Frivolity (that's right: geocaching)

The last two weekends, we've gotten out with our caching buddy Alastair. The first trip, to southern Santa Clara County, put up a couple of roadblocks: permits needed in one spot, construction rendering our desired destination out of bounds in another. But eventually we wound up at Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve and spent a glorious afternoon seeking out 31 caches (found 25). Here's some photos:

Started the day at Uvas Reservoir, where we found six caches
on the far side on the right; did not find one. From there,
the roadblocks steered us onward, to Coyote Valley.

Where fortune smiled on us! (Mostly.)

Looking in the general direction of the megalopolis that is
Silicon Valley. There's plenty of wildness even here.

We were struck by the... right-wing paranoia?
of this sign.

One of the caches we found: out in plain sight!
(And yes, I hesitate posting this picture because of
the Indian motif. The cache is called "Meet My Friend
Tonto." I'm sorry. Maybe the ninja helps?)

Yes, thar be lions in these hills.
Probably not too many witchy duckies, though...
With the exception of this one.

This Friday, we headed to Santa Cruz and Wilder Ranch State Park. It was a hot day, and we were grateful for the redwood groves. Though much of our trek ended up being out in the glaring sun. We found 22 caches, DNF 1. Most of the caches in one area had a Halloween theme:

This one has been out in the woods since
2009 and is more disturbing thanks to time.

But we also ran into whimsy:

Here's the "geocacher stance":

And here's a view looking south toward Monterey, with the mountains of Big Sur peeking out in the background:

As always, it was most excellent to spend a day with Alastair, who is great company. Geocaching may be a frivolous hobby, but it gets us out on twelve-mile hikes, punctuated by silliness, and honestly, is there anything better than that?