Was it the cool crisp air of a beautiful Saturday morning that called me or the recent memory of caching with friends that compelled me to seek out Rupert? All I know is that I couldn’t stop thinking about it all morning.
Even though I knew I had other things to do all I could hear was “It hasn’t been logged in awhile….What are you waiting for?”
So I finished what I was doing and returned to the warmth of hot cup of Blue Mountain Blend and a keyboard. With a quick double click of the Firefox icon I had everything I needed to begin my quest. On the tabs before me lay the MGS site, GC.com, Google, and Gmail. I carefully laid out a plan of attack as the mystery of Rupert’s Revenge began to unravel, little did I know those plans were about to change. I called out to my son and full time caching partner Rockhead97 “Are you ready yet?” No, I want to stay home today.
His response echoed in my ears like the sound of a train wreck. Now what, my Tupperware sniffing bloodhound has just called in sick and I’m headed into muggle infested territory. Well I’m more bulldog than bloodhound and I wasn’t about to let this one go. I grabbed my gear and in a few minutes the M/T’s were humming against the pavement as I pressed the find button on my 60C.
Now part one was no problem as I had completed most of the research online. Just a quick stop to verify my numbers and on to part two. Arriving I became concerned about all the new landscaping and metallic objects with a fresh coat of paint. Would it still be here and if so how am I going to retrieve it with all these eyes on me? Muggles are curious creatures but today not one noticed the guy wandering around in there mist with a GPS hanging half out of his jacket pocket. Walking back and forth reading signs and finally sitting on a bench to jot down something on a piece of paper before returning to his truck. I walked over in the area of “Word Math part 1” but with so many muggles around I thought I had better leave that one for another day. So after adding the new co-ords I was off to part three totally oblivious to how exciting this day was about to get.
The GPS beeped its warning “Right Turn Ahead”. I looked over and my heart sank…a playground and me without a kid. Making the best of a touchy situation I sat on a nearby bench and read a paper while waiting for the parents to grow weary of the game of push me higher. After they left I entered the area and began my search. Difficult without a kid I thought but not impossible. I spotted the clue and using my hand I felt around the area. Nothing…I remember seeing a DNF as the last log for part three was it gone.
Maybe now was the time to exercise that cell number I had programmed into my phone before I left. After voicing my concerns to Mr. LLG and telling him where I expected it to be he suggested I use my eyes this time. Ooo sneaky, yep it’s still there I told him. I had just hung up and punched in the new co-ords only to turn around and come face to face with one of Maryland’s finest.
That’s right while I was looking in and around this playground I was being watched by a State Trooper who was concerned, when he realized I didn’t have a kid with me, about what I was doing there. The first words out of his mouth” Can I see some ID” sure; I replied I know this is going to sound strange but I’m Geocaching. Now I didn’t have any print outs but what I did have was my MGS shirt that I was wearing. We walked over to his car and he pulled up the site on his laptop. After seeing the number of members just in the MGS he shook his head and laughed “Real life National Treasure hunters”, he said. As we shook hands he told me to pass along to the other members that a calm explanation and a MGS shirt will go a long way toward keeping things friendly between a suspicious person and an officer, we laughed and went our separate ways.
Now it was on to part four, walking through the woods my heart sank again. This time it was because I had seen something bright pink laying on the ground at what I believed was ground zero. What happened, who knows but the critters and the rain had had its way with the contents of the cache. I gathered the contents and made a call to the Last Lap Gang once more. We talked for a little while, and then I gathered up the remains and made my way home. Kind of sad at the end but all in all an exciting day and a great multi, I hope more people give it a try when it is replaced.
Remember, Geocaching is more than a game or a sport it’s interaction with the world around us. We should be cautious but not fearful of being discovered. And above all else if you don’t have a MGS shirt of your own, get one. 
