Ha! My first "NGS Not Found" find

[+A tapeworm]

Granted, it didn't involve scrambling up a mountain or dodging trains, nor was the mark originally placed by Methuselah - but I'm pretty old, so anything older than me is REALLY old....

 

The 1948 description of NF0453 is quite good - so although when I got to the site & found no witness post, big elm tree, nor fence corner, I still thought it was worth scrounging around despite the 1985 "Not Found" report.

 

 

Sharp!brain helped get me to the likely area - just off the edge of the groomed church grounds, in a scrub-growth spot adjacent to a small privacy fence hiding more forest detritus - by pacing off from the road and SW corner of the church. The elm trees in W. Mich. essentially all disappeared in the 1950's & 60's due to Dutch Elm Disease but just W of the area was a large decayed tree stump

 

 

which I thought might be a remnant of the NGS descriptor.

 

While I dug amongst the leaves, sticks & weeds, sharp!brain took a nap. Shortly I uncovered a concrete slab with a square hole in the center.

 

 

Slow!brain immediately told me: "It's the base for one of the concrete posts which occasionally in these parts hold disks on their tops". Thus, the 1985 report is correct; the post & disk are gone.

 

Sharp!brain didn't awaken for half an hour or so, at which time I was a couple miles away at another marker: "Why would they place a 4 x 4 concrete post in a concrete base? That's where the witness post was." D'oh!

 

Returning to the church grounds, I scraped with my boot (no trowel - slow!brain does the packing) 18" west of the concrete foundation. Just a couple of inches below the surface, of course, was the mark.

 

 

Flush with success, sharp!brain took another nap. Slow!brain suggested: "Why don't we go look for the whole string of "Not Found" marks along the RR tracks 5 miles or so N of here?" - which seriously and adversely affected the day's found/not found ratio. Still, the weather was nice, & I didn't have to jump from a railroad trestle.

[+Camper1]

Nice job. Ain't those fun ! Good pictures.

[+Black Dog Trackers]

A tapeworm -

 

Wow, what a great tale of two brains.

 

& I didn't have to jump from a railroad trestle

Indeed, much safer than a bale of two trains. ... or bail from two trains, or something like that Edited June 24, 2007 by Black Dog Trackers

[+2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Congrats on your DNF find! Good story also.

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

Good hunting!

 

Shirley~

[+t8r]

He's hooked, he's hooked. His brain is cooked.

It's not about the found/not found ratios.

It's kind of like fishing.

Go for the big one.

Enjoy the little ones along the way.

[+seventhings]

Tapeworm -

 

Superb narrative, excellent find!

 

But, on behalf of the chronologically gifted among us, please refrain from characterizing 1948 vintage things as "REALLY OLD". ("REALLY OLD" doesn't start until the monumentation date starts with "18")

 

Will

 

p.s. Can't you come up with some way to run your assorted brains in parallel? If you do, please let us know - we've all tried to no avail.

 

w

Edited June 24, 2007 by seventhings

[+A tapeworm]

Thanks, all.

 

It's not about the found/not found ratios.

It's kind of like fishing.

 

Like, a bad day benchmark seeking is better than a good day working.

[+2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Ah, but the feeling that one gets when you can find that "Did Not Find"! You feel like you have really accomplished something. And there are other benchmarks that you have to think about and then go back several times and finally, find the mark. That is also a big boost!

 

So, you have every right to your own horn!

 

That is why we are all addicted to this form of past time.

 

Shirley~

[+shorbird]

ARE there any "bad days benchmark seeking?" Even with a string of DNFs, you've gone boldly where few benchmark seekers have gone before...and you were treated to some new scenery as well.