Monthly Archives: August 2022

2 Time Lapse Videos I made of the Night Sky in Wyoming

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This is night turning into day

This is another angle, different time of night

 

 

 

When I bought this van I am lucky enough to have, I had 1 place in mind. That place is the Outlaw Campground near Kaycee Wyoming. I was lucky enough to visit there before, but nothing more. I knew it is someplace I would love to stay the night. It also has some of the darkest skies in our country. Not only was I lucky enough to visit again, but this time I spent time, and an overnight there. I ran 2 cameras all night, taking pictures. I did everything I dreamed. Sunset, night, sunrise, pics from the roof of the van, off-road 4WD, everything I imagined. So grateful.

Here comes the next hunk of time for my August 2022 travels

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Day 11

After 2 long and successful days of travel, hiking, climbing, and geocaching, it was time to get a hotel for the night. The night skies are not cooperating. There was no reason to stay the night in the middle of nowhere Colorado, when the skies are going to be cloudy and not clear for the New Moon. We stayed the night in Colorado Springs. We had an amazing Thai dinner and then a leisurely morning. The next thing we had to do was be in Estes Park by nighttime for a rafting trip tomorrow. We made our way north through Colorado, stopping by Pikes Peak on the way. We were able to drive all the way up, spend a ton of time at the top, and enjoy watching the weather change and scare everyone about 3 times in an hour. One of my most memorable finds ever is going to be at the peak of Pikes. It was a traditional in the rocks, just off the walking path. Wifey and I spent about 20 minutes with no luck. It had just been found earlier in the day too! After some time, I think I was ready to give up. Next thing I know, a lady asks if she was in our way. I told her no, we were looking for a geocache. She got very excited, yelled for her kids to hurry up and get back here, and the next thing I know, about a dozen strangers are looking for this geocache. Most knew about geocaching, others were friends of theirs just aimlessly looking in rocks. It was truly hysterical, and an amazing reminder of how much fun it is being a human and interacting with strangers. That is a skill that has not been exercised as regularly lately…for some reason. It still took a long time, I bet we were there for an hour, finally a young man yelled, “I found a geocache!” High fives were given all around, and a bunch of pictures.

On the drive down we stopped at the halfway picnic area and had leftover Thai dinner for Thai lunch. Thanks to our campervan for keeping lunch refrigerated until needed. And thanks to Colorado for the most spectacular picnic spot in the world!

From Pike’s we made the drive to Estes Park, where we will bed down for the next few nights. What a great drive. The skies were amazing, ever changing, and so dramatic. Saw lightning bolts in one direction, and perfect blue skies in the other. I love this world and this lucky life I get to live.

During that drive we also stopped at Buffalo Bill’s alleged grave, and a few other interesting places that presented themselves.

 

Day 12

Today was all about rafting. Nothing geocaching to report at all. We booked a half day rafting with an outfit I have used in the past. This time we did a very mild section of the Cache La Poudre River. OK, I guess I did do something Cache related today. Forget everything I said before this.

We had a blast. The weather was perfect. The water could have been a lot higher, but it is that time of year, running out of snow. Nobody went overboard, there were not water fights. It was far from boring, but there was also not nautically themed drama, like I am accustomed.

We had a great dinner at the Owls, and I found a geocache near there.

 

Day 13

Today was the final of 3 Via Ferratas during this road trip. This was on private land near Estes Park. It was on some fantastic looking youth camp. The kind of thing I can only have dreamt to participate in, as an awful child. It was by far the most challenging. Much more rock climbing than traversing. Wifey did great on it, and all 3. I am so proud of her. After that I drove out for a letterbox I attempt in the dark last night and failed. Easy peasy today when the sun is shining. Someone in my group wanted to nap, so I cruised the town. I did 1 ½ adventure labs. I walked all over the lake areas. I went from end to end of this town for all the geo-related items. I do not think there is a more inefficient way then the route I made today. I had a great time. After all that, we finished with a fun meal at Dunravens, which is where I drove from to pick up my dinner date. Like I said, lots of rerouting and inefficient travel today.

 

Day 14

Probably not much of a reporting day. Today is the day that Wifey flies home on an airplane from Denver. After that I will head a bit further east, and then work my way all the way back west.

After the Denver airport drop off, which went smooth but very sad, it was time to continue and see what I can get into on my own. I started by going a bit out of my way back east, to grab the Kansas oldest geocache. I found a few others in between, but mainly focused on getting from place to place. I have a packed agenda of things I want to do. And I don’t know how long this fairytale is actually going to last. (I still don’t)

After the old one, it was time to head north to Western South Dakota for that old one.

My first day driving alone it was through the sweltering heat of Eastern Colorado. I appreciate all the kind folks and farmers that afford me the privilege to eat whenever I feel like it.

I made sure to stop by Carhenge, since it was directly in my route. What a wild place that is. I think my favorite thing about people, is just how crazy they can be.

I learned a lot about all kinds of different trails. The Postal Pony Trail, The Book of Mormon Trail, the Pioneer Trail, and of course the Oregon Trail Trail. Lots of people used this area for travel cross country. Yeah, duh, I am doing it right now. Of course this is the path they took. It is blacktop all the way.

I continued north, eventually picking a town to sleep for a few hours, near the SD/KS border.

I intend to be out and moving tomorrow before the sun, so that I can watch it come up, in all it’s glory. WOW is tomorrow an unrealistic day!!

A few more diary entries for the Summer Carnival 2022

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This is all very outdated by this point. It is also nothing more than a (mostly) copy and paste of my Geocaching logs. But who cares.

Day 6
Today was an all-day drive from Cheyenne Wyoming to Telluride Colorado. It can be done in 7 hours. We were moving from 6am til 10pm. That is more than 7 hours. Lots of fun in between! Driving most of the length of Colorado was a blast. We stopped at a bunch of cool spots for pictures. We rode the lift to the top of Monarch Pass. We stopped for a few awesome geocaches, including the Cache Across America, and the oldest in Colorado, Terryall. Having an all-wheel drive adventure van kicks ass for this stuff.

Day 7
Today was our first of 3 via Ferratas on this trip through Colorado. Today we climbed around in Ouray. First time I have been to this town. So close to Telluride, yet still somehow so far away. What an amazing set up they have there. We started early, were done by lunch, and had lunch at the Ouray brewery, great burgers. After that we bopped around town for a while, did the adventure lab, ran into a guy with the same van as me, except way better, then finally head back to home base in Telluride.
The Ouray Via Ferrata would end up being the easiest of the 3 for me. It was still technical. But it was very much like a lot of rock scrambling and climbing I have done against everyones better judgement.

Day 8
Today started wonderfully with a round of frisbees at the course in Telluride Mountain Village. It was only a few minutes walk from where we are laying our heads for a few evenings. Now that is a frisbee golf course of ups and downs like I have never experienced. I think the greatest part for me was also a bit surreal. I have spent more time on this Telluride mountain, snowboarding in the winter, than hours I have spent contemplating the meaning of life. 1 winter I spent 4 weeks here. I have always said that we needed to come back in the summer. Finally, it happened! Walking around on these slopes that I came zooming down countless times gave me such a smile.
After the fun round of frisbees, it was time to ride the gondola down to town for lunch. We ate at the BBQ spot right at the bottom. After that we strolled around town for a couple hours, enjoying the perfect weather before the storms would come and ruin everything. I found a few geocaches that I either neglected in winters past, or were new since my last visit.

Day 9
Today was the 2nd of 3 Via Ferratas we planned this trip. Telluride was today’s location to climb around on the mountain side. This is definitely my new favorite of the ones we have done. The views from the wall alongside Bridal Veil Falls were indescribable. The pictures of us on the mountain side look photoshopped. I could not believe that after we started the trek, that is when I decided to open the Geocaching application on my telephone. A cache only .3 from here? And the title is Via Ferrata? Oh boy, this could be my new favorite geocache of all times! We made it to the spot after the Main Attraction. I knew we would not search for too long. And we did not need to. Our guide, Coop, spotted a pile of rocks. I moved in for a closer look, and BAM! A geocaching log dating back to 2016, with only a handful of signatures on it. I explained to the guide that the Venn diagram of geocachers and people who do Via Ferratas is me, and these other 20 people that have found this particular geocache. The rains held off until the second we got to the parking lot. I could not have planned it better if I was asked.
We left Telluride with an entire day of driving planned. We were going to end up in the southeast of CO, somewhere near the old “geocache”. We drove through Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and kept going south-ish. We ended up sleeping at a sketch campground somewhere on the highway. I missed all the great pull-offs. This left us 2 hours from the old Geocache.

Day 10
I started driving about 4:30am heading toward the old Geocache, we had about 2 hours to get there. Somehow yesterday we drove all afternoon, but did not make much ground. I arrived at the campground (which was my original planned ending point last night), just before sunrise. I put on my headlamp, but never actually needed it. I found the cache on the walk out, and then the 2000 one at the vista. The entire walk I was socked in by clouds. I could not see too far, but I knew that view would be amazing. I stood there for about 2 minutes, a giant wind came through, pushed everything away, and left me with a gorgeous, post sunrise view. I got a fantastic picture. I assume the lord had to fart, and farted in my general direction to move the clouds. Then a quick jog back to our CAMperVAN. Back on the road again, next destination, Great Sand Dunes NP. WOW! What an insane place. It makes zero sense to be in the middle of Colorado. We spent a few hours there. I made my way around the area, reading signs, and climbing on sand dunes. I wanted to make the trek out for the EC that was far away, and I did. It was tougher than I expected. I saw a recent DNF from someone I know from home. I assumed that meant that all the Dunes blew away? Or someone stole them? A DNF on an EC…now I get it. So worth the trek. The view from the top of the dunes is spectacular. I can’t believe how far they go on for. So glad we made time to visit here.
After GSDNP, we head north to CO Springs. There was no reason to stick around down there, the clouds and storms are going to be all night, and there will be no night sky to photograph. So, into COSP, for a few to-do’s and a hotel and shower for the night. First was the zoo, to get breathed on by a giraffe. Bad breath, honestly almost knocked me out. Then over to Pauls Stash for the 2000 geocache. Wow, the GSDNP EC, and Paul’s Stash on the same day. The time spent in that canyon near Paul’s was mesmerizing. I got rained on the entire time, mostly drizzle, lots of thunder. I got the 2000 Stash, 1 puzzle, a traditional and hopefully and EC during that grueling 1.5 uphill miles. I didn’t walk a lot of miles today, but I did walk a lot of elevation.
These past 2 days have been 2 of the best in my medium-lengthed life.

Outlaw Campground near Kaycee Wyoming

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When I bought this van I am lucky enough to have, I had 1 place in mind. That place is the Outlaw Campground near Kaycee Wyoming. I was lucky enough to visit there before, but nothing more. I knew it is someplace I would love to stay the night. It also has some of the darkest skies in our country. Not only was I lucky enough to visit again, but this time I spent time, and an overnight there. I ran 2 cameras all night, taking pictures. I did everything I dreamed. Sunset, night, sunrise, pics from the roof of the van, off-road 4WD, everything I imagined. So grateful.

I love my insane life

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I sure do get to live an insane life, I love it, and could not be more grateful about it. This is how I go geocaching now, on a jet ski. Possibly the funnest day of my life. I might retire and never find another geocache after this one. Geocachers will definitely recognize this as Lake Powell in Arizona, Labyrinth Canyon, GC7E.

I found another Geocache

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I find a lot of geocaches. Some really stand out. Most do not. This is one that has stood out from the almost 10k others.

I don’t usually like to talk or post about finding geocaches, because it happens all the tine, but I couldn’t help myself with this one. This was just too great of a life experience to not digitally document, forever.

I spent the entire day and found the two oldest geocaches in South Dakota. I knew I was going to look for one, but didn’t realize the other one until I was nearby. Talk about an adventure that almost didn’t happen. Holy cow. I think this has spring boarded forward to the greatest Geocaching adventure I have ever had, on all accounts.

Thanks to my unofficial, uninformed, unaware sponsors, Saliwa for the shoes, Storyteller for the Pervvie van, and Miracle Whip for fueling me.

I finally got to do some of the offroading I’ve been wanting to do. Forest roads of South Dakota are treacherous, terrifying and unbelievably fun. After about a two-hour delay by going the wrong way and really only traversing about 10 total miles, I finally ended up at the proper location to look for this geocache.

At first, I followed the GPS to a Boy Scout camp that was kind of close, but not as close as I could get in Perrvie. So, thanks to the brand new off-road GPS app, I was able to figure it out and route myself, rather than trusting the Apple Overlords.

Rewind, and erase the last hour of driving to get back to where I started, and go the other way. Then I drive about 3 miles in 40 minutes and arrive at “parking”. Thankfully “parking” is within about 300 feet. The last 100 feet is a doozy and straight down through rock crevices. I made my way down no problem I spent about 15 to 20 minutes searching and finally found the ammunition can in question! I sign in, take the obligatory pictures, and realize I have to get myself out of here. That was no small feat, but a week’s worth of rock climbing for babies training, these amazing shoes, and I was up and out of there lickety-split.

I can’t believe how lucky I am to have had that adventure, it is one I will never forget.

Summer Carnival 2022?

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In the winter of 2012, I participated in the Winter Carnival 2012. I dropped everything, worked from the road, and followed the snow finding powder to snowboard in for 4 months. 10 years later I appear to be off on another unrealistic journey across the country.

I don’t know how or why, but I am lucky enough to be able to travel cross country, again. This will be the 4th time in a few years. This is another make-a-wish, dream come true situation. If you told 19 year old me I would be traveling freely cross country, in the most unrealistic adventure van imaginable, I would have said…..Yeah, makes sense.

On paper, this is set to be the greatest adventure yet. 2 weeks with Wifey, traveling, Cheyenne Rodeo, Colorado top to bottom to top, 3 via Ferratas, 1 rafting, and some stuff I am forgetting in a pear tree. After that, I am destination unknown with a loose itinerary and agenda. Very reminiscent of my Winter Carnival 2012. So lucky, so grateful.

This trip will not be about snowboarding. It is about seeing things I have not seen before, taking pictures, and doing to funnest things that Geocaching has to offer.

Here is how I describe it from the start:

I am currently on an undetermined length cross country road trip. My wife and I left Maryland in our Campervan, heading to Cheyenne Wyoming for the rodeo. From there we are heading into Colorado for a while to do some climbing, rafting, relaxing, and take photos. Once she heads home on an airplane from Denver, I will be wandering the country aimlessly, living in my camPERVan. My goals will be to finish the continental portions of the Cache Across America series. I have 5 of those left. I will be following a trail of really old and really fun geocaches. I will also be looking for dark skies to take pictures of the Milky Way, and stopping for everything that interests me. Through the planning process this appears to take me to some of the most amazing places our country has to offer.

Here is a recap of the first days on the road.

Day 1

Left home at 5am. Drove until 9pm, including a time zone change. Very productive day. I found a few highly favorite geocaches along the route. Not too many, I didn’t want to make Wifey too upset with me. We really only stopped to tinkle and eat. We made it past Chicago for the night, with hopes of getting to our short destination in Iowa early in the morning. We slept somewhere on I-80.

Day 2

Started with a stretch, tooth brushing, and a coffee. Then we hit the road from wherever we slept for a whirlwind tour of Iowa. After almost 800 miles on day 1, we won’t get nearly that far on day 2, thus leaving us a bit behind schedule getting to Cheyenne. We visited some high favorited caches in Iowa. We met the owner of a few of these hides, Randy, at his service station. Unrelated to this story, we filled Pervvie (newly named) the Campervan at Randy’s establishment, next to the GTA geocache. I can honestly say that Randy’s ultra low sulfur diesel, 40ppm, is the finest tasting diesel that Pervvie has yet to taste. I can say for sure that his Iron Box has leap frogged to the near top of my all-time favorite geocaches.

From that town we made our way to the Field of Dreams. I don’t think I have ever seen the movie. I don’t like baseball at all. I can’t believe what a joy it was being there! So glad we went a bit out of the way for this memory. After the famous baseball place, it was time to go look for Iowa’s oldest geocache. It is in Backbone Park, an aptly named park, and VERY unlike everything we drove through getting here. It is like an oasis in the desert. That task took about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, this time of year there is no other way to get there besides putting one foot in front of the other, and biting my lip. I signed in on the oldest in Iowa, and it was time to make some headway westbound. Jason Aldean isn’t going to play for himself tomorrow night.

I-80 westbound for hours, with a couple of quick stops for food and fuel, and probably another geocache. On through Nebraska tomorrow, with very similar plans as today.

Day 3

Cornerstone, 2 states, 4 counties

We slept in a small park just off I-80. I got us behind yesterday, so had to make up some time. I started driving around 4am. I had a checklist of things to accomplish around Lincoln. I found some high favorited and Nebraska’s oldest, all by about first light. My wife slept through all of this. Her loss. Then it was time to high tail straight to Cheyenne. We got checked in to our hotel, found the geocache in the parking lot, and learned how to use Uber to get a ride to the Cheyenne Frontier Nights.

Jason Aldean concert was the first evening we arrived in Cheyenne. Wifey does not like live music, that has been proven several times. But she had a blast at this concert! Not exactly my cup of music, but I had a great time as well. I have always said that I can enjoy almost any live music, and that still proves true. The Rodeo starts tomorrow. This is really shaping up to be the greatest adventure to date.

Day 4

We slept in after a late night at the show last night in Cheyenne. I got up early enough to get ready to head to the Frontier Days parade. It was only about a mile walk from where we are staying. I made a stroll in the morning sunlight to a great corner to watch and photograph the parade. Along the way I did an adventure lab, found at least 1 geocache, hopefully the great earthcache at the sandstone building, and generally loved being me as I wandered sometimes aimlessly. I was able to get some great shots of the parade. I like parades? 67 years young and I just found out I like parades. Shame on me. This afternoon is the first day of the Cheyenne Rodeo, an event not to be missed.

The weather was perfect for a rodeo, and it was a ton of fun.

Day 5

I got up early this morning, before the rest of the town, and my wife. I rode my bike around downtown Cheyenne for several hours, I had the entire place to myself and got in over 17 miles. I found a bunch of geocaches along the way. I did an adventure lab, and I attempted a whereigo. I am terrible at those things. I did a few stages by bike, then the next thing I know, 10 miles? Oh well. Flash forward to the evening. My wife goes to bed and I head north on the interstate to finish this whereigo. Another stage, further north. OK, why not. That has to be it, right? Nope. I go one more, still not the end, I have to head back. I wish there were half points for whereigoesis. Back to Cheyenne.. I meandered through and around the fairgrounds, I did wheelies, and I jumped into puddles. My favorite part is the stopped train along my path. I waited for about a minute. When I determined it was not moving, I crawled under the train, dragging my bike behind me. The people in the cars, stopped at the intersection enjoyed the free show. Then back to my hotel before lunch, and over to day 2 of the rodeo. So much fun, I can’t believe this lucky life I get to live.

So much more has happened. Hope I find time to write about it. No real time to process and post pictures yet. My instantgram is about all there is right now.

Thanks for reading!