How Many Geocachers Does it Take to Find a Mill?

Saturday, 12 March, 2011

It was a geocaching kind of day, but that wasn't what was going on.  On our last trip out Woodhick803 had discovered some ruins and, being the naturally inquisitive type of person that he is, had to delve further into this mystery. 

<enter Waypoint_Wayne>

YES!  It really was Waypoint_Wayne of the "Phone a Friend" cache, my all-time favorite!  WW, WH, and I met up at IHOP early (for me) one Saturday morning.  The "boys" poured over railroad charts and discussed whether or not those ruins could be from Spangler's Mill, an old woolen mill located in the Fitzpatrick area of Raleigh County.  Off we drove to that location and hiked along the railroad tracks for a mile or so, crossing several bridges where you could see Piney Creek racing along below us.  <Gulp!>  The guys did all the searching - I was just along for the sunshine, the hike, and to photograph this historic occasion.

 




A coal tipple spotted along the way.  Coal tipples were used to clean, sort, and load coal onto railroad cars.








Coltsfoot in bloom.  I love spring!

The beavers have been hard at work on this tree.  Didn't see any of the critters though.

See the holes?  I'll bet they were made by a hungry woodpecker and, by the size of the holes, probably a pileated woodpecker at that.  Those guys are huge and remind me of pterodactyls.








The answer to the titled question is still unknown.  However, I did find out that Waypoint_Wayne's wife is a former co-worker of mine.  There's a funny story there too about recognizing your own children, but I'll let it lay.....

Get outside and play!