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| The Clearwater Paper Mill at Lewiston, Idaho (Nov. 16, 2023) |
On Wednesday, Mike asked, “What are you doing this afternoon?”
“I
plan to sew. Why do you ask?”
“I
thought we could geocache,” he responded.
So I put on my new hiking boots -- the cute ones with pink trim, and we set off to geocache along the bike path across the Clearwater River from the mill. We parked at the head of the path where a sign says, “Bike Path Closed.”
“It doesn’t mean us,” said Mike, but while I wasn’t sure about that, I did think that it probably wasn't policed. It's undoubtedly a warning to prevent suit in case of injury. As we walked along, we noticed pronounced cracks in the path, the kind that might catch a wheel and throw a cyclist. (You might also stub your toe, I suppose.) Mike remarked that he hadn’t ridden on this section of the path in years due to the infestation of puncture weeds (goat heads).
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| Semi-pro tree climber |
The most interesting cache was in a tree. We were supposed to have brought something to pull it down, but since we didn’t, Mike stripped off his coat and climbed the tree. (I marvel because this is a man who was flat on his back in pain last month and thought his life was over.) He retrieved the cache, and no harm done.
We had other errands, so as the sun was low in the sky, we gave it up. But the next day, Mike asked, “What are your plans for the afternoon?”
“Sewing,” I answered, not even trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “Why do you ask?”
“I
thought we could go out and get the rest of the caches,” Mike responded.
So, that’s what we did, of course. We parked a mile and a half from our previous starting point and set to it. It involved a lot of walking, and it made a good change of scene from our usual neighborhood route.
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| An autumn scene |
Again, we were out several hours and found three or four caches. The first cache, located near our parking spot, eluded us. Mike found the second one but left his gloves behind and had to retrieve them before we left the area. (It’s bound to be something left behind on every excursion.) It was quite a walk to the farthest cache, which Mike found -- a tiny magnetic container on a fence, and when he went to replace it, he thought he dropped it. What a nightmare! We searched and searched in the dirt, but when he doublechecked, he found it stuck to the fence. He hadn’t dropped it after all!
Back at the car, I decided to look again for the first cache, and I found it!
This afternoon will find me in the sewing room while Mike and a friend ride motorcycles. Maybe I’ll even sew. KW
7 comments:
Now I know why Mike takes you on his geocaching trips. You can find them.
Actually, Mike is pretty good, but two searchers are better than one. I spotted the one in the tree, and he said he never would have found it. And he had given up on the one closest to our parking place, and I just put some extra effort into it.
When we first started geocaching, there were "regular" caches in bigger boxes. Now cachers like to hide "nanos" -- tiny containers, often magnetic. They aren't so much fun to find. We think the purpose should be to use the GPS to find the spot, but some cachers like to make it difficult to find.
Thanks for your comment, Chuck.
I hope you got to sew!
Hi Chris!
Yes, I sewed, and I muffed it, and so it's on to the next thing. I'll try again to make an AG Pilgrim dress next year. I've already written it into my new 2024 planner.
Look at you, all organized! I gave up on planners because apparently I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants most of the time. Which reminds me that I just found out I'm going to be a great aunt again in March so sometime between now and then I'll need to make another quilt for a baby girl! That will bring our girl number up to three vs nine boys for John and me.
Congratulations "Aunt" Chris! There are odd phenomenons with gender numbers in births. Everyone who lives on our street has boys. In the nearly 10 years we've lived here, there have been 15 boys born on this street and only one girl that I know of. Isn't that weird?
In my extended family's cousin generation, we had eight boys to ten girls -- fairly even though for a while it felt like we had more girls. Mike and I were parents to four boys and one girl, and our grandchildren are five boys and two girls.
Well, Chris, it's nice to know that you're making a quilt for a girl. Your after-Christmas project is determined, just one way we "fly by the seat of our pants," which is the subject of the next post -- maybe. I decided to make a traditional sock monkey for Silas, which must take precedence over anything else in my planner. But that's fine. It will be fun project, and I'm curious to know what Silas will think of a stuffed monkey.
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