+JohnTee Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 We're about to wind up a trip from Southeast Missouri to Mount Rushmore and back home. I wanted to thank the geoccahers in S.D. for all the caches, especially those placed along Hwy 244 and the rest stop caches along I90! With a family that is not terribly interested in my obsession, I was able to get at least a FEW in while traveling. We camped at the Hill City KOA southwest of Rapid City (very NICE campground, BTW) and I got every single cache placed along 244, several others in the area including some on the Rock Mountain Road. GREAT drive! I'm sure one cache container in the woods and rocks of S.D. starts to look like every other cache in the woods and rocks of S.D. to local geocachers. For an out-of-towner, they were wonderful hikes in the pines and some great scenery. I was rather surprised that there were no virtuals around Mount Rushmore. I wasn't expecting any actual caches in the memorial area, but thought I'd find at least one virtual. Anyway, South Dakota Cachers - THANKS! JohnTee BTW - if any of you like micros . . . my signature item in all of my caches is a 'Cache Ready To Go' preform micro. Preforms look like thick-walled plastic test tubes with screw-tops. I placed two sizes, which are basically what 1-Liter and 2-Liter plastic water and soda bottles start life as. , They take paint and glue well and are virtually indestructible and leak-proof, each one has a explanation note of what it is, a log and a pencil. Go get em! Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Your welcome!! BTW - loved your log on my Hill City cache - I actually live about 2.5 hours south of there in Nebraska but we travel through frequently and have some friends in the Hills. I try to avoid Tourist season - much more sane the other 9 months of the year. Quote Link to comment
+Team LaLonde Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 We are making the trip to SD from Upper Michigan next week so it's nice to read about such a positive experience. Hopefully the storms will stay away since we are tent camping. Unlike the OP, everyone on the trip is looking forward to caching. We have our sights set on some special caches, too. One question - what about rattlesnakes? I really don't care about them but my wife and daughter are another story. I take the 'live and let live' approach - my daughter is the 'KILL IT!' type - wife says, "let's go somewhere else". Any words of advice on what to do when you stumble across them? Thom L Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted June 10, 2007 Author Share Posted June 10, 2007 We are making the trip to SD from Upper Michigan next week so it's nice to read about such a positive experience. Hopefully the storms will stay away since we are tent camping. Unlike the OP, everyone on the trip is looking forward to caching. We have our sights set on some special caches, too. One question - what about rattlesnakes? I really don't care about them but my wife and daughter are another story. I take the 'live and let live' approach - my daughter is the 'KILL IT!' type - wife says, "let's go somewhere else". Any words of advice on what to do when you stumble across them? Thom L Hi Thom, I was out various times of day and didn't run across any. Not sure when you can start expecting to see them in S.D. As far as encountering them, a walking stick can be very handy. Tap it and rustle it around out in front of you. Snakes aren't at all interested in you and will usually head the other way if given a chance. I generally take the live and let live approach. JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+team5150 Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 John Tee, We picked up one of your ready to go micros in SD last weekend and are going to place it this weekend. We were in Hill City for the Crazy Horse Volksmarch and some caching Sat-Tue. The Hills are our favorite caching destination and we try to get over there several times a year. From reading through some logs, it looks like we were looking for the "Hill City Hillside" cache within about an hour of one another! Quote Link to comment
+Acid Rain Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 (edited) Any words of advice on what to do when you stumble across them? The species we have are prarie rattlesnakes, the most timid of all rattlesnakes. If you give them a chance, they will try to get away from you as fast as they can. The best advice is to not harass them and don't put your hand into a dark hole looking for a cache. If it looks like you have to, poke around with the stick to warn them and they will warn you. If you do get bit, bite back. That way they learn that it's wrong to bite cachers. Edited June 11, 2007 by Acid Rain Quote Link to comment
+Team LaLonde Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Any words of advice on what to do when you stumble across them? If you do get bit, bite back. That way they learn that it's wrong to bite cachers. Funny, that's how I trained my dogs! Thanks everyone for the advice. See you in two days. Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 John Tee, We picked up one of your ready to go micros in SD last weekend and are going to place it this weekend. We were in Hill City for the Crazy Horse Volksmarch and some caching Sat-Tue. The Hills are our favorite caching destination and we try to get over there several times a year. From reading through some logs, it looks like we were looking for the "Hill City Hillside" cache within about an hour of one another! Hi team5150, Glad you found on of my sig's! Have fun with it. I enjoyed caching in the area. Actually, caching in ANY new area is enjoyable. [] It was a blast. I had fun when I ran into one geocacher at one of the caches off Rock Mountain Road. That was a first for me! Would have been happy to have made your aquaintance. JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+Team LaLonde Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Hey everyone! We made it back to Michigan and enjoyed every minute of our time in South Dakota. We also made it into Montana and Wyoming as long as we were out there. Caching in the area was great! We camped in the path of a tornado at Bear Butte State Park. It never reached us, but the wind was threatening to blow our tent into the lake. We made an unsuccessful attempt on Heck Table II and a successful attempt on WhiteRocks. With the exception of one cache, all of them were in good shape and dry. Caching in South Dakota gave us the opportunity to see a whole new range of wildlife that we don't get to see in Michigan (bison, pronghorns, prairie dogs, black widows, rattlesnakes and more). Walking through cactus fields was a totally new experience also. Thanks to all those who have caches placed in the Great Plains area! Quote Link to comment
+Jedi Cacher Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Hey everyone! We made it back to Michigan and enjoyed every minute of our time in South Dakota. We also made it into Montana and Wyoming as long as we were out there. Caching in the area was great! We camped in the path of a tornado at Bear Butte State Park. It never reached us, but the wind was threatening to blow our tent into the lake. We made an unsuccessful attempt on Heck Table II and a successful attempt on WhiteRocks. With the exception of one cache, all of them were in good shape and dry. Caching in South Dakota gave us the opportunity to see a whole new range of wildlife that we don't get to see in Michigan (bison, pronghorns, prairie dogs, black widows, rattlesnakes and more). Walking through cactus fields was a totally new experience also. Thanks to all those who have caches placed in the Great Plains area! Team LaLonde- Glad you enjoyed your caching experience in South Dakota and got to see the Black Hills. You must have experienced that nasty weather at Bear Butte on Sunday night 6/17. I know that it got pretty bad out that way Saturday morning and on Sunday night. That tornado knocked a semi right off the road. Quote Link to comment
+Team LaLonde Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hey everyone! We made it back to Michigan and enjoyed every minute of our time in South Dakota. We also made it into Montana and Wyoming as long as we were out there. Caching in the area was great! We camped in the path of a tornado at Bear Butte State Park. It never reached us, but the wind was threatening to blow our tent into the lake. We made an unsuccessful attempt on Heck Table II and a successful attempt on WhiteRocks. With the exception of one cache, all of them were in good shape and dry. Caching in South Dakota gave us the opportunity to see a whole new range of wildlife that we don't get to see in Michigan (bison, pronghorns, prairie dogs, black widows, rattlesnakes and more). Walking through cactus fields was a totally new experience also. Thanks to all those who have caches placed in the Great Plains area! Team LaLonde- Glad you enjoyed your caching experience in South Dakota and got to see the Black Hills. You must have experienced that nasty weather at Bear Butte on Sunday night 6/17. I know that it got pretty bad out that way Saturday morning and on Sunday night. That tornado knocked a semi right off the road. We were in the middle of that storm. The ranger came around and told us to sleep with our shoes on and stay out of the tornado's way! Quote Link to comment
+Acid Rain Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 That picture reminds me of Star Trek: Generations. You could stand on the platform at the top and be carried away by the Nexus. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.