We live on the west side of Michigan.  That means we are prisoners of the weather.  Lake Michigan has a great influence on how much moisture falls in this area.  In the winter it is not unlikely we will get over a foot of snow during one storm.  We spend the next few days digging out then proceed as if this were the norm.  Then in the spring we have rain.  We had our house built in the spring.  Just after the top soil had been landscaped we had a four inch downpour.  It was a little disconcerting watching it wash down the road.  As bad as that was it does get even worse.  Here is an example of just how bad it can get when it rains relentlessly for days on end.

Wife: “I’m bored.”

Me: “I know what you mean. I don’t remember when it has rained this much.”

Wife: “I guess you didn’t hear me. I said I’M BORED!”

When the wife isn’t allowed to cache on the weekends she gets a little irritable. It had rained all night and now mother nature was letting us know that was just the preliminaries. The main event was about to start.

Me: “What do you want me to do?”

Wife: “There must be a park and grab we could do.”

Me: “Are you nuts? Look outside. Its raining harder than ever.”

Wife: “Its not as though you’re made out of sugar, a little water won’t melt you.”

Me: “A little water? It was a rain like this that motivated Noah to start building the Ark.”

After an hour of trying to reason with her, I finally gave in and off we went.  After doing a couple we could park within a few feet of, I had to admit the wife was right.  Even though it was still raining we were able to stay somewhat dry in our rain gear.  The wife’s caching addiction was being fed so she would be easier to live with.  All in all, things were going very well.   The last cache we decided to do was called “Don‘t roll on by me“. We thought since it was on a paved trail we wouldn’t have to walk in mud, so it might not be too bad. We arrived at a small parking area but there was no problem finding a parking space since no one else was fool enough to be out. Before we got out of the car I checked the GPS only to find the cache was about 800’ away.

Me: “Well that does it. Its too far to walk in this weather.”

The look on the wife’s face let me know it wasn’t too far. We had come prepared with two umbrellas.  Up until now we hadn’t needed them because we made short dashes to the caches.  I had brought my large golf umbrella and she her dainty pink collapsible one. Of course as soon as we got out of the car hers blew inside out. After a short discussion about the terrible effects cold water would have on her arthritis we exchanged umbrellas. So there I was holding this nearly useless little umbrella.  Since it had blown inside out it now was like holding a flimsy bowl over my head.  When it would fill with water one of the sides would collapse and let the water pour down my neck.  Once it had emptied on me it would flip back up so it could repeat the process.  I hurriedly raced down the path to the cache.  The whole way the wife complained I was going too fast and she couldn’t keep up.  So instead of a fast pace we had a leisurely stroll.  All the while  the dainty umbrella was having a good time soaking me to the gills.  When we got to the end of our journey we found the cache was not on the path but up a muddy hill.

Me:  “THE GPS SAYS ITS UP THERE”

I had to yell so the wife could hear me.  The sounds of the rain and the water cascading down the hill were deafening.

Wife:  “YOU GO GET IT.  I COULDN’T GET UP THE HILL THROUGH THAT RIVER.”

After already losing two arguments I knew any protesting on my part would be fruitless.  I waded through the water up the hill grabbing trees to support me. It was like trying to go up a waterfall.  It was dangerous and my progress was slow but fortunately the wife was there to shout encouragement.

Wife: “HURRY UP.  WHAT‘S TAKING YOU SO LONG?  I‘M GETTING SOAKED.”

With all that had gone wrong I was surprised I was able to find the cache quickly.  After signing the log I started back down the hill. I guess I was trying to retreat too quickly because I slipped and came down the hill on my belly. It’s a good thing when my face skidded on the asphalt path it stopped my momentum otherwise I may have hurt myself. Soaked and covered in mud we raced back to the car.  Once we were out of the rain I let the wife know I was done for the day.

Me:  “That’s it I’m going home.”

Wife:  “Can’t we do just a couple more?”

I wasn’t going to lose this argument.  Even through the mud and blood, she could see the look I gave her left no doubt of my determination.  She resigned herself to the fact our caching day had indeed ended.

Wife: “You’re taking those clothes off in the garage when we get home.”

Me: “Yes dear.”

Wife: “Now, wasn’t that fun?”

By nanncyan

The wife and I have been geocaching about three years now.  We enjoy the exercise and great scenery.  We are surprised by the parks that we never knew exsisted right in our own back yard.  We live in Comstock Park Michigan.  We are fortunate to have thousands of caches within a short drive.  We are recently retired and plan to cache around the country.  Who knows maybe we will be in Washington next July for GW VIII!  Our goal is to keep geocaching fun.  I hope our stories relate that to others.

Marvin Altena

Comments(1):

1. addiction

   I understand your pain lol, our house becomes a warzone sometimes on the weekends as the same battle ensues. Of course we give in "Acceptance it just makes life easier...and quieter".

   Thursday, July 07, 2011 Bob