All Better Now

DAY ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

Last night I slept like a baby and today I am much less grumpy. It's funny how that works.

Some days I don't really have any idea where to hike so I just go and wander around. I like those hikes because sometimes they lead to fun discoveries but other times it's just fun to be outside for a couple of hours.

I started by going to find a geocache. I thought maybe I could get my kids to go but they were too busy playing with their friends to hike with the old man. Besides, with the world going to be getting swine flu any second they want to play with their friends while they can.

The geocache is somewhere up here.

There it is!

I dig it out from under the rocks and check inside.

I decide this little billy goat might be fun for the kids to play with. Believe it or not, this is the best thing in here.

I put in a Hartmann luggage lock. If you need one, you'd better hurry.

Here are the coordinates.

I start hiking around to see what I can find and come upon this cairn. There's no trail or anything so I keep walking.

There's another cairn. It again doesn't designate anything so I knock it down.

I decide that while I'm up here I'm going to climb to the top of this little peak.

The view from the top is great. When I look down I notice that someone put a bolt into the rock up here.

Here's a closer look at the bolt. I have no idea why someone would climb up here with a bolt in their pocket or why they'd wedge it into this rock but they did. Probably the same people who build the cairns that lead you nowhere.

This area west of La Quinta is the most untrammeled area out here. It's rough, rocky and leads nowhere. It's a perfect get away minutes from home.

Brotherly Love

DAY NINETY FIVE

My boys are like any two brothers; they fight constantly. They like different things and have never agreed on anything. Until today.

Nikolas told his brother about our geocache outing and Harrison wanted to do it, too. Harrison doesn't really like hiking. Sports are more of his thing, however, the idea of searching for hidden treasure is kind of a sport, so he was intrigued.

We started at the top of the La Quinta Cove and got our coordinates.

Off we go on our hunt for treasure. We head right toward the cove oasis but don't stop. Our goal lies beyond.

One thing I learned as a camp counselor is that to keep boys interested while hiking, it is important to throw some rocks. Pick a target and let it fly. Nikolas is armed and ready.

We head out across the open desert following the coordinates on our GPS. I show Harrison what to look for and he becomes our navigator.

We find this treasure but the boys don't want to keep it. We set it up on a rock near a well used mountain bike trail and figure someone will be back for it.

Our treasure is somewhere down in this wash area.

After a little hunting around, we have found it!

Let's have a look inside.

Whoa! This one has cold hard cash. Nikolas decides he wants the One Billion Dollars!

And in return, we leave a flash drive. I think it is only about 64MB. But I'm sure it's a treasure someone can use.

Nikolas asks his brother if he wants to go and check out the geocache we went to a few days ago and surprisingly Harrison says yes. We cruise over there and discover no one has been there since our last visit so if you need an iPod cable, you'd better hurry.

Read about that trip here.

Since we're out longer than we figured we'd be, it is starting to get dark but no worries. We've got the moon to bring us back.

On the way to the car, we find a Bandana Bush. Like the water bottle, the boys don't want to take it with them. I'm glad my kids have a respect for nature.

For the first time in their lives, my boys did not fight for well over an hour. There was no bickering, name calling, taunting or ridicule. At one point I had to check to see if they were still breathing. It seems like a dream.

It looks like we've found a new hobby. I probably won't go out and do it by myself but if I can get these guys to live in peace AND go hiking with me, I'll be the happiest dad on the planet. The boys loved our little adventure and I was witness to the greatest treasure any man can find: brotherly love.

Cache Me If You Can

DAY NINETY ONE

Hiking every day brings several rewards . There's the joy of just being outdoors, the thrill of discovering a new place, the pleasure of strenuous physical challenge and the excitement of setting a goal and meeting it. One of the greatest rewards, however, is meeting new people. On Monday, when I did the Lykken Trail hike, I met a couple of gals from Canada. They were heading up the trail to find a geocache and leave a little stuffed beaver in it.

For those unfamiliar with geocaching, it is like a high tech scavenger hunt using GPS to find locations and the internet to share where those locations are. People bring little trinkets and toys to leave in the geocache and take a toy or trinket with them.

After meeting these Canadian ladies, I got curious about where there might be some of these caches in my neighborhood. I was quite surprised to discover there are TONS of them. So I picked one, printed up the directions and went hunting. Nikolas loves an adventure, so he came along.

I don't have a regular hiking GPS (I've never seen the need) so I used the one from the car.

One of the waypoints on this trip are these water tanks. I'm on the right track.

I came upon this very rare Desert Hat Bush in full bloom. The hat was actually my size but I'm sure someone will be back for it. Besides, I'm looking for another treasure.

I get to my next waypoint, this Bighorn Sheep sign and am surprised to discover the cache is not up this trail, as I'd originally thought.

It's behind us, up this hill.

There it is, hidden under a big pile of rocks. It was really pretty easy to find even though I've hiked by it a thousand times.

Nikolas digs it out of the rocks. Let's see what's inside!

There's not a lot of treasure here. Some trading cards, a few coasters, some toys and pens. Nik asks if he can throw the "Hello Kitty" off the mountain but I tell him no although I kinda wish he would.

We decided to leave something someone can actually use. Someone with an iPod, that is.

Nik takes a little rock shaped superball

And let's the whole world know how cool finding treasure is.

We pack everything back up and put it back the way it was. A treasure for someone else to find.

On the hike back, we see these bees just starting to build a hive. Nik asks if he can throw a rock at it but I tell him no although......

We also spot this hummingbird just kicking back enjoying the afternoon.

You never know where you're going to find a treasure, or if you are, but the fun is in looking for it and discovering treasures and pleasures you never imagined.

Oh, to my friends and family who read my FaceBook post and think I sprained my ankle and will be changing my blog to Hobbling Every Day: Happy April Fool's Day.

For more info on geocaching and where to find geocaches in your area, go to: geocaching.com