Covered Bridges

Covered Bridges and geocaching just seem to go together. Quite country roads and relaxing on a weekend seem to hit a new height with a covered bridge thrown in. In Ohio, there is even a challenge cache for covered bridges.

Windsor Bridge

Yesterday we spent a quiet afternoon in Ashtabula County hunting covered bridge caches. We found six and dnf'd two for a fun afternoon. Ali checked this morning and said we have 18 of the 25 required finds to qualify for the Ohio Covered Bridge Challenge.

Another visit to Ashtabula and a nice spring afternoon spent in Columbiana County should be enough to complete the challenge.

Graham Road Bridge has been bypassed,
but offers a unique picnic option.

Ashtabula County has made a tourism industry of covered bridges. Their roads are filled with visitors in the autumn. We have enjoyed caching in the afternoon at these bridges with the miata (but not this afternoon... brrrr)

miata at State Bridge ~ Ashtabula

365

It has been a while since this post. This past Sunday we headed off to cache in Summit County. We wanted to find one to fill in day 365 and hoped to find ten for the day. We got nine. We started our day with a find near a trail along the old Ohio & Erie Canal, moved on for a couple finds in a nice historical cemetery which included the grave of Dr. Bob, and finished off at a large city park in Norton, Ohio.



So now what do we do until February 29th comes around? Well, I have convinced Ali to work for ten finds per day. At the start of September we had 80 days with fewer than 10 finds. Now that is 63 days. Unfortunately, 10 of the 63 days are in February... brrrrrr. We won't have to wait for leap year in Ohio, since the Ohio challenge is a 365. We can find that one once we head to the western part of the state.

Geocachers Don't Hibernate

A northeast Ohio cacher placed a challenge cache called The Geocachers Don't Hibernate Challenge. To qualify for the challenge, cachers must find at least one cache on any 30 days between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. In a lot of areas that may not be a big challenge. In northeast Ohio, it takes a spirited effort.

For us, this is doable. We cache twelve months a year. This year, it has been a little tougher. There are usually multiple warm-ups in the area during each winter giving good caching days and removing the snow base. Besides, the normal average temperature is above freezing by now. This year has been different. We've only had one big warm-up, a few quick passes beyond freezing, and the ground has been covered in snow for most of two months.

Despite the colder weather and lots of snow, we have 17 days with caches found. During that time we've found 74 caches including a mix of multis and puzzles. We've attended two events and found an earthvirtual. We have only resorted to park-and-grabs twice. We've cached in temperatures between -6 and 30 degrees with a few really windy days. I've really enjoyed this challenge. It's been a great way to shorten the winter. With longer days and (hopefully) warmer temperatures, it should be fairly easy to add the last 13 days.

December 25 - Geauga County Ohio - 27 degrees



December 26 - Lake County Ohio - 22 degrees 30-40 mile per hour winds



December 27 - Valley View, Ohio - 22 degrees 25 mile per hour winds



December 28 - Geneva State Park - 22 degrees 20 mile per hour winds



December 29 - Conneaut, Ohio - 29 degrees



December 30 - Warren, Pennsylvania - 30 degrees



January 2 - Union City, Pennsylvania - 28 degrees 20 mile per hour winds



January 15 - Mayfield, Ohio - 29 degrees 15 mile per hour winds



January 16 - Rocky River, Ohio - 21 degrees 20 mile per hour winds



January 22 - Chapman State Park - 6 degrees below zero



January 29 - Lake County Ohio - 22 degrees



January 30 - Twinsburg, Ohio - 28 degrees 20 mile per hour winds



February 5 - Euclid, Ohio - 25 degrees 20 mile per hour winds

GeoWoodstock's Second Trackable

The Eagle Cachekinz is the second GeoWoodstock IX trackable. It will be available very soon on the official GeoWoodstock website, but attendees at today's Caching With Eagles II geomeet can buy the Eagle in advance. The Bear Cachekinz will also be available at today's event. Attendees at last year's event were treated to multiple eagle sightings from this super viewing platform and the surrounding area. The weather will be a quite normal (and warm for this winter) 33 degrees today in Warren.