Geocaching at Deer Lake After Work

Took advantage of the change of time and a sunny day to slip over to Deer Lake to grab a couple of caches after work. Deer Lake is on the grounds of what once was the Oakalla Prison Farm opened in September 1912 and closed on June 30 1991. (The above picture is of what once was the main road into the prison farm). Oakalla has quite the history and you can read about it here.


I parked in the lot at the beginning of the trail, grabbed my back pack and my camera, and started taking pictures right away. It felt good to be out in the sun and I wanted to take full advantage of the good weather for some scenery shots.












Burnaby has done a good job of "advertising" their green spaces by posting information boards at most of their nature sites; if nothing else I can remember where I took the photos. LOL




As I walked along the old roadway I stopped to take pictures of what ever I fancied, the luxury of having a large memory card in a digital camera. At one point I stopped and a large bird flew over head into the bare trees. It was a Peregrine Falcon, which was kinda cool as you don't see many of those around any more. I took a few pictures of it, but the falcon blended in so well with the trees that it would be hard to see if I posted a small picture to the blog.
But what the heck, we'll give it a whirl...........

Deer Lake being at the bottom of a bowl sandwiched between two hills is a natural low lying area; what is not actual lake is mostly marsh and grassy areas. As such all kinds of nature love it here; coyotes, ducks, birds, deer, Great Blue Herons, rabbits, skunks, and of course, skunk cabbage. Which as you can see in the picture below is just starting to bloom.

The first cache I looked for was along the western edge of the lake were an elevated boardwalk kept you high and dry, and out of the fragile marsh. The boardwalk was quite scenic and as I looked for the cache in the area the camera came in handy as people walked by; a good diversion is always necessary!

If you don't have any idea where the cache is just point the camera up at a tree as you look around.............

Soon the cache was in hand, and a well disguised one it was; this cache is called "Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds". The cache owner is well know for his creative urban hides, and this one was no exception. I won't tell you what it is, besides to say you are never happy when you see this type of container! :)



One more picture of the lake, and then I'm off to Dream of Jeannie!


The second cache I found tonight is called "Yes Master: the Return of Jeannie"
The cache owner usually has elaborate cache pages that showcase older TV shows and invariably make you do some research on the old show just to remind you of how much fun you had watching the show. If you want to read about Jeannie and Major Nelson click here.





He also has some good hiding spots; can you spot the cache hidey hole in the picture above?


NO? Then I'll make it easier....how about in the close up below?



A couple of hours spent after work in the sunshine doing one of my latest addictions, and I feel good enough to make it to the end of the week..... LOL