If you were looking to travel and cache in mid-March….

[Trekkin and Birdin]

… and you MUST be able to drive, where would you go?

We have a long break starting March 14, and I’m thinking it would be fun to take advantage of that time. Trekkin’ will NOT board an airplane, so it would have to be a trip that we could reasonably take by car. We have about a week.

Given those restrictions, where would you go? We like hikes, the woods and that kind of thing, but will grab the guard rails on the way to places like that. Help me make my pitch to Trekkin’!

[GetMeOutdoors]

In March? South… you want to go south! Anywhere south will do 🙂

Actually, South Dakota comes to mind. What little caching I was able to do as we drove through there this summer was really neat. Probably becuase the landscape was different. The hills are beautiful and the wildlife you see is neat too. But I think some of the wildlife are bears so might want to watch for that. But Mt. Rushmore is really cool to see if you’ve never been there before. The Rapids City / Keystone area where Mt. Rushmore is is a beautiful drive and there are caches everywhere. Lots of letterboxing if you like that too. And in the off season you should be able to find affordable lodging. There is a KOA near keystone that’s really nice.

Oh, and one more thing… TAKE ME WITH YOU, PLEASE!!!!!

[Trekkin and Birdin]

GMO, We were thinking of that area this next summer, actually. We’ve both been there before, but have areas we want to explore more closely. The notion of travelling across those plains during the late season blizzard season isn’t appealing.

Yeah, south sounds good. Wondering maybe about places in the Ozarks or something like that. Just not sure, if there are EarthCaches in concentration, that makes for an easier sell to Trekkin!

[Team Honeybunnies]

I’m a big believer in the spring vacation. No people, no lines, everywhere to ourselves, and it’s just as pretty.

We’ve had great luck in the lower Mississippi Valley in the spring, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi. Last spring was Missouri and there was still ice on the northern lakes in the state, and a dusting of snow in some spots of the Ozarks.

It’s still a crapshoot with the weather, but the only way to totally avoid snow is to go somewhere that doesn’t get it. Temps for us were anywhere from high 40s to high 60s.

If you have the flexibility, check the snow cover maps as the time approaches, but take them with a grain of salt, because they had us convinced we’d be seeing six inches of snow in parts of Missouri and we never saw much more than a trace.

Drop us a line if you’d like some more detailed info!

[Crockett3663]

I was going to say South Dakota as well, but it sounds like you actually are looking to HEAD south, so I’ll suggest the Smoky Mountains. It’s a bit of a drive, but if you’ve got another licensed driver or two besides yourself, you ought to make it in about 10-12 hours if you take turns and drive straight through. Sleep when it’s not your turn to drive and you should be good to go when you get there. The Smokies are one of the most beautiful parts of the entire US if you ask me, and the people down there are SO friendly!!

Where ever you end up, I hope you have a safe trip and score lots of finds!! Be sure to bring lots of stories back with you and post photos in your logs!!

[LMcGisme]

I’d suggest checking out the Land Between The Lakes (LBL), a national recreation area just past the tip of Illinois in Kentucky and Tennessee. There are at least two EarthCaches there, plus lots of other caches to do, too. Hiking, fishing, and history all abound (I’m starting to sound like a commercial). We were there mid March last year and the temps were in the 50s then.

Not too far away from there is New Madrid, MO where the big midwest earthquake occurred in 1812. Lots of EarthCaches in that area – most on the Kentucky/Tennessee side of the Mississippi river. Most are new since we were there so I don’t know how good they are, but I remember ‘Earthquake Lake’ GC112BZ was pretty interesting.

When we went last year we drove all the way down to New Orleans, where there are some interesting EarthCaches explaining the levee breaches. We made it down and back home (Madison area) in a week, but a lot of people don’t like to as much driving in a day as that required.

I hope you have fun where ever you end up going.

Lisa

[furfool]

There could be an early spring next year. If that’s the case, I would head north. You know, to try and stay in that winter frame of mind that much longer. You might end up waiting as long as 8 months for winter to come back. That’s an awfully long wait. 😀

[Astro_D]

Well, I would vote for Vancouver, British Columbia. Temps are pretty mild: mid 50s and sometimes 60s,no snow except high up in the mountains, but the days are quite cloudy and always with a chance of rain! THere are plenty of beautiful parks in urban and suburban areas, excellent hiking trails, huge cedar trees, ocean and mountain views. Some great lighthouses, totem poles, unique features and culture and the people are very friendly. Plus there are lots of caches there!

[Gusty Winds]

Give me the Ozark Mountains in March. Right around Texarkana would be fine. Check with Hotdogs off trail for caches that are must see in that area.

[furfool]

@AstroD-Team wrote:

Well, I would vote for Vancouver, British Columbia. Temps are pretty mild: mid 50s and sometimes 60s,no snow except high up in the mountains, but the days are quite cloudy and always with a chance of rain! THere are plenty of beautiful parks in urban and suburban areas, excellent hiking trails, huge cedar trees, ocean and mountain views. Some great lighthouses, totem poles, unique features and culture and the people are very friendly. Plus there are lots of caches there!

Just remember that if one heads north, or way south for that matter, you may need a passport. I forget when the deadlines are.

[GetMeOutdoors]

@Trekkin’ and Birdin’ wrote:

The notion of travelling across those plains during the late season blizzard season isn’t appealing.

Yeah, I guess I should do my research better before making wild suggestions… Don’t watch this news video: 😉
http://www.onenewsnow.com/vidPlayer.aspx?videoId=8564

[3 Hawks]

If you want to rack up some numbers, Cacheville (Nashville) might fit the bill.

[Trekkin and Birdin]

If you want to rack up some numbers, Cacheville (Nashville) might fit the bill.

We’ve heard that about Nashville, but this isn’t for numbers, but to see new areas and see what they’re like. Also to break up the Wisconsin winter caching doldrums that set in about that time. I’m also hoping moving to a different latitude might get me some new life birds!

We’re leaning toward that AR/TN/MS/KY area, awaiting some hot tips from the Bunnies as to good spots to visit. We tend to find an area that interests us, go there, cache the place out as much as we can, grabbing a few along the way to that spot. If it’s an Earthcache or letterbox not too far off the route, you can be sure we’d make that side trip!

I’ve been to eastern Tennessee for the storytelling festival and really want to go back there sometime to explore the Smokies, but for this trip, the down river approach seems a little more do-able.

The Northwest coast area? Trekkin’s been there, and I’ve always wanted to go there. That will be a longer trip some day. We hope to retire within the next three years, and then we can go places like that right after school starts, when it’s still nice but there are less tourists!

Thanks for all the good ideas. Those New Madrid EarthCaches look interesting. There’s a visible fault line along highway 61 in Red Wing MN, but there’s no really safe way to explore that one. Planning this trip will give me something to do when the weather or daylight hours drag us down these next few months.

[Da Bloodhound]

Hey Gwen
If Dick and airplanes don’t mix how far, over night, could you get on Amtrack?
You could even catch a few winks while “on the road” to ?????????
DB

[kansas64]

My 2 choices, South Carolina (we were there last April) nice and warm but still not humid and a decent caching community there. I see Dead People by the Lake on the SC/GA border is a multi that supposedly takes 6 hours, they rave about that one down there, we did not do it but have considered returning to that area for that cache and grabbing our last few counties.

Other choice..VEGAS, in a 2 1/2 hour car drive (plus caching time) you can hit California, Nevada (Red Rock Canyon NE of Vegas would take care of any Trekkin urges), Arizona (Virgin Gorge, Zuma recently raved about it) and Utah. We are going back later this month and will most likely not even gamble (ok may one us not gambling) and want to try to get 50 in each Nevada and Utah.

[Author]

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