At the start of our around the world trip, we made a stop to visit with Liz’s family in Idaho. They are big RV’ers and wanted to take us for a weekend up to Stanley, Idaho and to Red Fish Lake. Liz and her family have been coming to this part of the country for years and have always been fans of RV camping, salmon fishing, and anything that has to do with the outdoors. So for years she has been telling about how gorgeous this part of the country is, and I was excited to have the chance to head up for a long weekend in the mountains. And guess who got to ride shotgun in the RV on the way up? I couldn’t pass that up. I mean, it looks like a pretty cool way to travel right? Plus, I was really looking forward to taking Liz’s dad out Geocaching for the first time in the mountains!
Dad Gets Geared Up for Geocaching!
In preparation for this around the journey, we had to get rid of most of our belongings. We wanted them to be used by those who would enjoy them, and there were a few things that we wanted to pass along to Liz’s Dad. In particular, we passed along our Garmin Oregon 300 and my original Mountainsmith Adventure Bag. He has wanted us to take whim caching with us for years, and now was the perfect opportunity. After a quick download of caches in Stanley, Idaho and reading the descriptions, I knew this AdventureCaching trip was going to be fun.
Dad Was a Natural at Geocaching
On our first evening in Stanley, Dad pulled out his GPS and said, “Let’s go for this one. It’s called A cache with a view.” I told him that sounded like the perfect one to go after for his first. He dove right to the area like a natural, and his Geo-Senses were in full effect; which led us directly to the cache. I thought we were showing him but he was a natural at it. “I Got It!!!”, he yelled as he found his first cache. It was a feeling that us cachers know, we all remember our first cache!
I walked over to him and said “yep that’s it.” After we signed the log, I turned around to walk back to the car and all I could say was “WOW!! Yep, Kelley you found an amazing first cache!” The views of the Sawtooth Mountains from Lower Stanley, Idaho was just amazing. Not many words are needed for this view.
This is one of our favorite parts about geocaching around the world. It can lead you to views like this. And even though this was a great first cache for Dad, his second cache was even better.
Dad Was Hooked and Wanted to Keep Caching!
We headed back into town to stop for some snacks, and he was nose deep into his new toy, his Garmin. As soon as everyone got back in the car he was wanting to go after another geocache. So off we went to find another cache nearby!
The coordinates took us to a park nearby the main street of Stanley. Here we found ourselves in an wide open space, looking along a fence line. We knew the cache was somewhere along the fence because of the clue, and after a few minutes of searching, we found it! Of course, when we looked up again after discovering the cache, I was again taken back by the amazing view of the Sawtooth Mountains. Just breathe taking.
Looking Forward to Geocaching During Retirement
Well, I think we can say that we have officially hooked Dad into a full out Geocacher. He is soon to hit retirement with Mom, and they have always talked about traveling the country in their motorhome. Now, Geocaching is the perfect hobby for them both because it always gives them something to do, no matter where they are! It’s something that they can do at their own pace and all around the country, and continue to make great memories together.
