An Ammo Can and a Smiley

Find it... in Medina County GeoTrail

We find a lot of caches and have completed a far share of geotrails. We usually find the geotrail caches much later after the series has been out for some time. The one exception a few years back was the Backroads and Beaches GeoTrail in Lorain County which we found the same day as the kick-off event. Today was the second exception.

My work travel schedule made staying in Ohio for the weekend a good idea. I wanted a weekend where we could cache and be together without the dogs. The Medina County GeoTrail made the perfect opportunity with perfect timing. The day started with a kick-off event and the Wolf Creek Environmental Center. The building is nestled in the woods and was large enough to hold a big gathering of geocachers.

After visiting with friends, meeting some new people, giving away trackables, and publishing the caches, we were on our way. We really enjoyed the Strolling Stark GeoTrail because it mixed county history with visits to Stark Parks. This geotrail was like that only more. We were able to get our fill of nature enjoying multiple Medina County Parks and a stop at Cleveland Metroparks' Hinckley Reservation while enjoying a number of historical and interesting places in the county. In our first day on the trail, we missed only the bakery and the rail museum which were both closed by the time we arrived. We did manage a stop at a roadside Amish stand. They were out of fresh bread, but I was happy for a jar of elderberry jam.

It is a cicada year in Northeast Ohio. They made their presence known very loudly at a number of parks.

Our trip to scenic Allardale Park included spotting two blue birds. I was happy for the opportunity to capture an image of this bluebird on the nesting box. I was happy Ali spotted an indigo bunting during our walk, but disappointed I missed a rare opportunity to capture an image of a beautiful bird.

We tend to cache a little slower than most cachers. If there's something to see, we'll gladly give up a few finds for the day to see the sights. We could have pushed and qualified for the coin in one day, but we had a great time and decided to return the next day to finish the trail.

The return for a second day brought a happy surprise. When we arrived at Mapleside Farms for a cache, there was a car show in progress! I'm foolishly happy looking at other people's wonderful old cars. It was a good show.

We were able to visit with the happy owner of this 34 Chrysler. His all original car was impressive.

All things, including this fun geotrail journey, must end. We found twenty-four of twenty-five caches with one left behind for a future return to the county. Before our journey home, we made our way to the hotel redeeming coins for those completing the trail.

The image doesn't show how nice the coin is. It captures the county perfectly. It was given to finders of eighteen caches while the bonus pathtag was awarded to those finding twenty-two caches in the series. It is a very nice keepsake for us and a reminder of a very fun weekend.

Should you decide to visit the trail, there are plenty of other well done caches in the area to fill out a few days of fun. Hinckley Reservation has a number of caches. The Brunswick 200 series celebrates the city's bicentennial. There are eight caches in the Friends of Wadsworth annual series. Whatever your caching taste, the Find it... in Medina County GeoTrail is worth a visit and offers a coin worth adding to your geocoin collection.