Team Markwell's GPS Adventures
Non omnes vagi perditi sunt
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January 2005

G.O.S.H. by TheLoneRanger N 41° 42.599 W 087° 53.165 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

First of Six with the Outsiders When I called Stunod on the phone, he said that the group had already hit Pumping Iron #1 and that I should just bee-line it to G.O.S.H. I did just that, and stumbled upon a broken lid for a letterbox (owner contacted), and the prairie where the original Schoolhouse Cache was at when I visited in May 2001 and June 2001. Since that time, the word has it that the prairie had a controlled burn that wiped out the original cache, only leaving the spiral binding for the logbook. Cool. As I rounded the path I saw Carleenp and Leprechauns waiting with Stunod within 30 feet of the cache. We all shook hands and I signed the log book. We then took off in a bee-line to the Pumping Iron #1 final spot.

Pumping Iron #1 - School’s Out by TheLoneRanger N 41° 42.523 W 087° 52.620 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Second of Six with the Outsiders I must confess that I kinda cheated on this one. I found the first marker, but didn't have the cache page with me. Leprechauns however let me use the coordinates from his GPS to get to the spot. As we walked, we walked right past the spot that was the original location for the Schoolhouse Cache. I was the only one who hadn't already found this one, so I took some time and we observed the area. After this, we headed to the car for some more caches, and met up with Corps of Discovery and Geomutt.

Ace in the Hole by ChicagoGeoTracker N 41° 42.867 W 087° 53.076 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod, Corps of Discovery, Geomutt

Blue Blaster

Spot the BIG-EYED Butterfly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Third of Six with the Outsiders This was my 300th find. I know that many are amused at my lack of finding numerous caches. I can only say that I thoroughly enjoy caching and do it whenever I can. This was one of those instances where I had a GREAT time with others, and I was especially proud to have CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod, Corps of Discovery and Geomutt present on my 300th find. The find itself was kind funny. The GPS units were all over the place in this forest, and mine settled far away from the other hunters, specifically in a little creek. I looked down and saw a green cylindrical container. So as not to ruin the hunt for others, I just sat by quietly. CarleenP finally realized what I was doing, and came over and saw the same container. Just about then we heard a shout from the rest of the crew that they had the cache. I went down and saw that the "container" was actually a remnant propane tank from a campstove. It had turned upside-down so that the bottom was all that was showing. We lingered at the spot, took some pictures, passed the Karma Stick around and placed some Travel Bugs. Then headed to the next (and last) parking spot for my caching this afternoon.

movie site cache by nitro2002 N 41° 43.073 W 087° 53.540 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod, Corps of Discovery, Geomutt

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Fourth of Six with the Outsiders The area was a great little hike in, altough it was strewn with much garbage from the nearby Route 171. Once in the area, we started looking in different spots. Geomutt went off on his own and CarleenP and I settled in an area. Soon it was evident that she and I were triangulating on the same spot, as from different angles we were heading toward the same obvious hiding spot. Cool. Triangulation DOES work. As were filling out the log book and basking in our glory, my cell phone rings. "Yes, honey, I know. I'm only doing 2 more caches, then I'll be right home. Bye-bye." ((Insert eye rolling from the husband here)). And THIS from the woman who just said a couple days ago on our Chattanooga trip: "We need to get your find count up." ;-)

Off The Beaten Path #1 by TheLoneRanger N 41° 43.237 W 087° 53.266 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod, Corps of Discovery, Geomutt

Caching Karma Stick

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Fifth of Six with the Outsiders I've heard from many others that this was going to be a lot trickier. I could see it would be so if one had parked at the bottom of the ravine and tried to walk up to find the cache. The way we went in was much easier, though. We found the cache quickly and Stunod passed me the Caching Karma Stick to carry to the next cache.

Ghost Stories: Maple Lake by Tammiejo and Mephisto N 41° 43.024 W 087° 53.383 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 1/2/2005 Hunters: Kelly, CarleenP, Leprechauns, Stunod, Corps of Discovery, Geomutt

Caching Karma Stick

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Last of Six with the Outsiders The Karma Stick served me well. In our straight path from Off the Beaten Path #1, we crossed a little stream and I hopped it easily with the help of the stick. After arriving in the area I signed the log book to the Pika Bus and passed the Karma Stick to Leprechauns. Via con Dios! This is a Ghost Story cache, and while the cache page didn't help much in telling the ghost story of the area, PrairieGhosts.com tells it pretty well: a disembodied red light floating along the shore in the woods. Ah well. I've done 3 more than 300. It was a good day.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD43-BYVU Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.5581° W 088.8318° State: Illinois Date Found: 1/15/2005 11:59 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 14°F/-10°C Around Sheridan, IL - far West of Chicago 31.67 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Eagles, Restless Natives and Chocolate Poptarts The family went out to spend the night at Starved Rock State Park with the original hopes that the eagles that nest there in the wintertime would be visible. With the recent flooding, and the 14°F (-10°C) days, we didn't feel much like hiking, and the eagle feeding area was flooded beyond anyone's ability to get there save with a row-boat. Typically, when we go to a wilderness area, either with camping or with a hotel in the woods, we bring some poptarts for snack, and the boys decided this time to bring chocolate fudge poptarts (ick). But so the weekend wasn't a total loss, we took a detour home by way of GD43-BYVU. Interestingly enough GCG4PE was only 1.8 miles from this spot, and GCG4PE marks the place where the Shabbona Native American Indians "massacred" a couple of homestead families back in 1832. The point itself just south of a driveway entrance to a farm, and is about 400-500 feet east of a neat little white church surrounded by nothing but prairie farmland as far as the eye can see. On such a cold day, I'm particularly glad this was a drive-by. Pictures of the massacre monument and the church have been uploaded. 3 points of Markwell and Trailablazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD43-CAHI Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.9804° W 087.7081° State: Illinois Date Found: 1/16/2005 1:39 pm Hunters: Kelly, Sam, Wags Temperature: 12°F/-11°C Albany Park Neighborhood, Chicago, IL 35.56 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Symphony Concert Today The dreams of dashing through urban Chicago once again have come through. After an uneventful trip north on Interstate 55 and then Interstate 90/94, I travelled the 3 miles north on Kedzie Avenue, traversing neighborhoods that were (in order) Hispanic, Korean and finally Polish. The dashpoint was in an area known as Albany Park, and rested squarly on the campus of the Northside College Preparatory High School. The drive was interesting (I dislike urban driving), but it wasn't too bad on a Sunday afternoon. Of note, to validate my actual approach of the point, the Lake Shore Symphony had placards around the school indicating that they were performing at the school this particular Sunday. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

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Last Updated:
February 1 2005 17:00 CST