“If you want a friend in Washington, get a
dog.”
President Harry S. Truman
Since my four pawed pal, Hemi, and the GF and her four pawed
pal, Teddy, are frequent geocaching companions, we decided after a
visit to a local dog park that a cache dedicated to those four
legged friends of so many cachers was in order.
The cache is located in a park known by residents of Alexandria,
VA, as an off-leash dog park. We learned of the park from our
neighbor who likes to take her dog there for a little off-leash
fun. Numerous signs in the park state that dogs must be on a leash,
but, apparently, the local parks authority turns their head the
other way. To divert muggle attention, it is highly recommended
that you bring your dog with you to this one. Don’t have a dog?
Borrow one!
The cache is a 1 quart Rubbermaid container painted to blend in
with the environment. It is stocked FULL of great doggie toys!
Because of the nature of this cache and it’s theme, please be sure
to only trade with pet toys for trading! The container is
approximately 4 inches deep by 9 inches wide.
Remember this cache is in an off-leash dog park. Do NOT
place any scented toys or dog treats in this cache. It will be
found by a dog and then likely muggled!
Also, be sure to carefully re-hide the cache exactly as
you found it with usual cache camoflauge as it will be visible from
at least one portion of the main trail.
The area can be subject to occasional flooding, especially, if a
hurricane strikes the area. Clearly, we normally have plenty of
notice when a hurricane strikes, and this cache will be made
temporarily disabled if such a storm is bearing down on the
Northern Virginia/DC area. The last cache in this park was archived
in November 2003 and was probably washed away or destroyed by
Hurricane Isabel. You can read about that cache at this
link.
After finding the cache take a few moments to explore the park.
Besides great views of the Potomac and the Woodrow Wilson bridge
(and its construction), the park has a number of interesting and
historical aspects. For benchmark hunters, there are at least two
benchmarks in the park. One of those benchmarks is the original
marker for the southernmost point of Washington, D.C. In 1846, the
federal government ceded 33 square miles of the original Capitol
district back to the state of Virginia, including this park.
In 1856, the lighthouse first began shining using whale oil.
It’s the oldest surviving inland lighthouse in the United
States.
And for political celebrity watchers, veteran political
strategist James Carville who lives near this park can often be
seen jogging through the park on a loop back to his home. As a
courtesy, try not to interrupt his run or snap pictures at him.
This is where he lives and he doesn't need the extra attention
while he enjoys his hobby, while we enjoy ours.
Finally, the cache difficulty can range from 1.5 to 2.5
depending on the number of muggles in the area. It is located
approximately 75-100 feet off of the main trail (depending on where
you leave it from) and adjacent to one of the many 'dog trails' in
the park. My tester, the esteemed
NetworkCacher, found it before 8 a.m. on a Saturday and was
still interrupted by muggles that appeared around a bend on the
trail. The coordinates have been averaged from a list of 10
different readings and two different cachers on 3 different days,
even with that, there is significant tree canopy and your GPSr may
bounce a bit. If you have experience searching many of the
traditional caches in the area, you should have no problem
recognizing the hide spot. Retrieving and replacing the cache will
be your greatest challenge, especially on weekends.
Special thanks to
NetworkCacher and his four-pawed pal, Samantha for testing this
cache (my first) for me.
Also, thanks to the Alexandria East End Parks Superintendent for
granting permission for this cache.