Good morning everyone. This week's fun fact is all about the Virtual cache. There are 12 virtuals in Manitoba (I have nine of them so far) and 5 in North Dakota (I have 3 of those). Do you have all the virtuals in your area?
Last week I looked back on the first two days I had for vacation and my trip down to Grand Forks, ND and Bemidji, MN. This week is the other two days I was gone. In total, it was a four day geocaching vacation. After spending about 12 hours driving and caching between Grand Forks and Bemidji on the Sunday, I really didn't feel like doing any driving on the Monday.
The plan for the Monday was just to hang out in Grand Forks, finding some caches, playing Pokémon, and capturing Munzees. The morning was spent walking around the neighbourhood, doing all three. It was a nice day for a walk and I was able to do all three and just check things out. Eventually, I ended up at the park where the smiling water tower is located.
The afternoon was spent sitting in the backyard, reading. I did set things up before leaving home so that if any new caches should come out in Grand Forks, I'll get the notifications for them. Sure enough, in the middle of the afternoon, I got a notification. This new cache was on the other side of town. I haven't been to Grand Forks enough to know my way around with ease, but I was able to navigate around some road construction before getting on to 32nd Ave. South, then West to GZ. It was a fairly quick find and I got the FTF (my first FTF in Grand Forks). About three minutes later a truck pulls up. It's local cachers Geohound Dog & TG. We chatted for a bit. I'm not sure who made the comment, but I heard someone say, "beaten to a first to find by a Canadian". LOL. I asked Geohound Dog what the FTF hounds are like in Grand Forks. Are they aggressive or laid back? She said they were laid back. I would find out just how laid back later.
Back to my base for more reading. I still needed eight more finds in Minnesota to meet my goal. Before dinner, I swung over to East Grand Forks for six finds. Now I'm only two finds shy of my goal. Whenever I go to Grand Forks, a trip there isn't complete until I go to Culver's for a meal. I'm not sure why I like going here. Maybe because Winnipeg doesn't have a Culver's? Why drive all that way there for McDonald's or Burger King? I can go to those places when I get home. I have a backup plan in place to get those final two finds. Before crossing over back to Canada, I'll zip over to Minnesota, via Pembina, ND to grab a couple there.
Later that evening, while I was participating in #USGeocachingHour on Twitter, WhiskeySowers messaged me to let me know two more of her caches have just been published. Both are in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Off I go to get my two Minnesota caches that I need and two more FTFs. I was successful in both. I add all my FTFs to a list so I can look back at these caches. It took a week before second to find was claimed. That is how laid back the FTF hounds are. Back to my 'camp' and a visit with WhiskeySowers before calling it a night.
Tuesday morning I packed everything up for my trip home. My trip would take a slight detour. The August Cache Advance Geocache Challenge of the month was to find a virtual. I didn't have many options to complete this challenge. The only realistic hope was to go West to Park City, ND and claim one of the newer virtuals in North Dakota.
I also found more Pembina/Walsh Historical Trail caches and checked out a couple of historical villages. One was in Park City, and the other in Grafton.
Other than the detour, it was another uneventful trip home. I would end up picking the lane with a young border guard who insisted on asking everyone a whole bunch of questions. That was my caching/vacation trip for this summer. I look forward to more return trips to North Dakota as there are so many more caches to find. I also have many counties that I haven't found caches in. So much to do and so little time and money. LOL All in good time and as finances dictate. Until next week, be safe, enjoy, peace out, and have fun.
Last week I looked back on the first two days I had for vacation and my trip down to Grand Forks, ND and Bemidji, MN. This week is the other two days I was gone. In total, it was a four day geocaching vacation. After spending about 12 hours driving and caching between Grand Forks and Bemidji on the Sunday, I really didn't feel like doing any driving on the Monday.
The plan for the Monday was just to hang out in Grand Forks, finding some caches, playing Pokémon, and capturing Munzees. The morning was spent walking around the neighbourhood, doing all three. It was a nice day for a walk and I was able to do all three and just check things out. Eventually, I ended up at the park where the smiling water tower is located.
(Anyone who has been to Grand Forks has seen the smiling water tower)
The afternoon was spent sitting in the backyard, reading. I did set things up before leaving home so that if any new caches should come out in Grand Forks, I'll get the notifications for them. Sure enough, in the middle of the afternoon, I got a notification. This new cache was on the other side of town. I haven't been to Grand Forks enough to know my way around with ease, but I was able to navigate around some road construction before getting on to 32nd Ave. South, then West to GZ. It was a fairly quick find and I got the FTF (my first FTF in Grand Forks). About three minutes later a truck pulls up. It's local cachers Geohound Dog & TG. We chatted for a bit. I'm not sure who made the comment, but I heard someone say, "beaten to a first to find by a Canadian". LOL. I asked Geohound Dog what the FTF hounds are like in Grand Forks. Are they aggressive or laid back? She said they were laid back. I would find out just how laid back later.
Back to my base for more reading. I still needed eight more finds in Minnesota to meet my goal. Before dinner, I swung over to East Grand Forks for six finds. Now I'm only two finds shy of my goal. Whenever I go to Grand Forks, a trip there isn't complete until I go to Culver's for a meal. I'm not sure why I like going here. Maybe because Winnipeg doesn't have a Culver's? Why drive all that way there for McDonald's or Burger King? I can go to those places when I get home. I have a backup plan in place to get those final two finds. Before crossing over back to Canada, I'll zip over to Minnesota, via Pembina, ND to grab a couple there.
Later that evening, while I was participating in #USGeocachingHour on Twitter, WhiskeySowers messaged me to let me know two more of her caches have just been published. Both are in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Off I go to get my two Minnesota caches that I need and two more FTFs. I was successful in both. I add all my FTFs to a list so I can look back at these caches. It took a week before second to find was claimed. That is how laid back the FTF hounds are. Back to my 'camp' and a visit with WhiskeySowers before calling it a night.
(My 3rd FTF of the day and my 100th find in Minnesota)
Tuesday morning I packed everything up for my trip home. My trip would take a slight detour. The August Cache Advance Geocache Challenge of the month was to find a virtual. I didn't have many options to complete this challenge. The only realistic hope was to go West to Park City, ND and claim one of the newer virtuals in North Dakota.
(In Park City)
(In Grafton)
While at the historical village in Park City, I found what has to be the largest magnetic key holder.
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