Summer – it’s a wrap!


Summer – it’s a wrap!
By Allan Olson
Just like that, summer as we know it is now over. Maybe not according to the calendar, but by all other standards our lives are now ruled by the SCHOOL calendar.
Our summer schedule started out very busy with family reunions, weddings and other events to attend, and the final month was pretty busy, too, even though we mostly stayed at home.
We spent our final weekend of the summer with a house full of people – again. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – we enjoyed our company and had lots of fun.
Very early on Saturday morning we ventured off into a new part of Cass County that we had never been to and discovered that it is a very pretty area. The reason for our trek into “unchartered” territory, of course, was a geocache, and this wasn’t just any geocache – it was a brand new geocache, just listed.
I got buzzed by an email notifying me of its existence Friday evening, and we almost headed out then, but it was late and it was hidden in unfamiliar territory. So instead, we continued with our plans to play spot with the kids. For me, it would’ve been safer to go geocaching. In my quest to tag my wife before she “hit” me with the light, I ran at her and stumbled and went head long onto the ground, where I heard something snap/crackle/pop – loudly. Thankfully, nothing broke; an arm is just temporarily sore and difficult to move in certain positions.
On Saturday, since we didn’t know how many or even if anyone else would be venturing out after this brand new listing, we got up extremely early (5 a.m.) in hopes that we were the first ones there – and we were. As it turned out, we wouldn’t have needed to get up that early because as of Monday – nobody else had logged it as found.
This geocache led us down a forest road and near an area called “Brevik” and all around that area. While we were at it that Saturday morning, we logged about five geocaches that gave us an extensive tour of the area, and we also served our first puzzle geocache. This required entering and following coordinates from two different markers to get to our first destination. Since we aren’t familiar with how “coordinates” work, we tried a couple different stops before we got headed in the right direction. Once we arrived, it was a quick find for Mom, who solved the puzzle anyway.
We also got to visit another one of Minnesota’s secluded treasures that we had never seen: Three Island Lake. If it wasn’t for this geocaching hobby we have developed, it’s unlikely we would’ve ever seen any of this beautiful area.
The remainder of the day was largely spent around home. More company showed up that evening, giving us a full house.
The kids rode their bikes, and Marcus and his cousin Jayce even got the thrill of seeing a baby bear (at least they figured it was a cub). They came in the house and told us all about it, and a couple of the older kids verified it later (in case we didn’t believe them) by locating paw prints on the road. It’s something those two won’t forget for a long time – and something the rest of us wouldn’t have minded seeing, either!
On Monday we hit the trail again – this time a bike trail (and a geocache trail). This one, the Blue Ox trail, was considerably closer to home. My niece and I had done some scouting the night before to determine our drop-off locations, and decided we would split into three teams. That’s what we did on Monday morning, and covered over three miles of the trail and located over 20 geocaches on our early morning expedition. The plan was to go back to finish off the trail that afternoon and evening, but that plan faded as the day wound down.
School started this week again; this year all four children will be going. Only the youngest – in her first year – is really excited about the new opportunity. For us parents, it’s going to be an interesting year with four kids in school. Hopefully, they’re all ready to be filled with knowledge.
Please be safe on the lakes – wear your life jacket, keep the kids safe, and remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories. School is starting, so please watch out for the buses that are transporting our precious cargo.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com

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