The Happy Wanderer - Part 1

Spring is here and once again I turn into "The Happy Wanderer."  It's time to strap on the hiking boots, grab my backpack and hit the trails.  If you follow my blog then you know that I like to combine hiking in the woods with geocaching and that's just what we did this week.  We headed for Kentucky and decided to grab some trail time before the trees leafed out and the ticks and mosquitoes emerged.  How beautiful is this??

(photo courtesy CAS)
One of the first caches of the day took us through a meadow to a beautiful pine forest.  We brought Petey the geocaching dog along for the day.  Ever since our black Lab died in January, poor Petey has been despondent.  We decided to start taking him hiking with us when we can.  He's still learning to stick close to us, so we keep him on leash when we're near a road...

and he had a great time chasing Chablis across the meadow....

Entering the pine forest....

The cache is hidden someplace in the left of this photo....

The next cache was an interesting container and also holds partial co-ordinates for another cache in the series....

We passed close to an area of old Iron Furnaces but didn't take the side road to get to them.  Maybe another day...

One of the highlight caches of the day was this one hidden near an old Fire Tower.  I had found this cache on the geocaching website and bookmarked it for our first Kentucky caching trip this spring.  I love it when a geocache takes you to a really cool location.

The bottom set of stairs had been removed, but come on, you cannot take me to a place like that and tell me I can't climb it.  We found the cache and then I circled the bottom once or twice and declared "I think I can climb that."  So off we went.  Pardon the butt shot of Chablis.  LOL!

We can see the lake way in the distance in the middle of this picture.....

That's Louie on the ground pleading with me to "Please come down."  Actually he was screaming at me "Will you stop climbing and get off that damn thing??"  He hates it when I climb stuff and truth be told, this tower wasn't in the best of condition.  So safety over-rode desire and we only climbed 3/4 of the way up and called it quits.  Better to be safe than sorry I say.

We employed the 3 quarter rule while climbing up and down - that means 2 hands and 1 foot all touching something solid at the same time while the 2nd foot checks stability.  I actually employ this method while climbing trees as well.

The hardest part was actually sliding down the last 8 feet, but Louie gave me a helping hand and a hug when I returned to solid ground...

I have more caches to show you as well as "My favorite cache of the day" which I thought was even better than this one, so come back on Monday for Part 2.  In the meantime, please have a safe and blessed Easter.  I'll leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs ' The Happy Wanderer."  I learned this song when I was a Girl Scout and it always plays through my  head whenever I'm hiking.  It really sums up the way I feel when I'm out on the trail!

Frank Weir - The Happy Wanderer Lyrics

I love to go a-wandering
Along the mountain track
And as I go, I love to sing
My knapsack on my back

Chorus
Val-deri, val-dera
Val-deri, val-dera,
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
Ha
Val-dera
My knapsack on my back

I love to wander by the stream
That dances in the sun
So joyously it calls to me
Come join my happy song

Chorus

I wave my hat to all I meet
And They wave back to me
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet
From ev'ry green wood tree

Val-eri, val-dera
Val-deri, val-dera
Val-deri, val-dera

Oh, may I go a-wandering
Until the day I die
Oh, may I always laugh and sing
Beneath God's clear blue sky

Chorus

Songwriters: MOELLER, FRIEDRICH WILHELM / RIDGE, ANTONIA