It had started out to be a girls' day out on the lake to find the Look Out For the Rocks cache on an island in Lake Coeur D'Alene. This would be a unique cache to celebrate my 100th find. Unfortunately, an hour and a half later as Doggieballue, Purplehugbug and I were being fished out of the lake by helpful strangers, we realized that that particular cache was going to have to wait for another day.
This unique cache has some special rules, the first being you have to trade a wrapped present... Back at the docks, we gave our saviors handshakes and heartfelt thanks and thought about what to do next. I still needed my 100th cache. Luckily, I had a backup plan and had brought along another unique cache in case we couldn't find this one (is capsizing your canoe the same as a no-find?) I wanted this milestone cache to be special so I chose the Pick-Me-Up Cache. This unique cache has some special rules, the first being you have to trade a wrapped present; whenever you need a pick-me-up, you visit this cache. Hmm. A wrapped gift. No problem! We piled back into the Jeep and toddled off into town to look for a gift shop. But first, we spied a sign advertising homemade ice cream. Really, is there a better antidote for getting tossed in the drink than homemade ice cream?
Suitably fortified with dairy products, we quickly found our shop. What better place to find a present for a lakeside cache than a bait and tackle shop? After making our selections, we discovered that bait shops don't really have an extensive supply of wrapping paper. PurpleHugBug (PHB), her creative juices obviously flowing from the dunk in the lake, grabbed a colored pamphlet off the counter then rummaged through the back seat of the jeep and found electrical tape and a ribbon. Yet another reason to avoid cleaning out my ol' Saturn! We were now ready to Go Forth and Conquer!
We found ourselves back at Tubbs Hill, which is is a system of beautiful trails around the hill and along the lake. Doggieballue took the lead (should she be allowed to lead after captaining a downed ship?) Oh well, I followed along as we headed off the trail near the cache. Then, quick as a deer, agile as a cat, graceful as a...duck out of water? I leapt over a log and Crash! Thwump! Face Plant! Only the quick hands of our captain as she grabbed my head saved me from braining myself on a cutoff stump.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" came in stereo from somewhere above me.
"Fine. Perfect. Just gimme a minute." Ugh.
You can't open your present until you get home. After a quick inventory, it was determined that I only had cuts, scrapes and places where there would be story-worthy bruises later. And, I really wasn't using my right shoulder much, anyway. But, as I always say, "If there is no blood gushing, it doesn't really count. Lets move on!"
We quickly found the cache and, taking a seat on the aforementioned stump, I opened it to find it chock full of gaily-wrapped presents in all shapes and sizes. Now, there are two more rules to logging this cache:
- You can't open your present until you get home.
- You must spend at least five minutes sitting in reflection or just enjoying the gorgeous view.
So, we took out the presents, poked, prodded, shook, and even sniffed each and every one, then made our exchanges and sat to reflect...
I could have reflected on a capsized canoe, a dunk in the lake, chocolate ice cream dribbles on my new shirt, a spectacular face plant and, oh yes, shorts plastered to my rear end with pitch from the stump seat...but instead, I decided to reflect on a fun adventure in canoing, the care and helpfulness of perfect strangers, homemade ice cream, a unique 100th cache, and a day full of laughter and unforgettable, cherished memories with two wonderful friends.