Geocaching: a New and Exciting Hobby

Before joining the Bryan Park project, I didn’t have a clue what “geocaching” was or what it entailed.  I credit Ms Shelby and Mr Bill with introducing the other volunteers and me to this exciting hobby.  Last week on Tuesday, June 9th, we went geocaching while exploring D’Arbonne State Park, and I thought I ought to share our experiences.

If you check out the official geocaching website, they write:

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.

Treasure hunting! I’m sure your eyes lit up when you saw that little gem of a phrase. Well, the idea isn’t to keep the “treasure” for yourself. What you do is take something out of the box you locate and then put something back in; this keeps the game exciting and fun for everyone who happens to find the geocache.

So last Tuesday, we brandished our GPS and set out on the D’Arbonne trails. I’ve already mentioned some of the interesting animal sightings we had along the way, but our main goal was to locate both geocaches for fun and to get a general idea how geocaching in general works. We plan on starting a geocache or two in Bryan Park at some point.

Walking the trails at D'Arbonne State Park and treasure hunting!

We used the GPS to guide us in the general direction, and then when we had the general area pinpointed we spread out and started searching. It’s funny, because initially we expected the geocache to be buried in the creek bank, so Eric was checking every little hole or disturbance in the soil. Then suddenly, Ms Shelby turned around and bingo! The geocache was nearly in plain site, resting under a log. Inside the geocache were an assortment of interesting items, from a plastic triceratops to Mardi Gras beads. We signed the journal/log in the box, and I left all I had on me at the time: a quarter. You never know . . . someone in the future might find the geocache and suddenly need to make a call – now they are all set!

The second geocache was much tougher, and ultimately we were never able to locate it. Apparently it was just off one of the park’s roadways in an ammo box, but we combed the area indicated on the GPS, map and off the geocache website with no luck. By that time we had been hiking for quite a while, anyway, and the whole group was tired and ready for lunch.

We had a blast looking for those geocaches, even though we couldn’t find the second one. I highly recommend this interesting hobby for anyone with a competitive spirit who needs/wants a bit of exercise and to see some interesting landscapes. Apparently there are geocaches all over the world and in many state parks. To start your journey, go to the website and locate a geocache in an area you plan to hike.

Happy hunting!

Jennifer Reed, AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer

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Week 2

Below are the accumulating journal entries from Week 2, June 8th through June 12th.

This week has been very long. it hasn’t been very hard, but it has been long. The OWL Center was a very fun experience. Going to the State Park was also very exciting.

– Parrish Brasher, WIA Youth

For the week of 6-8-09 — 6-13-09 we are doing training for being out in [the] woods. Monday we were out at the OWL center facing challenging obstacles that tested our minds and bodies. The obstacles were used to build confidence and learn teamwork. 

Tuesday we walked trailed at D’Arbonne State Park. We got some good idea about things to cover and change for the Bryan Park.

Wed., Thurs., and Friday I continued to clear brush to form trails. Overall the project is moving faster and faster as the day goes from passive to full speed ahead. We venture into the wild and claim this land in the name of D’ville.

– Eric Gill, AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer

Teepee Shuffle at the OWL Center, where we moved across this narrow log and built trust.

 

My 2nd week . . . it has been long and hard. I have been going on very little sleep, but it is not too bad. I have started learning more about everyone here and that’s really good because I love knowing more about everyone and everything. I hope that next week will be better. But the only way that it will be better is if you ask God. So God bless you! 🙂 

– Leigh-Anne Hopper, WIA Youth

 

Poison ivy sucks, period.

– Damien Reynolds, AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer

Team building is an entity of greatness.

– Fabrice Tchouba, AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer

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Close Encounters with Wildlife

Agkistrodon piscivorus is more commonly known as a Water Moccasin. It is black in color and has an infamous reputation and highly venomous bite. Earlier, Eric and I were clearing out debris from a very marshy area of the pond in the park, and there was a snake among the reeds – perhaps a water moccasin.

I spotted it first since I’m constantly worrying about these sorts of encounters. I immediately dropped the rake I was holding and stumbled in the other direction, screaming at the top of my lungs and flailing my arms around. Most hiking guides online tell you to back away slowly or just stay still and remain calm. Either way, it was gone before much more of a fuss could be made, but I’m still panicky even thinking about it.

Obviously it’s a bad idea to scramble away in such a frenzy from a situation like that, no matter how scared I was (and believe me, I was very frightened). In retrospect, I could have kept my cool and perhaps not made myself look like a fool infront of the rest of the volunteers. Every little animal sighting brings out my most intense emotions; I’m either very elated or very frightened. This is really my first time working for any amount of time in the forest, however, so it’s all brand new.

On that note, another fawn sighting! Or odocoileus virginianus, if you want to get technical.

My enthusiasm may seem silly, but this is only the second time in my life I’ve seen a fawn that wasn’t in Disney’s Bambi or in National Geographic (the “first time” was just this past Tuesday at D’Arbonne State Park, which I wrote about here). The fawn was just outside of Ms Shelby and Mr Bill’s home, on the outskirts of the park. She must be very young, because I’m told she was wobbling at first like a newborn. 

Look, it's Bambi!

People may make the assumption that she was abandoned and attempt to disturb her – that’s a bad idea. Fawns simply hide as their mothers direct them to, and they rely on their spotted camouflage. So when you see a fawn hiding like this, leave it undisturbed! (Read more about this topic in this great article by The Morning Call

It’s so strange how in matter of 10 minutes, I went from being in a virtual frenzy of fear after spotting what we believe was a water moccasin, to practically swooning at the sight of a newborn fawn. The forest and, specifically, Bryan Park has such a variety of lovely, majestic creatures. This is as real as it gets.

Best of all, this land is a Certified Wildlife Habitat, so rest assured that both snake (ick!) and fawn alike will be safe and sound.

Yours,

Jennifer Reed, AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer

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Communing with Nature

On Tuesday, as we explored the trails throughout the D’Arbonne State Park to get ideas and inspiration for our own trail-building in the developing Bryan Park, we came across the most heart-warming sight.  A fawn was huddled under a fallen log, waiting patiently and motionlessly for her mother to return.  The spots on her back made it difficult to notice her at first, but Damien caught a glimpse of her and got everyone else’s attention (the “oohs” and “awws” soon followed).  Admittedly, I had never been so close to such a beautiful, ellusive creature; I was blushing with excitement.  

“This is instinct,” I whispered loudly, to no one in particular.  “A doe will direct her fawn to hide in brush like this to elude predators.” 

It’s hard to imagine such a chance sighting being one of those quintessential “life-changing” experiences, but I believe that I was changed seeing this innocent, defenseless creature curled up like that.  We were close enough to see her eyelashes and the soft fur on the edge of her ears, and I can’t even fathom the fear that was pulsing through her body.  She probably had the urge to sprint away, but her mother had directed her to stay.  And yet, despite of those powerful and conflicting urges, she was steadfast and completely stoic.  I was amazed.  I still am.  

That little fawn changed me.  Seeing her there like that really put the entire Bryan Park project into perspective.  This park that we — volunteers for AmeriCorps*VISTA and WIA — are developing isn’t just some “nature experience.”  It’s a place to conserve and protect the wildlife, including flora and fauna unique to Northern Louisiana.  And that fawn, who was so petrified under that log and who we left untouched, was safer than she could imagine.  No one will take her away while she and her mother remain in the D’Arbonne State Park.  No one will hunt them or harm them in any way, in accordance with state law.  Here, in the future Bryan Park, no one will harm the wildlife either.  People will commune with nature without hurting it.

I still am amazed.

While I was initially directed to this project in order to help the community of Downsville collect folklore for an historical exhibit on the park grounds, day by day I find myself growing more interested in the outdoor-aspect of the park development.  

On Monday, all the volunteers went to the OWL Center outside of Dubach, Louisiana for some group-cohesion activities.  We learned to trust each other and ask for help, two things that are often difficult to achieve in the workplace. And then the next day, on a sweltering Tuesday, we explored the D’Arbonne State Park‘s winding trails to find inspiration for our own park’s future trails.

Everyone was anxious to get back to work, however, and continue building these trails on the park grounds, including clearing brush to meet state regulations and building structures like restrooms and pavilion. Then there are the “treats,” so to speak, that serve as a welcome break from back-breaking machete-wielding labor – painting murals, signs, and the giant recycle cans.  As youth volunteers, we relish in the opportunity to make our creative mark on the park.  

I’ll close by pointing out that we intend to blog about the development of Bryan Park here, and hopefully share photographs and timelines of the construction of the major structures on-sight.  Every volunteer is asked to write a weekly journal, which I will post as well.  

The goal is to catalog the process while, at the same time, reflecting upon our personal growth.  In an age with computers and video games, communing with nature to this degree is truly significant to us, and hopefully we can share the lessons we learn with others.
 
Happy trails to you,

Jennifer Reed, AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer

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