They're Everywhere!!!

Saturday I was out looking for a good place to put a new geocache, and once again came upon some deer. Sometimes all I see is their tails as they go bounding away, but I've discovered that if I'm quiet, they'll mostly ignore me. So of course I took some pictures, and this time I even got a movie.



After taking the pictures, I decided to creep quietly away from them. They followed me. It was spooky. They're just not very afraid of humans. Maybe they've discovered that they outnumber us. If they had opposable thumbs, they'd take over.

Something Strange in the Woods

A geocacher named brentbeebe posted in the cache log for Careful, I bite back on on July 12, 2009 about seeing a "stage" located at N39 01.095 W077 05.950, and included a picture. It made me curious, so I decided to investigate. On March 18, 2010 I visited the spot.

The snowpocalypse of February 2010 was hard on buildings; this is no exception. The structure was in worse shape than in brentbeebe's picture.

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I found a bag of nails under the floor. The bag came from Whole Foods, which has a store a few miles north of here in Rockville. I can't say the bag definitely came from the Rockville Whole Foods store, but that store (originally called Fresh Fields) became Whole Foods in late 1996.


There was a rusty saw tucked into the rafters. I found other objects nearby which appeared to be a sleeping bag and a parka. In the general area were a candle in a vase, an empty bag of "Hotsticks" (a brand of kindling wood), and a black plastic tarp (which was also used in the structure's roof). I did not find many food-related items. There was an empty plastic yogurt cup, but there is plenty of random litter of that type in the area.


The floor joists are viewed from below. Notice the nails (rather poorly) hammered in along the length of some of them. I don't know if the nails actually held anything together. None of the wood was painted or finished in any way. There was no writing, carving, or other marks on any of the wood. The general level of decay suggests that it has been abandoned for several years.


My best guess is that a homeless person built this as a shelter around 2000. I don't know where the wood came from or how it got there, although it was probably carried in. The barriers formed by the Beltway and Rock Creek, as well as the soft ground and many trees would make it difficult to bring in a vehicle. If the parka and sleeping bag came from the structure, it suggests that it was abandoned without removing anything. Perhaps the occupant was arrested, sick, or injured and unable to return.

Picture of the day

What is This?

Look What I Found In the Woods

I was doing a bit of geocaching in a local park on Monday, and as I was hiking along, I spotted this fellow about 25 feet away. He didn't seem worried at all. He just sat there while I pulled out my camera and took his picture. It's not the first time I've gotten close to some calm deer. Here's a picture of some does I saw in Aspen Hill a year ago:


Those are houses in the background. (The tombstones? It was the Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery.) I've noticed that the deer are pretty bold around here. Maybe they're getting used to seeing humans without hearing BANG! noises. Between DC and Montgomery County, they have a pretty big safe zone. Still, this is the first time I've gotten this close to a seven-point buck.

Cabin John Park Panorama

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This was shot at Cabin John Regional Park on April 27, 2009. There's a whole other part of the park to the west of the area everybody usually goes. I went there to find a geocache and discovered this unique vista. I always bring along a tripod and level in case I discover scenes like this.

There's not much to say otherwise. There aren't any landmarks to point out or interesting facts about the location, so just sit back and enjoy the view. It was a really nice day.

The Travel Bug Made Me Do It

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It's not just any travel bug, it's a MEDCOM travel bug. That means its owner wants pictures of it at US Army locations. Montgomery County offers a wealth of opportunities for seeing sites dedicated to medicine and the military, but I know of a place called Forest Glen where they intersect most appropriately for this TB.

I used to ride my bike around there as a kid. I remember the pagoda and the "miniature european city". The old city is gone now, replaced by semi-detached housing. On the other side of the road, the Army does their business in a big blue building named after Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii.

I figured I would just pass through the area sometime and stop there to take pictures with the TB. As it turned out, I didn't get that opportunity for so long that its owner emailed me wondering if I still had it.

So I made a road trip down Beach Drive, turning right at the Emerald City, under the beltway and left. Then right and up one of the steeper hills in the area. Then left and go straight. The WRAIR is the place on the right with the fence and guards. The picture above is of the old front gate over on Brookville Road. If you click on it and look closely, you can see the esteemed Senator's name over the entrance.

I probably gave their security people something to do for a while. I'm sure they got better footage of me than I got of them. I imagined an official vehicle rolling up and some guys with badges wanting to know just why they shouldn't send me to Gitmo. I used to ride my bike in there. Times have changed.