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

Rooks Creek Park Cache by Boo 2 N 40° 52.399 W 088° 43.249 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 6/1/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Nice area, and the cache hiding style I've seen before. Too bad, however, that this is what they allowed in this wonderful park. I'm sure that there were ample spaces to hide a full sized cache nearby. I actually parked within 7 feet of the cache.

Chapel by the Rook Cache by Boo 2 N 40° 52.414 W 088° 43.366 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 6/1/2005 Hunters: Kelly

You Can Toucan, Too

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

This is more my style. Walking along a creek and back into the back woods behind a historic building. Very nice. The ammo box was partially buried, but still it was easy to spot where it was hidden from the pseudo-trail. Lucky me! Got a Travel Bug! Unfortunately, I forgot my other travel bugs in the car. On the way back out something metal and shiny caught my eye. ACK! It was my cell phone. It had evidently fallen off my hip while I did a BIG step over a fallen limb. Picked it up and vowed not to take my cell with me on other hikes for the day!

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD48-BYUH Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 40.7663° W 088.7784° State: Illinois Date Found: 6/1/2005 12:19 pm Hunters: Kelly Temperature: 73°F/23°C Chenoa, Illinois - north of Bloomington 66.97 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: 100 Yard Dash Into Ankle High Corn So my boss's boss shows up and says, “We need a person to go down to Springfield and videotape a symposium. Would you be available on June 1 and 2?” No problem, although it takes me a little longer than the average driver to get where I'm going on long trips. So I set off down Interstate 55 from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, following the old Route 66 route, but sticking to the interstate that parallels its old path. I still remember when the Route 47/Route 17/Route 66 interchange was the LAST stoplight on the way down before the Interstate System came into full implementation. But today's journey was into farm country. Once again, I was greeted by warm sunshine and sapphire blue skies dotted with picturesque puffy clouds - the kind that bring to mind imaginary shapes as you're lying on your back in a grassy field with your loved ones. A cumulonimbic rorschach test. The corn in the field just north of US 24 houses freshly sprouted corn stalks - about ankle high at this point. I pulled the car over to the side and did a 100 yard dash, arriving at about 96 meters while in the field. I paused and made sure that there was ample time for my GPS to record my tracks, and then dashed back to the car. While at the car, I took the opportunity to try once again to capture the moment in a series of 360° photos, which I've uploaded as a composite. These never turn out quite as good as I would want them to, but it definitely captures the desolation and dearth of population in America's corn belt. 3 points to Markwell and Trailblazers

Old Rt. 66 Kid’s Cache by GBH Geo & Gem Cachers N 40° 33.508 W 088° 54.495 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 6/1/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Prissy Kitty

Jeep 4x4 #3451

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Had a little difficulty with this one. I could see the cache, but had a stupid mental block about how to GET the cache. Once I slapped my forehead repeatedly, I got the cache and tried placing some travel bugs in the cache. Only could fit the Jeep.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD48-BYQI Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 40.5204° W 089.0568° State: Illinois Date Tried: 6/1/2005 1:30 pm Hunters: Kelly Temperature: 73°F/23°C Mitsubishi Motorway, Normal 88.74 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Need a New Car? When I was in college at Illinois State University (Normal, Illinois) there was a major groundbreaking ceremony. It seems that then Governor James Thompson had negotiated an agreement that would bring Mitsubishi Motors' North American production facility to Normal, Illinois, just west of town. I remember distinctly playing in the marching band from the university while they shoveled the first spade of dirt (we had to learn the Japanese National Anthem). This dashpoint lies in an open car lot on the grounds of the Mitsubishi plant, where automobiles that are finished and waiting transport to their destinations are stored. Needless to say, the security is high as are the fences that separate the general public from these cars. I was only able to reach about 250 meters from this point, and I doubt that anyone not purchasing a vehicle or working in the plant itself will be able to get closer without a visit from the local authorities. 0 points to Markwell and Trailblazers

park by Mrs.Catlin N 40° 18.894 W 089° 00.340 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Tried: 6/1/2005 Hunters: Kelly

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Interesting park - probably a nice hide, but when I got to the parking area and saw the police car sitting there watching the trail I was nervous. I became more nervous when I realized that where I was going to be searching was in plain view of the police. I decided to give up for the day.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD48-BYSY Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 40.1426° W 088.9191° State: Illinois Date Found: 6/1/2005 2:27 pm Hunters: Kelly Temperature: 74°F/23°C Clinton, Illinois 109.76 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: 100 Yard Dash Into Beans Farmland in Illinois is all pretty much the same. After departing Bloomington/Normal, I traveled straight down Illinois Route 51 toward Clinton, Illinois, and the spot just east of down in a bean field that held the point. I pulled along side of the road (and knew I was close from the lonely tree shown in the terra server images), put on the flashers and dashed the 100 yards into the bean field that allowed me to score. Of course the bean plants are much smaller than the corn plants I visited, but it is still nice to see such greenery popping up again. The agricultural reports on the radio indicated that since March, we're about 4 inches behind adequate rain, but I think the weather reports from this coming weekend might definitely help. Nothing too distinct here except the fact that they were freshly blacktopping the driveway of the business to the east at the intersection. 3 points to Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD48-BYOQ Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 39.8655° W 089.1966° State: Illinois Date Found: 6/1/2005 3:17 pm Hunters: Kelly Temperature: 74°F/23°C Farmland near Decatur 132.85 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: A Nice Walk Along an Irrigation Ditch I knew my time was short. I had promised to be in Springfield by about 4:00 p.m. and it was taking me much longer than I expected to traverse the back country roads from point A to point B. I had also tried to find a new cache along the route, but felt very uncomfortable when the police were sitting in their car in the park eyeing anyone walking down the trails suspiciously. So it was 3:15 before I came to this area - and I would be very pressed for time. I also knew that there was NO way to get to this point without securing permission. I pulled up to the driveway of the house to the south, and saw that there was no one home. No luck there. The house to the north was more promising, but I also struck out there - no one home. The last resort was to look at what was “private property.” It seems that this dashpoint can be scored by walking just outside the property fences on the edge of a 6 foot deep culvert drainage ditch between two freshly mown fields. I was able to park the car along the cement bridge, and hop out and walk the 250 meters to the scoring range while carefully keeping my balance, occasionally hugging the fence. Back to the car, and back to Springfield by 3:55 p.m. What a great way to break up a long drive for business! 3 points to Markwell and Trailblazers

Cloud Gate aka The Bean by Greenback N 41° 52.956 W 087° 37.380 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Revisited: 6/5/2005 Date Originally Found: 8/13/2004 Hunters: Pack13 Julio, Sherry, Andrew, Nick, Nate, Tina, Heidi, Austin, Drew, Thomas, Sam, Mary, Dakota and Kelly

Prissy Kitty

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Pack 13 went out on an outing today planned by Webelos Lightning Patrol (4). We hopped the train at the Route 59 station on the Burlington/Northern Line, and then took the 151 bus from Union Station to Millenium Park. Required picture at the partially exposed Bean, followed by a dowsing in the flowing pool on this 90°F day. Great trip!

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD48-CAGA Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.8424° W 087.6558° State: Illinois Date Found: 6/6/2005 11:45 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam Temperature: 82°F/28°C Cermak and Archer, Chicago, Illinois 32.63 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Mayor Daley's Graffiti Blasters "So what are we going to do on the last day of school, Dad?" "How about a Geodash?" "OK, but it's hot, and I don't want to hike for a long time." So, after my son went to school on his last day before summer vacation (spending a whopping 90 minutes at school today), we went up Interstate 55, traveling the path of the old Route 66 to its source in Chicago. We were also following the sanitary waterway and skirting Argonne National Laboratories and several great forest preserves. We hit a little congested traffic around Harlem Avenue, and finally got off just before the I-90/I-94 exits in downtown Chicago. Off the interstate, the roads were very clear on this bright sunny day. We cruised Archer Avenue until we were within the scoring range - same as McMeanderer. The Laborers for Kerry 2004 sign was still in the window. The roar of the interstate to the north was quite loud, but it was mitigated by the beautifully landscaped berm opposite the dashpoint. It seems that the area was ripe for many beautification projects, as there was a large sanitation truck emblazened with Mayor Daley's Graffitti Blaster power washing one of the buildings. To get back to the interstate, we followed Archer Avenue north until it intersected with Cermak, and took Cermak through Chinatown, where all of the street signs and neighborhood advertisements are in both English and Chinese language. There were too many great pictures to load, so I did 3: one showing the landscaped berm opposite the dashpoint, one showing the Cermak and Archer intersection and the Sears Tower clearly visible in the distance, and one set that's a composite of the pictures, which also includes the Graffiti Blaster and the Laborers for Kerry sign. 2 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Who’s There by GeoRon N 41° 42.675 W 088° 08.449 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Revisited: 6/12/2005 Date Originally Found: 4/2/2005 Hunters: Pack13 (11 Scouts and Families)

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Warmed up our maps, compasses and GPS units on this short little hike from the parking area. Learned what poison ivy looks like. Signed the log.

Thumb Thing Funny! by seeker22 N 41° 42.459 W 088° 08.678 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Revisited: 6/12/2005 Date Originally Found: 4/2/2005 Pack13 (11 Scouts and Families)

Prissy Kitty

You Can Toucan, Too

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Mr. Markwell let us all take turns with the GPS. It was Johnny and Liam that held the devices and told us when we needed to go off trail. Mattie was the one that spotted the hiding spot. We all traded stuff in and out, and placed the two large Travel Bugs in the container.

THUMB by seeker22 N 41° 42.567 W 088° 08.636 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Revisited: 6/12/2005 Date Originally Found: 4/2/2005 Hunters: Pack13 (11 Scouts and Families)

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

Found this one to make a short circle on the west side of the park. Great hike and great container. Mr. Markwell showed us all the results of stinging nettles - there are a few near the cache site, so long pants are a good idea.