weaselmom | Geocaching: Heart Attack Hill; coyote urine.

Today we headed southwest with our primary focus on Dash Point State Park. Now, for purely selfish reasons, I'm glad the state repealed the $5 parking fee for state parks, but I do worry about where the money will come from to help maintain the facilities. Maybe I should send the Parks Department a Christmas card with a couple of Benjamins tucked inside. Anyway, guilty conscience notwithstanding, we spent a couple of hours snorking up the five GCs within the park proper. It was a gorgeous day to be out caching, although it can get a little warm under the trees when the breeze deserts you. I had no idea that Dash Point contained such an extensive trail system! I don't know if there is a map of the system available from the park rangers (see lack of funds above) but it would sure have been helpful. As it was, we managed okay. We pre-loaded the five GCs into the unit and cued up the first one nearest to where we parked. Located it with very little difficulty and marked it "found" on the GPSr. At this point you just hit "find next" and the unit automatically brings up the next nearest GC, and so on until you find them all. In case the suspense is killing you, I'll say upfront that we TNLN all day. The Seattle caches are better, but these South Sound GCs are full of crap--sometimes broken crap and just junk. What's up with that?

The trails are just lovely to hike except for one thing: mountain bikers, or trail bikers, or whatever they are. Yes, they have a right to the trails too, but frankly I think they should be belled at the very least. If you're going to whiz around a blind corner where innocent, squishy, easily damaged people are hiking, it is *your* responsibility to not run them over. Am I missing something here? Well, no harm done--this time. In fact, if I had been squashed quite flat by a bike, it would have saved me from having to tackle the trail called--wait for it--HEART ATTACK HILL. It wasn't as long as the Tiger Mountain uphills but it was a fair bit steeper and was by no means the only hill we scaled today. I'd say we put in a good four miles, some of which was uphill. Go Team Weaselden! Oddly enough, we didn't see much in the way of critters (probably terrified out of their pelts by bikers) except for a couple of darling little woodmice. I thought of you, Kij, of course. Today's lesson learned is to take water on the trail with you, because we were parched and dusty when we returned to the car.

The next GCs were super easy, especially after--say it with me--HEART ATTACK HILL. Just a couple of little magnetic containers, both of them 1/1. To my relief, one of them was right near a little general store where we loaded up on some food and drink. Speaking of food and drink, on our way back from this GC we discovered a place I had never seen before, a little oceanfront park called (oddly enough) Dash Point, no relation to the beach of the same name at Dash Point State Park, where we've beachcombed before. *This* park has a restaurant I am now dying to try called the Lobster Shop. The food appears to be in the style of Anthony's Homeport but with less snootiness. I shall apprise you all of the results when we go there.

The last GC of the day was right outside a store called Sportsman's Warehouse. Good grief. Perhaps the name should have given it away, but we went inside anyway because S is looking for roofracks. It turned out to be a sort of superstore for hunting/fishing/camping gear. Now you know I love the furry woodland creatures, right, so imagine my dismay upon finding that this place was decorated in a style I can only describe as CREATURES THAT WERE ONCE BEAUTIFUL, LIVING, BREATHING THINGS BUT HAVE SINCE BEEN KILLED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE AND STUFFED WITH SAND. Let me assure you that this place can definitely fill all your razor-tipped arrow and coyote urine needs, should you have any. It had aisles full of ammo. You might suppose that any right-thinking person's ammo requirements could be taken care of with just one aisle, but you would be wrong, at least according to the people who shop there (stocking up for the Apocalypse, no doubt). The funny thing (except for not really being funny) is that I actually bought something there, something for Kij. It was only a dollar, but I expect Sportsman's Warehouse will take that dollar, or some portion thereof, and use it to buy some more DEAD STUFFED DECOR. Let's say they spend, oh, 40 cents. What would that buy on the DEAD CRITTER market? A quail? A vole? Part of a down payment on something bigger, like a marmot? No, I have NOT been drinking and I resent the implication. Although that might not be such a bad idea, because I swear I can still feel that bobcat's eyes following me around the store.

Hope you all had a nice weekend too.