This cache is not at the posted coordinates. The posted coordinates mark one of the parking areas.
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It has always been my dream to fly around the world. So I recently set out to fulfill that dream. After a little planning, and emailing the airports that I would be using, I jumped in my trusty LearJet 35A and set out. I left Detroit Metro Airport (N 42 12.259 W 83 22.189) on a nice clear morning. I headed south to Jamaica. What a beautiful day to be flying over the Caribbean. The landing strip there (N 18 30.468 W 77 54.230) is right next to the water. A bit intimidating I must admit, but not the worst I’ve seen. I refueled, dipped my toes in the clear blue water, and headed out for the next leg of my trip. My jet only has a range of around 2300 miles, so it was necessary to fly down to South America before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The next stop was Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana (N 6 30.362 W 58 14.798). It seems my email about my trip never reached them and my dropping in unexpected wasn’t very welcome. After a long conversation with customs, they allowed me to refuel and get on my way. Once back in the air, I realized that I was about to cross the equator. I watched as the line crossed my radar screen. At last, I was in the southern hemisphere. I landed at João Pessoa International Airport (S 7 9.375 W 34 56.578) after almost 18 hours in the air. I knew I needed some sleep before crossing the Atlantic, so I took a nice 4 hour nap at the airport. When I woke up, my jet was fueled and ready to go. The weather was starting to pick up, but I knew once I got out over the ocean, it was going to be clear skies. In no time at all, the land seemed to disappear and there was nothing but water for as far as I could see. I dropped down to about 500 ft for a closer look. It was amazing. The view was quickly interrupted by my altimeter alarm going off, so I climbed back up to 15000 ft for some nice cruising. I landed at Sal International Airport (N 16 44.199 W 22 57.476). It was nice to see land again. I was talking with some of the personnel at the airport and found out that this is one of the designated emergency landing strips for the U.S. Space Shuttle. There is a shuttle coming down in a couple weeks, and even though it probably won’t land here they all have to make sure they are ready just in case. I still had two stops before my next rest, so off I went. I followed the northwest coast of Africa towards Spain. I landed at San Pablo Airport (N 37 25.083 W 5 52.484). The five semesters of Spanish I took in college, finally paid off. I was able to order eggs, donuts, and a coffee. I was also able to locate the bathrooms, although I think I asked for directions to the beach first. My next flight took me to Copenhagen Airport (N 55 37.434 E 12 38.394). I was now about half way through my trip around the world. I have some family in Denmark, so I made arrangements to take a day off from flying and visit them while I was in the neighborhood, so to speak. We had a great visit. Most of them I had never met in person. They let me get rested up and fed me some home cooked food like I have never had before. But as everything goes, the time for me to leave came all too soon. The next few stops would be quick refuel and go stops. I knew there wouldn’t be much to see or do, and if I could just get back in the air as soon as possible I would be happy. The first was Orenburg Tsentralny Airport in Russia (N 51 47.746 E 55 26.357). Everyone there was very helpful. They fueled up the jet, gave me a nice warm meal, and I was off in a flash. I cruised over to Mongolia and landed at Khovd Airport (N 47 56.556 E 91 38.044). There were pictures of Genghis Kahn, one of my favorite leaders, around the inside of the airport. There were also traditional weapons hanging by the pictures which I thought was very out of place for an airport. I really wanted to have a stop in China, but the only airports that would allow me to land were too far out of my flight path. I did fly over The Great Wall of China. I could see it very clearly from 12000 ft. I landed just east of china at Ignatyevo Airport in Russia (N 50 26.243 E 127 24.518). Apparently the groundscrew from Orenburg phoned ahead and talked about me. Everyone here was just as helpful. They fueled up the jet, gave me a nice warm meal, and sent me off. I still had two stops before my next rest. The warm meal really helped to keep me going. The next stop was at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport (N 53 9.401 E 158 27.765). This was the last of three stops in Russia. I really wasn’t looking forward to these stops. Boy was I wrong. The people couldn’t have been nicer, and the food was superb! I was in a hurry to get going, since I had one more flight before resting in Anchorage Alaska. They gave me a sack of food for snacks along the way. Next thing I knew I was over the Bering Sea. I could see several fishing boats. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going after King Crab or Opilio Crab. After landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (N 61 10.186 W 150 0.391) all I wanted to do was sleep. I found a nice soft bed and slept for 6 hours. The rest revived my energy, and I would need it for the next leg. I wanted to take a look around Anchorage, but I wanted to get to my next stop even more. I took off and made a due course to Seattle Washington. I landed at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (N 47 25.923 W 122 18.476). I had a ride waiting for me and drove straight to Groundspeak headquarters where I was able to visit with Signal and Jeremy. This is when I suddenly realized that I hadn’t done any geocaching this whole trip. I could have marked off a few countries by now. I had a couple hours so I went out to find some of the oldest caches anywhere. Then it was time for my last flight of this trip. I took off and headed back to Detroit Metro Airport (N 42 13.653 W 83 20.206). They had me land on a different strip then what I took off from so I had to taxi a long way to get back to the hanger. The trip was great. But it sure is nice to be back home.
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This cache is quite a ways from the nearest marked trail. There are some deer paths that will get you close if you can find them. This cache was hid in early April. At this time there were lots of muddy and wet areas along the path. Please use the coordinate checker at the bottom of this page to verify you have the correct solution. Please replace the cache exactly as you found it.
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This cache is hidden with permission in the Bald Mountain Recreation Area.
A State Park Vehicle Permit is required.
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Congrats to TeamLareau for FTF!