Skiing To the Geocache
The weather was ideal for geocaching this weekend. It might have normally been a boating weekend, but the wind made it a bit too iffy for being on the water. Geocaching ruled.
Our mission this past weekend was to not only find, but place some caches. The temperatures were perfect, the breeze was perfect. The atmosphere begged for a close inspection of the spring wildflowers and bird life. Since we had a bit of a walk to ground zero, I explored and identified wildflowers along the way. The phenology seemed a bit off this year because of the lack of rain. While the presence of insects of mid-summer told one story, the lack of blooms of plants like bloodroot told another story.
The walk to the caches was brutal. As I later learned, ground zero was on top of what was once a city ski slope. Instead of a lift taking us to the top, we played mountain goat 
and made the trek ourselves. The knowledge of its history gave the area an eerie feeling. To look at the place today, you would have no clue of its history. Nothing is left. The hillside is covered with trees that we estimated were at least 20 years old or more. We made a point to visit the local historical society website for more history.
As is my favorite, the caches and our would-be site were located well away from the prying eyes of muggles. I enjoy the hunt and find so much that I want to savor it. I don’t want to be rushed while enjoying a cache. So, in the midst of aging maples and oaks, we found our cache and placed our next.
What a day! We heard and saw a pair of broad-winged hawks. We heard a sora calling from a marsh and field sparrows in the prairie. Life is good.
