Other places I hope to visit are the Blue Mountains of the northeast corner, Steens Mountain, Rogue River Trail, Columbia Gorge and Portland’s newest natural area – Cooper Mountain. Leave a comment if there is a specific place you would like to read about and I’ll do my best to get there! No matter where you pick, I’m sure there is a geocache nearby and that’s motivation enough for me!

I would love to visit several more sites but they will likely have to wait for another year. Looking forward to retirement in the next few years so I can get around to many more areas each year. Oregon has such diversity of climate, terrain and natural resources that I think I can stay busy for quite some time!

Stay tuned……….

No related posts.

View of the Gardner's House at Shore Acres

This is a great place and time of year to look for geocaches. The daytime hours will present nearly 50 caches  to hunt in some of the most spectacular scenery along the entire Pacific coastline. Some will take you to rugged cliff overlooks, some down to sandy beaches and some along trails through thick spruce forest.

Make sure to return to the gardens a few minutes before sunset for that magic 30-minute window when the beauty of the carefully trimmed vegetation in the fading natural light is enhanced by the brilliance of Christmas lights making for photo’s with detail and a crisp “pop”!

Shore Acres Performance Pavilion

By the way, I did find that geocache – it was the only cache in this vicinity I hadn’t already found. The name of the cache, Berliner’s Big Bifurcation, has unique meaning in the south coast geocaching community. Berliner is the name of one of the pioneer geocachers in the area and he taught the rest of us many new botanical terms in his geocache descriptions …. like bifurcation (basically a forked tree). This cache was recently placed by another cacher in the very spot Berliner had one hiding before it eventually went missing.

We had a fun afternoon at one of our favorite places. After all, it was at this same garden we exchanged marriage vows now these dozen years! For the curious, you will find the exact spot when you see the “salmon” circling a large tree trunk.

No related posts.

View of Mt. Hood from Timothy Lake

One geocache in particular was high on my agenda….quite literally. It was a cache called “High Rocks” located about a 20 minute drive from the campground. It was placed on the site of an old fire lookout, long since removed. As one would expect, these locations frequently provide the most stunning forest panorama’s. One afternoon, with berry picking concluded for the day, I took off to check out the view and hunt the geocache. I was not disappointed – the high rocky crag yielded a crystal clear view north to Mt. Hood and south to Mt. Jefferson with hints of The Sisters as well. Finding the geocache was anticlimactic to the gorgeous scenery but fun nonetheless.

View of Mt. Hood from High Rocks

Next on my geo-agenda was a cache place near and named after Little Crater Lake, a much smaller version of it’s big brother to the south. Nestled in a meadow at the end of a long arm northeast of Timothy Lake, this “lake” is a very small pond with eerie blue water so clear you can easily see to the bottom – 30 feet down with nearly vertical sides – and COLD! The water is 34 degrees and comes from an artesian spring. Found the geocache a short distance off a nearby trail – again, anticlimactic to the view before me!

Mike at Little Crater Lake

There were other caches along the 13-mile trail around Timothy Lake but time did not permit hunting more than just a couple more. Also disappointing was not finding time to walk parts of the Pacific Crest Trail which passes right next to the lake. Another time I guess.

Timothy Lake at Sunset - A Lone Kayaker

One evening as the sun was setting I managed to talk my wife into trying her hand at kayaking. She really enjoyed it – think we’ll have our own soon! Picking early evening with the orange hues of a setting sun on a smooth lake surface along with a view of Mt. Hood might have had something to do with it!

No related posts.

With that sentiment in mind, my geocaching hunts for this trip took the form of short, nearby excursions with family members yielding good conversation, reminiscing and yes, signing the occasional cache logbook (if we found it!).

One morning walk with my folks took us along the Columbia River Heritage Trail. This is a twelve mile recreational trail paralleling the Columbia River and connecting the communities of Irrigon and Boardman. It was developed as part of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial commemoration in 2003 and may expand to 25 miles connecting Umatilla and Gilliam county. An impressive sight along the path was the historic Captain Al James tugboat (built 1939) permanently dry-docked. We found a small geocache at this location.

Another walk further east along this path brought us right down to the river edge where we spotted large American Pelicans, killdeer, Great Blue Heron and Egrets just to name a few. Slightly more than a mile from camp was our turnaround point where a geocache lay hidden in a pile of rocks. On the return trip we spotted the nest of a Bullock’s Oriole hanging in typical fashion from a branch of a poplar tree.

Hat Rock State Park

My wife Pat and I struck out one morning by ourselves to nearby Hat Rock State Park for photo ops and a couple of geocaches. The central feature of this refreshing green oasis is the 70 foot basalt monolith for which the park is named. It is an impressive site and must have caught the eye of the Lewis and Clark expedition party. I did find one of the two geocaches in the park. It was a short distance off a trail tucked under some sage brush. I was quite surprised and amused to find in the log book the signature of a fellow geocacher from my own town of Coos Bay! Small world! He and I had a good chuckle about how different itineraries sometimes place people in the same location looking for the same geocache – even 400 miles from home.

Hat Rock State Park

One afternoon the family chit-chat began to wane with the growing heat – or was it because we were beginning to repeat our stories? Whatever the reason, my dad and I decided to take a short drive to find a cache that had intrigued us with it’s title – Hybrid Cache. Hybrid? What’s up with that? We followed the GPS right to “ground zero” (GZ) and began searching from bush to bush. I finally made a lucky poke with my hiking staff and heard the familiar clunk of wooden stick hitting metal ammo can! We had found Hybrid Cache and soon realized why such a title. The container was a “hybrid” between a common Tupperware-type box with the lid of an army surplus ammo can glued to the top and with moss, leaves and sticks glued to that! It was very difficult to see even when looking right at it – well done, cache hider. Now we had a new story to tell back at camp!

Captain Al James Tugboat in Boardman

We are looking forward to next years reunion to further explore the heritage trail along with another trail I spotted at Hat Rock. In addition, there is a place a few miles away that showcases Oregon Trail wagon ruts preserved from pioneer times. Very Cool Stuff!

No related posts.

It was the day after Thanksgiving 2004 when I decided to hunt my first geocache in the dunes. Two reasons primarily, curiosity and needing to burn some extra holiday calories! This particular geocache was a short distance off a popular trail running from Highway 101 straight to the beach. It involved leaving the open sand to climb a small “island” of trees. It was tucked away under some thick brush near a small opening among the trees and brush that had obviously been used as a primitive campsite. Here’s the note I left in the cache logbook:

Great one for walking off Thanksgiving Day indulgence! Found it okay……….I got such a good workout getting there I came home and downed another piece of pumpkin pie!

What I discovered on this trek was an ecosystem that was way more diverse that I ever imagined – who knew? I suppose the biggest surprise was how many different dune features I encountered along the three-mile round trip hike. Starting with a 1/4 mile stroll through pine thickets with a “mini-dune” in the middle I moved quickly into a large expanse of open sand staying atop the high dune ridges. After a mile and a half I approached and climbed the mountain island of trees hiding the cache. I took a slightly different route back dropping down into the low areas between the dune ridges where smaller pines, brush and hearty grasses and sedges grew. And this hike only took me half way to the beach! Many more dune features awaited discovery on future treks.

I was hooked! This was the first of many more dune hikes over the next five years. I would find something new every time: foredunes, hummocks, deflation plains, estuaries, lakes and seasonal ponds. These are a few of the features I would come to learn about with each new excursion. Who knew?

Depending on the time of year, I would encounter many kinds of flora and fauna. Spring time would showcase tiny little strawberry plants with tasty – if not sizable – treats. Budding willows and little plants with yellow flowers filled low areas. A variety of birds and critters can be seen including eagles, herons, deer, rabbits…even porcupine! I’m not even covering the half of it!

If not for geocaching, I would likely have never set foot in this beautiful and complex environment. Exploring these great coastal dunes has risen to near the very top of my favorite things to do. Strolling through Oregon’s mature conifer forests in the fall is still king, in my book! ……..Well, that’s another story.  Stay tuned.

Related posts:

1. Go Coastal!

Those of us ”bitten by the bug” invariably come to realize that one of the most rewarding benefits of geocaching is discovering new and interesting places the search takes us. If not for geocaching, we would never find some of these places.  Here is an example:

Recently, a buddy and I took a whirlwind geocaching road trip from the coast to Central Oregon, looping south to the Klamath Basin and back - in two days!

We began looking for caches in the vicinity of Trail Bridge Reservoir along the McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway. We found two caches in that quiet and serene spot. One had been placed there a few days prior and we were hoping to be the first finders – but alas, we were a day late! There were no fishermen about that morning, which made for an easier hunt. If not for geocaching we would not have known there was an access trail head nearby to a rugged section of the McKenzie River Trail.

Later, we explored the Sisters area to look for a couple of caches in the surrounding pine forests.  What a contrast to the thick, green coastal forests we left just five hours ago! One cache was placed by a forest fire fighter and had a Smokey Bear theme to it – an appropriate cache, since we are both foresters.

Over the course of the next few hours our geocaching hunts brought us to a quaint old German cemetery, the spectacular Crooked River Gorge, the Badlands OHV trails and the volcano-marred landscape of the Newberry Crater National Monument. If not for geocaching we would never have enjoyed the breath-taking views of this unique landscape from the top of a cinder cone!

Day two began early as we headed south to the Klamath Falls region. Along the way, we took a short diversion west to find a cache at Diamond Lake. There we were treated to a gorgeous view of Mt. Bailey with lingering clouds on its snow-covered peak – and nearly carried away by mosquitoes!

By early afternoon, we found caches at a wonderful viewpoint overlooking a crystal clear spring with pastoral views of snowy peaks like Mt. McLoughlin. Also in the area was the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge famous for its diverse population of birds and an old logging museum at Collier State Park. If not for geocaching we would never have walked down to the headwaters of Spring Creek and seen that gorgeous blue-green water bubbling out of the ground.

The final leg of our geocaching spree brought us to the heavily timbered Lake of the Woods along Highway 140, in addition to the crossing of the Pacific Crest Trail and ending with a few quick caches in the Medford valley near the unique Table Rock mesa butte formations.

While this particular excursion allowed us to explore a large area of terrain over a short period of time, geocachers can also discover new and interesting places without leaving their hometown. In fact, many have found after geocaching a while, that they didn’t know their local area as well as they thought. I have lived in the Coos Bay area for over thirty years, but had never explored the nearby coastal dunes, until I became a geocacher. But that’s another story…..watch for it!

No related posts.

I chose a series of four caches in the Wapato Access Greenway. They were on a loop trail skirting the marshy and wildlife-rich Virginia Lake.

After Sauvie Island we went to the far northwest end of Forest Park to look for one specific cache recommended by a local geocacher.  It was off the main trail about 200 feet and hoisted thirty feet up into a tree!  Very clever!

I am looking forward to exploring more of Sauvie Island in the future.  The list of things to see is long, it may take several visits. That’s fine with me – its a beautiful place!

No related posts.

Of course, I managed to slip in a geocache hunt or two (or three…) along the way!  Our first stop, in fact, was to look for a cache called Jurassic Park located near Prehistoric Gardens, a seasonally popular tourist attraction. We checked out the gift shop then continued south. The next stop was the Geisel Monument Heritage Site where the Geisel family burial plots were displayed. This was the site of a Rogue Indian War skirmish and, well… yes, another geocache.

Upon arriving at Gold Beach we crossed the Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge then turned east to explore the picturesque Rogue River.  We were happy to lose the coastal fog as we traveled upriver.  Our turnaround spot was the Lobster Creek Bridge – popular with campers, fishermen and boaters.  While taking pictures from the bridge we got to see one of the famed hydro-jet mailboats coming down stream on its return trip to Gold Beach.  Several passengers waved at us as they passed.  Looked like a lot of fun.  We made a note to ourselves to take a mailboat ride soon.

After a meal at the Port Hole Cafe in Gold Beach we continued south a short ways to see if we could get some good pictures atop Cape Sebastian viewpoint. Alas, upon arriving the fog was still thick so I decided to look for a new geocache nearby. I discovered two very nice ladies at the cache location already hunting for it and having no luck.  I joined the effort and we finally discovered the well hidden treasure box. We then went back to the Cape Sebastian viewpoint on the chance that the weather had changed and indeed it had!  Waiting a few more minutes for the fog to dissipate yielded some very pretty views up and down the coastline.

I would love to leave this next part out but it will probably give you a chuckle so I share my embarassment.  As we started to leave the viewpoint I realized I didn’t have my phone!  I drove back to that last geocache location and retraced all my steps but couldn’t spot it.  Getting worried now I went to another geocache location  a short distance down the highway and again retraced my steps – nope, not there!  It HAD to be back at the first place I looked!  Back we went and finally caught sight of it lying on the ground at the base of a tree!  Whew!  I really have to stop putting that phone in the pouch of my sweatshirt!

Really an enjoyable day overall!  Great scenery and photos along with fun geocache hunts!

No related posts.

Each of the seven geocaches I stopped to hunt provided me easy access to the beautiful views at the river’s edge and to the miles of scenic trails.  Two particular caches (I Think We’ve Crossed That Line and Forest Dragon) located between Finn Rock and Blue River were especially enjoyable for observing the swollen river along with fishermen and rafters .

Bottom line……you just can’t drive through this scenic corridor quickly.  It begs one to stop and explore – something I plan to do over and over.

No related posts.

My bride and I enjoyed a 2008 summer vacation to the Bend area. We absorbed the sights and sounds, from the popular trails of Shevlin Regional Park in town to breath-taking views at 8000 feet atop Paulina Peak, the highest point along the rim of Newberry Crater. I found geocaches at these and other nearby sites such as Lava Butte, Lava River Cave and the High Desert Museum.

On one day, while my wife attended a meeting at Central Oregon Community College, I hiked and geocached among the myriad of trails in Shevlin Park.  The central defining feature in this park is Tumalo Creek winding through and nurturing a wooded riparian zone providing a cool reprieve from the summer heat.  One especially enjoyable cache hunt, Awaken Bacon, led to a rocky knoll affording a great overlook to the park. This would be an awesome place to take in a sunrise!

One of the more interesting caches was one I didn’t actually find!  The Lava River Cave Earthcache (what is an earthcache?) required walking at least half way through this mile-long lava tube. We turned back when confronted with a small opening where we needed to get down on our hands and knees to get through!  Not today!

I also really enjoyed the short quarter-mile hike out from the Paulina Peak viewpoint to the very edge of the crater rim to find the Almost 8000 geocache. Rugged rock formations out there on the edge! Love that tight feeling in my stomach peering down a steep cliff!

Geocaching with our grandchildren is great fun.  Kids just love hunting for treasure!  One of our granddaughters, who lives in the area, joined us for one night at our campsite at LaPine State Park.  We hunted a fun, multi-staged geocache within the park that required locating three preliminary caches before finding the final container.  These are great for kids because they build the anticipation of finding “the treasure” in addition to learning something new or seeing something interesting at each stage.

There is so much to see around Oregon’s high desert.  We’re looking forward to visiting again to explore more areas such as the Metolius region, Sisters and Smith Rock State Park.

Related posts:

1. Geocaching – Your new travel planner!