Geocaching Panther Branch

Friend Diefenbaker (a.k.a. Scott) and I met up this morning at the Panther Branch Natural Area, in Orange County, NC, near the little town of Efland, to get in some hiking and geocaching. The natural area borders the Eno River, and the trails offer some great views from on high—as in big hills; oh, me feet!

 

We put in a good couple of miles on the trail, and then we headed after a couple of dozen park & grab hides in the Mebane, NC, area. I've gotta holler real loud about Catrina's Tequila & Taco Bar in Mebane, where we had lunch; they reliably have THE best Mexican food and drink of any place in the region that I've been. The street tacos and margaritas are especially praise-worthy.

 

A few pics from the trail below.

A Helluva Weekend

Given the dearth of nearby geocaches I've yet to find, it's always a treat to see new ones published that aren't that far away. A trio of new caches popped up on my map Friday — out in Floyd County, about an hour northwest of here. Since I couldn't get out there at the time, I got up early on Saturday morning, grabbed coffee and a danish at the nearby Valero Fas-Mart (their coffee does rock), and sallied forth onto the shadowy backroads. Long ago (the 1970s) and far away (about 20 miles), I attended Ferrum College, and I frequented these backroads, usually seeking the influence of what some might consider illicit substances. There was a commune called Travianas in this area that I used to visit frequently, and I read not all that long ago was still in existence. I don't remember exactly how we used to get there, but I was pretty close to the location, though.

My destination was a place called Riverstone Farm, a gorgeous place in the middle of nowhere, more or less, with a little store where you can buy their fresh produce, and it's all on the honor system. You weigh your produce, fill out your own sales slip, and drop your money in a slot. I picked up a couple of fabulous fresh tomatoes, which weighed over a pound, for $5. And I got first-to-find honors on all three of the new caches, each of which was nicely done. I so appreciate geocaches that lead me to such splendid locations that I would surely never have discovered otherwise.

On my way home, I stopped for lunch at the Railway Café in Bassett. A delicious fried chicken sandwich and a much-needed cold iced tea. Damn, it was hot out there.

The Riverstone Farm produce store

Trail along the Little River

A purty trail view

Last night, we saw the news of Donald Trump getting winged by a shooter. I've seen all sorts of conspiracy theories, lots of anger, and all too much true hate, enough to be totally overwhelming. I have a lot of things I can say on this issue, but not here and now. A bit later, I will.

This morning, again I rose early, grabbed coffee and a danish at the nearby Valero Fas-Mart, and hauled myself down to Burlington, NC, where I met friend Scott (a.k.a. Diefenbaker) for a day of caching in Hillsborough. As it has been lately, it was hot out there. Fuckin' hot. We both added quite a few to our total number of finds, including a bunch along the Eno Riverwalk. Another gorgeous location I enjoy visiting, and — as we usually do when in the area — we grabbed lunch at Hillsborough BBQ Company. Smoked chicken wings for me today, and damned good.

My favorite find of the day was probably the very photogenic black rat snake we ran across at Blackwood Farm Park.

I've no idea what level of madness our country and the world will reach this week, but I've no doubt it'll set a new fucking record.

A nice black rat snake we happened upon

Train trestle over the Eno River, viewed from the Riverwalk

Another view of the Eno

Wildlife at the Eno River

A nice little turtle we found on the trail

That wildlife was a trio of geocachers — Cupdaisy (a.k.a. Debbie), Diefenbaker (a.k.a. Scott), and an old dude, commonly known as the No-Dead-Weight Irregulars. It was almost like old times: the nowadays all-too-rare gathering of several of us old-timers for a Sunday on the caching trail. Ah, for the days when every Sunday meant a gathering of old-timers on the geocaching trail.

Today, our target was Hillsborough, NC. I headed out bright and early this morning, bound for Burlington, NC, to replace one of my own caches that had gone missing and meet the other two reprobates in our party. From there, we hit the highway and in less than an hour began roaming little graveyards in the woods, big graveyards not in the woods, trails along the Eno River (which Scott and I forded at one point because the cache turned out to be on the other side and there was no footbridge), and up and down the Historic Oconeechee Speedway, where we've hiked on several previous occasions. We snagged all the caches we sought and hiked well over five miles, some of which were pretty rugged.

And to cap it off, we had a somewhat late lunch at Hillsborough BBQ Company, which is always a highly anticipated treat. It did not disappoint. For afters, we went next door for some frozen custard at Whit's Frozen Custard. That stuff is now officially a highly anticipated treat. That shit are good.

Hopefully, more geocaching later this week.

Into the Eno we go.

Little graveyard in the woods