C&K+Narrative

C&K NARRATIVE

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“Geocaching? What’s that?” Courtney pondered, as Dr. Roukema explained the next big assignment for Social Studies Teaching Methods.

Courtney went home and went through some research discovered that geocaching was a wondrous, ongoing, worldwide treasure hunt! She couldn’t wait to go on a quest, but she surely wasn’t going to venture alone. The next day in class, she asked her friend Kellany to join her on this journey. Courtney knew that she could potentially handle it on her own, but the thought of traveling unaccompanied somewhat terrified her. She was very grateful when Kellany willingly agreed to join.

The girls searched for some nearby cashes and found that there was quite a selection to choose from near Courtney’s house. They chose to attempt to conquer Full Moon’s Magic and Black Creek.



The day was gorgeous–sun shining and mid-70s. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a treasure hunt! Kellany agreed to meet Courtney at her home. They would leave on their first ever geocache hunt from there.

Kellany met Courtney promptly at 11:00am. They left her home, and immediately stopped and filled up the gas tank for the journey. They enjoyed their ride as they joked about what the day’s journey might entail…little did they know.

As they voyaged, Kellany reminded Courtney of the clues that we would need to remember. “Okay let’s see, this site may need some…uh, Courtney? This says that there may be some WADING!” The girls laughed at the thought of the adventure ahead of them.

Courtney’s Garmin GPS lead them by car very close to the cache site. The girls hopped out, anticipating the adventure that would lie ahead!

“Here goes nothing!” Courtney exclaimed, as they jumped out of the car and set off to find their first cache.

“We should probably go ahead and enter the coordinates in before we begin,” Kellany jokingly, yet seriously, reminded Courtney.

Courtney was so incredibly excited that she forgot that the coordinates were supposed to be her guide to the cache. They quickly entered the coordinates and began walking towards the rocky ditch as provided in their clues. They also looked for fairies and moons along the way because the creator of the cache said that those would be signs leading to the cache.

With Courtney behind the camera, Kellany led the way, following the compass, while Courtney attempted to stay on her heels even though she was walking briskly. The girls walked in circles for minutes, trying to decipher which way the compass was directing.

As they turned around in circles, their eyes happened to fall upon a clue they had been looking for! They spotted an orange, plastic replica of a moon. They were stoked!

Then… the GPS lost satellite reception and clues ended. No more. They wondered what happened to the fairies that the clue described…

As they trampled through the woods in the absolute wrong direction, their intuition told them that this must not be right. Therefore, they turned around and went directly back to the only thing that had given them any form of hope, the moon clue.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As they retraced their steps, Kellany looked around in wonder and to both of their surprise… “OOHHH! I found it!” Kellany voiced excitedly. There was an ammo box just a few yards away, just what they had been searching for!
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[[image:our-geocaching-adventure/IMG_0613.JPG width="648" height="488"]] ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[[image:our-geocaching-adventure/IMG_0615.JPG width="489" height="640"]] ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The girls ran over to the box, excited to search through their first find.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the box they found all kinds of trinkets–golf balls, little toys, stickers, etc. The girls decided to leave some “treasure” for others to find. They signed the book and felt exhilarated, already looking forward to the next adventure!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pumped from the adrenaline rush from finding her first ever geocache, Kellany looked over at Courtney and grinned.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Onward to cache number two!” Kellany said, thrusting her arm forward in a dramatic gesture.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Courtney got back behind the wheel and they drove to Willow Springs, where Jackson King Road crosses over Black Creek. She pulled the car off onto the damp, grassy shoulder, and climbed out right onto the road. Kellany dodged a ditch. Little did the fearless adventurers know, but these initial perils only foreshadowed the struggles yet to come.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“So, the cache description says that there’ll be a path off to the side of the road,” Courtney said. “I think this is it.” She pointed to a tiny gap in the thick trees and brush.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All it took was once glance before Kellany stopped dead in her tracks. Dread tinged her voice. “I hope not. That’s poison oak right there.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“But you’re wearing pants!” Courtney said as she fought her way through a tangle of thorns.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Kellany replied as she gingerly picked her way through the poison and straight into the thorns, “my mom is so allergic she can get it from the oils on my shoes. I’ll guess just throw everything in the washing machine as soon as I get inside back home.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through the mosquito-ridden dense undergrowth and thorns they trekked, wandering in a few circles before they stopped. Courtney remembered how much easier the hunting went when they had checked the clue, so they stopped and reviewed their picture clue, and then surveyed the area once more.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The picture reference was all Kellany needed to finally see the cache. It appeared suddenly, almost like one of those Magic Eye optical illusions. “I think I found it!”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kellany pointed through the trees to an unnatural blue color peeking through some loose bark in a hole in a tree trunk. The tree was right up against the bank of the creek, and suddenly, the girls understood why the website had cautions about possible wading. If the creek was up, this cache could have been underwater!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rushing over, the fearless adventures knelt low by the creek to sign the cache log. The cache contents were lacking, so they generously left their own treasures for future finders. Courtney left a Camp Mundo Vista keychain, and Kellany left a pretty seashell.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Well, that was difficult!” Courtney exclaimed, but she was smiling with satisfaction.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Yeah,” Kellany agreed, looking out over the water, “but check out the view!” The creek winded through the trees, under a bridge, and around the bend, and the trees sported a lively, early fall green coloring.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The fearless adventurers realized it was time to go back home. They backtracked out of the woods, fought their way through the thorns again, and dodged more poison oak. The way back was easier than the way in.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once they were back in Courtney's car, they excitedly started talking about geocaching. Each wanted to go geocaching again--if only there was enough time in a day to get their work done, let alone go have adventures--and each had great ideas for places to store their own caches.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was only one problem: neither of them had or was willing to buy the GPS unit. Oh, if only those GPSs weren't so expensive!

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C&K Geocaching Adventures