Battleship: Bangor-Final

On Wednesday, my husband and I planned an early anniversary celebration since we both had to work on our actual anniversary.  We each chose a place to eat and a couple of activities to do.  I'm sure it won't surprise you to know that I chose geocaching as one of the day's events.  Really all I wanted to do was to finish the Battleship series I had started a couple weeks prior but we actually ended up doing six that day.

Armed with both the GPS and the c:geo app for my phone, we trekked into the woods looking for the cache that had previously alluded me.  Both devices led us to within six feet of each other and that's when we began the search.  We went in opposite directions, walking in somewhat of a circle.  We lifted logs and rocks, finding more bugs than anything else.  Thankfully there weren't any bugs to make the hunt any more frustrating than it already was. 

After about fifteen minutes with no luck, we widened our search.  Brad reminded me that because of the container we were looking for, it would have to be hidden in or under something fairly large.  It wasn't long after hearing his advice when, lo and behold, I found it!  Brad came running over to help me remove the container from its very clever hiding place. 

The contents of the cache were pretty decent and in good shape.  We ended up taking a Marvel Superheroes race car and left a Matchbox shaped ice pack.  Brad was impressed with the amount of time and effort that the owner of the cache put into this hide.  He's now trying to think of a series of his own to put out :)



Battleship: Bangor

Occasionally, instead of doing a traditional geocache, I'll get a little bit of ambition and decide to do a multi-step geocache, or multi for short.  A multi requires the finder to go to several locations to collect clues that will lead you to the final cache, which will be in a traditional container.  Sometimes, each stage of the multi will have a container, other times you will be looking at a landmark or other object. 

Last week I started working on a multi that required you to answer true or false about questions on a 5x5 grid.  It was set up like a Battleship grid so I didn't necessarily have to find all 25 locations, just the places where you would get a "hit."  I ended up having to only visit 19 of the squares. 

What I enjoyed about this multi was that although you had to travel to several locations, they were all in a condensed area of Bangor.  I got to see areas that I wouldn't normally visit and learned some things about my city that I didn't already know. 

My first stop was one of Bangor's notable buildings-Thomas Hill Standpipe.  This historical fixture was built in 1897 in a mere six months' time.  People used to be able to go inside to visit but in 1940 a young boy fell between the stairwell and the tank and died of his injuries.  Now, the Standpipe is opened once a season.  Actually, tomorrow is the date of the summer sunset tour.  For more information, click here.  

Although school's not in session, I visited both Husson University and the University College of Bangor to see if I could get any hits on my Battleship board.  Stepping onto the Husson grounds brought back many memories.  I didn't go to college there but when I was a Junior in high school, I had an opportunity to attend Dirigo Girls State.  Girls State gave young women an opportunity to participate in and learn more about government.  To say this program wasn't for me is an understatement.  I dreaded every session and lecture that I attended.  I'm still glad I went though, because I did enjoy spending time with my friends and feeling cool for being on a college campus. 

Before breaking for lunch, I visited the Mt. Hope Cemetery which is the second oldest garden cemetery in America.  Famous mobster Al Brady was buried here after he was shot and killed by the FBI in 1937.  Brady was wanted for 200 robberies, several counts of assaults, and four counts of murder.  Giacomo's, a sandwich shop in Downtown Bangor, has a painting of the famous Public Enemy #1.  Maine's 25th governor and America's 15th Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin was also laid to rest here. 

I was very happy that my hunt for clues took me to Cascade Park.  The day was a hot one and I was able to walk past the fountain and let the mist cool my face.  Families were sitting in the shade sharing picnic lunches and others were strolling along the walking paths.  It's not uncommon to see a wedding taking place here in the summer.  The fountain, flora, and fauna make for a beautiful natural background for any occasion.  There actually used to be a regular geocache on one of the walking trails but it has been disabled for a few months now.  This was one of my favorite stops of the day.

Now that I've sunk the battleships, I can take my clues and go find the final cache.  I know the location and have tried looking for it once with no luck.  This heat isn't exactly encouraging and sweat in the eyes makes it difficult to look for anything.  On some cool evening this week, I'll make my way back out into the woods so I can finally put this multi to rest. 

 

  

Careful Caching

An oddly popular place for geocachers to hide their treasures is in cemeteries.  Generally, hiding caches in a cemetery is allowed if you have permission to do so.  These geocaches are typically hidden on the edges of the cemetery or on the fence around the perimeter.  These locations make for some very interesting finds.  It is generally NOT good geocaching etiquette to put geocaches in a place that would add foot traffic on the graves or if the geocache is on the headstone.  That being said, here are some of the cemeteries that I have visited.

Most recently, my friend Nick and I took advantage of one of the dry days in our stretch of rainy ones and went in search of "At the Feet of the Dead."  We parked and walked carefully through the paths leading down toward a small stream that cuts the cemetery in half.  We had little trouble crossing and followed the path until we reached a low rock wall.  The rock wall runs perpendicular to the Kenduskeag Stream which we could hear and see rushing between the banks. The cache was in a large ammo box and was in excellent condition.  Nick picked up his first Travel Bug here and left one of his own. 

One of my favorite geocaches is in a tucked away cemetery in Lincoln.  The cache is part of the Sherwood Forest series and is dedicated to Guy of Gisborne.  In the story, Guy suffers a particularly gruesome death.  How fitting that this would be located in a cemetery.  What makes this cache particularly interesting isn't the location but the container.  I've also been able to locate Gwyn in a nice clearing near Bucksport.  I'm looking forward to discovering other characters such as Little John and Friar Tuck.  Searchers, beware!

Sherwood Forest: Guy of Gisborne

Recently I got a notification showing a newly posted geocache.  It's always thrilling wondering if you might be the first to find.  I searched the fence and small trees surrounding that separated the cemetery from the road with no luck.  The description of the geocache gave very little information and no hints.  The container turned out to be a small pill bottle hidden by personal belongings on top of a headstone.  This would be an example of where NOT to place a geocahe.  Later that same day, the geocache was disabled and not available for future visits.  It's a shame, too, because it was a beautiful area and there were several other places where the cache could have been hidden. 

Remember to tread lightly and always be respectful of your surroundings, especially when geocaching in cemeteries. 

Happy Trails

Yesterday was the first dry day in a series of wet ones so of course it was perfect to pick up some geocaches.  My friend Derek and I went down to where the P.A.L. Center used to be in Bangor.  It's well known by kids for its steep sledding hill.  Many injuries have occurred here!  It's also known for its walking trails.  You may see some wild life here; most likely creatures that live in the pond or birds.  Once I was lucky enough to spot a deer standing in the middle of the path. 

There were lots of folks walking their dogs or with their families.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying the blue skies and gentle breeze as much as we were.  Luckily we found the first cache without much muggle interference.  There were a few thorns guarding the spot but we made it through mostly unscathed.  Farther down the path on the same side of the trail sat another geocache.  Both of the containers and contents had recently been replaced and were ripe for the picking.  I came away with some nice treasures-a hot wheels ice pack and a pen in the shape of the Hulk. 

Essex Woods Trail #2

Geocache: 835 Feet From New Jersey

On our way out of the trees, a little boy approached and asked, "What did you see?"  He was with his mom, dad, and dog.  There weren't any flowers or animals so we just said, "Not much," and hoped it would satisfy his curiosity.  Instead, he followed us for nearly the entire way back asking us questions and directing our eyes to look at the ducks or at him as he carried a cat o' nine tails like he was leading a parade.  Finally his parents called him back and we said goodbye.  Maybe we had a chance to make a future geocacher that day but I doubt he would have stopped talking long enough to hear what we had to say :)