[caption id="attachment_11731" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11731" rel="attachment wp-att-11731"><img class="size-medium wp-image-11731 " alt="This is what coyote poop looks like.  " src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070014-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a> This is what coyote poop looks like.[/caption]

Have you ever heard of Geocaching?

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I hadn't.  Until my mother suggested on June 12, 2011 that I try it out for the blog.  (I saved the email in my "blog ideas" folder.)

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Sometimes it takes me awhile to get around to things.

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What is Geocaching, you may be asking?  The forwarded email penned by my mother's friend spells it out perfectly. Why reinvent the wheel when I'm hungry and need to make dinner?

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<blockquote>“I saw a cool show on PBS about "geocaching" --- where you look for hidden treasures (that others have hidden) based on latitude and longitude coordinates. You can use your smart phone to be shown where to go. It sounds awesome!! I'd heard of it - but for some reason today - it just sounded like something I'd be interested in. It struck a chord. There are 3 caches near my house (I downloaded the app) and it showed on a map where they're "hidden" --- you go find them and sign the log book that you found them and then move on. There are almost 2 million caches hidden througout the world. It is a popular hobby. Who knew? <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/" target="_blank">www.geocaching.com</a> The PBS show was called Treasure Trackers - in case you're interested in watching it or searching on your cable system. It is a very popular family activity - it teaches kids how to read maps!! ☺ I also found a book on Amazon (there were many!) called The Idiots Guide to Geocaching, 2nd Edition”</blockquote>
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So there you have it!  Who better to accompany me on this Techie Treasure Hunt than my most technologically advanced friend, Christy Jo!  I figured, hey!  <a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2010/11/23/day-57-we-saw-dead-people-or-if-you-want-to-be-technical-orbs/" target="_blank"><strong>If the woman can track ghosts with her iPad,</strong></a> then she can certainly track treasure!

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Boy, was I wrong!  Ghost Hunting apps are apparently a lot more user-friendly than GPS apps.  :-o  Little did we know that <em>The Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, 2nd Edition</em> was a prerequisite for our adventure.

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After about an hour of tech hell, Christy Jo solved the Mystery of the GPS App and we were off!

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It just so happens that my fair city is riddled with geocaches.  The <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cf58c32c-db69-4412-93b6-d7106ac49429" target="_blank"><strong>"Hidden Oasis on South Mountain"</strong> </a>geocache beckoned to me.

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Backstory:  I have recurring water dreams.  In one of them, I find myself in Scottsdale.  It's an area of Scottsdale that I've never seen before.  There's a lake.  Although the lake looks more like an ocean.  The waves are huge.  I feel at peace.  I feel as though I've come home.  This is my destiny!

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And then I wake up and remember that I live in a desert.  It's a huge buzz kill.

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Until now!  Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus and there IS an Oasis in Arizona!

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Now if only Christy's iPad can show us the way!  As a backup, we have World's Most Precious Pooch to help us sniff out the treasure.

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At the trailhead, we note a "Beware of Dangerous Animals" sign, but we press on!  Lewis and Clark didn't worry about these things, and neither shall we!

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(And that sign wasn't kidding.  The proof is in the coyote poop pictured above.)

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YOUTube video

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After hiking a solid 45 minutes in the uncharacteristically HOT December weather (approx. 87 degrees), we wonder if we'll ever find the damned thing.  It's lunch time, and all my PMSy self can think about is the chocolate cake at<strong> The Pomegranate Cafe.</strong>

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(If you live in my fair city, you must try World's Best Chocolate Cake.  Really.  In fact, get in your car right now and drive on over there.  If they're open, of course.  You won't regret it.  It's Chocolate Heaven on a Plate.)

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Christy Jo and I wax poetically about The Cake whilst stopping intermittently to dish out water through a Camelback to a panting Bella.

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I swear that I catch Christy Jo nervously scoping out the surroundings.  I know what she's thinking.  Javelina live in these parts.  And an encounter with a pack of those suckers isn't pretty my friends.  They WILL hunt you down as they did with two....count them, TWO....of my friends.

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[caption id="attachment_11759" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11759" rel="attachment wp-att-11759"><img class="size-medium wp-image-11759 " alt="Should you ever encounter a javelina, run for the hills.  " src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2505755678_302621fa0a-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a> If you ever encounter a javelina, run for the hills.[/caption]

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My mind wanders as I wonder if Lewis and Clark ever encountered Javelina.  Do javelina even live in those parts?  And where were those parts again?  My memory is so fuzzy these days.

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Oh, yes!  I get back on track and remember The Cake.  Let's get on with this show and find that bloody treasure so that I can appease my hormones!

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[caption id="attachment_11732" align="alignnone" width="225"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11732" rel="attachment wp-att-11732"><img class="size-medium wp-image-11732" alt="Secret Encrypted Message leads us to a cactus" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070018-225x300.jpg" width="225" height="300" /></a> Secret Encrypted Message leads us to a cactus[/caption]

On the "Hidden Oasis" site, there was an encrypted message.  How cool is that?  When we decrypted the message, we knew that we were looking for a cactus.  A cactus in the Sonoran Desert, mind you.  That's like looking for a pebble at the ocean.  But explorers don't let these details stand in their way.  And sure enough!  An isolated cactus!

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Making our dangerous climb up to the cactus, our treasure sniffing mutt caught several cactus spines in her back paw. Tough little pooch that she is (it must come from her street urchin days), she never lets out a peep.  I, on the other hand, screech like a banshee when removing the spines.  Christy Jo quickly comes to my rescue and hopes that my screams don't attract the javelina.

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Sniff, sniff, sniff.  What do we have here?
<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11733" rel="attachment wp-att-11733"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11733" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070019-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Oh, lookie!

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"A sprinkler head for the cactus," Christy Jo concludes.

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Ummm....we're in the middle of the desert, Christy Jo.  Guess again!

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A wee geocache!  WE FOUND IT!!!!
<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11734" rel="attachment wp-att-11734"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11734" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070020-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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We can hardly wait to unearth our find!

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What could be inside?

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A secret message?

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A hundred dollar bill?

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A miniature chocolate?

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11735" rel="attachment wp-att-11735"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11735" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070022-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Found:  Two eraser heads and a tiny plastic cartoon head!

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Not found:  A drop of water in site.  i.e., No dream-like lake.

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Enter Buzz Kill #2.

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But it's all about the process, right?  I bet when Lewis and Clark happened upon a Native American child's cast-off toy they were just as excited as their 179 other discoveries!

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And, oh by the way, "coyote" was a discovery which means Lewis and Clark must have set their eyes on coyote poop as well.  I feel an instant bond.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11736" rel="attachment wp-att-11736"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11736" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070023-225x300.jpg" width="225" height="300" /></a>

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Oh, yes.  I forgot to mention the boa.

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It's Christy Jo's daughter's boa.  She came across it while rummaging through her trunk for our other supplies.  When she asked me if I would like to wear it, how could I refuse?

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So the deal with geocache is that you can take something from the cache as long as you replace it with something of equal or greater value.

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We decide against taking away.  We leave behind a <strong>Mondo Beyondo note of inspiration.  </strong>

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11737" rel="attachment wp-att-11737"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11737" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070024-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Secondly, you are to log your visit onto a sheet that is stashed in the cache.

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<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11738" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070026-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" />

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Except that I left my pencil in the car.

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Because I was distracted by a boa and dangerous animal signs, dahlings.

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And because sometimes I inadvertently space out details.

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I'm a big picture kinda gal.

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But most importantly, there is a special message awaiting the next treasure tracker.  It's a message that Lewis and Clark held near and dear to their hearts, and a message that I hold near and dear to mine.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11739" rel="attachment wp-att-11739"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-11739" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/PC070028-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Have you ever embarked on a Geocache Adventure?  Please tell us all about it in the comments section below!

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And/Or . . . .

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What message would you leave behind for a treasure seeker?

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