This is the sixth article in a ongoing series titled, “TWiG – This Week in Geocaching”. With each article I hope to highlight my personal geocaching treks and comment on anything that I find of interest that’s going on in the world of geocaching (i.e. geocaching related websites, forum posts, blogs, podcasts, etc.).
Discovering New Places – The Pet Cemetery
Previously I mentioned that one the best things I like about geocaching is discovering new places. One of the most memorable places I’ve found was a pet cemetery. Now a pet cemetery doesn’t sound all that interesting, but this wasn’t your ordinary pet cemetery.
While searching for a geocache I spotted a pet cemetery. What made this pet cemetery 
stand out from others I’ve seen was the grave markers. One read “Juneyer” which I assumed was supposed to be Junior. Above the name was written “I told him not to Lord”.
Other makers read names like Bubba and Bodeen. Another thing that stuck out was a rough looking homemade no trespassing sign. I don’t recall if I’ve ever seen a no trespassing sign at a cemetery before. Then another sign read “$500 fine for dumping rubbish”.
Looking down at my GPSr, it pointed straight through the pet cemetery. Heavy brush surrounded the cemetery and a walk around the perimeter didn’t reveal any obvious trails. The longer I walked around the cemetery, the bigger the no trespassing sign seemed to get.
Then from a nearby house, I saw someone walking toward me. He seemed to be moving pretty quick, and it looked like he was carrying something in his hand. The thought of an angry gun wielding man flashed through my head, so I started back to my truck.
By the time I got to my truck, he was already there. But he wasn’t a menacing man, and it wasn’t a gun in his hand, it was a stick. He asked if I needed any help. I told him that I had stopped to take a look at the pet cemetery and to look for a geocache, then explained geocaching to him. I asked him if he had any pets buried in the cemetery. He said no, and that the cemetery was there for the community.
He was actually quite friendly. We talked for quite some time
and he told all about his mole infestation. Looking over at lawn I saw a bunch of sticks stuck down in the ground. He said that each stick was stuck in a mole hole. That’s why he was carrying a stick in his hand. It seems that there was construction down the street and it must have drove the moles into his yard.
After talking to him for more than a half hour, I had to get on my way. But before I left he let me in on a little secret about the pet cemetery. He said there were no animals buried in the pet cemetery, and he had made the whole thing himself. It seems that some people had been dumping trash there and nothing seemed to keep them from dumping until he put up the pet cemetery. He said that it would take one sorry redneck to dump trash on a pet’s grave.
I found the geocache I was looking for not far from the pet cemetery, near a road that runs parallel the one next to the pet cemetery.
Share Your Story
Have you ever discovered a new place because of geocaching? If so, leave it in the comment section or better yet, head over to the PodCacher Forums and share your story. Who knows, it might get picked up for a future show.
Geocaching in the News
“One of the great things about geocaching – especially when doing it elsewhere – is that you see places and sights you never would’ve been introduced to if not for geocaching – great parks, neat monuments or historical sites, waterfalls, etc,” White said.
Need a hobby? Consider geocaching
We’ve used them in our boats and cars to keep us on the right path. Now, Jessie Ray Noble wants to teach us how to use global positioning systems to travel off the beaten path. In his class at Brunswick Community College, Noble will teach how to use hand-held GPS devices to find hidden caches, a hobby called geocaching.
Scouts try their hand at geocaching
Scouts were instructed on the use of handheld global positioning satellite (GPS) devices and geocaching basics. Teams raced to locate 11 caches in the area. Teams came back together for refreshments and to hear the results of the competition presented by Scout Master Bobby Studnar.
Geocaching taking hold: Local hi-tech treasure hunt planned this weekend
Dave Bohorquez wants you to cache him if you can. He’s hidden dozens of secret stashes of goodies around Southwest County and all it takes to find them is a computer, an Internet connection and a hand-held Global Positioning System locater.
TFTC
One of my goals with this series of articles is to help keep me in the caching spirit and to remind me how much fun is involved with geocaching. I always appreciate comments and suggestions, so feel free to leave them here or send me an email. Have a great week and happy caching!