Saturday, May 31, 2008

Waymarking at work, more backlog completed, and more icons

Over the past week I've been working on getting the backlog posted. So far I've managed to get about 35 of them out there this week. Some of them have earned me new icons. I thought I was relatively diligent about posting Waymarks that fall into a new category. In going through these, I've found that not to be the case. In addition I've managed to cross-post a few in new categories as well. Most of them have ended up being cemeteries and Zinc headstones though.

Today was a fun day of Waymarking. Every year we have a departmental outing at work, mainly just to get out of the office and blow off some steam. This year it was decided that we would visit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. This means I head into work at my normal time, we leave around 11:15am, and spend the rest of the day there. The weather was great for it too. We started out with a scavenger hunt of sorts, then had lunch and played a few games. After that we were free to do whatever. I stuck around a bit to grab some Waymarks. I've been out here a few times in the past couple of years, but I always seem to forget my GPS. Today I grabbed the zoo itself, the aquarium, a couple of coin-op binoculars, and the amusement park next door (Zoombezi Bay Waterpark). I really can't complain about having to work a 1/2 day, on a Friday, when it's beautiful outside, and getting paid while participating in one of my favorite hobbies!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend Waymarking

Up in Marion, Ohio is a cemetery that Dewgrl and I have been wanting to visit for several years now. The problems is that it is only open by appointment, or on special days....such as Memorial Day weekend. Marion Township, and those who worked so hard to locate, and repair the cemetery are very protective....and rightly so. They basically don't want people to go back there unattended and damage the place again.

During our visit today we spoke with the folks responsible for finding and fixing up the cemetery. They shared with us the great history of the area, and their adventures in trying to find it.

In addition one gentleman had a set of dowsing rods. I had always been skeptical about water witching, and dowsing rods, but it worked. I was quite surprised. Since I was actually using the dowsing rods I can say for a fact that I wasn't turning them intentionally....since I wouldn't have known where there was water underground there anyhow. I still can't explain if it was a subconscious thing, or what, but it was interesting just the same. So it was a cool extra to visiting the cemetery.

From my Waymark description:

Phillip Dreyer Cemetery is unique to the area and very historic. The cemetery was just recently rediscovered and fixed up.

In the early 1990's, this cemetery was known to have existed, but it was assumed that it was gone. A couple of gentlemen, who had relatives buried here, went on a quest to find it. The searched the fields and woods for miles around, as they only had a vague description of where the cemetery was. They finally found it in 1992. In talking to them today, they said they literally had to enter this patch of woods on their hands and knees, but soon began to find headstones. Over the years they worked to find the headstones, and clear out heavy brush and trees. They estimated that the cemetery hadn't been cared for in nearly 100 years. They replaced, and fixed the headstones they could find.

They have found about 50 of the headstones here. They estimate that there are still about 50 more stones that have been buried over the many years, and hope to use radar technology to locate them.

There are 10 families buried here, all of who are related. They arrived in the state of Delaware as indentured servants from Scotland. They eventually moved to Ohio in the late 1700's. The area where they lived, and where the cemetery is located was, at that time, north of the Greenville Treaty Line. It was uncommon for European settlers to try to establish themselves in this area. Essentially this land was part of lands set aside for the Native Americans, and was extremely wild then. Not only were the woods very thick and full of bears, bobcats, and many other dangerous animals, but many of the native tribes living here were hostile toward the settlers.

All but one of the headstones found so far have been made of limestone. Directly behind the cemetery was a limestone quarry that these people started. They also used the stone to make their headstones. The earliest burial found was that of an infant girl in 1800.

The cemetery is only open by appointment with 48 hours advance notice. The number to call is listed on the cemetery gate. They also have opened it the past couple of years on Memorial Day Weekend.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Geocaching presentation

I just got home from giving a Geocaching presentation at the Marion library. I was asked to do so on behalf of the Marion County Parks Department. They are basically looking to use Geocaching to promote their parks, since they're relatively new and mostly unknown. Several people who were not involved with the park did show up, but I was hoping for a few more folks. Oh well. I was sort of fun since I haven't really done any kind of public speaking since I was in high school, but it's something I've always enjoyed. I'm weird like that though. In a one-on-one setting, or a very small group, I'm very shy and don't talk much at all. However if I'm in front of a larger group, I have no problems. I guess I'm just wired wrong.


This coming Saturday we're going to have a program at one of the parks. It's basically an extension of the presentation, where folks are invited out to the park to actually try Geocaching. There is one cache at the park, and I may be placing some temporary caches as well. We're also going to have a few GPSr's for folks to use if they don't have their own. Should be a good time.

Monday, May 12, 2008

500 posted


I just realized that I submitted my 500th Waymark this evening. I hadn't really been paying attention, but I did know that I was close. It ended up being a local Recycling Drop-off that I just submitted. This particular drop-off is pretty much my secondary drop-off. There is another place that is closer to home, but the bins there are often full. When they are I end up having to drive down to the one I Waymarked. Sometimes I stop by this Waymark after work, since it is on my way home. That way I don't have to waste gas to take a special trip to drop off the recyclables.

I was planning to catch up on some of my back log, however I can't seem to find a file containing the coords for many of them. So I may have to end up pulling a BQ and wipe 'em out to start all over again. It wouldn't be a big deal since the majority of mark in my backlog are very local. I really wouldn't be losing much.


I also attempted to visit the local used book/video game store the other day, but it turns out they have closed. It stinks having to make a Waymark invisible, but even more when it was a place that I really liked. I used to drop in there when I was in town to pick up some books there. They always had decent prices (I picked up many books for a quarter) and the folks working there were friendly and helpful. It's sad to see them go.

Monday, May 5, 2008

A short hike


Delaware State Park
Originally uploaded by Mr. 0
Earlier this evening Dewgrl and I decided to take a little hike up at Delaware State Park. It was nice to get out and about in this area. I had taken this hike a few times before, but Dewgrl had never been back in there. It's in an area with no real trails. Basically all one can find are deer trails back there. Actually if you look back toward the beginning of my blog you can see some additional pictures, and the GPS tracklog of the hike (link is HERE) We took a slightly different path back as compared to my previous hike, but it was more or less the same. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife, but there were a few frogs, and geese. A buzzard, a toad, and a Baltimore Oriole also made appearances. We were hoping to see some deer, but we didn't...not until we were driving out of the park. We also managed to pick up a few ticks, but it wasn't too bad considering the area we were in.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

April's Photo Contest

Voting is now open for April's Photo Contest. So head on over to Waywardwaymarking.com . The direct link to the voting page is HERE!


Thanks again to Hikenutty for putting this together and setting up the voting page. :)