Team Markwell's GPS Adventures
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February 2005

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD44-BYYV Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.5340° W 088.4833° State: Illinois Date Found: 2/1/2005 3:57 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Wags Temperature: 34°F/1°C Lisbon, IL - far SW of Chicago 15.13 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: And the Dog Did Not Throw Up In a thread on the Geocaching forum about whether or not using dogs to find caches was “cheating,” I mentioned that Wags gets carsick. I was inundated with e-mails, PMs and replies that all the dog needed was a little ginger before the car ride and it would quiet her stomach. An afternoon off on the first day of the month gave me the opportunity to try it out. I picked up my oldest son from school and we were off to the closest dashpoint at roughly 15 miles from home. The drive out was uneventful as Walker Road (so named for Jesse Walker that founded my home town) turned from gravel to paved to lined-paved and we narrowed in on the point. Turning south onto Lisbon Road we went through the tiny villages of Helmar and Lisbon. These villages were only marked by the fact that there were more than just the normal one house and also the fact that two PAVED roads intersect. The point itself lies just east of Lisbon Road to the north of a depression in the farmland. The field is harvested corn stubble as far as the eye can see. The day was grey and cloudy, but at least it was an enjoyable ride. And the dog did not throw up. 3 point for Markwell and Trailblazers

Bobbing For Golf Balls by OLD RANGER N 41° 44.056 W 088° 17.723 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 2/5/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Found this one on the way home from hitting a few Geogolf points. Since it was only 300 feet from the car, I figured that even though I wasn't feeling my best, I didn't want to waste a 46°F day without finding at least one cache.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD44-CAHY Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.6483° W 087.6644° State: Illinois Date Tried: 2/5/2005 1:46 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Wags Temperature: 57°F/14°C Blue Island, Illinois, South of Chicago 29.18 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Bridge Out - Foiled (and Failed) Attempt This was so close I could taste it. Had I a little more tenacity, and some bravery, I might have scored this one. Probably key to describing this dashpoint would be a map of the area. Using Terra Server I've got an image here. The first approach was from the south. I turned off the road at the light blue dot on that map and followed to my closest approach (the yellow dot south of the red dot, which is the target). South of the train tracks and the Cal Sag Canal is a Cook County Forest Preserve. I approached on the path and found that the area between me and the point was train tracks (trespassing to go on tracks) or the Illinois Department of Transportation storage site for road salt (high fence). We were at 124 meters with no closer approach available. So the family went back to try this from the north. We came at it from Broadway Street and turned south on Aulwurm Drive into Forest Preserve property. However, at the yellow dot to the northwest of the point, I was foiled by a Bridge Out on the road into the Forest Preserve. We gave up for the day. I probably could have walked the distance, but I wasn't comfortable leaving my car at that location, and couldn't see an easier way in. Now in looking at the map, I think I might have been able to score had I gone back to my original road and approached it from the purple dot to the northeast of the point. That might have given me access to the Forest Preserve road, but such was not to be my luck. I didn't have my digital camera with me, but I did have a disposable one. When the pictures are developed, I'll post them. Zero points for Markwell and Trailblazers

2004 Picnic Memorial Cache by Sox Fan, Panther... Den, Nervous Nick and Dano N 41° 36.424 W 087° 43.698 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 2/5/2005 Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Wags

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

This is what caching is all about. 57°F & freshly melted snow. I piled Wags and the boys into the car with the intention of finding this cache and dropping off 3 languishing Travel Bugs and 4 new ones. Mission accomplished. We trounced through mud, found the path of least resistance, and saw a heard of at least 13-14 deer hovering over the cache site. The 6 point buck didn't want to leave, but Wags woofed at him until he moved. Back on the trail later, we were still smiling about this excursion. This is a GREAT cache.

2004 Picnic Micro #5: Reach For The Sky by TheLoneRanger N 41° 36.611 W 087° 43.413 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 2/5/2005 Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Wags

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

An antithesis of the other find I had today. The other find was a 0.25 mile hike into the forest, 400 feet of it was off trail. This was less than 100 feet from the car. The other cache was a well hidden ammo can, suitable for dropping seven travel bugs. This was a film canister with two very short writing utensils. The other cache had us scaring up a herd of 13-14 white-tailed deer, including a 6-point buck. This had us annoying a young couple smooching in a nearby car. Just as advertised on the cache page: This is an easy micro.

Spyderuser’s 1000th by Special Ed & FallenFaery N 41° 44.863 W 088° 14.894 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 2/10/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Had just a little daylight after getting off work early for a medical appointment. Nice short walk and a really good hide. It seems that many think only micro caches are the future of Geocaching. Evidently not, as this is an area I would have thought could only house a micro. Instead, it's a well-placed and well-thought-out ammo can. It's also a very nice commemoration of Spyderuser's 1000th find. Maybe some day they'll do one for me (12 years from now?)

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD44-CAFU Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.9205° W 087.7819° State: Illinois Date Found: 2/21/2005 8:54 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew Temperature: 35°F/2°C Elmwood Park, Chicago, IL 29.99 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Christmas on Feb 20 A day off and a drive to Williams Bay, Wisconsin afforded me an opportunity to snag (or try to snag) 3 dashpoints for February. GD44-CAFU was the first on the list. In the heart of residential Chicago, this area sports the childhood home of Ernest Hemmingway and several Frank Lloyd Wright homes. But the area of the dashpoint is none of these. This little one-way street had small homes, sometimes one story, sometimes two, all with small yards. The home that had the dashpoint was still bedecked with all of the trimmings and trappings of an elaborate Christmas display. Oddly welcome site on this blustery and rainy day. My son and I also got a chance to enjoy watching a very inexperienced truck driver try his best to get a BIG rig into a very small hole. I swear that even the best truck driver could not accomplish this feat, and this poor gentleman was trying his absolute best - which was not good. There's a picture of the truck trying to get into the docking port uploaded as well as the shot of the Christmas-tide house.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD44-CACI Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 42.3362° W 087.9479° State: Illinois Date Tried: 2/21/2005 9:44 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew Temperature: 36°F/2°C North of Independence Grove, NW of Chicago, IL 50.03 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Preservering the Area through Better Construction Back in Game 4 in October of 2001, I landed my first ground zero dashpoint in Independence Grove Forest Preserve. It was my only score for the month. I was flabbergasted by the fact that they called a completely manicured area (like a putting green) a forest preserve. All of the trees were cut down in favor of the closely mown grass. This dashpoint was in the northern-most part of that forest preserve. Indeed the forest preserve in this section was much more forested, but the area to the west of the river that held this dashpoint is the home for some major construction. Evidently, they're terra-forming this area to match the southern portion of the forest preserve with it's manicured grass and fake Native American canoe. The area of the dashpoint was blocked off for construction equipment only, so my closest approach was only 164 meters. 0 point for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD44-BYYG Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 42.5416° W 088.6199° State: Wisconsin Date Found: 2/21/2005 1:47 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew Temperature: 34°F/1°C Near Williams Bay, WI 65.23 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Kikkoman Soy Sauce When I knew I was coming up to Williams Bay, Wisconsin, on President's Day (holiday honoring both Lincoln and Washington in the U.S.), I scoured the area and happened across this dashpoint that would only be about 7 miles from where I had to make my destination. After surveying the area and completing my obligatory tasks, I rounded Lake Geneva and approached the point from the east. There is a 3 road intersection (1 N/S, 1 E/W and 1 major road NW-SE) that makes this intersection known specifically on the road signs as “Six Corners.” Just to the south, I could see the factory or distribution plant that was evident from the aerial photos I had seen in my reconnaissance. I was pleasantly surprised with the sign outside the plant: Kikkoman - home of the U.S. production of their famous Soy Sauce. The dashpoint was scorable from the main road outside, but I went into the receiving area and circled the main front door, which my GPS says got me within 11.94 meters. However, from the car, at one point as I passed under the overhang, I saw the GPS state 0.00m distance. Cool. Amazing the things you learn. I never knew Kikkoman was made in Wisconsin, the land of cheese. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Emergency 9-1-1 by Charles Street Gang N 41° 45.621 W 088° 08.684 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 2/24/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Nice little micro hide in a flat open park. The proximity to the river might be a problem with flooding, but it was still a good divserion after having some tests done at the hospital.

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Last Updated:
March 3 2005 7:00 CST