Avenging the Ahamanson!

It was our third attempt and we brought a third party to help (f0t0m0m), but Cairngorm and I finally prevailed in finding this elusive cache:
ON THE CROSSOVER TRAIL

The first two times, we spent 20-30 minutes searching all around the tree/ground/trail, but this time, it was hanging in plain view. Go figure. It was still a great relief, and this trail is always gorgeous.

This is “winter” up the Las Virgenes Canyon of Ahmanson Ranch:

The sky is spectacular:

The view to the east from the cache in question, with mountains way in the background:

To the west, you can see the gas pipeline signs marching up the slope:

I even got a pretty good shot of the waning quarter moon:

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and holiday geocaching season!

Opera Box

This is the 2nd cache on the list in my quest to maintain my puzzle caches, and I also plan to post pages here with help in solving the harder ones.

The Opera Box
The Opera Box puzzle is easy, though, as all the answers can be found with your favorite search engine and most are on the Metropolitan Opera website in their collection of synopses. There is one “trick” question, but it should not pose any significant obstacle.

The hike to the cache can be started at the posted coordinates for lovely hike up Cheesboro Canyon, or start at the north end of Las Virgenes for a shorter hike up the next canyon over. That’s the route I took this time.

The weather was perfect for hiking:

I found my cache in perfect condition right where it’s supposed to be:

It’s not far from the boundary between the Ahmanson open space and the area maintained by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area:

The side canyons feature old signs marking gas pipes:

… and the trails are crowded with these guys:

… which is why Wile E. was here looking for lunch!

Here’s a closer look, thanks to my nifty zoom lens:

I don’t see these guys very often, but I know they see me ALL the time!

New Toy

I got the iPhone4, and was delighted to discover the iMovie app. Five bucks lets me do some fun and creative stuff. Here are three of my first directorial efforts, all shot and edited on my iPhone4! (The music to dialog balance is automatic, so I need to get in the habit of speaking louder, I guess.)

The Beauty and Mystery of Geocaching

One of the most compelling things about geocaching for me is just getting out into the scenery. I got to get out in to some different scenery this week, too, traveling about 30 miles north of Pleasanton, CA, to Brentwood, Antioch, Kingston, and Bethel Island with local cachers, David T, Fisherwoman, and DuckyLee. Here’s just a pictorial taste of the area:

On a clear day, you can see forever!

Farmer Brentwood

Magic Carpet (Princess #2)

Downtown Brentwood

Oakley Heritage Tree

GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES !!

Welcome to the Delta

Mariner Cove

We didn’t find this one, even with a lifeline!
Legion of Honor

Later in the week, I hiked with f0t0m0m through Ahmanson Ranch, which encompasses a large valley just west of where I live. It’s a lush spring in Southern California after the wet winter we’ve had.

Another Ahmanson Bush

Lightning got this tree!
Hanging Out on the Trail

Finally, does anyone know what this critter is? I’ve never seen anything like it before! He popped up out of a hole and observed us.

That’s the mystery of the week.

Ahhh… Ahmanson…

It was a lovely, cloudy, cool day when I headed out to Ahmanson Ranch with OLdweeb to nab some FTFs and to check on a couple of his out there. We hiked about 6 miles RT on a mostly flat trail, but did get some nice hill climbing in at the upper end of the trail.

THREE COWGIRLS
See Hear & Speak No Evil
BEHIND THE OAK
The Lesser Pillar
SURROUNDED BY PEAKS
SHADE & WATER
SOLAR PANELS
Too Lazy to Proceed
Beyond the Boundary

The overcast weather kept us nice and cool:

The jimson weed is bloom:

There is a sulphur spring near the trail head, and here’s where you can really get a good whiff:

I stopped on the way out just to listen to the “music” of the place!

Until next week, get out, look at, listen to, and smell the geocaches!