bumanfam's Geocaching Gear Bag

Another blank spot on our calendar filled along Hwy 10! bumanfam Dad and all three bumanfam Kids made the trek while bumanfam Mom was at work. We checked out a bunch of possibilities before making the nab. A nearby "tool" came in handy for us as well. TNLNSL TFTC!

This entry was edited by bumanfam on Tuesday, 12 June 2012 at 03:01:46 UTC.

bumanfam Dad realized late at night that we didn't have a find on the 24th of May yet, so he had to go geocaching - pronto! A quick look at the map, and this was the chosen destination. While searching, a State Trooper pulled up. He was perhaps startled when bumanfam Dad came out of the ditch with an enthusiastic, "Hello!" Upon hearing that geocaching was at hand, the officer was thrilled to learn more. He had quite an interest, though declined an invitation to join in the hunt. He offered wishes of happy hunting, and headed on his way. At which time bumanfam Dad made his way back to the beacon and found the cache. TNLNSL TFTC!

This entry was edited by bumanfam on Tuesday, 12 June 2012 at 02:57:49 UTC.

YES!!! At long last, the bumanfam can claim a (physical) find in each of the 99 counties in the state of Iowa! The quest began with Hike-n-Seek 2010. Realizing we were going to the point in Iowa farthest from our home, we mapped out a route to claim as many of the counties as we could. Most of the finds were made in the dark of night. On that route, we claimed (among others) the bottom two rows of counties.* In February of 2011, on a MOGA 2012 recon trip, we made a bunch of finds in the center counties, also mostly in the dark. Following that was a trip to MOGA 2011 in southern Illinois. Our route cleaned up the eastern counties, and more of the north-central areas. Yep, you guessed it - mostly at night. Finally, our trip to Hike-n-Seek 2011 in Elkader gave us a good reason to travel the top two rows of counties to finish it up - of course, in the dark!* Then, on a trip to Des Moines in the cold winter of 2012, we would finish this up by logging the final!*

*Okay, so we screwed up. One of the caches we claimed on our HnS 2010 trip was a virtual in Jefferson county. Crapola! So, we did not sign the log in January 2012, though we could have. It was the prinicpal of the thing. After the completion of MOGA 2012 (a lot of work, BTW), we swung back to Jeff county and made a PHYSICAL find (in the daylight this time). Later that day, we stopped and signed the log at the final location. It's done!

TFTCC, and the PT!

Last fall, the bumanfam completed their map of Iowa by claiming a cache in the last of the 99 counties. The top two rows were the last holdouts for us. But, upon re-reading the requirements for Iowa's 99 County Challenge (Team Gamsci), we realized each county needed a PHYSICAL cache find. We scrambled to see if we'd done it - and were disappointed to find that our only claim here in Jefferson county was a virtual. Well, not being very close to home, our claim for Jefferson county would have to be made when we had more than a single purpose for the trip. Enter MOGA 2012! Not exactly the same destination, but close enough! Add in the need to return a tent to Ottumwa and a desire to visit American Gothic, and we had enough "gas in the tank" to stretch to Jeff county! And so, with this quick find, we complete the challenge, and our drive home included a stop to sign the log at the home of Team Gamsci. Nice to have a goal accomplished! Next up: 366 calendar days (about a dozen left). TNLNSL TFTC!

This entry was edited by bumanfam on Tuesday, 12 June 2012 at 02:06:42 UTC.

bumanfam Dad and Gator 2002 were the beta testers of this cache. TNLSwagDNSL.