2009-06-15 42 -72

Mon 15 Jun 2009 in 42,-72: 42.0473419, -72.5588059 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

About

This location was in a dingle in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. We made a walking/biking geohash, and we stopped about 10-15m from the geohash location, because the dingle was steep and slippery and the median age of the participants was six.

Participants

Sara, with her daughter, her son, and the Neighbor Boy

Expedition

A dingle is a steeply sloping little valley with a brook running through it. I think I read somewhere that dingles are unique to Western New England and the adjacent part of New York State.

We didn't make it to the actual hash location, although we were very close. We really couldn't have gone any closer because the dingle was too steep for the kids, but to be honest I was glad to have the kids with me as an excuse not to have to climb around in the muck.

This expedition through the suburbs was a walking geohash for me and my son (I figure a stroller is like a non-motorized wheelchair, in terms of qualifying for a walking geohash), and a bike geohash for my daughter and Neighbor Boy (Or rather, it would have been a bike/walking geohash if we had made it all the way there). The kids behaved well the entire time and the weather was nice as we proceeded to the geohash location, and we enjoyed seeing chipmunks, dogs, convertibles, big trucks, etc. It probably took about 45 minutes to get to the sidewalk point closest to the hash location.

The hash location was probably about 10m-15m from the sidewalk, but I don't really know because I don't yet have a GPS. It wouldn't have been safe for the kids to approach any closer, because we would have had to go down a pretty steep slope that was slippery from wet leaves. If all the kids had been mine and if I had had a GPS to tell me when I was really at the correct location, I might have left the three kids ages six, six, and three at the edge of a very steep incline (with a stream at the bottom) and ventured in there on my own, but as it was we stayed near the edge.

The dingle was pretty and the kids enjoyed having their pictures taken and marking the sidewalk with chalk.

After leaving the hash location, we went and got ice cream cones for the kids, because that's the only way the kids will consent to geohashing. Neighbor Boy's father came looking for us in his minivan, because he thought maybe the kids wouldn't want to bike home in the thunderstorm that was about to start. He found us at the ice cream place and gave us a ride home. (If we had made it to the hash location, I might have made Neighbor Man watch all the kids while I walked home, so I could get my Walk Geohash ribbon.) (Later I learned that walking home is not necessary in order to qualify for the ribbon.)

I called this "Not reached - No public access" because technically the location was on private property, but it should really be called "failed" or "Not reached - No daycare".

Photos

• 

  This is Son and Daughter at the point where we stopped. The hashpoint is on the slope behind Daughter.

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  Neighbor Boy, Son, and Daughter did a good job taking turns with the chalk.