Sunday, July 30, 2017

One Midwest GeoBash Was All It Took

There is one detail that turns up often enough in my first Midwest GeoBash logs that I probably could have saved time and put it on a rubber stamp.

It was hot.

In my July 23, 2016 attendance log for Midwest Geobash 2016 (GC66A5W), I made two things clear: this was our first Bash, and “boy, it was a hot one!” I also wrote that we thoroughly enjoyed the festivities and the company. The heat was apparently memorable. So was the fun.

Our first camp at Bash

bapierson, LEGOexplorer and I were staying in a tent. One photograph from Friday shows the setup: tent, shade canopy, camp chairs, neighboring campers—and LEGOexplorer sitting in the welcome patch of shade.

A small tent and blue shade canopy stand on grass among neighboring campsites. — Tent camping at our first Midwest GeoBash, July 2016.Photograph © Steven Pierson

The event was based at the Fulton County Fairgrounds in Wauseon, Ohio, with activities running July 21–24. That year’s theme was sports. The surrounding cache names included everything from tennis and hockey to swimming, wrestling and boxing.

That seemed fairly appropriate for a weekend involving so much movement. Whether driving around in search of another cache qualifies as an athletic event is a question I am willing to leave to the organizers.

Ice cream, overthinking and a caboose

Friday gave us Neapolitan Ice Cream (GC6NKZM), a creative gadget cache that took a little more than simply spotting the container. My log says we finally succeeded after we stopped overthinking and looked at the situation again.

I called it my favorite of the day. Apparently, the satisfaction of figuring something out can outweigh the mild embarrassment of realizing that I was part of the complication.

At Wauseon’s Depot Park, #10759 (GC4EEEB) appealed to the railfan in me. There was a historic depot and a preserved red caboose, and we stopped for photographs as well as the find.

bapierson smiles and waves in front of a preserved red caboose. — bapierson at the caboose in Wauseon’s Depot Park, July 22, 2016.Photograph © Steven Pierson

Afterward we ran into Laval K-9 and their dog, Wyatt. It is a small detail, but I put it in the log because meeting them was part of what made the stop enjoyable. A cache had brought us to the park; the encounter gave us something else to remember.

The people, and the places beyond the fairgrounds

At Flashlight Tag (GC6MKFA), we happened to meet bbyshdws, pjy1911 and Team Darkseid and joined their search. On Saturday I also headed out with them to pursue Virtuals and other less ordinary finds around the Maumee River.

The Bowling Green Fault (GC14VGG) was a particular highlight. The exposed bedrock, the river and the views made a strong enough impression that I singled them out in my log and awarded a favorite point.

Exposed rocky riverbed and an old concrete bridge sit beneath a bright summer sky. — The Maumee River during our July 23 outing near Waterville, Ohio.Photograph © Steven Pierson

The river landscape around Farnsworth Metropark includes rock outcrops and the old Interurban Bridge, partly supported by the large rock landmark known as Roche de Bout or Roche de Boeuf. Here was another reason to step away from the road and spend some time looking at the landscape.

We had headed out largely for the Virtuals and other non-traditional finds. It was one of the ways a big event spread beyond its own grounds: other geocachers, another set of interesting places, and a search that became a small group adventure.

A good reason to do it again

Back among the family finds, Zapped at Zimmerman’s – Gadget cache (GC6NRT6) earned Saturday’s enthusiastic mention for being clever and creative. I don’t need to give away how it worked to explain the appeal. Finding something that makes you stop and think is a pleasure all its own.

bapierson and LEGOexplorer smile together beside a bright inflatable. — bapierson and LEGOexplorer during our first GeoBash weekend.Photograph © Steven Pierson

LEGOexplorer’s attendance log also calls 2016 his first Midwest GeoBash. Our photographs preserve the camping, the family smiles and the places we explored; the logs add the puzzles, the people we met and, repeatedly, the temperature.

By July 2017 we were back for Midwest Geobash 2017 (GC6R9J1). That return had its own adventures, including the family trip onward to Niagara Falls and our first Canadian cache.

Looking back at the first Bash, I can see why one visit was enough to make a second sound like a good idea. It gave us creative caches, a campsite, an enjoyable weekend together and familiar faces to search with.

The heat had been impressive. The reasons to return were better.

Field Notes

Adventure: July 22–23, 2016; a retrospective proposed for July 30, 2017
Event: Midwest Geobash 2016 (GC66A5W) — event dates July 21–24, 2016
Home base: Tent camping at Fulton County Fairgrounds, Wauseon, Ohio
Family: bapierson and LEGOexplorer
Shared searches: bbyshdws, pjy1911 and Team Darkseid
Selected finds: Neapolitan Ice Cream (GC6NKZM) · #10759 (GC4EEEB) · Flashlight Tag (GC6MKFA) · The Bowling Green Fault (GC14VGG) · Zapped at Zimmerman’s (GC6NRT6)