2010-05-22 45 -122

Location

Beaverton, Oregon right next to a street near Garden Home ( Hwy 217 and Hall Blvd)

Various Bots say it is at: 8532 SW Garden Ln, 97223 Garden Home-Whitford, Washington, Oregon, US

Participants

Plans

Jim/APR's Plans

Jim would like to meet early for Mouse-Over day if no one objects. He'll be in the area for the Farmer's Market.

APR thinks that 2PM sounds reasonable, so we'll aim for that.

Estel's Plans

From the Graticule planning page:

Estel: A friend and I are planning to do both 5/21's and 5/22's hashes tomorrow (mouseover day) for our very first expedition! Unfortunately both of us had to work today and I have to work at 3PM tomorrow so we'll be heading out a bit early... between around 10AM - 2PM. It would be great to see some of you!

Expedition

Michael5000's Expedition

Waking up a bachelor, with Mrs.5000 in an airplane over Nebraska, I looked at the hashpoints and found a slam dunk! I programmed the GPS gadget and was out the door in ten minutes.

Once again, using the gadget alone -- although fun -- made finding the hashpoint considerably more cumbersome than relying on maps alone. I think this will always be true, except when the point is under a forest canopy. But after only a few dead ends, it was pretty easy to get the truck on top of the hashpoint. It being a nice suburban street, I decided not to leave a flag to annoy the natives. I set the GPS gadget for home, and followed a somewhat goofy more-or-less-as-the-crow-flies route back to home base. By the time I got back, Mrs.5000 was over Tennessee.

(Jim's note: This must have been before around 10AM)

(Michael's follow-up to Jim's note: I'm guessing it was around 9:20 a.m.)

Jim's Expedition

Jim was going to meet APR at the Beaverton Farmer's market, but APR wasn't feeling well, so he wasn't able to make it. However, Jim had decided ealier that since APR had this really nifty car-navi-gps that had maps and such, we would depend on that rather than paper maps from Google to get us to the hashpoint. But, Jim didn't realize until after he had left home that the presence of the navi-GPS had fallen victim to illness, so it was interesting to get to the hashpoint. He knew he could just head down Hall Blvd and over Hwy 217, but that was it.

He headed down Hall and didn't notice himself crossing 217, but eventually got close enough that he felt he needed to follow the GPS direction arrow. He got to the hashpoint a few minutes after two, and parked a little beyond it, the hashpoint being 4 feet from a No Parking sign. He got out and went to walk towards the point. As he got closer, he noticed there was no chalk in the road which would have indicated that other hashers had proceeded me. But when he got really close, he found a couple of little items embedded in the ground. I don't think it was Michal5000's handiwork, so I think it was Estel and his friend who came by between Michael and Jim.

I sat and waited for a half hour or so, enjoying the sunlight and warmish afternoon after the cold and rain squalls we've been having today. I got to explain to one of the neighbors why I was there, and finally decided I should go. I was going to eat some pie at the hashpoint, but I figured I'd wait and eat my piece at home with dinner. (I did offer some to the neighbor, but they weren't interested, so this year's Mouseover expedition wasn't as successful at feeding the neighbors as last year's.)

Estel's Expedition

Estel and Amy set out on their debut expedition at about 10 AM, hoping to find the 5/21 hashpoint first (since it seemed like extra adventure and they couldn't make it for Geohashing Day) and then to move on to the 5/22 point. Fortified by scramble and coffee they headed toward Beavercreek by way of Oregon City, which happened to be Amy's neck of the woods. Estel being unfamiliar with the area, Amy suggested a stop by the Oregon City Municipal Elevator.

The elevator is one of only four municipal elevators in the world, the only vertical street in America ("Elevator Street"), and is operated by a very nice fellow named Steve. Steve showed them the lenticular photographs of the construction of the elevator and surrounding scenery, and suggested a visit to McLoughlin House, where a town patron once lived and is buried. Continuing their journey after acquiring a camera and GPS, they gathered marker materials and moved on to the first point. Out of cell range, and without a printed satellite image or a GPS that would give a heading based on coordinates, they parked a few streets away and wandered back a bit looking for the point using what Estel remembered of the landscape. Convinced they had found it at last, they were finally deterred by an electric fence, blackberry bushes, "no tresspassing" and "attack dog" signs, and a house that did not appear to be welcoming to adventurers sent by the Internet.

After picking up a bit of trash along the road and taking a few photos, they regrouped, and led by electronic companion Dr. Nightmare (voice of the GPS), found their way to the second hashpoint. Dr. Nightmare attempted to lead them into a swampy-looking area when they arrived within a mile or so of the point, but his instructions were not followed and he was forced to "consult his magic book" several times. Ultimately, the planets aligned and they found their way to the correct location at about 1:30 PM. Again using satellite images, they located what appeared to be the exact spot and fashioned a marker they hoped would intrigue casual passers-by or subsequently arriving adventurers.

During marker placement, a casual passer-by arrived! Her dogs were friendly, but she and they moved on without inquiring after the expedition's activities. After waiting until about 2:05, they departed reluctantly due to impending plans, narrowly missing Jim and mouseover pie. Expedition Success!