[Team Honeybunnies]

We’ve had a lot of fun caching all over the UP. Even if you scale back to just driving back via Highway 2 it’s worthwhile, much of it following the Lake Michigan shoreline. For me, the drive from the bridge to Manistique is a real sentimental favorite. Not a lot of knockout caches on that stretch though. The lighthouse virtual in Manistique is really pleasant with a walk out on the breakwater. Drop a line once you’ve chosen a route.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Hey there!

Good to see a familiar name popping back in. Drop us a line through our profile and maybe we can make something happen. There are some nice hikes here and there that need to be done yet…

[Team Honeybunnies]

Awesome guys! Have fun and and be sure to share the stories. We haven’t shared a dinner table in a while…

[Team Honeybunnies]

Congratulations guys, that’s a pretty special milestone. The journey is the destination and you’ve always known that. Hope to see you again soon!

[Team Honeybunnies]

Congratulations Ralph! We wanted to be there, but paying the bills got in the way. I’m looking forward to hearing about it. I’ll drop you a line this week.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Hey thanks everybody 😀 . We’re just still following our muse in caching, seeing the country one grid at a time. For everyone here who’s thinking about completing even Wisconsin’s, I can’t recommend it enough. Every page has something worth seeing. You may not realize it until you’ve been there.

And Ralph, about SoDak, sounds great, let me talk to the missus 😉 .

[Team Honeybunnies]

I have mixed feelings on the return of virtuals. I voted for it in the feedback forums, but boy I really want to see some quality control.

We make a point of seeking out virtuals when traveling, including 11 of them on our spring vacation. Quality is just as inconstant as with any other cache type and ranged anywhere from unmonitored, no-answer-needed piffle up through some really compelling stuff.

We have a disproportionate number of virtuals on our favorites list for good reason. Even if the requirements are at times lame they regularly take us to some amazing, amazing stuff. Last summer we went to Glacier NP, and did every virtual in the park. None of them had amazing requirements, but c’mon, we were in the Crown of the Continent! Geocaching for me, at its best is still about location, location, location.

While it appears the restrictions are slooowly loosening on the placement of physical caches in National Parks, they are still the best argument for the return of virtuals. We did a physical multi with all of the waypoints virtual in Teddy Roosevelt National Park, then had to take a 20 mile drive down the interstate for the final container. Yes you can have a phsical final outside the park just about anywhere, but is that really desirable?

By the same token, I don’t want them to all become 10 stop story problems. Sometimes an easy virtual lets you concentrate on what you’vce been brought to rather than what’s expected of you.

No matter what they end up being, we’ll be doing them.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Well geez Ralph, you didn’t have my handsome self to do the sweet-talking. Karl could be mistaken for menacing, and you just naturally look like you’re up to no good 😉 .

I have officially lost count of the times we have had discussions with the boys in blue (and brown, and green…), but luckily all of ours have been rather innocuous. I’ve found that the best approach has been to just stop what you’re doing and put on a smile. Most are now aware of geocaching, and are fairly reasonable.

That being said it looks like you proved the exception.

[Team Honeybunnies]

@cheezehead wrote:

@Team Honeybunnies wrote:

I’m firing up the smoker for ribs and chicken. Chicken will be served with Big Bob Gibson-style white sauce. Basically half and half cider vinegar and mayonnaise plus spices. Unbelievable. Almost a religion unto itself if you like ‘que. Homemade baked beans on the side and peach cobbler from scratch for dessert.

Mind posting your recipie?? I tried to make it once and it was not very good. But I think the recipie I used was all out of wack.

My recipe is straight out of “Peace, Love and Barbecue” by Mike Mills:

1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Cracked Black Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt, Finely Ground
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne

Pretty straight-forward. My one recommendation is to combine all the ingredients except the cider vinegar and then add that slowly until you get the desired consistency. The full cup seems to make it pretty watery, and really any amount added is going to give it that vinegary kick. At the restaurant they have this in a five-gallon pail and dip halved chickens in it before serving.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Marie is the bigger Packer fan, but we’ll both be anchored to the couch. If you’re born in Wisconsin I think it might be genetic. Ought to be one for the books!

[Team Honeybunnies]

I’m firing up the smoker for ribs and chicken. Chicken will be served with Big Bob Gibson-style white sauce. Basically half and half cider vinegar and mayonnaise plus spices. Unbelievable. Almost a religion unto itself if you like ‘que. Homemade baked beans on the side and peach cobbler from scratch for dessert.

[Team Honeybunnies]

@labrat_wr wrote:

okay, made the hummus, now what to do with it? 😀
Other than the quesadillas, other uses for Hummus?

Makes a yummy sandwich with tabouli. Starch three ways.

[Team Honeybunnies]

We’ve done quite a few good ones all over the country, but our sentimental favorite has to be GCM829 Shifting Sands Earthcache at the tip of Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks. I’m not sure why, other than that it was on our honeymoon and takes you to the very tip of the Banks. The sandbar there is continually moving south, so the idea is that each cacher posts their most extreme coords at low tide and compares them to the previous finder to see the shift. Lots and I mean LOTS of fishermen there, but a neat place.

There are quite a few good ones we’ve done, but interestingly some of the nicest places have had the least interesting ECs. Some places that were just pretty or pleasant had better ECs. I liked GC1673H Godly Gardens for that reason. That one’s at Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois, a collection of sandstone spires and blobs not much different from a lot of the things you would see in the Dells. The requirements are pretty light, but you have to walk the trail to find them all. Actual interaction is a big plus.

GC15QNT Miners Castle is at Pictured Rocks on the UP North Shore, and while a PnG, takes you to the most recognizable feature in the entire park, and makes for great photo opportunities.

GC1CWXK Pompeys Pillar, GC1E6BV Colgate Licks, GC14VG2 What’s Behind Multnomah Falls and GC1BZ6R Haystack Rock are all favorites because they are either significant Lewis and Clark Trail stops or found along the trail. Multnomah is loved to death but still breathtaking, and Haystack Rock is another iconic view along the Oregon coast.

GC16PV3 BIG bog was found while chasing the Minnesota DeLorme with Zuma. The earth science here isn’t particularly interesting (at least to me), but the cache takes you out a mile-long perforated steel boardwalk into the biggest bog I’ve seen. Tamaracks and carnivorous plants were the big draw here.

Tah-Ne-Co, GC11WJ5, takes you all over Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. About a half-day to complete, but it really gets you out in every part of the park, from Bathhouse Row down in town to trails and the needle above town. Oh, and stop in at McClard’s BBQ while in town for a special piece of Americana.

Here in state we have done some lovely spots too. GC1GJ1A Van Hise Rock and GC1HM1D A “Gorgeous” Look at Geology: Ablemans Gorge take you to an area close to Devil’s Lake that doesn’t get nearly as much attention despite geologic significance. GC1A9G8 Driftless: Natural Bridge is another neat area with few visitors, and visited during our get-together for the big 10k. GC1FYE6 Cave Point is another iconic view along Lake Michigan in Door County. None to be missed. Some of the best are archived or currently unavailable, including the top of Roche-A-Cri and Parfrey’s Glen.

Lower Michigan has a couple great ones in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, GC12A9V Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes and GC1E0F2 South Manitou. Huge dunes in the midwest that left Zuma and I both huffing and puffing to the top, and the ferry ride from Fishtown to South Manitou is not to be missed.

Last but not least would be GC11M7T Acadia National Park EarthCache Program in Maine. This one cacn be completed in a day, but we did it over a couple while visiting all the major features. Something like eight stops? And you get to see nearly everything. Plus it’s the only EC we’ve ever done with a physical log (and a stamp Gwyn 😉 ).

For all that, there are so many places we’ve been to that would make great ECs but no one has placed one. They’re out there waiting!

[Team Honeybunnies]

Being able to travel for the BOD is really a qualification and not a nicety. WGA events, while not wholly, are predominantly staffed by board members. There are nine of us to share the load, but everybody really needs to be able to help out. The initial annual board meeting sets the tone for the entire year and many of us had never met face-to-face or had extremely limited contact. That first meeting accomplishes quite a bit over the course of nearly an entire day, so it’s no time to be a stranger. Speaking entirely for myself, a Skype conference would be a disaster, as I had to stop three times during this post alone to play with my son. Maybe for a cohesive team with a set agenda, but not for your first cotillion.

[Team Honeybunnies]

Amen Sister Gwyn 😉 !

I have taken to heart the words of a Tennessee cacher named Moses. “Thou shalt not sign and whine.” If you’re going to hunt it, if you’re going to log it, be pleasant.

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