On the southern shore of Heater’s Island
With every paddle stroke in the downstream flow of the upper Potomac we move our canoe past our inexperience on the water and towards our geocaching adventure. We land on Heater’s Island. We step up into a young forest, walk deer trail and no trail, sometimes the two of us, sometimes five, sometimes more.
On the southern shore of Heater’s Island
Come along as two dry-land enthusiasts who’ve never rowed or paddled anywhere in anything choose an outing together on the upper Potomac River for their joint maiden voyage. Watch as we drift downstream to Heater’s Island, Maryland in pursuit of fun and adventure.
Hiking the fantastic terrain of Fountainhead Regional Park
Cradled in the snaky meandering embrace of the Occoquan Reservoir, squeezed upward from water’s edge into hardwood-canopied undulating green folds of rise and ravine, and threaded through with narrow ribbons of stream and trail was our bit of wilderness in Fairfax County, Virginia — Fountainhead Regional Park.
The Harpers Ferry Bandstand, ready for the 4th of July
The land we call Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a focal point of nature, gathering force and resources at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Harpers Ferry is also one of the most significant of all our special places, important as both inspiration for and site of some of the most pivotal movements and moments in our nation’s history.
That’s not why apc9296 and I went to Harpers Ferry on the eve of our nation’s birthday celebration. As Virginia geocachers we were looking forward to finding our first West Virginia geocaches; Harpers Ferry extended itself into our part of Virginia and beckoned us to come on across, so we did. Once there we each found more geocaches than either of us had ever found in a day and in doing so we discovered many historic and beautiful places in Jefferson County, West Virginia.
In search of a geocache in Hemlock Overlook Regional Park
“I have always hated to exercise just for the sake of exercise,” my good friend dagdvm once told me.
I agree completely. Sometimes it’s hard to just get on a treadmill and walk in place or go outside and walk in circles around some block or track or route or go out a ways and then turn around and come back. Yes, it’s exercise, but walking without purpose can get a bit monotonous. Wouldn’t it be great to have another reason to walk a good distance?
“Geocaching,” dagdvm continued, ” is getting me out and walking for hours at a time. It has to be good for my body.”
It sure does. If you go out looking for certain geocaches you’ll get some exercise without even thinking about it. If you go to a nice park full of geocaches you can walk around for hours having fun finding as many as possible. If you go to that park with a friend who belongs to an avid hiking superdog, well — it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a nice healthy day outside, and that’s exactly what dagdvm, her weiner dog Tilly and I did at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in Fairfax County, Virginia on a fine Sunday in June.
Looking back from ground zero
A geocache can take you somewhere special and move you through that space in a way that makes for a memorable experience. Nice place for a walk in Orange (GC2M32G) gave me just such an experience on a hot and sunny Saturday in early June.
Gordon’s Hobby Lobby Telemaster 40 just after landing
Last weekend I went searching for a pair of geocaches near Culpeper, Virginia, Little Up-Up and Away #s 1 and 2 (GC1 V34N and GC1V35T) located at the Skyline Flyers Radio Control Club (SFRC). I was hoping to grab myself a couple of moments of fun between one weekend chore and the next. I received a lot more goodness than I’d hoped for.
Leaving koz’s reinkarnated klifton kache, GCZW0WY…
On Sunday, April 17th, a clear, sunny day after a long period of soaking rains, apc9296 and I went geocaching in Clifton and Burke Lake Park. We found twelve geocaches altogether, a single-day record for both of us; dropped off seven toys in seven different caches; and found some scenic places we might not have seen otherwise.
Geocache Chronicle 