Day 111 The Old Dahoga Cache (GC1BNAM)

  The Old Dahoga Cache, by Dahoga is another in a series of caches in and around the Twin Lakes. If you were to read Dahoga's cache description you would learn some interesting things about the area. As for me, I have lived in the area for two summers and have come to appreciate Twin Lakes, and it is nice learning a little more about the area.
    Novalee, KC and I worked this cache over. We parked within 300 feet of the cache. The Twins Lakes road is not regularily winter maintained, however the  light fluffy snow was about two inches deep. The van ate it up steady and slow.  Parking was easily accessible.
    We had to bush whack from the start. Off the road and into the woods. We had to circumnavigate a few thickets of thorny trees. These whicked thorns were very sharp and over an inch long. It was not long before the woods swallowed us up. I held Novalee's hand. I was her anchor,  her guide, and her safety rope. We moved steadily, slowly closing the distance between us and the cache. So many things were going through my mind. Bush whacking in 15 degree weather, while trudgeing through shin deep snow can be challenging for a little girl. I was trying to help Novalee as much as I could. That and I am always alert for strange sounds in the forest. Moving shadows in the distance. Strange animal tracks. I was not seeing the forest for the trees. Until I looked up.

    When I took the time to really look around I realized that we could have been transported to "Narnia", (C.S. Lewis)  Simply amazing this frozen land was as chill as it was beautiful. Then what was that I saw in the distance. It was not a lamp post in the middle of no where but it seemed almost as odd to me. It was a chair sitting out amongst the trees

A Chair in the Middle of the woods.

I was releived that it was snow that sat in the chair and not some mythical talking creature. I looked at Novalee for a moment. Who would she be if she was one the characters from the novel. No I don't think she would be a Lucy.
   We moved on. I spotted another artifact burried in the snow. It was a screen less TV set. We must be in Dahoga now.
   It was sad seeing these relics of the not so distant past. This was a community. A place filled with memories. I can not imagine having memories of a place that is no more. All the neighborhoods and most of the houses I have lived in or near, I can go back to them.  Your house. The one you grew up in in Dahoga is never more. Was it a dream. Growing up. The house. Moms kitchen. The Dining room. The home cooked family meals. The living room. Was I walking in some ones back yard.
   My wandering mind was brought back into focus as i realized the GPS was not counting down. I waited. I powered down the GPS and powered it back up. I was closer to the cache then the GPS had let on... It was 67 feet away. The GPS froze again. I started looking around for likely hiding places. The GPS hint said the cache was between two rocks. Novalee and I checked out a likely spot and suddenly we were 90 feet away.
    Novalee got upset. She started crying.  It seems nature was knocking on her door. Unfortunately this is how she reacts when she decides she has had enough of the hunt. She gets mad. Niki and I figured out that some of it is a act a while ago. So we never know when it is or is not an emergency. I brushed off a rock, "Novalee you can sit their until you are done crying. I'm going go over there" I pointed "and see if the cache is over there. When you are done crying I will give you a hand." Luck would have it I found the cache.
I steped back and took a picture of it then finished

The Cache!

digging it out. I looked over to Novalee, "I found the cache Babs. Do you want to trade for something?" She replied her voice thick with tears."I want to go Pee!" "Stop crying and come to me I will help you." She did as I requested, and I did as I promised. She explored the contents of the ammo box as I signed the log. She made a trade, and was tickled with her new dolls purse. I Snappped another pictured. We re- hid the cache and headed back to the Van.

Novalee and KC coming to see the cache

Novalee with her trade item