2011-08-22 44 -90

Mon 22 Aug 2011 in 44,-90: 44.0079141, -90.0222607 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

Private property in the middle of a rural area where property lines were hard to make out.

Participants

RocketMac - On my way from Milwaukee to Minneapolis for work

Plans

Normally when I drive for work, I plan out a few Geocaches along the way to break up the driving and snag a few finds. This time, I realized that I would be passing through multiple graticules and five of them had hashpoints I could reach with only a slight detour.

In the full spirit of adventure, I let The Algorithm be the wind in my sails and the GPS satellites my stars. I just let them guide me from one hashpoint to another taking routes I never would have tried before and seeing all new sights.

Expedition

This was the third of five. I initially missed my exit which was already off the beaten path, so finding an alternate route was a challenge. Eventually I made my way into the area, but then... how I do I get to this place?! I tried one path that seemed like a feeder road to smaller roads/driveways in the area. It turned out to be one big driveway for a dilapidated (but occupied) farmhouse. Everything about the place screamed out "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and my car's sound system was picking up a whistling from the phone interference that just rattled my nerves a bit. I decided to head back to the "main road" (no small stretch of the word) to check if I had driven through it in the process.

In the end, my closest point was 596 feet from the hashpoint! Gah!

The expedition was not a bust, however. Following my digital fate from points three to four, I found some other treasures.

Not far down the road, I came to an old motel. The building had five or six units and there was a sign saying that number five was available. Next door was a bar/grill that seemed to get more attention that the motel with which it shared it's name: "Route Star" which was symbolized by the word "Route" inside a star.

Across the street were what I can only describe as "naughty lawn decorations." There were two sets of the same pair of cut-outs on each side of the driveway. One was of a blonde "farmer's daughter" type and the other a brunette. On one side they each held a watering can and were watering flowers. On the other side the brunette was missing her can and was holding the blonde's tushie instead.

Further down the road was a geodesic dome house. My father is a huge fan of Buckminster Fuller and his domes. So much so that between my 7th and 8th grade years, he build an addition onto our house in the form of a 39 foot, 3 frequency, 3/8 sphere dome family room. Since then, I can't help but take pictures of dome houses for him.

Tracklog

My log for the whole day is available in GPX and KMZ formats

Photos

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  The "Route Star" motel sign

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  The motel at a glance

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  "Swiney's" next door looked more popular

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  "Betty and Veronica" watering the plants

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  And now...

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  Dome home

Achievements

RocketMac earned the No trespassing consolation prize by almost reaching the (44, -90) geohash on 2011-08-22.