More Geocaching and Some Pretty Cool Ducks

Even though it was cold, with some snow showers along the outer edges of the county, the sun was bright and it was a beautiful day.  This afternoon, we took advantage of the sunshine to try another geocaching outing.

Buchanan Cemetery at Buchanan Station

The Buchanans seem to be a popular family with geocachers in Nashville.  Last week, our first cache was at the old log home of James Buchanan.  Today’s search was at the John Buchanan Cemetery located near Buchanan Station.  John may have been the uncle of the log cabin James, but John had a brother named James, sons of James and Jane Buchanan who came to Tennessee in the mid 1700s.  John was the proud owner (and I assume the builder) of the 3rd house built in Nashville on the banks of the Cumberland at Fort Nashborough.   In the early days of the settlement there were outlying forts erected as safe places for the settlers to gather in times of danger, especially from the Indians.  Buchanan Station was one of these forts.  Buchanan Station was attacked by some 900 Indian warriors in 1792, but the settlers sent their attackers running after mortally wounding the chief.  We did not find the cache in this location, but it was great fun to explore the history.

We had time for one more search.  This one was much easier and we found it within just a few minutes.  Gene was very excited that the coordinates listed in the geocache description and the coordinates on the GPS screen were identical when he was standing right under the cache.  Since our GPS is designed primarily as a route finding device to be used on roads, it is not so precise when you carry it in your hand and walk away from the roadway.  Accuracy varies between 15 and maybe 40 feet.  That can be a pretty large area when you are looking for something as small as a film canister which has intentionally been hidden from view.  It’s always fun to find what you’re searching for.

You can't help but smile.

We also went in search of the sunglasses yard art.  We had discovered this special little place several years ago when we were commuting to work downtown.  Each morning we passed and I always had to smile no matter what kind of mood I was in.  One morning we stopped and I put a note on the porch thanking the owner for the display which was such a highlight of my drive in to work.  Buchanan Station is nearby.  Since we were in the area we just had to see if the display was still there.  Yes, indeed! And it has grown since last we passed this way.  It still makes me smile.