2009-09-07 40 -92

Mon 7 Sep 2009 in 40,-92: 40.2468975, -92.3119703 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

The hash was in a soybean field just north of Highway 11, a few miles east of Adair, MO.

Participants

Ravi12346 (narrator except where specified otherwise) and his friend Anna.

Plans

We had intended to go geohashing for a few weeks, and this was the first viable hash point that presented itself. I mapped the site on Google Maps and wrote down the coordinates; we also brought my GPS. Anna provided the car.

Expedition

We left shortly after school on Monday. The GPS turned out to be low on batteries, so I left it off and provided directions from memory: After leaving town, there was really only one turn. It was a beautiful drive, almost entirely on Illinois Street/Highway 11, with forested areas, grassy parts, and small bodies of water throughout. As we approached the coordinates, we saw a house and adjacent fields. I turned the GPS on to find the exact coordinates, which we passed by multiple times before getting out of the car and walking.

The hash point turned out to be about eighty or ninety yards deep in a soybean field, but only a few yards away from the boundary between that and the adjacent corn field. A car was parked on the side of the road, almost exactly in line with the hash point, and we fantasized that its owners were busy geohashing as well. Anna feared that there would be snakes in the field, but we nonetheless poked several steps deep in the margin. Soon, though, we second-guessed ourselves - although no "no trespassing" sign was posted, nothing exactly invited us into the field - and we pulled out. Around the same time, a dog (evidently belonging to the farm family) came running through the field as if to greet us. Anna was quite enamored with him, and we played with him as we debated our next move. I had an idea of going to the house and trying for an Ambassador achievement (or even a Drag-along achievement!) Eventually, though, we decided against that level of spontaneity and left with some reluctance.

Photos

Anna has pictures. You should ask her for them.