2008-08-18 36 -94
| Mon 18 Aug 2008 in 36,-94: 36.0633078, -94.0248625 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Contents
Location
eloriane checked google maps and saw what appeared to be an ordinary farmer's field, just off a road. She assumed she could pull over, wander into the corn a few feet, and celebrate! The reality was a bit more complicated.
Participants
eloriane, her bright blue car, and her bright purple camera.
LilyRose and dogs.
Expeditions
Lily Rose & dogs went over to the coordinates and parked to watch for other hashers; none spotted.
No GPS, but plenty of excitable black labs, so eventually we went home.
eloriane must have gone earlier or later in the day, because she missed LilyRose entirely. However, she managed to have an adventure on her own. The first 30 of the expected 35 minute drive were pretty but uneventful. There was a moment of concern, as eloriane's GPS steered her towards a lake, but there was a bridge (terrifying, as it was one lane, but usable) and the trip proceeded smoothly. Until suddenly, the road stopped. At a cliff.
Not to be deterred easily, eloriane pulled over at the nearest opportunity (not particularly near, as this very rural area had no curbs) and, carrying her GPS, walked back to the hashpoint. Or attempted to, anyway. Unfortunately, the cliff was still distinctly cliff-y even when approached on foot, and eloriane had foolishly worn sandals. eloriane walked back to her car, hanging her head in defeat.
Except! As she walked back, she spied a path, which probably hadn't been used in years but which distinctly bore evidence of car traffic. Saved! She drove back to this spot (nearly missing it, it was so overgrown) and headed down its gentler slope. It had been unused for so long, plants had grown in the middle of the "road" but they appeared to spring back up again even after being driven over, so eloriane believes (hopes) she did no damage to the wildlife.
The old little road dead-ended among a lot of trees, but eloriane declared it close enough and a valiant effort, shifted to reverse, and...was stuck. As she executed her 42-point turn, she contemplated calling the police, her mother, and Randall Munroe for assistance, wondering how she could possibly explain where she was and wincing as her car made unhappy grinding and thumping noises.
All's well that ends well, however, and the car was eventually turned around enough to make the drive up the steep, muddy hill possible, and eloriane made it home in time for supper.
Photos
I didn't know we had a lake here!
Thank goodness there's a bridge. I didn't bring a bathing suit.
You can't see it, but where the road ends, the land basically ends.
It's very hard to photograph a steep decline, especially from the top, especially when those branches are the only thing to keep you from falling down.
The GPS said I had to keep going forward 70 feet. (It had trouble figuring out which way I was facing, after I left the car, but I promise, that's what it was saying.)
A way down! Which is probably not trespassing?
Poor plants, never stood a chance. I never expected myself to be an off-road driver. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have bought a bright blue VW bug.
Proof 1: location! The GPS says I'm really, really close. (Hopefully close enough?)
Proof 2: me, grinning like an idiot! (For proof 3, the date, check out the images' metadata.)
