After leaving Phoenix, we headed north and jumped onto the Historic Route 66 in Flagstaff. While our time was limited since we needed to get back to Minnesota in just 4 days, we planned a few fun stops to pick up caches in some of the most notable locations along the Route.
Tow-mater's Teepee on RT. 66 (GC27FFX)
Our first cache was outside the Wigwam Motel. A quick find once the muggles took off on their motorcycles. It was such a fun place to spend the night and take pictures in the morning. All the old cars parked around the wigwams made you feel like you jumped back in time
Our first cache was outside the Wigwam Motel. A quick find once the muggles took off on their motorcycles. It was such a fun place to spend the night and take pictures in the morning. All the old cars parked around the wigwams made you feel like you jumped back in time
Little Puerco Cache (GC3HB2G)
Placed as a BSA merit badge requirement. A little bit of a stuggle for the Buick + UHaul to make up up the steep roads to get to this one but worth the drive. In the above picture I'm standing on the flood control reservoir for Little Puerco. Geocache is nearby in a short hike in the dirt. Well...mud when we were here as the area just got a lot of rain. Considering how little there is pooled up here, it must take the flood of a century to even come close to overflowing this thing.
Placed as a BSA merit badge requirement. A little bit of a stuggle for the Buick + UHaul to make up up the steep roads to get to this one but worth the drive. In the above picture I'm standing on the flood control reservoir for Little Puerco. Geocache is nearby in a short hike in the dirt. Well...mud when we were here as the area just got a lot of rain. Considering how little there is pooled up here, it must take the flood of a century to even come close to overflowing this thing.
THE DIVIDE (GCJQEP)
Candidate for alphabet cache challenges! Originally we were going to grab the Earthcahe/Virtual but there were two many questions to have to answer so we picked up a nice quick multi-cache that was just across the road. There is rumor that this is the highest elevation along the Historic Route 66 I've found many articles stating Brannigan Park in Arizona takes that honor at 7,300 feet above sea level
Candidate for alphabet cache challenges! Originally we were going to grab the Earthcahe/Virtual but there were two many questions to have to answer so we picked up a nice quick multi-cache that was just across the road. There is rumor that this is the highest elevation along the Historic Route 66 I've found many articles stating Brannigan Park in Arizona takes that honor at 7,300 feet above sea level
Rio Puerco Bridge - - - I-40 & Route 66 (GCDB5F)
What a great spot! It was originally built in 1933 and is the largest bridge in New Mexico at 250 ft in length. It was bypassed in 1999 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The cache container is exactly what you think it would be on a gigantic metal structure. Using the hint will help you grab this one very quickly.
What a great spot! It was originally built in 1933 and is the largest bridge in New Mexico at 250 ft in length. It was bypassed in 1999 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The cache container is exactly what you think it would be on a gigantic metal structure. Using the hint will help you grab this one very quickly.
Beep Beep! (GC5DA6K)
This is my favorite kind of hide! The container is a fake out item. But the best part of this cache is the property that it resides on. The owners just recently purchased the property after it had been closed for about 4 1/2 years. They have only a few rooms available right now but, along with a few other new business owners in the area, they are working hard to relight the fire of Route 66 in Tucumcari. Please consider spending a night here as you make your way through town.
This is my favorite kind of hide! The container is a fake out item. But the best part of this cache is the property that it resides on. The owners just recently purchased the property after it had been closed for about 4 1/2 years. They have only a few rooms available right now but, along with a few other new business owners in the area, they are working hard to relight the fire of Route 66 in Tucumcari. Please consider spending a night here as you make your way through town.
MEET YA HALFWAY (GCH2P2)
By this sign in Adrian, TX is where you can stand and be 1,139 miles from Los Angeles, CA and 1,139 miles from Chicago, Ill. You can find a cache hidden just across the road. The container and location seems to have changed since the cache has been published. The hint doesn't lead you to the cache anymore.
By this sign in Adrian, TX is where you can stand and be 1,139 miles from Los Angeles, CA and 1,139 miles from Chicago, Ill. You can find a cache hidden just across the road. The container and location seems to have changed since the cache has been published. The hint doesn't lead you to the cache anymore.
Cadillac Ranch Micro (GC4AP4N)
We could have hung around here taking a lot of fun pictures! What a crazy piece of art. Admirers can add their mark with spray paint and over the years the paint has gotten so thick it almost looks like it's melting off the cars. I do wish I had some trash bags with us though as there are empty cans everywhere. Cache in, trash out if you can. This micro that we found was actually out by the road where we parked and I noticed later, we missed one that is actually ON one of the cars.
We could have hung around here taking a lot of fun pictures! What a crazy piece of art. Admirers can add their mark with spray paint and over the years the paint has gotten so thick it almost looks like it's melting off the cars. I do wish I had some trash bags with us though as there are empty cans everywhere. Cache in, trash out if you can. This micro that we found was actually out by the road where we parked and I noticed later, we missed one that is actually ON one of the cars.
A Pisa Texas (GC4DGHP)
This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. The cache is a quick find on one of the fence posts.
This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. The cache is a quick find on one of the fence posts.
Mother Road # 10 1/2 (GCR79Q)
OK this is one of my other favorite photos from our geocaching stops along the road. This again is another strip of the historic route that has been decommissioned and replaced by Interstate 40. As you can see we just stopped in the middle of the road to jump out quick and grab the cache. Once we realized there was likely no other traffic we needed to get out of the way for, I started taking pictures of the sunset.
OK this is one of my other favorite photos from our geocaching stops along the road. This again is another strip of the historic route that has been decommissioned and replaced by Interstate 40. As you can see we just stopped in the middle of the road to jump out quick and grab the cache. Once we realized there was likely no other traffic we needed to get out of the way for, I started taking pictures of the sunset.
Thar She Blows! (GC4ADE)
Now what is there to say about this one. I'm guessing your first question will be the same as mine. "Um...why did someone build a gigantic blue whale?" Well, Wikipedia tells us that Blue Whale of Catoosa was built by Hugh David in the early 1970s as a surprise anniversary gift to his wife Zelta, who collected whale figurines. The Blue Whale and its pond became a favored swimming hole for both locals and travelers along Route 66 alike. The cache is NOT on the whale but on a structure leading into the area.
Now what is there to say about this one. I'm guessing your first question will be the same as mine. "Um...why did someone build a gigantic blue whale?" Well, Wikipedia tells us that Blue Whale of Catoosa was built by Hugh David in the early 1970s as a surprise anniversary gift to his wife Zelta, who collected whale figurines. The Blue Whale and its pond became a favored swimming hole for both locals and travelers along Route 66 alike. The cache is NOT on the whale but on a structure leading into the area.
How to finish a road trip like a real Geocacher.....5 states in a day
To finish off the trip and give us a few excuses for stretch breaks, we picked up a cache in each of the 5 states we could as we left Tulsa, OK, turned off the Historic Route 66 and headed home to Minneapolis.
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found Thar She Blows! Oklahoma Visit Log
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found Dalton Banks Cache Kansas Visit Log
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found Price of the Cache Kansas Visit Log
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found Missouri's First - Watts Mill Missouri Visit Log
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found J and B Rolling Hills Iowa Visit Log
- 09/30/2014 Tri-Chick found HI Ho Silver Minnesota Visit Log
