Logs for Raptor & Rex 

I actually found this church and carillon a few months ago, but forgot to log it. I recently found my pictures, and remembered! I was caching nearby when I heard music coming from a church, but definitely NOT bells . . . a carillon! I was familiar with the sound from having lived in Indiana, near the University of Notre Dame campus.

This carillon is located in the Queen of All Saints Church in Concord, California. 

This bell is located on Hwy 101 in Morgan Hill, CA, (Santa Clara County) near the Dunne Road on/off ramp. I've wanted to do this locationless cache ever since I first saw it, since I was already familiar with these bells before I read the cache page. Raptor and I love Monterey, so we drive this stretch of Hwy 101 between San Jose and (almost) Monterey several times a year, and I'd noticed the bells many times before - there are dozens of them along this route. Today was the first time I remembered to stop and get photos and coords. Thanks for the cache! It's good to know more about these bells that I've seen for years.


[This entry was edited by Raptor & Rex on Monday, October 10, 2005 at 10:16:05 PM.] 

I found this palindromic set of coordinates several months ago, but didn't post it, because it's just SUCH a boring spot, but I haven't been able to find a better one that would work, so I've decided to go and post. After all, not every location is beautiful, right?

These coordinates took me right to the middle of the street in front of 6860 Cedar Lane, in Dublin, California. This is an older neighborhood - very mundane and just a little bit run-down, but probably nice enough. It's just that I was hoping for a waterfall or great mountain view or something. 

Found this bus, appropriately enough, parked near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Groovy, man!  

I do a lot of wildlife photography (especially birds), so I have TONS of photos of wild animals. The trouble is I don't always have my good camera and my GPSr at the same time, so it's taken me a while to remember to get the right shot I'd need to log this cache.

Tonight, while out in Briones Regional Park in Martinez, California, SnoWake and I saw a bird that I thought would be a perfect candidate for this cache - one that's relatively difficult to see, and that definitely hasn't been logged before. Not only that, but it was a lifebird for me, too! The Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), a noctural bird related to whip-poor-wills and nighthawks. Ironically, I didn't take these photos - SnoWake did the honors for me. We had a terrific sighting of the bird - it was sitting on the path as we approached, and flushed and flew around above our heads. Then, it landed back on the path nearby, instead of flying away as I expected it to do. It repeated this pattern for several minutes, allowing us to get some photos. Then, we went along on our way, leaving it to do whatever it had been doing before we arrived. Very cool! Oh - and the bird was spotted around 2300 in the evening. Thanks for this cache. 

This waterfall is part of Butte Creek, in Scotts Mills Park, in the city of Scotts Mills, Oregon. SnoWake's mom, Stylest, had told us that it was here, so we made a stop here on our way out of town. This is a natural falls (I double-checked at the park website), and there is a swimming hole beneath it. There used to be a grist mill at this location, but it was torn down in the 1930s. 

This disc golf course is located at Fleming Middle School, in the town of Merlin, Oregon. Thanks! 

I found the CUTEST fiberglass statues while driving through southern Oregon with SnoWake. These bears can be found in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, and they are but two of MANY bears that decorate this town. They are honoring the town itself, and can be found on street corners throughout the downtown area, doing all sorts of activities. Since I'm a musician, I chose Beary Serenade Jazzy and Beary Serenade Classical Cub, both by artist Janet Higgins. Thanks! 

SnoWake and I found this wonderful building near the town of Silverton, Oregon. It's the Evens Valley District #33 schoolhouse, and currently houses a ballet studio. It also happens to be VERY close to the 45th meridian.  

We spotted several weathervanes while driving out in rural Oregon today, and this was one I thought was most unique. It's a conestoga wagon, located on top of a farmhouse near Wilsonville, Oregon. Sorry the picture is taken from so far away, but it's on private property and we just couldn't come any closer.

[This entry was edited by Raptor & Rex on Monday, September 19, 2005 at 10:01:58 AM.] 

Found this REALLY cool little firefighting vehicle in Snoqualmie, Washington. It's the Snoqualmie Pass Fire and Rescue vehicle, Snocat 291. Must be for use in snowy weather.  

SnoWake and I came by to do this cache on our way home from Made in the Shade. Had no trouble finding the boxes and gathering information - well, mostly SnoWake gathered information while I sat in the car and took notes. At the final, SnoWake had it in hand practically before I'd even unbuckled my seatbelt. Thanks for the cache!  

Must not have looked hard enough, even though Raptor, me, and half of Team Sparkie searched the area for about 45 minutes. We'd sort of decided that the cache was gone, as a roadwork crew had dug up some electrical-looking boxes about two feet from the spot to which the GPS was pointing. But if it is still there, then it is indeed well-hidden. Just as well we missed it, as I was hoping to find the Flying V bug - I live about fifteen minutes from one of the spots in Northern California that the bug wants to travel, and could have given it a BIG boost along the way, but someone got there before I did. If it turns up in South Australia again, Team Sparkie might go looking for it and send it to me in the post. 

Oops! Should have checked the website before going hunting for this one with Team Sparkie; we were working off some info they'd printed out about a month ago. At least now I know why we weren't able to find it!  

Retro Bug Drop! Tracking miles here, because this still rates as one of my all-time favorite caches!  

Leaving a note here, because I didn't visit this cache myself, but my son did (along with Team Sparkie), and was excited to be the one to find it, and loves his pretty rainbow-coloured lizard.

We're not Team Dinosaur, though (as the logbook was signed), as when I came to the site to sign up, that name was taken. So, we're Raptor_n_rex; it was Raptor who visited the cache.  

The second cache we visited with Team Sparkie (and our second cache ever, as we are completely new to this). I signed the log book as Team Dinosaur, but that name was taken, so we're Raptor_n_rex.

My son was thrilled to find the little scissors (we were traveling on a houseboat and hadn't brought any, so they were much appreciated), and also the plastic moth. Left a lanyard and purple ghost. Thanks! This is fun.  

Went geocaching with Team Sparkie, and this was the very first cache found by my son and I! We signed the log book as Team Dinosaur, but when I finally got around to visiting the site, that name was taken, so we're Raptor_n_rex instead. This was a lot of fun (especially for me, being the one who actually found the cache).

My son took the spider (loves it), and left the triceratops. And we did see a lot of great birds in the area - heard Kookaburras, saw some of the parrots you mention (although not the Major Mitchells), and had a great look at a Pied Butcherbird.

Thanks so much! I'm already looking at GPS models, because I know we'll be doing more of this.  

Bug Drop!