PAMag76

Into The Mouth of Madness! 
November 11,  2018

My first visit was in November 2018 with a new goe-friend Toppercat. We checked on a really amazing geocache hide of his located in Busse woods near by. I had the best time, trucking through this crazy terrain with the CO. Summertime would be murder! Found the cache right at ground zero - but then the puzzle began. Brilliant! Great fun - but I must admit I'm happy I had the CO's help It was an amazing gadget  Dude, where's my bike?  has been maintained! I Found it after making the trek from the crazy clown hide just around the other side of the park... I totally chickened out! Gotta go back with my real flashlight instead of my BB. and maybe bring reinforcements. ScArY!! Made the trek back to parking through knee-high water. COLD... but not cold enough to freeze. Arrived at the car in the dark with a smiley and 367 days consecutive streak. A LEO drive-by got us on our way fast.

January 6, 2019

My fear overcome, I forged ahead... but brought friends this time. Wasn't sure if I would live, but I got to sign the log and return alive to report on the find - here. hhaa. But this time with reinforcements, and adult peer - pressure... I made it. Me and My Monkey, MeNMyMonkey and sweetbaboo88 contacted me to ask if I wanted to try again. The weather was perfect, cold enough where the ground wasn't too muddy as we made our walk across the stubbled field. We made our decent into the mouths opening and turned on our flashlights. It was already creepy. The enormous artwork all over the walls suggests people - "someone"... spends a lot of time here - and from the content of the art - they don't seem to be Geocachers. MORE creepy. We tease, laugh and then start to hear someone else in the tunnel. All of us (even the big guy) took a step back. 800 lums is nothing in pitch blackness. The opening at the mouth only gets smaller less bright until is is a distant dot of light. I can't believe how far we are into this tunnel. Our flashlights move... illuminating the art on the walls. Amazing. We hear them again - ahead of us.... no they have moved behind us. Maybe we are being surrounded. I'm actually thinking of the walking dead...well - they can't get all of us... Right? I'll be the one sacrificed to save the group. But we continue the slow careful walk deeper into the tunnel. Water is rushing past us o the ground of the tunnel flowing in from the gigantic pipes on the sides of the walls. our light catches the water moving making the artwork on the walls come alive. movement is everywhere as the flashlights reflect the reflection motion of the water, voices are surrounding us, from behind and in front... - we are not alone... more voices, but we continue to the mark. Stop. and someone said "Turn off your flashlight!" what??? a rush filled my head.  I knew this was going to happen - but I wasn't sure I was ready. It went dark. The cold seemed to swallow us instantly. No one spoke. As we stood in its pitch black stomach, and no sound. Then breaking the silence - one speaks, a blue light... and we make the find. Only to discover our friends who traveled before us ( Blues Crew and ICNR) made the drop.  The stamp was gone! But we signed the new log most happy and made the walk out in a much more relaxed and experienced way! Stopping to take pictures of the artwork and laughing about how silly we were.

AND the voices? Well - that's a whole other story. 

Get Geo-Better Miss Scrltohra we miss you!

JANUARY 5, 2019 signing the log 76bears ( even though there is a random "duck" in our photo.   I spent the day with my two geo-pals marybear and bearpack8. great day.  Mary (sara) made us a list but had to go home early, so Deanna and I kept caching.  ended up meeting a traveling Frenchman, parking in an illegal spot and totally getting away with it and 21 smilieys for the day. 

Found with my newest geo-partner DaCachingNana with a list of 20 for today.  Then she leaves for three months.... booo - can't wait til you get back! Lots to find. We even found "two" cache at one location... and had a ball. Great caching with ya DaNana. Found a couple of the Lake county geo-tour and then I prompty broke one. Uggg later-on however I contacted the CO and recently met in person at another event.  I love this game - so many new friends. 

Catching up to the new year. 2019

There is so much that has happened in mygeocache.world I can't even start to remember everything that was an amazing milestone. great time with a geo-friend. cool find or... But here are a few highlights since my last post in October and a few pictures to go along with it. 

• 1000 find October 12, 2018 with Scrltohra
• went caching with my muggle mom while at our U.P. cottage and she had fun. its in our blood
• had to get just one. A quick nearby "monkey family" and touched the magnet of the container and it went way down the middle. It's almost midnight I can't reach it.  Called reinforcements and with the help of Scrlttohra I was saved and so was the cache. 
• Lloyd's Lunchbox and Trackable Hotel GC7ZGNN Hide by Scrlttohra and I. We found the "container" in the middle of the road hunting another cache.  It was the perfect idea for a hotel and Scrlttohra new the perfect place.  
• Scrlttohra and me. caching with our new friend  anitabath. notice the "light" geocache container from that find
• caching with I can nver remember 10.30.18
• my creative cache submission Fishing for a Cache  A PAMag76 Hide with ScrlttOhra | GC803RG and the winner
• attended my first film event GIFF Film Festival - 2nd Annual Algonquin 
• Creative cache contest publish a dozen hides. vote by your heart! I got six... Mind you "6" first to finds! the rule is... the early bird get the FTF. They published at 4am - and I was out the door! stayed up and attended event & group caching afterwards. blues crew, bearpack8 and less equals more and met more cachers at different coords.
• 11/20 event FIGHTING THE WINTER BLUES - WEEK 1 
• 12/4 first time geocaching with Diamond Head also blues crew in photo. found 5 that day
• 11/27 with my son GeoExtraordinaire our ND find and state souvenir over thanksgiving. The day before I stopped my streak 377 days! now I'm going for numbers!
• 12/13 my adorable muggle friend Deb and her first geocache find
• 12/21 event Festivus for the Rest of Us IX  and by luck Deanna got the duck! ha!
• 12/22 early morning geo-freeze I mean event  Start Your Day With STiLL VI  met KandleSprite for the first time. 
• blues crew to the rescue. dadgum I couldnt find this FTF called in help and we signed together. 
• 12/27 holiday my son GeoExtraordinaire home caching find with bearpack8
• night caching with bearpack8
• events One last Time Before the 2018 Year's End  
• event A bit of Recovery and Re-hashing - 2019  with KandleSprite and caching with less is more found 15 cache that day after the event. followed a few footsteps when it started snowing - easy find without the GPS
• HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019

Keeping My Streak in The UP 10/8/18 Iconic Geocache day in Ironwood Michigan. 

I am very careful not to "cache-out" my local area on this streak.  Especially out here in the UP I might have to drive an hour and walk into the woods in a snowstorm to keep my streak - but now I don't thin I will be back up until after I have made my goal. SOOO Thinking my streak is over November 11, 2018 which will be 365 days... and thinking I could grab a few iconic cache while I was in Ironwood and I wouldn't be up again until after my streak is over - I decided to grab the two most famous cache at least for my family.  First Hiawatha and then on the way back to the cottage I grabbed The Big Skier. So excited! But now as I leave this note... I am planning anouther trip for a week so I'll be making those hour drives to keep my streak alive. God I hope the weather cooperates. 

10/7 Company has all gone back to Chicago and I'm left on a damp and rainy day looking for a geocache. This cache was pretty close to the cottage and sounded easy to find  Ghost Town of the Pine Days however, my GPS routed me on some crazy road that turned to gravel, and then turned to dirt... then a trail with grass in the middle and then a big mud hole. I looked on the map and realized I had turned one road to soon and there was a road directly to the area.  I turned around, took the second exit and made the find. But one just wasn't enough - I just had to make this find.  King's at Snapjack met a family and told them about geocaching - and gave a pathtag away... walked over and beautiful area, but couldnt find the cache. Read through activity and realized coords were 30 feet off walk right up to the cache and made the find. 

October 6, 2018 my newest super-duper favorite geocache  Kakabika Falls

the girls and I went out to find my one geocache to keep my streak. this was only a few miles from my cottage I had no idea the Falls were here. We spent the later morning hiking the trail to the falls, taking pictures and really enjoying the fall chilled air. 

video   

Video of falls

Still Keeping my streak in the UP. 

10/5: Friends from Chicago visiting Kitty Island for a few days and we decided to visit the visitor's center for a quick geocache. Realized the earth cache there  Where Waters Meet was only premium so we stopped for a 2nd one everybody could grab. Thousand Island Found with dancingwolfhalk a bunch of non premium members (wink) and their dog

Keeping My Streak in The UP

10/3: I found  WSQ Ava's cache cemetery cache   I left this trackable behind Gum & Da Police and I really like my photo  I logged my Chevy too.

10/4: My cousin Penny's First Find and First DNF all in the same day! We drove up the country forest backroad to a logging area.  I had my doubts right away - but it was just found a few weeks prior so we made the hike. Pioneer Creek Trail was our did not find. The forest was gone. bulldozed down with nothing left.  Now Im screwed... I have to find one geocache to keep my streak.  We looked on the map and found an easy one called  Fly It!  We parked on the side road and no one was there.  Trecked through the woods while and Penny saw the "hint" first. and made the find. Her first Geocache! Flying High 

Trip to the UP of Michigan left October 2, 2018 - met up with geocaching buddy Don Silentecho____  met up in Wausau WI area for  Little 'Cache' on the Prairie Madison came too - I logged her trackable  

September 30th was magick box day with Team PBS. We did three:  &Magic Box Signs @Magic Box First stop and Magic Box all three hid by JWheels. Very fun - here are some images of the day. 

I need a magnet, do you have the magnet? I don't have the magnet. She has the magnet. No she has the magnet. No I gave the magnet to Her! Oh right Deanna has the magnet!

left: Todd (team blues crew) Scarlotte (ScrlttOhra) Angela ( I can't remember) Jenny ( Team Blues Crew)  Badlands & Me!

September 20th - another midnight run for a quick 5 geocache finds. I got to use my new flashlight and then Scrlttohra screamed and said - you have to come look at this.... then I screamed and we signed the log.   Tiny Two

September 16 - foxdencacher Denise joins the geocaching team Refreshing Find     Reindeer Backup Team - Penny     SPIDERS!!!   and Denise made the find on   Spot the Dog Cache (Kenosha News)

September 19th My mom Judy helped me make the find. Keeping my streak alive. Mom is 81 years old. Isn't she beautiful?

September 18 - Scrlttohra makes 400 - Al Capone 2 stage cache Gangsters Final Hideaway even my trackable geocaching mobile "Signal got in the picture. 

September 11th spent my caching time with Scrlttohra grabbing some smileys in Busse woods. We walked through fairaie land and enjoyed the trails. Scrltt did the heavy lifting on Fill IN the blanks GCTH3P where we found our now team mascot Goose! Keeping my streak and grabbed a few with my son, Ian while he was home moving his furniture to his new apartment in Minnesota. By Saturday, September 15th I met-up with the other two thirds of Team PBS and we hit a milti that took us out to the team glenview naval air station park. we bushwhacked our way thru the dark in shorts, enjoyed the wildlife and logged several finds 

Rail Chair Monday September 10

Back again - but called in reinforcements... Todd & Jenny from Blues Crew and Scarlott met me out at the hide. Contacted the CO for more hints to find the coordinat were off a tish - our ground zero was at the pole but he said look on the rail. Todd and Jenny had registered a DNF but with the new info Todd bent over and found the cache right away.  Very cool it was attached to the rail road tie. We then all took pictures by the cool chair, grabbed two more and called it a day. Thanks for the help you guys... 

this gives me 916 finds... almost not a newbie anymore!

Saturday wedding at Sarved Rock Illinois. 

started out caching in my evening gown had to grab a few on the way at the wayside. found a really cute hotel there. GC6NGDT and then made our way to the lodge at the park where we found the only US "real" Letter box. Evidently, the only other one still in existence is owned by Ozzy Ozbourn. It was beautiful and had the history in the description. IL River Byway Starved Rock Lodge Very cool. 

grabbed several more and made our way home to Chicago ending with a dozen that day.  Great day overall. Thanks for traveling with me Scarlott!

Grabbed a quick one Sunday because we spent so much time looking for chair rail. gotta go back on Monday. more to come...

Sept 7-8-9

Met up with ScrlttOhra and grabbed a quick "8" cache. The wedding cache and carry was a favoriate https://coord.info/GC66QJK and a couple of quickies... https://coord.info/GC5E0C3

305 consecutive days with a geocache find... and counting. 

September 6

What's the Buzz?  Been here several times. Can't believe how hard this critter was.  ScrlttOhra and I found it and then I "buzzed" directly home to get back to work. 

Oh My Gosh... has anyone else "ever" been this tired? 

The Rolling Stones obviously never geocached. Man - if you do this right - you can hike several miles a day, get in shape,  enjoy great companionship, learn something really cool about the area, and fulfill the feelings of self achievement and satisfaction on a daily bases. So whyIts crazy how close I am to my 366 days in a row geocaching streak achievement - and how many times I have wanted to quit. It literally has been my geo-friends keeping me going. I quick text, a message on the site - a call on the phone, a note in a log - its really cool. thanks to everyone I have met geocaching.  I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am... 

Today - I "gotta work" so, instead I'm updating my geo-blog... hum? is that backwards? Well - anyways - I just needed one find today and I got off easy. Nothing like last night - UGGGG. Good Friends put up with a lot. Today I'm  killing three birds with one stone! Getting my Geo-find for the day, seeing geo-friends and having lunch. What a perfect Taco Tuesday event to get us all out. Thank you, " I Can Never Remember" for hosting" and making my life easy, fun and delicious today. 

HAPPY LABOR DAY September 3rd.

Not sure what the rest of my team is doing... but I stayed in bed just a little bit longer today. The weddings kicked my butt then a sore arm and geo- milage on this ole bod - woof! Two couples to meet with this afternoon then planning to hook up with Scrlttohra and Silentecho to watch them do my night hide.  Swag Monster of The NW Suburbs I learned a lot and will be implementing those learnings into an updated version of the hide. Then it was my turn.  All I needed was ONE find. It was 9pm - we got this... couldnt find. second location three more miles... DNF ( dadgum!) third... Its getting close to midnight. Dundee85 had messaged me just yesterday that he had a streak saver hide that just published in case I ever needed one.  We could make it just in time... BUT then Scrlttohra had worked out a mystery cache that wasn't too far from my house.  So we elected to go there. Woosh- that was stupid close... couldn't stop laughing... and now I still have one in my pocket for such a situation in the future... 

WOW. The expression 'Thanks for keeping my streak alive' is no longer just a cliche... nether is walking through ankle deep water, in the dark, looking for a swag monster's nest... Thanks for the heart!

SUNDAY,  SEPTEMBER 2, 2018 

Team PBS+1  - A monumental day and a day of total crazy fun!

Met up at bearpack8 who had mapped a perfect circle route of cemetery cache we were all just itching to find. We all hoped into bear's truck and started our "decent" into geocache heaven - or WAS IT Hell? Mohahaaa. Either way the day started with great fun with our first find of the day, The Ascension Cache GC7VANV it was a quick find and set us up for a 20 find day. We hit a multi cache Fron Daddys little girl GC3FMEZ . But I think my team members would agree... ( bearpack8, me - PAMag76, Scrlttohra, and Silentecho) the most fun... f@#ing crazy was a little recently published ISQ Lake County Poor Farm Cemetary. My Log Reads as SUCH: "In order to claim this find do I have to physically be able to go home ?team find PBS + 1 left our name now we're just waiting for the ambiance!" This was phisically crazy hard.  The weeds tangled my feet with every step bringing my knees to my chest. Writing this I can hear the weeds tearing at my Nikes - I stopped several times - Scrlttohra and Silentecho raced to the cache and bearpack8 lead me through, all while keeping an eye out for where my dead body would fall as the weeds would most likely envelops me  at the moment of impact. This ridiculous cache was rated a two difficulty and a 2 terrain and at least 27 miles from the parking waypoint. I started to pray to Gods in every religion hoping one would preform a miracle. Once I actually caught up with the team at the headstones, they singed the log Team PBS+1 and looked at the task ahead. Oh Gods... Now we have to get back! Sh!@#T . Got back to the car in what seemed 1/2 the time... grabbed cache at millburn and grass lake and end up GC7VAPG at Ivanhoe Cemetery for Scrlttohra's 300th find. Then on to my very first letterbox-hybed. GC6BQ99 Pet Cemetery and Don's 800th Find! 

Thanks for the great map and driving Deanna. Thanks for the great company Don and Scarlott - MOre to come... 

Oh my gosh... Im so mad at myself I didnt keep up with status this weekend.  It was crazy caching, meeting a new Geo-friend, crazy weather and crazy weddings. Can't decide which gets in the way  of doing the other... but right now the geocaching is winning!

Best weekend ever!

THURSDAY AUGUST 30TH

Got together with Scrlttohra Scrlttohra and started our day with the Robinson Family Burial Ground. GC2EVY7 She introduced me to a Wisc Geo-friend Silentecho and we hit it off right away! I logged 8 finds that day, fell at a shelter Fallen Shelter, Got In the Middle of It  ate some great Mexican food and looked on the map and darned if there wasn't one hidden in the parking lot. "GO FIGURE". Great day - Don is so cool. Loved Scarlott's company and now I need to get to wedding prep and two long days of work to earn my next day caching. Looking forward to Sunday when TEAM PBS and Silentecho will spend the day in cemeteries. 

as of 9/4/18 Keeping my streak alive: 298 days and almost 900 finds.