My Summer Vacation, Part 2

"So," you're thinking, "Go on Miss B - flip that latch - open the lid!"

Hah, no way! The anticipation is just too delicious; there's time to look around, check for clues, find evidence of who might have hidden the ammo box. I can see some of the usual painted graffiti-modern style, but not really clue like. The rough trail is obvious, so this place couldn't really be a secret. There is no town close enough to walk from, so someone would have had to drive or fly in. That would probably mean the mystery person is old enough to have a driver's license.

My husband yells, "Where are you?" I round the bend and wave him over, guzzling from my water bottle while I wait. "What's that - where'd that come from - what's in it?" he pants out. I coyly pronounce: "It was in a hole over there, covered with those big rocks. Think I should open it, or do you think something nasty will pop out and scare the crud out of us?" He pulls his hat lower over his eyes, "Open the darn thing right now, you goof ball!"

I turn the box so the lid opens toward me (just in case something does pop out), pull up the lever handle, and reveal our prize. In a clear zippered pencil pouch we see a notebook, pen, and camera. Underneath is an assortment of odd tokens: a rubber toy, Pez dispenser, a coin, & a couple more pens. Printed explanation instructs me to write down the date and time of find, and any information relevant to finding this geocache. I read comments from about a dozen other people, and relate my story. I have my picture taken holding the box. It also says I can take one of the tokens and leave one of my own in exchange. Come ask me at the library and I'll show you what I got. We put everything neatly back in the box, then rebury it for the next seeker.

I've heard of this, even checked out a couple of web sites, then kind of forgot about it. Who would think I would stumble upon a geocache, when the object is to track coordinates to these treasures with your GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) device? The printed instructions tell me where to go on the internet to record my find and to get new treasure hunt coordinates: http://www.geocaching.com/

Go check it out yourself; you don't have to register unless you want to hide a cache or record a find. Just enter your zip code in the upper right search box, to see the hundreds of caches right around your town. Some are so easy to find that even the youngest family members will be able to participate.

My Summer Vacation

The westering sun casts no dark shadows in the broad basin, only the ray of solid black-top to Fallon, devoid of cars, interrupts the glare. Armed with rock hammers and bulging sample bags, we scramble around Green Mountain dodging rattlers. I empty chunky dirt from one shoe and circle south up a rough trail around the bouldered peak, tapping, chipping, and stooping low to check the ground for signs of gem quality green stone. The Gem Trails book just called it "nice, green, jade-like stone;" could be jadeite or amazonite. If not too porous, it can polish up to make nice jewelry.

Attacking a ton sized boulder with the hammer, a fist-sized piece chunks out. It drops onto my ankle and jumps across the trail, nestling under a small overhang. My eyes follow the runaway, but dilate to encompass the arrangement of nesting rocks, piled beneath the overhang. Piled, or - arranged. I fling some rock shards toward the pile, just to be sure no rattler slept through the earlier avalanche. Hunkering down, I lift the first bread loaf sized rock, then move the second aside, revealing something unnatural. Olive green, with a box-like corner showing. One more rock; it's a military ammo box. Hidden treasure!

Wrestled out of the shallow hole, the box is obviously not a very old treasure, the paint is almost perfect, and not the shiny green like the old ones I've seen. What could it be? Gold dust? Stolen loot? Some secret stash of contraband? Stay tuned for the next installment of, "My Summer Vacation."

Creature Hunts a Blast!

Bigfoot, a Mummy in a Sarcophagus, Dread Pirate Capt'n Blackie, & an Alien (probably a "Gray"), have been found lurking in the library. It's been great fun setting up the Creature Hunts and watching as you follow the clues each week. Next Tuesday, we will track the horrific Werewolf to his moon-drenched lair. Be there, or be an equilateral four-sided polygon!

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