Team Markwell's GPS Adventures
Non omnes vagi perditi sunt
In chronological order

Back Home

July 2006

The Great Pumpkin by craziecacher N 35° 09.172 W 085° 19.104 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Tried: 7/2/2006 Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry

Going No Where, FAST! PANDA77-2 Smelly Old Sneaker

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

The Pumpkin Patch has always been a favorite hang-out of my kids when we visit our in-laws about 2 miles away. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a cache listed here. GREAT! The coordinates pointed me to a good spot, the encrypted log gave me a hint, but there was no cache to be found. So I logged the three travel bugs into and back out of the cache, having never found it.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-CART Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 35.2456° W 085.8366° State: Illinois Date Tried: 7/3/2006 9:10 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 95°F/35°C Closest Distance: 198.2 meters Monteagle, Tennessee, West of Chattanooga 460.57 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, Beyond the Gates The first of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL When I first scoped out GD61-CART, I was sure this would be a drive-by dashpoint. I never counted on a gated community. The closest I could get to the point was 200 meters east. But I did find some very interesting history on the internet regarding this community. Monteagle, Tennessee sits 2,100 feet high and is considered the gateway to the southern Cumberland Plateau. In the town of Monteagle, there is a big sign that reads “Monteagle Assembly”. This is the entrance to the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly grounds. From its beginning, Monteagle has been the location of various theological and educational institutes. It was founded around 1870 by John Moffat, a Scotsman who retired from a career of leading a nationwide temperance crusade, and named for Lord Monteagle, an English friend. Moffat donated land for the establishment of the Fairmount School for Girls, dedicated to providing educational opportunities for women of the region. John Moffat was also instrumental in creating the Moffat Collegiate and Normal Institute for training teachers, which eventually became the nondenominational Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. The assembly was a part of the Chautauqua movement that established summer retreats for the purpose of training Sunday school teachers. The appeal of the Monteagle mountain environment soon led to the development of a summer resort. Chautauqua was a religious movement that began in 1874 on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in northern New York. Monteagle Sunday School Assembly was modeled after Chautauqua in 1882 and continues to drive its programming based on the original model. Today, The Monteagle Assembly is still a place where Christians spend the summer in a beautiful environment attending programs, movies, and concerts, and engaging in other activities. This facility is the only one of its kind. In 1982 the Assembly was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Quickly becoming a Tennessee vacation focal point, the real estate development in and around the towns of Monteagle and Tracy City has increased dramatically. Monteagle Assembly, however, is a gated community with no further development and maintains the look and feel of 100 years ago. 0 points, but a cool history lesson Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-CAKU Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 36.4995° W 086.8896° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/3/2006 11:19 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 96°F/36°C Closest Distance: 74.7 meters Springfield, Tennessee, North of Nashville 362.59 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: A Rather Interesting Neighborhood Second of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL Lunchtime approached on our path. We had made it through the limited traffic of Nashville on a July 3 Monday (with the July 4 Tuesday being a holiday in the U.S.). We were looking for Tennessee Barbecue, and a place to stretch our legs. What we found was a town of depressed economic stature, and some odd juxtapositions. Most of the houses were one-story ranch homes, or very small two story homes on very close lots. Many were in disrepair, and had a general feeling of economic depression. Very near the dashpoint, one house did have a blazing white Chrysler 300c in the road in front of the house. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. We ate in a town about 10 miles southwest. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-CAAW Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 36.7520° W 087.9098° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/3/2006 2:39 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 94°F/34°C Closest Distance: 42.1 meters Kentucky, halfway between Paducah and Fort Campbell 338.39 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Lower Donaldson School: Western Edge of the Land Between the Lakes Third of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL This was an interesting little stop. Since I first started caching and started looking at performing caches along a route while traveling to Tennessee, I was interested in the Land Between the Lakes, a National Recreation Area. To quote their website: When the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers were impounded to create Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, an inland peninsula was formed. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy designated the peninsula Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area in an effort to demonstrate how an area with limited timber, agricultural and industrial resources could be converted into a recreation asset that would stimulate economic growth in the region. Today, LBL remains the country's only such demonstration site and is the cornerstone of the region's $600 million tourism industry. Apart from the historic aspect, when I was first traveling, there were only two caches in the Land Between the Lakes: GCFA5: All locked up at N 37° 00.815 W 088° 13.496 and GCAD8: Geocache at N 36° 57.193 W 088° 06.208. The first of these two, a full 40 km from GD61-CAAW is now archived, but GCAD8 is still active, only a little more than 28 km northwest. How I wished I had more time to visit these caches. But the dashpoint is along an old country road, complete with dead deer and 3 turkey vultures feasting on the remains. The road is called Donaldson Creek Road, and the dashpoint itself lies just south of where the road takes and "S" curve. I scored it by being within 42 meters. Back at the intersection where Donaldson Creek Road intersected with the larger Route 164, there was a historical marker sign. A photo has been uploaded, but here's the text: Lower Donaldson School --·•·-- School operated during seven-month school terms that began in July. Lower Donaldson also serverd as community center with pie suppers and political meetings. School closed in 1958 and building razed in 1962, after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bought property for Barkley Dam and Lake project. Partially funded by Ky. Bicentennial Commission 3 Neato-Keen Points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-BYYR Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 37.0209° W 088.3588° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/3/2006 3:49 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 96°F/36°C Closest Distance: 9.7 meters Calvert City, East of Paducah, Kentucky 319.45 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Princess Jennifer and the World Cup Connection Fourth of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL I love when a developer gets to name the streets. Locally, we have a subdivision to our town that has Dianne Street, Stephanie Road, etc. - all known to be daughters, sisters and other relatives of the developer. My guess is that this is what happened in this town. Prince John Street isn't too bad, but I think I'd be hard pressed to find Princess Jennifer in the lineage of the Courts of England. So it is to be surmised that the paths in this land are not so much Avenues of Royalty, but Avenues of Fictitious Fancy and Neoptistic Nomenclature. The dashpoint is in the yard of a very nice house on the far back side of the subdivision, with a three car garage (picture uploaded). After seeking this point, and having watched much of the World Cup on the trip at various stops, it was fitting to seek out the nearby cache: GCJY3F - Most people call it football. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Most people call it football by KYHilltopper N 37° 01.177 W 088° 20.130 Difficulty: Terrain: Date Found: 7/3/2006 Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry

Going No Where, FAST!

PANDA77-2

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is cache.

This was nice, although it really isn't a 1 star terrain, but it is 1.5 stars (actually more like 1.25 stars). After having found GD61-BYYR nearby, this was a nice walk in the park through some soccer fields that looked like they were preparing for a Independence Day celebration. The wife and kids stayed in the car, but it was a nice quick walk.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-BYSI Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 37.8994° W 088.9984° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/4/2006 9:51 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 89°F/32°C Closest Distance: 40.8 meters Cambon, Illinois, Northeast of Carbondale 261.88 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Still No Llamas, But LOTS of Paraphernalia Fourth of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL After resting in Marion, Illinois, we resumed our homeward trek, with a quick stop at GD61-BYSI. Cambon, Illinois is one of those towns on the map that may or may not be an actual town so much as a gathering of houses. As we closed the last portion, it was clear that the land would be off to the west of the road in the yard of an individual that seemingly collects old vehicles in various states of repair, as well as several flatbed trailers in different sizes and one piece of construction equipment. The nearest point we reached was just south of the train tracks that cut a Northwest/Southeast path through the land. I did find it interesting that Terraserver placed some icon at the crossing of the tracks and the road - on that is remeniscent of a park with an adult and child holding hands. But for the life of me, I can't figure out what this is supposed to represent. Throughout our seven dashpoints this trip, and the couple of points the previous trip, we've kept a vigilant watch for any llamas. I guess they're all hibernating, or honing their beaks (they eat honey, right?). OK - For those that don't know that reference, it's an old Monty Python sketch, called Llamas, and can be found on Episode 9: The ant, an introduction. Here's the full text of that sketch, which is performed in Spanish with guitarist and a dancer as backup to John Cleese. The English is provided in subtitles: The Llama is a quadruped which lives in big rivers like the Amazon. It has two ears, a heart, a forehead, and a beak for eating honey, but it is provided with fins for swimming. Llamas are larger than frogs. Llamas are dangerous, so if you see one where people are swimming, you shout, 'Look out, there are Llamas!'" 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-BYUQ Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 38.3732° W 088.7698° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/4/2006 12:04 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 87°F/31°C Closest Distance: 48.4 meters Northeast of Mount Vernon, Illinois, East-southeast of St. Louis 227.74 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: The Aptly-Named Angling Road Fifth of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL Heading northward again, we left the Interstate at Mount Vernon, Illinois, and stopped at the Cracker Barrel for lunch, and then off to the dashpoint. We took one of the state roads out east of town, and then another state road north. But the final turn in this grid of country roads was one that cut the territory at a 45° angle to the rest, and was aptly named "Angling Road". The final point was in the back yard of one Don Ratzkapmacher (I think that was it). The trek back to the interstate was interesting in that I found roads that Streets and Trips indicated were straight paved roads, but that actually deteriorated into nothing more than muddy ruts. Finally back on the interstate, we booked it for home, but had one more mentionable stop at GD61-BYYP. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-BYYP Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 40.4870° W 088.3730° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/4/2006 3:54 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 87°F/31°C Closest Distance: 648.4 meters Gibson City, Illinois, North of Urbana (Home of Univerisity of Illinois) 80.23 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Golfing in Gibson City Sixth and last of a trek from Chattanooga, TN, to my home in Plainfield, IL Gibson City is a nexus for the travelers in central Illinois. Three state roads (9, 47 and 54) all converge and the lines of route 47, a pretty straight north-south road, are misaligned here, making the northbound traveler jog to the west about a half-mile. But as a consolation, there's a very nice Dairy Queen here. So after getting the dipped cones for my kids, we traveled north-bound on Route 47. I only mention this dashpoint as an afterthought, as we didn't really try hard. Getting within 650 meters on Route 47 is about as close as you can get without playing the entire course of golf on which this point lies. So, not really a hard effort as we waved by the point at the posted speed limit, but a notable point none-the-less. 0 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD61-CADO Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.9642° W 087.7395° State: Illinois Date Found: 7/29/2006 3:56 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam Temperature: 95°F/35°C Closest Distance: 24.1 meters Wilson Road near I90 and I94 north of Chicago 33.60 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: 3KM from Kim I'm the youngest of 5 children, and all but one of my siblings live within the township of Plainfield, Illinois, where we were raised. The one that doesn't is my sister Kim. She has a wonderful old house in Chicago which is a scant 3 kilometers from this dashpoint near the intersection Wilson and Kenneth in Chicago, which is also about 600 meters from the split of two major interstates I-90 and I-94 that wrap their traffic through the congested arteries of the metropolitan area of Chicago. I-90 is the southern of the two interstates, traveling from Boston over 1,000 km east to Cleveland, OH, where it joins with Interstate 80 to traverse Indiana. I-94 starts in Port Huron, MI, and heads west across the state until it turns southward at Benton Heights - joining I-96 from the north. Somewhere near Portage, Indiana, all of these northern interstates join up to skirt the southern end of Lake Michigan, like a Krispy Kreme sampler's capillaries trying to supply nutrients to the heart. But soon after the interstates collect and spew all of the cars onto a 25 kilometer stretch of road, they split off to their respective routes, release from the convergence of these major roads. I-90 and I-94 travel north together for an additional 50 kilometers until they are sundered near Elmwood Park on the north side of Chicago, only 600 meters from this point. My fellow dasher McMeanderer's report of an external brown garage on 4559 Wilson is right on the money. The only thing that I can add is that I took some very nice pictures of St. Edward's Catholic Church about 200 meters SE of the point at 4350 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago, IL. I'll upload these later this week. 2 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Back to June 2006
On to August 2006

Last Updated:
July 31 2006 19:30 CDT