voltaire Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Hi Folks I'm planning a trip across the country this summer, eventually reaching Maine before I return to California. While this is somewhat a vacation, my real purpose is to explore our notions of the sublime, using GPS technology and your explorations to assist me. My course across the country will be determined by the GPS coordinates for sublime sites that fellow geocachers submit. If you have come across such sites yourselves and you have the coordinates for them, I would really appreciate your letting me see what you discovered. If you'll send me the coordinates, I'll attempt to incorporate the sites into my trip. The sublime has a long history with regards to landscape and images of landscape. I am interested in our collective notions of it and how we explore it through using GIS systems. This may present interesting ideas in relationship to 18th and 19th century exploration and ideas about sublime written about by such philosophers as Kant and Burke. I hope you'll find this somewhat interesting yourself and help me out by submitting coordnates of sublime sites you've visited in your area or in other parts of the country. It'll make my trip that much more fun. Thanks, voltaire Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 (edited) The sublime has a long history with regards to landscape and images of landscape It was at this point that I decided that not only did I no longer understand what you meant by sublime, but that understanding was necessary in order to help you. [reflecting on memories so old that they may be completely fried] Kant seems to often see the sublime in areas where man and his surroundings are in perfect harmony while Burke often seens the sublime in areas where man and his surroundings are in complete dischord, noting that this is only viewable when you are removed from the danger or suffering. Burke often finds it in situations beyond comprehension while Kant seems to prefer those moments when we comprehend everything in a flash of insight. [/reflections] What is it that you're looking for? Can you provide an example? P.S And if you're the creator of "Oh My Goth", dinner is on us. Edited March 18, 2004 by bons Quote Link to comment
+carleenp Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I am in agreement w/ Bons. I am not clear on your definition of sublime. I started to dig through my memory of philosophy only to find that becoming a lawyer replaced certain memory areas of my brain with the need for exact dictionary type definitions! So philosophical definitions were overwritten with concrete denfinitions or left with a general void. I was thinking that Carhenge near Alliance, Nebraska might fit the definition under certain circumstances. I don't have the coords for it though. I thought there was a cache there, but now can't find it. An interesting side story is that a restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska called Crane River brewed a very good orange wheat beer named Carhenge. Unfortunately, the restaurant was replaced by Misty's and changed the name (and the quality) of the beer. The beer is now called Stonhenge. The area of the Platte River Run cache might fit other definitions of sublime. Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 Good to get your responses. Ummm, interesting reflections, bons. I wouldn't have characterized the differences between Burke and Kant as incomprehensible and instantly comprehensible, but I have a lot to learn about those guys myself. Here is a site with some brief background info regarding Burke and Kant: http://www.philosophynow.org/archive/artic...11hirshberg.htm I decided to mention them in my post because I have previously been given suggestions that were off the mark - I hope that introducing that 18th century thinking initiates conversations like this one. This trip is a kind of reflection on the era of exploration and art making that came out of the Enlightenment. I am hoping that it will provide some new ideas about what is beautiful, awesome, etc. This could be isolated areas (though I won't be able to do much hiking), or more urban areas, the latter showing how much the landscape has really changed over time, and possibly how our notion of the sublime has changed along with it. I hope that clarifies a bit, voltaire Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 If you pass through Omaha on I-80, I would reccomend One specific place. It's just barely off a highway with a large apartment complex and a mall nearby. The entire area is an urban suburbia. And yet somehow, in the middle of all of this, is this tiny, almost unnoticeable wetlands area. You can see the cache location from the road and yet somehow, once you're there, you can't see the road a bit. Your brain just edits it all out. If you want to lose 200 years of humanity changing it's enviroment in 200 seconds, this is the place to go. Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted March 20, 2004 Author Share Posted March 20, 2004 Wow Bons, I love that last line about 200 years of change....intriguing. I can't wait to check it out. voltaire Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 Hi Folks voltaire here just checking in to encourage more sublime site coordinate submissions. At this point I have about 22 total. Most of them are in the Northwest. If you know of sites that inspire awe, and they can be rural or urban, I'd sure appreciate hearing about them so that I can incorporate them into my cross-country trek this summer. v. Quote Link to comment
bodolad Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 "in what we usually call sublime in nature there is ... an utter lack of anything leading to particular objective principles... the theory of the sublime [is thus] a mere appendix to our aesthetic judging of the purposiveness of nature." (Critique..., p.100) I don't have any particular caches to recommend, because I haven't visited them yet, but the above statement certainly speaks to me of the Sandhill region of Nebraska. Travel just a little north from I-80, almost anywhere from the Colorado border to the middle of the state, Kearney,NE. Treeless, rolling hills of sand covered by fine grass. Have a good journey. I have no doubt that you will have many sublime experiences in your future. Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Voltaire: check out http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=68980 Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted April 24, 2004 Author Share Posted April 24, 2004 Hi, voltaire here, refreshing my request for sublime sites, or as pjmorse said, places that make you say "wow!" I'm looking for the coordinates of sites, rural or uban, that have left you in awe, due to the site's topography (?). The reason I've used the term sublime is because I'm interested in the history and conception of that term, but you probably don't want to hear about that too much. I'll be leaving for a cross-country motorcycle trip in late June to check out the sites you recommend, document them, and consider how our current thoughts about sublime may, or may not, relate to ideas from the past. Anyway, I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks, voltaire Quote Link to comment
+Melrose Plant Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I am the son of a professor with a master's degree in philosophy, although he is really more of a theologian, having taught religious studies at a small college for 35 years. Anyway, I am not coming from a state of cluelessness here, but I am choosing to ignore all other definitions of sublime, and submit my own candidate with this qualification: A site (and sight) which had the ability to stop me in my tracks for a moment and just stand there and say, "Hey, maybe life doesn't suck that bad after all." Alas, I don't have a waypoint, but the place is on the way to a cache called "The Norseman's Ford" just north of Ames, Iowa, waypoint GCH5M4. The cache site isn't all that sublime, but when approached from the north, via I-35, exit 123, county road E18, first driveway to the west of I-35, which is a parking lot for a river trail, you won't have to walk south very far (maybe 1/4 mile) until you find the place along the river. It was probably just me, at that point in my life, but this seemed very special to me at the time. Good luck with your quest. Quote Link to comment
+bigredmed Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 The Cheyenne navigated across the great plains using the river ladder. Each river was given a name based on some characteristic. I like to think that these rivers teach me lessons. The Republican teaches me the importance of subtlety. The Niobrara teaches me that strange mixtures of things sometimes make truly beautiful things. The Platte teaches me about time and how little things can make big changes if you give it enough time. I am fond of the Platte River Overlook where I can sit and watch the braided current of the Platte up close. Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted April 30, 2004 Author Share Posted April 30, 2004 Thanks balboagirl and bigredmed! I'll check those out. If you come across sites in the future, I'd sure appreciate getting their coordinates. Thanks for not grilling me on the philosophical subtlties of the sublime, balboagirl, I certainly am no expert. voltaire Quote Link to comment
+TresOkies Posted May 2, 2004 Share Posted May 2, 2004 Platte teaches me about time and how little things can make big changes if you give it enough time. I am fond of the Platte River Overlook where I can sit and watch the braided current of the Platte up close. Nice. Very nice. I've spent many an hour at a place where the platte is nothing but a stream that you can jump across (N39 24.974 W105 14.670 more or less). I've soaked my ankles in its' 50 degree waters in July and I've heard it thunder in the middle of a snowstorm. I wouldn't trade the experience for a bar of gold. My sublime picks in the Plains, I'm afraid to admit, include one of my own... The view from above. I grew up 5 miles from this place and I still find myself amazed by the beauty of it. Twenty thousand vehicles pass within three miles every day--most of them are in a hurry to get from here to there. Few will ever know what they've missed. I'm happy to have shared this place with a hundred or so of my best friends whom I've never met. Geocache. Simply named and simply stated. The most beautiful view from a geocache I've experienced yet. Peace -E Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hi For those of you who have been so generous to contribute your thoughts and site suggestions (and for anyone who is interested), I thought you might like to see the collection of "sublime sites" that I have received over the past couple of months. As I've said previously, it's surprising how few sites (none in many cases) came in from the South, the West and the Southwest. I definitely have a lot to check out in any case. Here's the list: waterfall 3 Mississippi: Wilkinson Cnty by katie, josh, and shane [profile] N 31° 04.382 W 091° 31.466 (WGS84) UTM: 15R E 640766 N 3438632 GQ's Headcase Texas: Fort Bend Cnty by Geek-Qualizer [profile] N 29° 38.450 W 095° 39.703 (WGS84) UTM: 15R E 242317 N 3281949 Cat Tails Falls - Big Bend Texas: Brewster Cnty by gowerd [profile] N 29° 16.386 W 103° 20.154 (WGS84) UTM: 13R E 661667 N 3239392 Buck Trail Kentucky: Menifee Cnty by Weedhopper [profile] N 37° 48.096 W 083° 37.998 (WGS84) UTM: 17S E 268161 N 4187069 Our Favorite Li'l Bridge Kentucky: Menifee Cnty by The Li'l Bears [profile] User's Web Page N 37° 49.130 W 083° 34.750 (WGS84) UTM: 17S E 272981 N 4188849 Janus' Li'l Vacation Home Kentucky: Powell County by The Li'l Bears [profile] User's Web Page N 37° 49.621 W 083° 50.455 (WGS84) UTM: 17S E 249965 N 4190426 Pinch 'Em Tight Kentucky: Menifee/Powell Cnties by Weedhopper [profile] N 37° 48.630 W 083° 38.684 (WGS84) UTM: 17S E 267183 N 4188085 St. Louis Arch Virtual Cache by bjbest and Big Jimmy [profile] N 38° 37.501 W 090° 11.085 (WGS84) UTM: 15S E 745081 N 4278926 Horse-Shoe Hill Michigan: Manistee Cnty by SomeThingAboutMary [profile] N 44° 19.858 W 085° 50.847 (WGS84) UTM: 16T E 591890 N 4909280 Natural George Missouri: near Kansas City ? Cnty? by Recre8 [profile] N 39° 05.254 W 094° 21.525 (WGS84) UTM: 15S E 382486 N 4327373 Platte River Run Nebraska: Buffalo Cnty by Rocknroll [profile] N 40° 39.648 W 098° 59.333 (WGS84) UTM: 14T E 500940 N 4501104 One Specific Place Nebraska: Douglas Cnty by redd [profile] User's Web Page N 41° 14.717 W 096° 04.212 (WGS84) UTM: 14T E 745499 N 4570127 The NWern most cache in the continental US! Washington: Clallam Cnty This is literally on the West Coast and may be difficult to find. by fooshfoosh and family [profile] N 48° 23.154 W 124° 43.603 (WGS84) UTM: 10U E 372160 N 5360633 Strange Waters Oregon: Marion Cnty. by 7Bicks [profile] N 44° 45.935 W 121° 47.771 (WGS84) UTM: 10T E 595265 N 4957615 Walker Hole California: Del Norte Cnty ? near the coast ? may be difficult by Seesthewind & Redwoodmama [profile] N 41° 49.995 W 124° 06.974 (WGS84) UTM: 10T E 407315 N 4631865 Have Fun Storming the Castle! Oregon: Jefferson Cnty by Zzzoey, illDRIVEuNav & DrNOitall [profile] N 44° 38.710 W 121° 34.342 (WGS84) UTM: 10T E 613212 N 4944525 Mosier Tunnels Re-Revisited Oregon: Hood River Cnty by Two Geo Sisters [profile] N 45° 41.284 W 121° 26.432 (WGS84) UTM: 10T E 621430 N 5060573 Some Gave All Massachusetts: Berkshire Cnty ? close to the coast ? maybe unmappable by Planet/the Bryno [profile] N 42° 38.405 W 073° 09.846 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 650514 N 4722482 Swamp Thing New York: Putnam Cnty. by Tree Frogs [profile] N 41° 30.457 W 073° 35.967 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 616882 N 4596057 Bull Hill Junction New York: Putnam Cnty. by eagleflyby [profile] N 41° 26.598 W 073° 57.104 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 587568 N 4588500 Top Of Vermont Vermont: Bennington Cnty by DX Hunter [profile] N 43° 09.950 W 073° 06.964 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 653145 N 4780953 Mt Monadnock New Hampshire: Chesire Cnty. by StripedMoose [profile] N 42° 51.703 W 072° 06.552 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 736160 N 4749513 Dune Massachusetts: Barnstable Cnty Hard to find due to being on the tip of Cape Cod by hbruner [profile] N 42° 04.564 W 070° 09.765 (WGS84) UTM: 19T E 403818 N 4658876 Howard Creek Cache Montana: Missoula Cnty by Gregg & Soren Schonbachler (Macduff) [profile] N 46° 46.329 W 114° 26.550 (WGS84) UTM: 11T E 695257 N 5183021 Virtual Asgaard New York: Essex Cnty by Sirius Black of the Adirondacks [profile] User's Web Page N 44° 25.528 W 073° 40.109 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 605988 N 4919992 Mr. Whiteface New York: Essex Cnty by Justin of Team Slacker and Trillian [profile] N 44° 22.324 W 073° 53.463 (WGS84) UTM: 18T E 588352 N 4913797 One for the Loafers Maine: Franklin Cnty by geomaineiacs [profile] N 45° 02.084 W 070° 19.126 (WGS84) UTM: 19T E 396124 N 4987655 Monhegan Magic This is an island off the coast of Maine ? maybe un-mapable. Looks like fun, though. by Anderson [profile] N 43° 45.910 W 069° 18.977 (WGS84) UTM: 19T E 474542 N 4845840 Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! Rhode Island: Washington Cnty Near the coast ? maybe unmappable by Planet [profile] User's Web Page N 41° 22.329 W 071° 35.214 (WGS84) UTM: 19T E 283657 N 4583300 Secondary Importance Fitchburg Furnace Virtual Cache by KYtrex [profile] User's Web Page N 37° 43.987 W 083° 51.158 (WGS84) UTM: 17S E 248615 N 4180036 Thanks again, voltaire -- Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Looks like you missed two I markwelled earlier: These two caches lie close enough to each other that you might as well see them both on the same trip. I did. And within that day are two stories I'll never forget. GCG6GH - bygone days Legend says that a farmer was out plowing his field when a group of Union soldiers marched by headed to fight in the Civil War. Feeling patriotic, the farmer leaned his plow against a bur oak tree and joined the soldiers in battle. The farmer never returned and nearly 130 years later we can still see this part of history marked inside the bur oak tree where the plow remains. GCHJHQ - pulp fiction This stately tree was planted accidentally by a surveyer as he established the line between Audubon and Cass counties. To mark the line he cut a branch from a cottonwood tree nearby.Being a wet spring,the branch rooted and grew. The century old tree still stands in the center of the crossroads today. When you go over the crest of the hill and see this tree in front of you, your breath is taken away. Nothing really prepares you for this sight. ------------------ If you're going to be on I-80 between Des Moines and Omaha, make plans (and take a close look at the maps because there's no exist for the second one, just a lot of dirt roads) and give yourself and extra hour or two for these caches. They're worth the time and trip. Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 Thanks Bons! I'll check 'em out. voltaire Quote Link to comment
Zzons Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...ec-3bb78d8d2194 This a good spot to check out some of Route 66's unusual beuty from the past. I hope this is what your looking for... Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted June 6, 2004 Author Share Posted June 6, 2004 That's different, Zzons. It's the first one from Oklahoma. So, is that folk art? A warning about armed neighbors? Interesting. Maybe I can swing through there on my way back. voltaire Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted June 27, 2004 Author Share Posted June 27, 2004 Hi Folks Just an update: I'm on the road now for six days, right now hanging out at Java Joe's in Santa Fe, just before heading into Texas for my first sublime site sighting. I couldn't help stopping in at Zion Nt'l Park and Monument Valley on the way - hope you can check these places out if you haven't. Mostly the weather has been good, ranging from hot to very hot, but I have run into some thunderstorms here in New Mexico - the accompanying wind is havoc for me on my motorcycle. That's it for now - I can't wait to see the Texas sites. voltaire Quote Link to comment
voltaire Posted August 2, 2004 Author Share Posted August 2, 2004 Just a quick update: I'm still here, in Maine, stuck cause I've been working on my bike. I've had to rebuild the top end(s) due to a bad part installation. I had intended to head out towards Michigan almost two weeks ago, but I ran into mechanical problems. Fortunately I was staying with my sister when the proverbial fan was splattered. I'm hoping to get the bike running today, allowing me to leave tomorrow. I've visited two sites up here in Maine. I highly recommend One For The Loafers - strenuous summertime hike, but the view is a payoff. I'm hoping the ride back to the west coast is a smooth, trouble-free one. voltaire Quote Link to comment
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