Team Markwell's GPS Adventures
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First Quarter 2009

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD91-CAIC Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.3207° W 087.2874° State: Indiana Date Found: 1/1/2009 5:24 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 29°F/-2°C Closest Distance: 59.3 meters Southeast Grove IN 53.50 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Trip for Corgi, Part 1: Big Pile of Sticks We had decided to adopt a Cardigan Welsh Corgi from the rescue club, and there was one available on the outskirts of Ohio, so we made a trip of it - and I plotted out the dashpoints and the Geovexilla points along the way so as to make the most of this midwestern sojourn. The first stop was at GD91-CAIC. The dashpoint is south of Crown Point, Indiana - due south of Hammond along Interstate 65. The point was easliy accessible by road and we wound our way through the local roads until we reached the closest point, about 60 meters away. The local area was evidently being leveled since rows of Osage Orange trees (or Hedge Apples) were uprooted and the large piles of sticks were left in heaps in the farm field. Picture has been uploaded. This was the first of four points we hit on the trip. The second was GD91-CIKI. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD91-CIKI Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 40.2353° W 083.2025° State: Ohio Date Found: 1/2/2009 10:03 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 18°F/-8°C Closest Distance: 78.8 meters Far Northwestern area near Columbus, Ohio 279.51 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Trip for Corgi, Part 2: First Random Point with Rocky We had decided to adopt a Cardigan Welsh Corgi from the rescue club, and there was one available on the outskirts of Ohio, so we made a trip of it - and I plotted out the dashpoints and the Geovexilla points along the way so as to make the most of this midwestern sojourn. The second stop was at GD91-CIKI. After visiting the home on the Friday morning of Jan 2, we met our potential new dog Rocky. He immediately warmed up to us and we decided to take him home. The house was on the far northwestern suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, and GD91-CIKI was only about 8 miles as the crown flies. The point was in a farm field that on the Google Maps and the Terra Server images showed open farm field, but there was a new house being built not far from the point at all. However, we reached 79 meters from the main road so called it scored and went on our merry way. This was the second of four points we hit on the trip. The third was the Geovexilla point VX23-IXIF. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Geovexilla Icon to see the Map VX23-IXIF Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 39.8750° W 083.8899° State: Ohio Date Found: 1/2/2009 11:40 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 22°F/-6°C Closest Distance: 95.3 meters Flag: Aruba Northeast of Dayton, OH 257.78 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is Geovexilla point.

Geovexilla Name: Trip for Corgi, Part 3: Rock Point Road We had decided to adopt a Cardigan Welsh Corgi from the rescue club, and there was one available on the outskirts of Ohio, so we made a trip of it - and I plotted out the dashpoints and the Geovexilla points along the way so as to make the most of this midwestern sojourn. The third stop was close to I-70 near Springfield, Ohio. Rocky - the name of the Corgi we adopted loved the fact that the name of the road was Rocky Point to Tecumseh. We stopped to let Rocky out of the car at the corner of Rebert Pike and Tecumseh Road just south of the point. The point lies in the fields of a white farm house with 5 cars in the driveway. We were able to pull in to the driveway and score the point. This was the third of four points we hit on the trip. The fourth was the point VX22-VYKU.

Click on Geovexilla Icon to see the Map VX22-VYKU Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 39.8546° W 086.0051° State: Indiana Date Found: 1/2/2009 2:17 pm Hunters: Kelly, Drew, Sam, Sherry Temperature: 21°F/-6°C Closest Distance: 3.5 meters Flag: Bermuda Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana 169.71 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is Geovexilla point.

Geovexilla Name: Trip for Corgi, Part 4: BP Liquid Stop We had decided to adopt a Cardigan Welsh Corgi from the rescue club, and there was one available on the outskirts of Ohio, so we made a trip of it - and I plotted out the dashpoints and the Geovexilla points along the way so as to make the most of this midwestern sojourn. The fourth and final stop was at at BP Gas Station in downtown Indianapolis. After a 2.5 hour drive from the Dayton area, we hit Indianapolis and exited the interstate on the east side of town - glad it was a Friday afternoon. However, once we crossed the railroad tracks to the northwest corner of the city, the area turned considerably more “suburbanish” and the point quickly came down to scoring range. On the satellite images, the point looks like a farm field, but it has recently been developed (as Google Maps show) into a BP gas station. The point is in the back in the drive-up lane to the car wash. We scored the point and headed home.

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD92-BYUZ Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.2237° W 088.8129° State: Illinois Date Found: 2/28/2009 11:45 am Hunters: Kelly, Drew Temperature: 20°F/-7°C Closest Distance: 98.2 meters South of Ottawa, IL - Far SW of Chicago 41.85 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Last Ditch Effort Having been in SQL classes all week, and having a month of insane activities with scouting, I was finding it increasingly hard to find a day to hit the road and find a dashpoint. This morning, my 13yo son woke complaining of a very painful eye, so when a trip to the eye doctor confirmed a heavily scratched cornea, it effectively cancelled the plans for participating in a solo music contest. Since the afternoon was free and he was in less pain, we took a detour and headed out to hit one of the few scorable dashpoints in the area: GD92-BYUZ. Access to the dashpoint was easiest through heading due west to Ottawa, Illinois (where the grave of the founder of the Boy Scouts of America lies) and heading due south. After traveling through the tiny hamlet of Grand Ridge, we turned left onto a non-descript (but paved) road, one of the many mile-wide-grid-line roads of central Illinois. After a mile and some change, we approached the closest approach, which was almost exactly 100 meters to the south (got within 99 according to the GPS). The field (as with all fields around here) was fallow with stubble from the fall harvest. Since the day was crisp and the ailing boy was tired, we chose to head home. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers

Click on Dash Icon to see the Map GD93-CAAP Terra Server Picture Coordinates: N 41.6495° W 088.3542° State: Illinois Date Found: 3/21/2009 5:34 am Hunters: Kelly, Sam, Grainger Temperature: 62°F/17°C Closest Distance: 3.3 meters Stephens Road, South of Oswego (SW Chicago) 6.52 miles from home

Green Dot is home. Blue Dot is dashpoint.

Dashpoint Name: Stephens Road is Closed, But Grainger Went Our experience with Rocky the corgi that we obtained in January of 2009 wasn't the best. It turns out the that the rescue contact didn't have him completely checked out - so the night we got home, we were terribly surprised when he bit me, and even more surprised when he bit my wife the next morning. The dog didn't stay with us for more than the one night. Eventually we found out that he had multiple medical problems - so many and so much pain that the rescue ended up not being able to safely place him in any home. However, about two weeks into January, we got Grainger (pictures available here). Wags is still with us - now we have two. Grainger finally had a chance to accompany me on his first dashpoint to GD93-CAAP. The dashpoint is a little more that 10km from home, mostly country "grid" driving. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. The only thing marring this easy little dashpoint was the approach. The map showed Stephens Road leading me straight to the point, but when I got to the point to turn on to Stephens Road, I found "ROAD CLOSED NO ACCESS". Luckily the surrounding neighborhood that had sprouted up on the once-farmland-area allowed cicumnavigation of the proscribed path. So a little extra driving soon found us along Stephens Road pulling into the farmhouse driveway (4348 OFPD - 4348 Oswego Fire and Police District). To the south we could clearly see the Oswego water tower. 3 points for Markwell and Trailblazers (and the welcome addition of Grainger to the team)

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On to Second Quarter 2009

Last Updated:
Apr 16 2009