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

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD54-CAAN Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.6372° W 088.2286° State: Illinois Date Found: 12/1/2005 12:00 am Hunters: Kelly Temperature: 27°F/-3°C My Hometown, My Subdivision, Plainfield, Illinois, 35 mi SW of Chicago .36 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: 180°, 0.36 miles, 1,901 feet, 579.4 meters My first dashpoint report read as follows: Geodashing Dashpoint Log 2005-12-01 06:11:55 UTC GD54-CAAN Player: Markwell Team: Trailblazers > Date, Points, TeamPoints, Dashpoint, Country, State, Lat, Lon 2005-12-01, 3, 3, GD54-CAAN, USA, Illinois, 41.6372, -88.2286 Hit - 12:00:12 - wanted to be first. Now filling out long report... http://geodashing.gpsgames.org/cgi-bin/dp.pl?dp=GD54-CAAN This report replaces that one. That's right - this dashpoint is just under 580 meters from my front driveway. It is closer than any other dashpoint I have ever had, and closer even than any GeoGolf Point has landed in regards to proximity of my home. It lies in the subdivision that I call home - Walker's Grove, a far northwestern subdivision of the town of Plainfield, Illinois. The house that holds the dashpoint itself is 25028 Round Barn Road and the dashpoint is due south of my house at 24961. This is my first midnight dashpoint. I've always wanted to be able to be at a location when the clock turned midnight and a non-descript point on the landscape instantly became something special for the fleeting time period of 28-31 days. Plainfield, Illinois, lies claim to many things of history. My church (www.plainfieldumc.com) is one of the oldest United Methodist churches in Northern Illinois, dating back to 1828 and a log cabin with the Circuit Riders Jesse Walker and Rev. Beggs. Walker settled into the area and it was known as Walker's Grove. In 1834, when the town was incorporated, it was renamed Plainfield. Supposedly, after a clammoring for a local druggist to server something new, Drug Store owner Mr. Sonntag served up a dish with ice cream and syrup. It was eventually named "Sunday" (the translation of Sonntag). There are other stories of another local druggists naming them Sundays because their town forbade the sale of sodas on Sunday, but both stories culminate the same way: After uproar of naming a confectionary dish after the holiest of days, the druggists renamed the ice cream and syrup dish to "Sundae". Most notably, 15 years ago, on August 28, 1990, Plainfield was hit by a devastating F5 tornado, killing 26 people and wiping a swath through the town almost a mile wide. It was the day before school was to start, and the tornado completely leveled the high school. You can read some of the stories on my memorial virtual cache Winds of Fury, Illinois F5 (GC3D8B). When I was growing up, the land to the northwest of the intersection of US Route 30 and 135th street was a farmer's land that we all laughed at. Invariably, after any rain storm, the corner of the farm field would be completely flooded with rainwater. So, it was with some trepidation that my wife said that she'd like to look in a new subdivision, aptly named "Walkers Grove" with a look back to the town's original history. The subdivision was being built right on top of that swampy farm land. As we were starting the buying process in June of 1996, a torential rainstorm hit Plainfield, flooding the area with 16 inches (41 cm) of rain in 24 hours. After finding our way across the normally low DuPage River (which was now at record flood stages) we drove through Walkers Grove, peering down into the concrete holes that would eventually be the basements of the new houses being developed. Some had water, but nothing that wouldn't drain out with active sump-pumps. The engineers had done their jobs. So we built and moved in July 17, 1997. So, eight years, four months, and fifteen days later, a llama sneaks into the neighborhood and deposits a ready-made-drive-by-dashpoint. My closest approach was in the cul-de-sac, as it was midnight and I didn't want to spook anyone, but I'm actually going to try a different feat with this dashpoint. Since it is on one of the two ways in and out of the subdivision, I will actually endeavor to hit this dashpoint within scoring range on each of the 31 days in December. Alas, my other dream is dashed (pardon the pun). It seems that TEAM LANDCRUISER beat me to the first reported point for game 54, but it was filed only a scant 4 minutes and 3 seconds prior to my initial report, and my local time is -6 hours UTC, meaning that my initial report was filed just under 12 minutes past midnight local time, while he had all day to go out and find it and report back. Ah well. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers and thanks to the Llamas

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD54-CAIG Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.5794° W 087.5982° State: Illinois Date Found: 12/24/2005 2:18 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam Temperature: 42°F/6°C DB 80-94 TOLL 32.91 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Apologies to Clement Clark Moore T'was the day before Christmas, and all through the house Not a present was wrapped, -- not my keyboard or mouse; The stockings were hung by the lit fireplace, And the decorations were plenty, our house decked in lace. The children were absorbed in some absurd Gamecube Game Involving a hedgehog - Sonic by name My Queen looked around in dismay at the house And said that if I were a really good spouse - I should take our young offspring, one six and one ten Out of the house - maybe dashing - again. I'd neglected my games involving GPS My wife knew I longed to get out, I confess. So I bundled the children all snug in the car, And kissed my wife on the cheek: "Au revoir!" We stopped by Family Video to rent DVDs But the woman in front was kind of a sleaze She wanted to return a purchase from online And would not take "NO", no matter the line So we waited 15 minutes, my sprout and my scout And watch "A Christmas Story" (You'll shoot your eye out). With the Muppets in hand, and the car fully gassed We forded ahead to the dashpoint at last. "On Porkchop!" (or so the boys have dubbed my old car - It's a Cutlass you see, and their humor's bizarre) We knew that CAIG from Game 54 Was 30 miles east on the east-west corridor Known in these parts as I-80/94 And the traffic is normally thick - quite a chore But the holiday drivers were not out in force They were all snug at home as a matter of course I knew from the target I saw on my maps That this point was a cake walk, even boring perhaps From the western approach, I would be slightly more Than the minimum 100 meters, while passing under the store Under the store? What's that supposed to mean? The interstate has an oasis it seems For the weary travelers to rest and to stop And to spend their remaining toll money in shops But my target was north, of the eastern bound lanes So I had to take on the clover at great pains. I needed to go west to score this production But what I hadn't prepared for was the mass deconstruction. The interchange allowing me to go in reverse Was completely torn up, and what's even worse Traffic on the way to Indiana was stopped So an alternative plan I had to adopt. Going south on another - Route 394 We traveled a mile or so, not much more On another clover-leaf we had to reverse But saw something ahead that made it much worse The construction we avoided had now blocked our path Back to the west, so now grew my wrath A mile to the NORTH of the interstate now, Then south again, as I furrowed my brow Finally a glimmer - a ramp to the west Onto the interstate, I finally progressed. We approached the Lincoln Oasis and found to my swears That oasis was all closed: it was down for repairs! But the off-ramp allowed us to get to our prize The gas station was open - what a surprise. So we pulled over after reaching about thirteen meters And took about three pics to prove we weren't cheaters After grabbing some chocolate and replenishing sodas We fired up the car and were back on the road-a. The pictures are uploaded to the internet site And may cause a chuckle, or perhaps a delight My favorite of all is that I took this afternoon Was the one emblazoned with the words: "COMING SOON!" And so for bringing us to this long/latitude To Scout we must give up our great gratitude And since no one has been here before, it would seem Three points for Markwell and Trailblazers (our team). As I reflect on this trip, and the good friends I've made One thought comes to mind as stories we trade Of these seemingly random points on our sphere: Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

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Last Updated:
January 6 2006 12:30 CST