Colorado, the Beautiful

Driving from the cache at 11,200 feet to Durango was one of the most spectacular drives I’ve taken. After the days and days of flatness, it was a relief to be back in mountains, too, which is my natural habitat.

Vista Vows
Pillows aren’t for sleeping

trail at 11,200 ft

view through the trees

many valleys

wooded trail

a pullout with some history along with the view

a drove of donkeys

I always get a kick out of being at the Continental Divide – it’s an existential meeting of east and west, history and future, humidity and desert. Ha.

a rest area at the side of the road surrounded by loveliness

This vista point was the highlight of an already incredible drive!

So Much to be Thankful For

This is always a time of reflection for me, and to that end, I took a look at my previous Thanksgiving geocaching blogs. I love seeing how much fun I’ve had and how many wonderful friends I’ve made over the last 9 1/2 years. Take a moment to click on the links for the full stories. I’ve included a photo from each to inspire you to walk back through time with me.

2008
14 Miles, now that’s a big number!

2009
Happy Thanksgiving!

2010
Giving Thanks

2011
Thankful for our Veterans

2012
A preview of blogs to come, as I continue with my summer road trip:

The Jasmer Challenge

The Jasmer Challenge (Northern California Edition)
This is one of the most difficult challenges to complete because of the rarity of the earlier caches, therefore, I was relieved to see that I could pick up my three remaining qualifying finds on my road trip this summer. The penultimate cache was Mingo, the oldest existing geocache, and the final one was placed later that summer in one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been.

I drove from Colorado Springs to Durango, and took a long detour to the Spanish Peaks. Several miles up a graded dirt road, I got to the trailhead and parked my Prius at 11,200 feet.

The cache is only about a half mile from parking, and the trail is mostly flat, so I knew I could accomplish the hike, even with no acclimation to the elevation.

I signed in at the trail head and struck out through the tall trees.

It was not just the scenery taking my breath away.

My goal was not to ascend the peak, but it was always in view.

The colors of some of the flowers were vibrant blue…

… and purple…

I’m glad it was a cloudy day, as the temperature was perfectly cool.

The cache was surrounded by ducs, but I’m not sure if they all were put there by geocachers.

THIS is the view from the cache.

A photo is clearly not sufficient.

I spent about a half hour up there, enjoying some salami and cheese and the surrounding spectacularness.

Mingo!

Mingo is a small town in Kansas. It’s also the oldest original active geocache. (The first cache ever placed now has a plaque there, and a replacement cache nearby.) As many before me have done, I planned this segment of my trip to pilgrimage to this famous cache, both for its historic longevity, and as one of the finds I needed to complete the Jasmer challenge. (More on that next week…)

I was surprised and curious as I entered the state, and still wonder where the fish are:

My first find in KS:
QUICK PIT STOP

After several days of flat, flat, flat, I found myself missing the mountains that I’m so used to in California.

Even small side roads seem to stretch out endlessly.

Corn fields and old buildings still make for striking scenery, perhaps more so without any distractions on the horizon.

Quest achieved! Here’s where the Mingo cache is located:
Mingo

Mingo and Me

A closer look at the container

Here’s the log!

The town has only a couple of streets, and not all of them paved. Here’s a quick tour.

Malibu Views

Believe it or not, I’m STILL not done posting all of the stories and photos from my summer road trip, but I wanted to take a break and just let my subscribers relax with some the beauty of Corral Canyon. Not much to say about these, but I hope they serve to soothe what may be a stressful week for many of us for a variety of reasons.

Cache list:
Corral Canyon creek and trailhead
Hutch Canyon Trail Cache
Topanga
Thornhill Broome
Surrounded Foo
Foo's Ocean View
Cage Canyon Trail Cache
180 Degrees
Squeezed In – or Not?
Foo up around the first bend
Coop Canyon Trail cache
Bric-a-Brac
Puerco Pig Pole: GSM H-a-D #76
Dante's Inferno: Level 9
Malibu Canyon park-n-grab
Zuma

Trail

Weeds

Mansions

Clouds

White Flowers

Pretty crimson…. uh… poison oak!

Creek

Old Fireplace with bougainvillea

Pipe?

Lizard!

Boat

Ocean

Peace and quiet….