It’s time for our next “Top 3 List”, having just completed cache #50 last weekend. Kudos to the cache owners listed below on these memorable hides!

#1 - W8OXI, by callmeox
A puzzle cache in Willoughby Hills, Ohio that required some inverted thinking. It was fun and satisfying to solve it without hints.
Difficulty: 5, Terrain: 1.5

#2 - Nenaukee Pond Overlook, by HamSamwich
A traditional cache located near Chelsea, Michigan that introduced us to a nearby hiking trail. It also sported a creative cache container that many have mentioned in their logs.
Difficulty: 3, Terrain: 3

#3 - Mall Rats, by Taranis
A puzzle cache located in Mentor, Ohio that was enjoyable to tackle while the February snows were on the ground. Ciphers like this make my brain spin!
Difficulty: 4, Terrain: 1

I have created this post to track my geocaching statistics on an ongoing basis.

2008 goals: Reach 100 finds (achieved 19-Jun), cache in 5 or more states (achieved 3-Jul), and fill in 25 cells of the terrain/difficulty combinations matrix (achieved 6-Aug) by 31-Dec-2008.

Revised 2008 goals: Reach 200 finds and fill in 30 cells of the terrain/difficulty matrix.

Stat Summary

Maps

Charts and Graphs

Having completed my 25th find earlier today, it is time to publish my first “Top 3 List”. I will repeat this process each time I finish another twenty-five cache finds. Kudos to the cache owners listed below on these memorable hides!

#1 - Conundrum, by Slandgsmith
A puzzle cache in Willoughby, Ohio requiring the use of both deductive reasoning and internet search skills. Hiking to the cache was also a sloppy bugger at this time of year!
Difficulty: 4, Terrain: 2.5

#2 - Historic Oak Grove, by crossingRhodes
A traditional cache located in Chelsea, Michigan that represents the most creative hide we’ve encountered so far. It took the sharp eyes of both the Lady and I to spot this one. We must not be the only ones to find this one difficult, as the log shows a much higher percentage of did-not-finds than most caches.
Difficulty: 2.5, Terrain: 1

#3 - Our Place, by RyanD1177
A traditional cache located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that offered the most enjoyable hike of the first 25. It is located in the Saginaw Forest, a forestry research area owned by the University of Michigan.
Difficulty: 1.5, Terrain: 2.5

Honorable mentions: WH EXPRESS for an unexpected encounter with the law, The Chagrine Motel for best travel bug motel.

As the highlight of our fall family gathering in Dallas, we attended a rodeo at the Resistol Arena in Mesquite, Texas. Whooeee, it was good! We ate some fine barbeque, drank some beer, and had a whooping good time watching the livestock beat up on the cowboys.

The Texas Discovery Gardens offered sunny views of both flowers and butterflies.