Noticing xcix - geocaching

We spent the day with our friend Alastair (aka Mimring) in the Los Gatos (south San Francisco Bay) area, geocaching. Alastair had been overseas for a couple of years, and this was our first outing in a while. It was, as always, excellent to catch up, do some hiking, do some puzzle solving, and find some caches. The main object today was to do a series of nine puzzles titled "The Mystery of the Missing Geocacher." Each cache contained a clue leading on to another cache, and another clue. The series was nicely put together, and is well kept up, and we had no difficulties short of the occasional No Service message—which just meant we had to seek higher ground, typically. In the end, we solved the "Mystery," and we found eleven other caches along the way as well.

The day ended with a visit to Mt. Umunhum, from 1958 to 1980 an Air Force radar installation, and just recently opened to the public as a regional Open Space area. A couple of friends had mentioned it to me, saying it's an interesting spot for the history and the views are spectacular. So what a pleasant surprise to find ourselves just down the road when we finally "found" the missing geocacher.

Here are some photos from the day:

One of the first few caches of the day

Kennedy Trail in Sierra Azul Open Space

We were all amused by the shoes thrown over the power lines

We found one clue in a little native plant garden,
near some Artemisia californica

Coordinates for the final Mystery

 

The answer to the final Mystery: key to the combination lock

Shannon Valley Open Space

Near where we "found" the "missing geocacher,"
looking east and south

On Bald Mountain, looking north and east

Mt. Umunhum: The Cube (atop which the huge radar dish once rested)
and recently constructed Ohlone ceremonial prayer circle

Yin-yang drawn in the dirt of the prayer circle

We needed to take a selfie to get credit for a virtual cache;
here it is—you can tell we were having fun

Monterey Bay from Mt. Umunhum

And with that, I am going to take a break from this blog, on day 100. In two weeks I'll be leaving on a trip where I will have no Internet connectivity. Maybe I'll resume when I get back, or maybe I'll just leave this at 100. Time will tell. But for now, I've enjoyed the past three-plus months—learning some new things, discovering some new art and poetry, getting out into the world and sharing my experiences. I hope you have too.