This one turned into a full-on Louisiana run — battlefield dust, backroads, small towns, and a whole lot of finds. Started as a trip to watch the Battle of Pleasant Hill and turned into one of our favorite adventures yet.

Click the image or here to view the full Pleasant Hill Run page.

This morning started with my phone going off around 6:00 AM with three brand new cache drops needing first-to-finds. That is absolutely Jackie's lane, and with the weather coming up beautiful, there was really only one correct answer.

The opener shot. Bike parked, helmet up, Jackie already moving — like the day had made up its mind before we did.

So I woke my baby up, told her to get dressed, and we rolled out on the motorcycle instead of overthinking it. That was the whole spirit of the morning from the start: ride first, hunt hard, and see what kind of story the day was going to hand us.

A clean roadside pause before the next move. Chrome, sunlight, and that little feeling that says the run is going your way.

We did not ease into it. The first stops came fast, and so did the wins. Right out of the gate we were stacking fresh finds and building momentum, the kind where each stop makes you move quicker, scan sharper, and trust your instincts a little more.

One of those broad, open Southeast Texas moments where the bike looks ready for another ten stops without complaint.

That is what I love about runs like this. After a while it stops feeling like random geocaching and starts feeling like a rhythm. Stop. Scan. Laugh. Grab. Log. Roll again. Not luck. Not wandering. Just movement and experience doing their thing.

The bike resting for half a breath while the next call gets made.

And then the day took its turn from easy roadside work into something a little more gloriously unnecessary.

Some of the woods shots were taken out in Claiborne Park West in Vidor, Texas — on trails that are meant for walking and bicycles. And I looked at that situation and basically said, full send. Twelve-year-old me used to ride trails like that on a bicycle. Forty-year-old me rolled in on a 1995 Honda Shadow 1100 with a running engine, a mission, and one hot mama riding with me. It felt like my childhood idea of adventure got to meet what grown-man me can actually do now, and that was a blast.

This is where the morning stopped pretending to be civilized.

Ammo can in the woods, motorcycle in the background, and absolutely zero regret about how we got there.

That stretch was not a simple park-and-grab. It was commitment mode. Push in, get where you need to go, and earn the moment. The funny part is that it felt less like doing something wrong and more like doing something exactly in the right spirit.

Jackie in the middle of it — pink shirt, woods, cache box, and a grin that says the mission is still very much on.

A good closing proof of life from the trail section: cache in hand, bike beside her, and the whole thing still feeling unreal in the best way.

After that, the day gave us one of those quick reset moments — a clean roadside cache that lets you breathe, laugh a little, and get right back into the groove.

Roadside utility-pole grab energy. No drama. Just stop, spot, sign, and move on.

Then came one of my favorite side moments of the whole ride: a cemetery stop, bike parked nearby, Jackie moving through the grounds with that focused geocacher look she gets when she knows she is close.

The motorcycle waits outside the fence while Jackie goes hunting among the quiet stones.

Backpack loaded, eyes working, and that very specific geocacher posture that says the world has narrowed down to one hiding place.

This weekend we took Stormeigh — Evelyn's close friend — out geocaching for the first time while she was staying with us, and she absolutely loved it.

The last day of February came in hot: mid-80s, full sun, and classic Southeast Texas false spring. We started her off with a light bulb cache down by the dollar store in Evadale. Perfect beginner hide — just enough confusion to make it fun without being frustrating.

At first she gave us a little grief about carrying the geo bag. That lasted exactly one cache. The first container big enough for trinket trading changed everything. After that, she grabbed the bag herself, and once we handed her the big rugged tablet, it officially became her mission.

The moment a new cacher realizes the woods, the park, and every suspicious pole might be hiding something.

From there we moved over to Knupple Park in Silsbee, where everything started looking different through caching eyes. Benches were not just benches anymore. Tree lines got suspicious. Every stop turned into a possible hide.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, Evelyn was also quietly trying on a little more of who she is becoming. Still climbing on park equipment, still chasing coordinates, still completely herself — just growing up right there in real time. As a dad, that hits a little different.

We eventually worked our way toward Hooks Cemetery, which changed the pace of the day a bit. Quiet place. Old ground. The kind of stop that makes you slow down whether you mean to or not.

By the end of the run: hot, tired, slightly feral, and fully committed to the adventure.

And that is also where the legendary collapse happened.

When we finally called the day — because we still had a wrestling show to get to — Stormeigh hit the ground in full dramatic exhaustion. Not tragedy. Just a kid who spent the whole day in the sun running coordinates, hunting caches, laughing hard, and completely draining the battery.

Honestly? Mission accomplished.

It was a great weekend: beautiful weather, earned fatigue, and one more kid discovering that parks are not just parks when you know how to look.

Right before headin' to the SSW wrestlin' throwdown in Port Neches (check Home for the chaos), Ma spots a high-rated cache beggin' to be snagged. Name alone screamed "news flash" ~ and bam, it's an old newspaper vending machine pimped out as a geocache, complete with glow-up and that iconic symbol. Took the girls a solid 15 minutes to crack it open ~ made us fashionably late to the show, but totally worth the headline hunt!

Late-breakin' find ~ newspaper cache scoop!

Took Lizzy (Evelyn's super close friend) out for her very first geocaching adventure today! To put the cherry on top and make it extra special for her, she actually scored our group's very first FTF (First To Find) of 2026!

Log Entry: "For the Love of Truckers" (GCBHGYT) ~ Status: FOUND!

The cache was a Micro hidden near a fence line, and she spotted it like a pro. Nothing beats that "new cacher" luck! Now we are off to find the next one before heading into Port Neches for the local wrestling show tonight.

Wrestling and geocaching? That's how the MisFits do a Saturday!

Talk about a New Year's Eve crunch! We set a massive goal to hit 900 finds before the clock struck midnight. Starting at 864 just two days ago, we went on a total cache binge across the Bolivar Peninsula. We finally bagged the milestone Cache #900 "Mother of Texas" (GCBCPN9) just as the sun dipped below the horizon near Fort Travis. Mood: absolutely stoked and ready for a thousand more in 2026!

Victory is ours! Ma holding the lucky 900th milestone find


Endless smiles and tiny containers ~ Ma & Eve's NYE montage


From marshy trails to little free libraries ~ the hunt never stops


Official c:geo stats: 900 finds logged and loaded!

Unseasonably toasty for SETX ~ hittin' near 80F on Christmas Eve. Turned the humidity into hunt fuel and bagged around 10 caches. From abandoned spots to sneaky pipeline hides, the day's weird warmth made for perfect trail time. Doggo along for the ride, family finds all around.

Abandoned vibes and sign shenanigans ~ cache conquests


Reaching for treasures ~ family team in action

A fresh cache dropped mid-Fortnite frenzy ~ we wiped, bolted out the door, and snagged it 25 minutes later. Night hunt vibes with headlamps and quick scribbles. FTF glory, baby! Woop woop!

FTF rush ~ from Fortnite death to cache victory

This state park's smack in the middle of Austin's urban sprawl, but it's got killer hiking trails and stunning scenery. Snagged a few solid caches amid the waterfalls and rocks. Bittersweet spot though ~ it felt like a lot of campsites were occupied by folks livin' rough out of their vehicles. Tough sign of the times.

Urban oasis hunts ~ waterfalls and hidden gems

Huntsville's got some wildly creative caches ~ robots crafted from coffee cans lurking in the woods, gold-sprayed bricks in treasure chests, and an alien space station that glows epic in the dark. Loved every quirky find. Quick detour to Sam Houston's grave for Pa's history fix while Ma and Evelyn nabbed cemetery caches. Now chowing at McD's plotting our Austin run.

Creative cache chaos ~ from aliens to history hunts