Adventures in Geocaching

One day I was scanning social media, when I saw a post by an old high school friend, writing about Geocaching. Curiously, I decided to check this Geocaching out. I have been hooked ever since that day! After two years of finding tupperware in the woods, I can certainly attest to the fun, and the perils of this hobby.

My partner in crime would change up from time to time, but my sister has been a mainstay in this adventure. She and I have found ourselves in some sticky situations, from snakes, to having the police seeking us out. But we have been to a few interesting places. I have tied ropes to my waist to crawl into some deep holes, and found myself in some tall trees. We have ruined some good shoes, and put a lot of miles on my trusty old geowagon (mini-van). In the end, the memories and the adventures was worth it all.

I knew from day one, when I stepped into the Old town Cemetery, hid at the end of an old dirt road back in the woods, outside a small town in south Alabama, That I was hooked. Taking the time to look at the headstones of these long ago town people, dating back to the 1800s, was the most fascinating thing to me.

As if that wasn’t enough, my next stop was another cemetery, that was the final resting place of my Great Great Grandparents and uncle. This cemetery also gave me an interesting history about the Hart family, who was buried in a mass grave there, after seven members of the family was massacred by The hostile Creek Indians in May of 1836. The only survivor was their two year old daughter, who was horribly injured.

It was on day two that I came across my first snake, I abandoned the cache, but didn’t give up the fun! I did go back to that cache at a later date, with some backup cachers.

One of the saddest cemetery I believe I have been to was the cemetery with dozens of tiny graves. These children died from a plague outbreak. I had never before, nor since, seen so many small graves in one place. Very heartbreaking, but even more heartbreaking was the run down, uncared for conditions of this, their final resting place.

In between these cemetery stops, I came across an old late forties rusty Ambulance. Seeing this old relic reminded of the movie Jeepers Creepers, so I had to make a pit stop to take a few pictures, of course. But this was only the first of many unique vehicles we have come across.

After a few days of caching, I got the best thrill when I watched the excitement on my grandsons face when he found his first treasure! Seeing that face getting excited every time, never gets old. Especially if he finds a hot wheel or two.

Next stop was an 1840 cabin, in Clayhatchee, Al. This was in the Donnell family and occupied until 1944, when the last occupants passed away, now it is a nice landmark for the community to enjoy.

Along the way, we took the time to feed the ducks in the parks, and enjoy roadside artwork on the back roads. We saw some insects made out of metal, and gargoyles made out of stones on some dirt roads leading to the state forestry. This was the day I ruined a nice pair of wedge shoes, because I didn’t know we would be geocaching, and we wound up walking through a mile or so of burned out forest, only to find that we had took the wrong way around to the cache! Turned out , if we had went to the lake to start with, the cache was only a few feet away. Needless to say, I had some black shoes and feet, as well as, quite a few brier scratches. I learned that day to always take an extra pair of hiking shoes, because I never knew where I might turn up!

A lot of our hike in the woods lead us to hidden beauties of nature. One such hidden beauty is the hidden falls, found close to a military base. Finding these hidden places will make you realize how true the saying is “You better not piss off a geocacher, because we know all the good places to hide a body!”

We have found many nice landmarks right in our own backyards , on our escapades. From Memorials, to history preservation. For instance, if one comes to the small town only a few miles from my home, you will find a veteran memorial featuring an old canon, and tank, along with a wall of memories. If you drive around town just a bit, you will find the tiger town park, where the entrance to the old high school is a prominent feature. However, the best landmark, in my opinion, is the old jailhouse. Not only is this jail a registered landmark, but it was often used as a haunted jail attraction on Halloween. In 1979, Sheriff Grantham ran into a former inmate, by the name of Magwood, outside of the jailhouse. Magwood, shot the sheriff several times, then fled to a relatives home to wait on the authorities. The sheriff passed away in the General Hospital, a few short miles away, and Magwood was sentenced to death. However, the death penalty was vacated 2007.

Located beside the Old Jail is the cabin that boasts of being the old birth place of James Elisha (Big Jim) Folsom.He served the 45^th and 47th Governor of Alabama. He lived in this cabin from 1908 to 1910 when it was located at Folsom Mill Creek and Tabernacles community. It was relocated to this site in 2002.

Not only roadside artwork caught our eyes, but we also found exotic pets, such as the Alpaca farm full of these beautiful, curious animals. And Lots of huge snapping turtles along the way. We even had the opportunity to explore the beautiful botanical gardens of Dothan, Al. Along with the red bridge, lake, stones and flowers was the gate of “padlocks of love”.

These so called padlocks of love have been placed on gates, fences and bridges to symbolize eternal love. Couples engrave their initials on the locks and throw away the keys to lock their love forever. The origin of the tradition seem to trace back to China, where many locks of love can be found along the Great Wall. They have sprung up in several different countries, with only a few in the United States. One is located here, at the Botanical Gardens, another is located on the Alpaca farm.

Lots of things can be found in the woods, from hidden falls, to abandoned buildings, but most fascinating are the civil war cemeteries. It is sad to see the trees growing through the resting places of our heroes of old, with only markers to mark their spots. But it is nice to see the flowers that bloom for them too.

We have seen many roadside attractions, everything from statues to landmarks, even been to a couple of infamous haunted locations. And this we did all in the first year of geocaching. I am excited to get started on another several years of adventure! Who wants to get out and hike a little, and find a little treasure?