Good morning everyone. This week we visit Colorado. It's oldest cache is 'Tarryall' GC18. Located southwest of Denver, it was placed in July 2000. It has been found 2,599 times and has received 1,111 favorite points. It is also the cache with the most favorite points. The second most favorite cache in Colorado is 'LoDo TB & Geocoin Hotel' GC2KCRP. Located in Denver, it was placed in January, 2011. So far it has been found 3,380 times and has 708 favorite points.
This week's blog won't be just me telling you about another adventure. I am joined by sm66, who will be taking her turn at the keyboard to give her perspective and thoughts on this latest adventure that we went on. To set things up, we just returned from a week of camping at Bird's Hill Park (more about that in the weeks to come). As we had our dinner, the one thing we like to watch is a YouTube channel called Nuke's Top 5. If you're into the paranormal and creepy things, then this channel is worth checking out > Nukes Top 5 One thing that comes up from time to time in the videos are people playing Randonautica and finding creepy, bizarre things. For those that don't know what Randonautica is, it's a game with a hint of geocaching. You provide your coordinates and your intent. From there, you are given coordinates to go to and give you a break from your mundane day-to-day to go on a journey of randomness into the world around you. Your mind is your guide as you observe and view the world differently. There is that hint of geocaching, but you're not looking for a container.
We've been wanting to give this Randonautica a try so I downloaded the app, provided my coordinates and our intent. We wanted something spooky. We were provided coordinates just outside of town. On arrival, we see that the coordinates was in the middle of a farmer's field. There is a clump of trees there, but to get there, we'd be cutting across a farmer's crop, not to mention trespassing on private property. sm66: I will add that the field was still full of crop so no way was I wanting to get caught walking across a farmer's field; then again maybe if we did, the farmer chasing us with a loaded shotgun might have helped us experience the scary part of Randonautica! GK: We pass on that and try another. Again, it's the middle of a farmer's field. There is a huge boulder in the middle of the field, but to get there we have to hop over a barbed wire fence and walk over a farmer's crop. Not doing that one either. sm66; again not taking that chance either! GK: Eventually we are given a set of coordinates that's in town. I knew where the coordinates would take us and wondered what could be spooky over there? We arrived and all we saw was a poster on a tree. Not very spooky and not all that exciting either. Not wanting to go home just yet, sm66 suggested we find a geocache, preferably one that I haven't found yet.
(nothing spooky about that)
There are not many caches around to begin with and I have found the majority of them. The closest cache to us that I haven't found is 'Sticks and Stones' GC2705K. I had been near GZ once before and knew that it was down a dirt road, or so I thought. This cache was published in May, 2010. It's finds are few and far between since 2015. One find in 2016 that said the container has been destroyed and needs to be either replaced or archived. In 2017, a sister team searched and replaced the missing container with a preform (a throw down?). This is followed by two DNFs in 2018 and no activity since, until recently. Another geocacher came searching in July. After an extensive search, she replaced the container (another throw down?). Another geocacher has found it since then. It should be noted that there hasn't been any word from the original CO. The main Geocaching homepage shows that the CO has logged in since the recent replacement but hasn't found a geocache since August 26, 2014.
Off we go to see if we can find this recently replaced geocache. I drive down the questionable road. I've driven down so many types of roads, and some shouldn't be classified as a road, that this one isn't any different. sm66: it was a two track trail through a farmers field...yikes! GK: After much searching, I was able to locate the cache, sign and replace. It should also be noted that the original D/T rating is 1.5/1.5. From reading past logs, it sounds like the terrain has changed since the original placement. I would put the terrain for the current replacement higher than 1.5. As we head back to the car, I grabbed a pic of the sunset from GZ. That's when things got interesting.
(found it)
(sun setting from GZ)
GK: The road itself is very narrow, making a u-turn virtually impossible. It was either back up very slowly (driving in was done very slowly), or go forward. I did see some puddles up ahead, but didn't think much of it. When I got to those puddles that I realized that the road became very muddy and slippery. I felt confident enough to make it past this patch of road and carry on home. Even at a very slow speed, the car was still sliding around like it was on ice, almost going off the road. Going forward was no longer an option. Hopefully I can back us up out of this mess. I did manage to go in reverse for a short distance before getting stuck. Now we're in a pickle. Stuck on a farm road with no way of getting out. After failed attempts at pushing and trying to put something under the front wheels for traction, and wondering who we could call to come help us, sm66 decided to find a nearby farmhouse on foot. sm66; how GK makes it sound so simple...I started by going to his trunk, grabbing his 3 sizes to big rubber boots, then grabbed a cover for camp chair and jammed that under the wheel. I proceeded to try to push him out...well good ol' manitoba clay, my feet were flying all over and mud was flying up all over me. That didn't work...so grabbed some wood and jammed that under the tires...same circus with that! Yes that is when I decide to walk to the nearest property for help, being a farm girl I felt I was up to the task. We could hear cows off in a nearby pasture, so hopefully someone lives nearby. GK: It was also getting dark quickly. sm66: my attempt to go "on foot" well that did not go well..., wearing boots 3 sizes to big that have about 10 lbs of clay on the bottom of them did not last long! With many colorful metaphors, the boots were off, left on the road and I continued with my flip flops. I walked a little further and realized this is not going to work, its almost dark so called my CAA.
GK: Cows wasn't the only thing we could hear. There was coyotes somewhere in the distance as well as we could hear them howling. sm66 returned to the car with CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) on the phone. We were able to give coordinates and directions as to where we were exactly. Lets toss a little wrinkle into the story now. sm66 couldn't get phone service while sitting in my car. She had to get out and walk a few feet behind the car to get phone reception. sm66: yes standing a few feet behind the car, its pitch black out, all I could think is anytime something is going to jump out of the forest beside us. I kept shining my light on my phone down the "road" and that made it worse. Needless to say I was not having fun anymore! GK: She talked to a tow truck driver that was dispatched the call. At first, he didn't think he could help us as he has a truck, not a 4X4, and he could potentially get stuck himself. The estimated time for his arrival was one hour. During that one hour, my main phone dies. Since my other phone (my gaming phone) is tethered off my main phone, that phone is useless as well. All we have is sm66's phone.
(now it's getting spooky)
It is pitch dark out now. I have the car running and the high beams on, plus my foot on the brake, hoping that will aid in the driver spotting us (we are about one kilometer down from the main road). The tow truck arrives right on time at the end of the road, but backing up to where we are so we can be pulled out is a very slow process. The driver goes as far as he can. From there, he pulls out his towing chain. It's not long enough to reach us. Out come extension chains. He still can't reach us. Out come tow straps. He used everything he had before he could finally reach my car. Did I mention my car frame doesn't have tow hooks for him to hook on to? He loops the end of the strap around my rear wheel. I had to put my car in neutral and put the emergency brake on. Now we're moving backwards in a good way. He pulls us a few feet, unhooks us so we can try on our own power. We got stuck again, but the tow truck driver was able to push us out. From the time we found the cache to the time we finally arrived home (only nine kilometers away), three hours had elapsed. We were tired and our shoes covered in muddy gumbo. It should also be noted that the tow truck driver and his wife who accompanied him thought we were on a romantic moonlight drive and got stuck.
We told a few people of our adventure and some concluded that it was because we were hoping to find something spooky on Randonautica that we found ourselves in the situation that we did. We are very grateful that the tow truck driver was able to get us out. If he had got stuck as well, our situation would have sounded like this > Stuck in the mud Was our geocaching adventure affected by Randonautica? We'll let you decide.
The day after was the cleaning of the shoes and boots. What a mess. I think we brought home half of that muddy gumbo road on our footwear. My car has mud inside and out. I think I'll refrain from driving down dirt roads for a very long time. sm66; yes I agree! But lets try Randonautica again!!!
(what a mess, and there's mud inside the car too)
GK: That is how we spent a "quiet" Friday evening. Until next week, be happy (don't be grumpy), stay safe, hug your loved ones if you can, hug your pets, try to enjoy life, but most importantly, have fun. Peace out.
(Sassy and Tinkers taking over one of the dog's beds)
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