power, I assured her we were safe and we agreed to meet in Point Loma and figure out what to do from there. The rest is history, and I have posted a few pictures to show what our street looked like and what our new house looks like today. Pinecastle Street was hardest hit of all Scripps Ranch, with only one house surviving. Both Bunthorne and I lost our homes, along with all but one of our neighbors. But we are in the middle of rebuilding and can’t wait for our new home to be completed. I must say that the Geocaching Community was absolutely wonderful to us and we will never forget it. You all are the greatest!
As always, Thanks for the fun and Happy Hunting!