MnGCA

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

this summer i moved from Thief River Falls, MN to Cedar Rapids, IA. i lived in TRF for 18 yrs.
after i got to Cedar Rapids my gf and i started actively caching,. we had talked about it since jan 2010, but didnt actually get started til july.
in the next cpl weeks i will be making a trip north to visit my friends and i figured why not do some caching as well. they have heard me talking about it by email and or facebook and some are curious.
most of my time will be spent in TRF, but will also make it to Bemidji, Ada, GF, F/M, Duluth and who knows where else.
so i have alot of area that i could potentially cover. as well as all the ground between Cedar Rapids, IA and NW, MN.

i have been lookin at the various forums, ND, MN, WI and geocaching.com for help with this.
i have come across some that have my interest. i have also found some on my own as i have done some legwork.

i am interested in

small or larger caches.
great views
interesting containers
cemetary hides
history and or knowledge from cache and the area it is placed in/at
some virtuals

i am not interested in crazy hard terrain. but will entertain alot of things if it is interesting enough.
i have solved a few puzzles that i am going to try to work into the trip. and hope to mayb do some more as well.

i am not limiting myself to only this or that, but i want to cache and show off some cool things about caching to my friends. hoping to mayb convert some of them as well. or at least let them see just how cool their area is. i grew up in Boone, IA and spent 4yrs in CA in the USN. i have always been able to find things to do and places to see. it amazes me when ppl say there is nothing to do or nothing cool and or interesting to see.
photography is another hobby of mine so i would show off pics of things in Northern MN and they would say no way! that is not up here or i would have seen it. i always tell them you have to leave your couch and get away from the tv and the city limits to see things at times. though i have to admit there are cool things in town as well as in the rural areas.

i have a bookmark going that is pretty random on areas and caches.
i simply created it to dump caches into so i didnt have to remember them all.
http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=b44ba0a3-5f81-4d45-bb05-0632fa42e167

i plan on taking one way up and a different way back. just havent decided that yet.

i am hoping to do the first stage of the mn state park safari as it is 10 parks. i figure i can handle that. or at least do some up north leaving the southern ones for day/weekend trips with my gf and her daughter.

i don't think i will do crazy numbers while up there, but i do want to enjoy my visit in a different way then i have in the past.

right now i am thinking 7-10 days.

i have also wondered about an event up in the NW corner. either mayb getting lucky with one or seeing about hosting one. though i have never done that before.
right now i am leaning towards heading North Dec 1-3 or so.

Thanx for any help and recomendations.

Monty

bflentje · Geocacher Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 3655

Penturen Church is one of my favorites, but might be a bit east of where you'll be.

roylake · Geocacher Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 55

The Bemidji area is loaded with great quality caches. I would also check out the MiGiZi Trail just east of Cass Lake on Pike Bay. Walker and Park Rapids are good areas. I live in Grand Forks and we have about 120 in a 15 mile radius. When I have some time, I’ll take a look and send you a list of my favorites.

Kurt Franke · Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 11:52 am Post subject:

One of my favorite all time caches is located outside of Chisholm, MN. It's a night cache, "Goodnight Chuck". An unforgettable cache for me.

KF
_________________
"Biddle, Biddle, Biddle, ,Biddle, Biddle..."
Jerry Jempson

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

thanx for the response so far.
i am not into night caching at this point, but ya never know. we have been out at dusk a few times now.

i am looking fwd to the penturen church as i have been there before, but its been a few years.
i am also looking fwd to the red river EC's as well as the liberty cache in fargo. there used to be a liberty here in cedar rapids, but its no longer there. thinking the floods of 08 damaged it or something like that. there is one about 30 miles away i got to see and i was amazed. so i hope to see the one in fargo as well.

i must be spoiled where i am at now. my home PQ is 22.3 miles and 999 caches. though 40% are micros.

as i said i plan on roaming northern MN from east to west and touching the bordering states as well. right now just looking at what is there and then as it gets closer i will see what i shoot for as well as what i actually end up doing.
if it wasnt so cold up there now i would bring my bicycle.

Monty

AerosmithPA · Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 3:43 pm Post subject:

Plenty along HWY 2 corridor in Grand Rapids area. Stop and find some multis.

bflentje · Geocacher Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 3655

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

when i first was at Penturen Church i was out with a friend who was grouse hunting. we started just NE of TRF and just headed out and the crack of dawn. him with gun in hand and me with camera in hand. it was my first real visit to some of the back woods areas. he had been doing it for 15 yrs so there was no concern about getting lost. my x-wifes mom lived in wanaska when i first got to MN in 92 so i had been to a couple of the places we visited, but not all of them. had been to Skime a few times as well as the round cement silo near skime.
i definitely agree that it is not always about the cache at a location, but what is in the area for scenery and history and such.

here in eastern IA there are a number of caches that are at markers for the Lincoln Highway. no special caches at all, but the Lincoln Highway has a ton of history and that is itself is interesting to me.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=259e15e9-3803-4ee3-b207-da29ab7223df
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=dd75ece7-5e41-45f0-ae6c-6b318f18a71d
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cb7a045d-b30c-4178-965b-09d1dcae2ad2
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=bb94e2c9-d0ae-4673-99d3-c391ccf034c3
for a few
this runs from coast to coast. not as well known as Route 66, but still a part of history.
http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/

idk if there are caches along it, but there is also US75 that runs north an south. that is kind of a big deal.
http://www.highway75.com/

there are also a number of scenic byways in IA and MN.

its not always about the cache, but where you go and what you see.

that is part of what intrigues me about earth caches. you have to go there to see it.

Monty

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

did some digging around grand rapids, hibbing, and evelyth area and came up with some good candidates.

i am amamzed at how many old caches there are up in that area. seems they might outnumber the new ones. might that is.

Monty

jrest · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 10:32 am Post subject:

Dark Passage (GC20AA) just south of Duluth is really cool, so is Can't Jump (multi) (GCA2C8), interesting areas both.

Another in Duluth that i really liked was Minnesota Point (GC5E42), a nice walk out there, with a couple other caches along the way.
_________________
round n' round we go!

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

thanx jrest... the first two look fairly easily doable. the third might not be for this trip, but there appears to be many along the way to it so it might be a smart move to catch many right there in one shot.

on a related note... am i the only one noticing that the older caches are typically not tiny and or not 1.5/1.5's or less?
when i was looking around grand rapids, hibbing, chisolm area i noticed alot of old ones and they were usually 2.5/.25 or harder and regular size.

i am curious though about how much the snow affects caching in northern mn?

got a text from a friend in ada,mn and they got 7" yesterday and more is forecast before turkeyday.

right now i am planning to head north dec 1 or 2.

Monty

bflentje · Geocacher Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 3655

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

my friend in bemidji said they got 8.5 yesterday and last night and 6 more are forecasted for tomorrow.

grrrr i was hoping to not have to deal with snow. had i thought it was gonna snow and be this much this early i would have been up that way sooner.

oh well.

if i wanna cache up there then i will have to deal with snow.

Monty

AerosmithPA · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:48 pm Post subject:

musthavemuzk · Geocacher Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 12

thanx for the email.
there are some here that have winter ratings, but not too many of them. and since we do not have near the same winters in IA as i have seen for 18yrs in TRF, MN i wondered if things were the same. some the ratings are the same and some are only bumped a half star.

i am all for a little effort to find a cache. makes the find more rewarding.

i will check your profile as i see you have some favorites listed there. might come up with something i want to check out.

it just hit me as i was talking to my gf that i have to think hard about some roads due to me driving a car.... 02 grand prix. not a whole lot of ground clearance.

thanx for the info. will get back with questions and concerns

Monty