CAM Picnic 2013

Sunday morning was another early rise for us. We had to get over to do the last CAM cache so that we could get the remaining coordinate to find out where the CAM picnic was being held. After breakfast at the hotel, we got back on the road and headed to the Prettyboy Reservoir park. When we arrived at the park, Steve double checked the coordinates. We discovered that we had to make a choice of two trails to take as they both started from the same point, but because the cache was so far away, it was difficult to judge which was the correct trail. We decided on a trail and begun our long walk to the cache. It was an absolutely beautiful morning and so the walk was very pleasant. However, as we got closer to the cache, it was apparent that we indeed took the wrong trail. We had to do some bushwacking until we got closer. It was okay though because it was still easy walking through the woods and the scenery was delightful. Tyler found the cache for us, we signed the log, took some pictures and then made our way back to the car. By this time it was 10:30 and the picnic started at 11:00. The coordinates took us to a park an hour away.

  When we arrived at the picnic site, everything is already in full swing. We got to see many of our caching friends we've met over the years. Katherine, Fran, Beau, Jo, Cody, Snurt, Sue, Mac, Lola...to mention a few. It was wonderful seeing everyone and it will probably the last time we'll see most of them for a long time. The Maryland Geocachers Association has tripled in size since we joined. The place was jammed packed full of cachers. Steve picked up our completion certificate and because it was the 10th anniversary CAM, we also received a nifty coin that Katherine had designed herself!

We ate and then went and did the Ice Breakers cache with Katherine, Fran and another cacher. The cache was up a hill and on the other side was a waterfall. After we all signed the log, we headed down to see the falls. There was another group of people there playing the drums right at the falls. It was a really neat experience. So we took a few more photos and then went back to the picnic. By this time, things were starting to wind down for the day. We had to get back on the road as we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us and Tyler had school in the morning. We sadly said our farewells to everyone, grabbed a few bottles of water for the road and then made our way back home.
We were so thankful that we didn't miss CAM this year. It's always our favorite caching event. Maryland cachers are the best and some of them became more than just friends to us, they are like family.