The first couple of days of this trip we spent escaping Seattle; today, we spent exploring it.

For the first time since we landed, we were able to sleep in a little and take our morning at our own pace. The first item on our agenda for the day didn’t start until 10, so the girls finally got to watch a little TV while we rotated through morning showers and cereal for breakfast. By 9:30, we had our backpack loaded up and were headed out the door. This time, we hopped in the car and headed just a couple of miles north to Groundspeak, also known as Geocaching Headquarters (HQ).

Our tour of the facility really only included a sneak peek of their lobby. Although I was hoping for more, it did not disappoint. In that small space, they had various trackables to log, a photo booth, a phone booth cache, a trackable that has been to the ISS, and other good stuff. The coolest part of this tour was that it completed our Geocaching Trifecta (APE, Original Stash Tribute, and HQ).

From there, we spent the rest of the morning and into the afternoon roaming around that neighborhood completing the HQ GeoTour (GT29) and a few other caches. At the point when the girls were getting pretty fed up with caching, we called it a day and headed over to the Woodland Park Zoo.

…And that’s where the post ends because we didn’t finish it last year.

Today was all about caching. Our goal was to find the second stage of our trifecta: GCGV0P – Original Stash Tribute Plaque.

First a little history lession for those who don’t know. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was originally used primarily for US military applications. Civilian GPS recievers did exist, but the signals they received where intentionally degraded using a feature called Selective Availability. The relatively low accuracy would have made a game like Geocaching virtually impossible, not to mention turn-by-turn navigation and many other location-based features of today’s smartphones that we take for granted. But pressure started to mount to turn off selective availablity, and the proverbial switch was flipped off on May 1, 2000.

The GPS Stash Hunt began almost immediately after; the first ever stash was hidden just outside Portland, Oregon on May 3, 2000. Several other stashes started popping up across the US and the world. It wasn’t long before participants realized the game needed a better name, so it soon became known as Geocaching. And while that original cache didn’t last that long, some geocachers recognized the importance of honoring where our game began. So they worked together to place a plaque at the location of that first stash, and it’s become a very popular place for cachers to visit.

Now the original stash is more than a three hour drive from our accommodations in Seattle, so we knew it was going to be a full day adventure. To break things up, I spent time last night and this morning planning out a route that would allow us to get some highly favorited caches to find without going very far off our route. I eventually picked out 10 targets to find along the way and expected we would get several more in the area of our destination.

The trip started with one of our longest drives of the day before we stopped outside a Cabella’s for GC961WA – Go Fish! A well-crafted gadget cache that required fishing for numbers to open a combination lock. With that cache completed, we decided to stop into the store to go to the restroom and wound up doing some shopping, too. So much for our schedule…

A few caches later, we hit another highlight of the day: GC57ZJR – Johnny Islands Throne Room. The cache owner requests people not to include photos in their logs, so we didn’t really know what to expect. But with nearly 1,000 favorite points at an 85% clip, we knew it was going to be something good. The cache is actually inside the fence for a pet/garden center, and it soon became obvious why. We rounded the corner of the building to see a full size port-a-potty with a padlock on the door. Getting inside and getting to the log was an adventure that is difficult to describe. There’s a monitor inside that starts playing a video about trying to launch a port-a-potty into the air with rockets! All to give a vehicle for conveying more numbers to open a second locked space – the waste compartment – which contains the log. Who comes up with this stuff?

On the outskirts of Vancouver, we came to GC5RCB5 – Pinball Wizard. It wasn’t much to look at it, but it was fun taking turns using a pinball plunger to launch the small container out of a PVC pipe. We also did a few well-designed multi caches in this area before we finally crossed over into Oregon.

After a few more caches in Portland (they were fine, but not great), we were onto the final approach. As the roads got slower and more winding, Amber and the girls opted to close their eyes to avoid any potential for feeling sick, so I sort of had the last few minutes of the drive to myself. We arrived on the scene about 5:30pm, which was a few hours later than we’d originally hoped, but not so late it was a problem. There was a pair of cachers just leaving the area who gave us tips about where to find the ammo can for the original stash as well as Un-Original Stash (GC92) placed after the original original stash was destroyed. A few other people arrived while we were still onsite, including an older couple from Iowa and a pair of Aussies. It’s amazing how this game can bring so many people from all over the world to one random location on earth!

We grabbed a few more caches in this area before starting the long drive back to Seattle. We got back about 11pm. Our final stats for the day:

• 13 caches including two multis, a letterbox, and a challenge
• 3 favorite points awarded
• 7 new counties
• Approximately 15 hours and 500 miles on the rental car
• 2 failed attempts to eat at A&W before we finally found one that was open
• 2 of 3 stages of the trifecta completed!

After a long day of travel and a late bedtime last night, today started way too early. The girls were up at 4:30. “But Mom! It’s 6:30 our time!” “I don’t really care. Go back to bed.” Hmm, imagine that, they both fell back to sleep. By 7:30, we were all showered and out the door to the market around the corner for a few breakfast and sandwich items for the apartment.

By 9:30 we were out the door again for our first excursion. We picked up our mountain bikes from Evo Snoqualmie Pass and headed to the parking lot across the street for some practice with hand breaks and gear shifting. Although originally apprehensive, Ellie picked up it up really quick. Then, off we went.

The first 3 miles were county highway-esque riding with some really fun down hills for the second half. At the bottom we paused for a bathroom break, to put on our jackets, and turn on all of our bike lights. Then, we proceeded into the tunnel.

It was a pretty busy morning; quite a bit of foot and bike traffic. A former train tunnel, the Snoqualmie Tunnel is approx 2.7 miles of cold, damp, darkness. And imagine that, there is a cache in the 13th alcove from the parking lot (GCJMDK – Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers…). An easy find and our first encounter with other cachers. With the log signed and Pathtags exchanged we hopped back on the bikes and kept going.

Once out the other end, we paused at some tables for a picnic lunch of PB&J, Pringles, and Chips Ahoy. We just happened to sit down across from a group of cachers from Denmark and more Pathtag exchanges ensued. Finally, on to our ultimate goal for the day, APE (GC1169 – Mission 9: Tunnel of Light)!

One downside to caching in this area right now is the number of other cachers in town because of GeoWoodstock that was in Abbottsford two days ago and the 20th Anniversary of Caching Party this next weekend. It is fun to meet other cachers, but makes finding some caches a little anticlimactic. That is a long way of saying there were cachers at the APE cache when we got there and more showed up as we were signing the log and exchanging swag and even more showed up as we were trying to leave. So, we took the obligatory family photo at this location, then hopped back on the bikes and kept heading down the trail.

About a mile later, we arrived at the trailhead for our next adventure. We dropped the bikes against a tree and started down the trail. What an absolutely beautiful hike! The trees out here are so massive. There’s very little undergrowth, so you can see quite a ways through the dense forest. This trail is well kept; as Ellie put it, this is a ‘red carpet trail’ and makes for a nice, easy, down hill hike.

About 30 minutes later we arrived at our goal (GC2FHZ7 – The Rocket Cache). I hung out on the path while Carson, Mackenzie, and Ellie ventured across downed trees, over rocks and boulders, through unknown brush to find the largest cache we have ever seen, stashed inside a pile of large rocks. With the log signed, we made our way back up the trail to our bikes, mounted up and started our trek back to where we started.

On the way back, we stopped at a few more caches: two easy to find just off the path, revisit at the APE cache for photo do-overs, and a short hike up to GC79 – Iron Horse.

With caches done for the time being, we put our jackets back on, turned on all of our lights again, and headed back through the tunnel. Once out the other end, we realized it was 430 and we had to have the bikes back to Evo by 5. Oops… With jackets stashed back into the bags, we started the slog up hill. You remember at the start of the day, how we had a nice ride down hill? Well, what goes down, must come up. After riding and hiking for over 6 hours, we were all pretty pooped! Let’s just say we made it a couple minutes before we gave up and started to walk. About the time we started contemplating hitch hiking, we came to a large parking lot and pulled off for a break and to call the bike place to ask for a ride, or at the very least let them know we would be late. As expected, no-ride-for-you but, hey, we don’t close until 6, so there’s that… back to walking… About halfway back to the shop, the grade leveled out and we hopped back on our bikes. At this point, I don’t recall why, Mackenzie was frustrated about something and took off. (You go girl! Use that energy to finish this ride!) Carson took off in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, I hung back with Ellie, cheering her on with motivational quotes (some garnered replies of tears and sobs of exhaustion).

Alas! Is it a mirage? Is it a ghost? No! It’s the bike shop! We did it! We made it! We survived! Or did we? Noooo! The shop is at the top of a long 30° inclined driveway… We got this; one last charge before we completely collapse. Finally… we made it… we is done with this…

With bikes returned, we climbed in the car and headed back toward Seattle. Since it was on the way, we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls to take in the waterfall and learn about volcanic bombs (didn’t finish the earth cache, though). Afterwards, we grabbed a quick dinner at Rhodie’s Smokin’ BBQ. Ribs, brisket, chicken. We’ll have to warn the grandpas that the girls like ribs.

I think Ellie was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot and Mackenzie wasn’t far behind. It was a long, tiring, adventure filled start to our vacation. (Editor’s Note: The A.P.E. cache is the first stop in completing our geocaching trifecta!)

Two years late, but we are finally doing it: Seattle. We were supposed to make this trip in Aug 2020, but then 2020 happened. And then 2021 happened, too. So, today, August 13, 2022, we are finally getting on a plane and heading to Seattle for the 20th (22nd!) anniversary of geocaching.

And in what is becoming an all too common occurrence, we kicked the trip off with a bang. We planned for months, prepped for weeks, and packed for days. Then, while doing the last minute steps of emptying the kitchen trash and loading the car, the mud room door got left open and Alley disappeared. Cue urgent search of every stupid hidy hole in the house and around outside. No damn cat! Unfortunately, our flight was set to depart in less than 2 hours; we gotta go! So I messaged our cat sitter to let her know what’s up and we headed out.

We made it to the airport on time and got our bags checked in. Getting through security went pretty well until they got to Carson. To his credit, he went through every pouch in every pocket of his carry-on before we left home to make sure he took out anything remotely questionable. However, it was his geocaching hiking pack and it has a lot of weird stuff in it! So, of course, TSA took his bag aside and started digging through it. Ultimately, the culprit item: a matchbox car 🙂 I mean, yep, it looks really weird on the X-ray machine!

Anyhow, we made it through to our gate with plenty of time before our flight. Carson spent part of this time messaging one of our neighbors about the cat, in case they might be able to see her on any of their video cameras.

The first flight was uneventful. We made the short hop over to Chicago in what felt like record time. Now we wait. And wait.. And wait… our connecting flight isn’t for another 4 hours.

To pass the time, we attempted a leisurely lunch at an O’hare restaurant. Yum…? Then we made our way to the next gate and got comfy. Card games, puzzle books, and dot to dots can only last so long. So, after a couple of hours, Carson and the girls took our new friend (ie: the really nice lady sitting next to us chatting in the terminal) to the popcorn place down the concourse. About the time they returned, the airline had started organizing for boarding.

Once on the plane, I sat in the back with Mackenzie and Carson sat with Ellie across the aisle and a few rows up. I’m not sure about Ellie, but Mackenzie was over the moon when she realized she got to pick out her own shows and/or movies, and the airline was giving her a headset! OMG! Such a happy kid at that moment!

Also, as I was about to turn my phone to airplane mode, I received a message from our cat sitter, the missing cat had been located. Apparently, in all the chaos of us getting out of the house, she had snuck downstairs and was likely hiding amongst the storage/construction mess. Such a relief to hear she will not be living outside for the next week.

4 hours later, we landed at SeaTac. Ellie is the only one who slept at all on the plane, and that was only the last 10 minutes of the flight. So by now, we are all absolutely exhausted and starting to hit the tired mood swings. Everything from uncontrollable tears to uncontrollable giggles.

Picking up the rental car was fast and easy. Then a quick dinner in the car on the way to our accommodations.

For this trip we opted for a little more space than a regular hotel room. We ended up with a one bedroom apartment a few block south of Seattle Center with a full kitchen, in-unit washer/drier, and pool access. We met our host’s representative by the back door and he showed us where to park and how to get into the apartment.

Less then an hour later, the girls were passed out on the futons in the living room and Carson & I were unpacked and headed to bed ourselves.