Historic Cowpens Geotrail: Lest We Forget

I can't imagine a better weekend to cache the HCG than Memorial Day weekend.  Everywhere you turn in this town, you are reminded of those who gave their lives and their service to keep our country free.

One of the caches on the tour led us to the Veterans Memorial Park where we paused for a few moments to pay our respects and appreciate the view.  The Memorial Park was created to honor the men and women of all branches of the armed forces and the stone monuments are inscribed with the names of those from the area who have served our country.

 The cache located here is a fun little one to find and we had the pleasure of meeting two fellow cachers, TheMagish and Sorcerr, whom we had been just a few minutes behind of for almost the entire time.  They had traveled up all the way from Georgia and were having just as much fun as we were on the trail that day!




Behind the park you will find another marker of local history at the Cowpens Depot and Museum, where the emphasis is aimed toward its WWII naval history.

Some of the most fascinating reminders of the town's patriotic history are the painted murals located throughout the town. 

Following the caching route will take you to one very impressive mural designed to commemorate the first and second USS Cowpens naval ships.

The first USS Cowpens, "The Mighty Moo" was a WWII aircraft carrier and was launched on January 17, 1943.  George Dean Martin, owner of a drugstore in Cowpens, wrote to President Franklin D Roosevelt suggesting that an aircraft carrier be named for the nearby famous Revolutionary War battle, Cowpens.   In those days, carriers were named for battles, so the ship was named USS Cowpens.

The second USS Cowpens, also known as “The Thundering Herd”, the USS Cowpens is one of Seventh Fleet’s finest ships and the epitome of the best of the 21st century United States Navy. The USS Cowpens is currently assigned to the naval force in Yokosuka, Japan and part of the USS George Washington Battle Group.




One of my favorite memorials to the town's military past was this mural painted on a building downtown.  I do not know why, but I just found it absolutely entertaining the way the artist painted individual militia men in each window!


Cowpens truly does their best to remember and honor their past and there is no denying that it only adds to their charm and appeal!

Chipmunk in Chains

Friday was an awesome day full of unexpected fun!

I started the day out by working on the Batmobile for a pint-sized Dark Knight.

God bless that precious veteran and
the gift of song he gave to
us that day!

Then I met a couple of fellow cachers, Susan and Paula, for lunch at a tiny hometown café where everyone ended up misty-eyed by an impromptu serenade from the sweetest little 80-something year old veteran with a voice that would have made the angels themselves weep. 

There was hardly a dry eye in the place, and certainly not the eyes of the sweet little lady he was sitting across from and to whom his song was directed.


I wanted to take a photo or a video, but I did not feel that this was my moment to capture, this was his and should be simply savored in the moment.

All of this was followed, though, by something else sweet that gives you chills....ice cream in the local coffee shop! 

I do not tend to frequent this area, so I had no idea that this place was there and after consulting with the employee behind the counter, I was beyond delighted to find that they would be more than happy to host my next Geocaching event! It is the perfect place for an evening of board games.  It is always exciting when good things just fall into your lap while you weren't even looking!

The NinjaChipmunk on coffee? God help us all!!

Well, how do you wrap up such a bright and exciting sort of day? 

In handcuffs in the back of a police car, of course!! All for a good cause with lots of laughs all around, I assure you!  Special thanks to the sweet officer who did not blink an eye when I walked in and asked to be put into the back of a squad car just to have my picture taken with a little yellow bracelet for a contest...the handcuffs were his idea, nice touch! What a sport! I tell you!!  I would say his name, but promised him nothing would implicate...I mean identify..him in this public display of insanity.

 I felt I had to respectfully decline when my cohort in crime, Susan, suggested a good tasering might make for an even better photo and certainly a more memorable moment and it was when my gentleman officer, smiling widely began reaching for his gun while not seeming to be disagreeing with the bright idea, that I decided fun time might be over now!.

If nothing else, I had a Tall Tale that I could walk away with for the next geo meet up!!  And that sweet muggle officer had a tale of insane cachers to tell as well!  Not to mention the dozen hugs and kisses we planted on his cheeks for being so sweet and open minded! He must have been terrified by this point, but he never once stopped laughing.

 I send him my biggest thanks of all...though I promised not to use his name or number in case he would get in trouble.  Thank You All the Same, My New Friend!!

Thank you to Susan for inviting me out for the day and encouraging me to skip my usual schedule of day sleeping and to instead get out and embrace life on a beautiful day!!   I could not have imagined a better way to spend my Friday!

Caching the Historic Cowpens Geotrail...Part 1

Though I had entertained high hopes of attending the festivities at Geowoodstock this year, at the last minute these plans fell through and I found myself with unexpected time on my hands. 

I figured this was an excellent chance to cache the Historical Cowpens Geotrail that was recently released in South Carolina. 

If you do not already know about this trail, it is a reward trail in a lovely area of Spartanburg County.  Just like most reward trails, you print out your passport, find a certain number of caches, fill in the code words inside those caches, then turn in or mail your filled out passport to the predetermined officials. 

As there were only 16, with just 12 being required to receive your reward should you be super pressed for time, I figured it would be rather easy to finish in the course of one day.  But what fun is doing a trail by yourself, so I invited along three more fellow cachers and off we went!




The four intrepid cachers off on an adventure

The trail is set up to honor the Battle of Cowpens, widely regarded  as one of the most brilliant tactical operations ever fought on American soil. In other words, we kicked butt!

Due to the restraints of adhering to business hours, we decided to begin our adventure at the local library.  Thanks to a previous find on a local trail, I knew exactly what we were looking for and how to find it.  The mini-cachers decided to take this time to stage their own battle with a friendly game of chess. 

As both sides were familiar with the game and tactical strategies, this was not quite the landslide sort of win that this area was used to seeing, but both kids had fun.


After signing the log, Jody picked up a new travel companion in the form of a cute purple monkey, and we made our way to the downtown area. 

I must tell you that the from the first moment you step foot onto the sidewalk, you are met with a constant stream of Southern charm and small town quaintness, the likes of which are rarely seen any more.  You will be in wonder as you wander around the small shops and local flavors while feeling like you have stepped back into a simpler time and place. 

Truly, Cowpens is one of those rare places that puts a huge smile on your face, the kind that you don't even realize is there until your cheeks start to hurt.  

That feeling alone is worth the drive there and the time it takes to discover this hidden jewel of a town.

Though the trail itself only took us around 3 hours to complete, we ended up spending almost the entire day here just enjoying the sites and smells and tastes, while enjoying the good fortune of meeting several very charming and endearing locals who only served to enhance our good memories of a day well spent. 

I look forward to writing more about our trip in a future post.  As inspired by the town itself, I feel no need to rush through, but rather to spend some time and enjoy the moment. 

Happy Memorial Day

I just wanted to take a moment and say "Thank You" to all who have served in our military and also to remember those who gave all in the name of defending our nation's freedom.

We are grateful to you for your sacrifices and we honor you for your courage.

From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.

Generation Next

Recently, I had the chance to assist with doing the one thing that brings me the most pleasure in Geocaching...teaching children how to play the game.  I will not include the name of the school or teacher or any of the children for the sake of privacy and protection of the kids.

I was overjoyed when I discovered that, at least in this area, Geocaching has become a normal part of the yearly curriculum when learning about satellites and the solar system.

Gary, the local technology educator, hid 15 geocaches around the school (though, sadly, there were quiz questions inside rather than SWAG) and turned all 20 kids loose with a pre-loaded Garmen eTrex 10 and a prayer.

The kids then spent the next hour and half (almost all successfully) in finding those 15 caches and answering the questions inside. 

All of the containers were typical 8 oz lock and locks, so it was not all to difficult most of the time.  It was more about the fun of introducing the game to a new generation (who, to be honest, are already technology driven) and broadening their minds to fun and creative ways to spend more time outside.

Combining exercise with a child's natural curiosity to hunt is a no-brainer.  Throw in the fact that they get to use some cool electronic gear all by themselves, and it went over just as awesomely as you might have expected!

I have lost count of how many groups and kids I have taught how to play the game, but that is a moot point.  Seeing that moment when the light bulb comes on and it falls together for them is the most incredible moment ever and is one of the driving forces behind why I continue to love this game so much. 

A big thank you to the teacher for allowing me to be a part of the festivities and believe me when I tell that I definitely got more back than I could have given. This was Awesome!!

Not Hungry

I just drive past the Henry River Mill Village where they filmed The Hunger Games, and when I saw candles and strobe lights and cameras in the same house that they used for Katniss', I just had to stop in and see what was up.

Turns out they were filming another movie (Nope, not the next Hunger Games movie) and my nephew and I spent some time talking to the cast and the director on set. They even invited him to be an extra in the next scene, which should be a great experience!

I won't give away any spoilers at the moment, but stay tuned for more tidbits soon.

Happy 15th Birthday Geocaching! Part Two...

medals and various other prizes
just waiting to be won

After several successful hours of geocaching in the woods, it was finally time for the main event- a picnic and geotrivia!

As previously stated, this Event cache was to celebrate the 15th birthday of the greatest game ever played: Geocaching!


On May 2, 2000, President Bill Clinton had Selective Availability lifted and geeks around the world rejoiced.

But what to do with this new found freedom of accuracy from billion dollar satellites? Light bulb! Let's hide Tupperware in the woods and challenge others to find it. It's what happens when you tell nerds to "go outside and play".

Dave Ulmer ultimately started the GeoCaching phenomenon. He hid a bunch of trinkets out in the woods of Portland, Oregon. He then went to the USENET group sci.geo.satellite-nav and stated “If you take something, leave something”.

One of the items Ulmer hid in the first "stash" was a can of beans.  So to honor this first cache, and just because it was a really cool idea, debaere chose the logbook for our event to be a giant can of beans.

 this is what "Catholic school girl"
handwriting looks like

When asked which of us should write the event name on the can, it was decided that Linda should be the one, as she had (and I quote) " Catholic school girl handwriting".

GroundsKeeperWillie signing a log
and capturing the smilie

There were many memorable questions during the quiz, one of which went something like this:
15 years ago, which celebrity who often appeared on Star Trek became a charter member of Geocaching and goes be the  geo-handle of "GroundsKeeperWillie"?

Have you guessed the correct answer yet?

If you guessed William Shatner....sorry, you get no points.

If you guessed Wil Wheaton...Congrats! You know your geotrivia!




Congrats to Team "55" and Happy Birthday
to WimseyGuy

 Our team, consisting of ncbiscuit, debaere, The Alethiometers (Ken and Jen) and myself, won the prize for Most Creative Team Name with "I Would Do Anything For Trivia, But I Won't Do That". Or just "Meatloaf" for short. And for the record, I still have yet to figure out what "that" is, but apparently it was unanimous that we would not do it.  


As the afternoon progressed, Team Meatloaf walked away with many wins and many delightful prizes! Though we did not end up winning, we did at least come in second place to team "I Can't Drive 55" who were there celebrating the birthday of fellow team member Matt who was turning 55. Congrats on the win!




If you have never attended one of the "It's All Just Trivial" events, then you truly do not know what you are missing out on. Hoosiersunshine and FailedApparatus put in unimaginable hours and effort into these contests to make sure everyone has an amazing time and the results are an hour and a half of nail-biting, breath-holding fun. All the questions are geocaching themed and there are prizes for winning each round and lots of prizes thrown in between rounds for random reasons as well.  You can walk away with a free unactivated geocoin or an entire ready-to-hide cache just for showing up! 

A huge "Thank You" to hoosiersunshine and FailedApp for all the effort they put in to organizing the trivia part of our Event cache. These two have single handedly (well, technically double handed I guess, but you get it) been responsible for educating and entertaining fellow cachers all over the Eastern side of the USA for over a year and I really feel they are the epitome of what passion for this game is all about. You guys rock!

Just a note that they are up for Geocacher of the Month and if you agree with how much they have both contributed to the geocaching community then it would be awesome if you would follow this link and vote for them simply by adding their names to the comment section of the article! http://www.geocaching.com/blog/2015/04/nominate-the-april-2015-geocacher-of-the-month/?utm_source=facebookhq&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Social
(Alright... shameless, yet well deserved, plug done now)

Happy 15th Birthday Geocaching! Part One...

This Sunday, I spent an exhausting, but fun-filled, day celebrating the 15th birthday of the amazing hobby of Geocaching!

Dottie was so happy to help us
hunt for the caches

Team Awesomesauce - consisting of Debaere, ncbiscuit, FailedApparatus, HoosierSunshine, and myself- hosted the celebration with a picnic and an edge-of-your-seat game of "It's All Just Trivial" Geocaching Trivia.

The event was held in Burlington at Cedarock Park, an educational site where visitors can learn about farm life in 19th-century North Carolina.  The park has 6 miles of hiking and horseback riding trails, including some that are handicap accessible, which I found very applaudable!  

 There is a lovely farm house that once belonged to the Garrett family and log cabin and an old post office to enjoy, as well as some very entertaining sheep who seem to like to follow you around when you are close by.



We were not the only ones walking along the Bridle Trail

At one point, a stranger approached ncbiscuit and asked her where the Bridle Trail was located.  Linda then asked her if she meant the Equine trail and the woman looked at her strangely and said that was not what she was looking for.  After seeing both engagement photos and pictures of a bride in her wedding dress being taken later, I cannot help but wonder if she thought she was asking for the Bridal Trail.  Considering the horses had stirred up sinking, sucking mud deep enough to cover your ankles, I would love to have been privy to her face when she discovered the value of good research before booking a shoot!



Found it!!

Probably not the Bridal gift
they were expecting

There are several caches through out the park and debaere, ncbiscuit, our 4 legged honorary team member Dottie (the geo-dog) and I met early to tackle as many of these as we had time for.  Considering we were averaging about one per hour in the beginning, this number was not as high as I had originally hoped. Sometimes the force is really just not with you at all!




Can you spot the elusive Canadian Bear in this photo?

As all but one of the caches were of the typical kind, I feel comfortable saying that it is not the actual caches themselves that would draw one to this park, but rather the beauty of the woods that surrounds you while you hunt. this includes a flowing stream, several quaint bridges and more trees than you can shake a stick at (though there was lots of stick shaking going on while we searched under the leaves!)  


Pausing a moment to absorb all of the beautiful
scenery around me.
Though it took us about a mile of walking to
find this bridge that was a few hundred feet away.

We got turned around several times and followed the geocacher's way to the cache, rather than the shortest route (you guys know what I am talking about!) but that simply left plenty of time for sharing tales of travel adventures and caches found both far and near. 

Our final count ended up less than 10 for the day, but the memories made were worth more than a thousand park and grabs! We even ended up actually being on time for our own event, so I would strike this one up as a good day!