It took no time at all for me to sketch out what my final finds would be. But the best laid plans of mice and men…

I drew up my list before my premium membership in Geocaching expired. I didn’t really get around to finding any caches until after my premium membership expired. I did find one premium cache, though, before that membership expired – the cache being “Little Blue Truck,” found on the way to The Hideaway Ranch and Refuge about ten miles from Glen Rose Texas.

It was here that I started to keep track of what I was finding and in what order I was finding them. Little Blue Truck was, according to records kept by Geocaching.com was find #987.

Thirteen to go.

There was no truck here, just a picnic area. I had passed the picnic area on more than one occasion. This was one of what I call an “on the road” cache.

Back when I was active collecting geocaches, I would plot my caching ahead of time, spotting likely targets on the Geocaching.com maps and loading the ones I’d like to go for ahead of time. Aside from having passed the picnic area where the geocache was located, I targeted this cache because I met the people who had previously logged this cache while going after number 984 while on a walk with the dog Filbrix in Farmersville.

A few weeks earlier, while I was plotting out the final caches, I noted that someone had placed a few caches on or nearby the Chaparral Trail going northeast out of Farmersville. When I arrived at what would be number 984, another couple was busily looking for the cache I was after. It became a “community” effort. The cache was found, the log was signed and I was off with Carol and the dog Filbrix on a walk up the trail to find two other caches. There was very little conversation between me and the other cachers. They were content to log and be on their way to find the other two caches on my list. They were driving. I was on foot. Needless to say, I found caches #985 and #986 after they were long gone.

I chalked up the lack of interaction with that couple to what I believe is a 30+ year gap in our ages. On one hand, it’s nice to see that there is a younger generation involved in the sport. On the other hand, I’ve found that that their participation in the sport is changing some of the parameters within the sport. Geocaching had been changing when I was more active. For instance, there was/is a geocacher who loved to climb trees. His caches were always in trees. Puzzle caches have become popular with some geocachers. Fine, if you are into puzzles, but I was not quite into puzzles. The current trend is the “Nano” cache. The geocachers I met in Farmersville were all about “Nano” caches. Sometimes they are easily spotted, sometimes not. Nano caches are about the size of a pencil eraser and can be a bear to find, especially with eyesight which is sometimes spotty.

Anyhoo, the “Little Blue Truck” was a “Nano”. Fortune was with me when I found the cache. There was a broad hint which led me almost directly to the target. Found, logged and on my way within five minutes.

My next find was not really a find at all. I went to revisit “The Hideaway”, a cache placed by “9-Key” at the entrance to The Hideaway Ranch and Refuge. “9-Key” was a fellow named Will Neinke, a prolific cache finder and cache placer. His finds and hides number in the thousands. He had also helped develop a system of symbols found on most cache pages as a way to help geocachers know what to expect when finding a cache.

Will was a personal friend. He and I crossed paths quite often, sharing a love of caching as well as an appreciation of the ’60’s television series “The Prisoner.” My adoption of Patrick McGoohan’s phrase “Be Seeing You” became my geocaching “handle” (BCingU). Unfortunately, Will had an early demise which was part of the reason I decided to check up on the cache in front of The Hideaway.

The last time I went to The Hideaway, I noted that I could not find the cache in its published location. That was roughly two years ago. In the meantime, other geocachers noted that the cache was, indeed, still present. One respondent indicated that the cache had been relocated to the other side of a driveway.

My hunt for the cache took place on a Monday morning. While the dog Filbrix waited on the other side of the cattle guard, I looked for the cache using the GPSr (GPS receiver) set for the coordinates published on Geocaching.com. Still absent. I then moved to the other side of the driveway and found the cache in what was a much better place, none the worse for the wear.

When we returned home Tuesday evening, I noted the new coordinates in a note to whoever was interested in looking for the cache. The next weekend, a geocacher noted finding the cache, but not at the coordinates listed on the web site. To change coordinates, apparently I have to be the cache owner. As the owner of the cache is no longer able to answer any inquiries, there may be one or two other geocachers who will be frustrated when they were not able to find the thing.

Of note between caches #987 and The Hideaway (I’m calling it #987a) are the bonds of friendship. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s something else. I feel a strong bond with some of the geocachers I met when the first few years of playing the sport. Some of the newer people, well, let’s just put it on me.

I have occasional contact with the geocacher known as “Bobcachette” – she introduced me to Geocaching (as told in part 1 of this series) and is currently rumored to be living somewhere in the area of Glen Rose.

Mr. “9-Key” has passed on, as have “Mustang Joni”, “Geo-Dee”, and “The Padre”.

Others will take their place as the sport moves on. There are new ways to play the game, and I will likely continue once I have reached the 1,000 finds mark. It’s just that I will do so at my leisure.

Be Seeing You!