Leave No Turn Unstoned (GC1RV4C) Bankhead National Forest 10/10/2009

Finding this cache was the main reason for our visit here to the Bankhead National Forest area. We all knew this was going to be difficult to get to, as well as a major challenge to find. But we were up to it. Especially since Oldboyhiker committed to making this his grandest milestone yet! 5000 cache finds! What an honor to have your cache (Michael and David) interesting enough for the oldboyhiker "to want to go for it!" One of the cache owners, Michael is actually Mimi's only son, which really raised the ears of "The Poodle!" It was a cloudy day, but the rains held off for us during this journey in and out. Mother Nature was gorgeous today! Being early autumn the dense wooded areas offered breath-taking views and great foliage colors, which made it a more invigorating!! Donna (aka Mother) stayed in the vehicle, unsure if she could make the hike. Do not worry she had the doors locked and a very large handgun at her side. She was going to read her book. So off we go!

After our challenging and approximate .5 mile trek in, we finally get to the general cache area. The view was actually breath-taking. Imagine huge rock formations on both sides of a beautiful creek that was rushing more than normal due to recent rains. You could close your eyes and hear, feel and smell of a wildlife area that not many people have experienced. Man it was "out there!" We began our search. We looked at all potential areas. We knew, by the previous log as to what type container we were in search of. For over an hour, the entire group searched silently and remained focused on our goal. All you could hear during this time was the flowing creek and the slight chitter-chatter of oldboyhiker talking to himself. Did you know he did that when he is really concentrating? It was also brought to our attention during the day that this would actually be Beep~Beeps 1400th find, which was an added incentive. We continued our search. The coordinates were defiantly playing games with us. We all expanded our search even further. Still no luck yet in coming up with the milestone smiley. We continued searching. I could tell by the atmosphere that we all were beginning to ask ourselves, “will we find it? What if we do not find it?” Slight fear sneaks in. Dusk is approaching. We gotta find it! Silent searching continues. We are all scattered about. Mimi makes a really weird decision and ventures even further. I looked at her and said to myself….”could it be?” The search continues for all. Five more minutes passed. I was telling myself, “it may be time to leave!” But what would we do now? Not finding this cache would literally screw up our entire day…and even weekend! A few more minutes pass, and we hear the very distant yell of LCP, Lady Clay Pigeon, Mimi, Michael’s Mom and even a.k.a. “The Poodle” scream, “FOUND IT!” Next thing I hear is oldboyhiker saying, “YESSS!” What a sweet sound and sweeter relief! We did it! We found it! We all go to the area where she located the cache container. I will not elaborate as to exactly where, because it might take away from future finds! We signed the log as minus 1 + 1 which included oldboyhiker, beep~beep, ragdoll and Donna. "The Whip" (caverscott) was not with us today, so we un-leashed ourselves and ran wild in the woods!! We all returned after 3.5 total hours as very wet, torn, worn and dirty-dirty dogs! Pictures and video are upcoming on Mimi’s Facebook page. Check it out!

Thank you Mike and David for your contribution and efforts in placing this cache in such a great unforeseen area. It helped make a memorable day for all of us! It was great to find it and we all feel so accomplished. Congratulations to oldboyhiker and beep~ beep allowing us to be a part of there milestone journey. Remember, “The fun really is in the journey!!