Oh, What Providence!

You see this cap? This is all that remains (or rather remained) of one of the oldest caches in Travis County. This was unfortunate not just because it is one of the oldest caches in Travis County, but also because it was the cache I decided to go grab today for my 600th. I’d been meaning to grab it for a while, but avoiding muggles meant going at an outside the box time because it’s in the middle of one of Austin’s most popular shopping districts.

The shop that the cache was named for has long since moved to another location, but the name remains as the past passes into memory (beyond the ability of men to praise or blame [thank you, Luo Guanzhong]). Now, I know throwdowns are frowned upon, but I’m quite sure from previous photos and digging through quite a bit of filth that the cache has disappeared and, from what I understand, the owner lives in San Antonio now. So I popped into one of the stores and picked up a new container. I placed in a new log, some swag, and a trackable that I picked up recently. Behold! The new cache revealed!

It couldn’t be more fitting!

As a minor sidenote, this is the second time I’ve done this. In the past I encountered a really old cache where the only piece remaining was the magnet attaching it to it’s hiding spot. I did the same thing, replacing the container and getting it back up to fighting trim (excuse me for mixing sports and nautical metaphors). Again, I’m sure there are those who would say that I should not have meddled. I’m not the owner and it’s not my place to change these older caches. Heck, I’ve even rambled on about how much I can’t stand zombie caches. But some caches, especially some of the oldest, seem like they should stay around as a reminder of how and where it all started. Besides, I’m sure there are some Jasmer hounds who might thank me later. Maybe it’s hypocritical. Maybe it’s not. Either way, we contain multitudes.