653. Mountain Home, Baxter County (AR71)

Not to be confused with the recently visited Mountain View, Mountain Home has about twelve thousand people, but you wouldn’t know it to be there because it feels quite a bit bigger. Well, at least it did at night, anyway. I was satisfied with the courthouse, a sturdy building for a good sturdy town. I was both impressed and dismayed by the courthouse square. Surrounded by bars, it was pretty much muggle central with all the cars parked and all the celebration, no doubt sports related, pouring from the open doors and windows. Luckily, my interests had nothing to do with that direction. I had been waiting a long time and I set off to fulfil a need. Being Mountain Home, there was only one cache in town that would be worthy.

Ladies and gentlemen (or however you identify—I don’t mean to be gender assumptive), I give you Gorilla Stash, year 2000 cache and the oldest in Arkansas. Not only that, but it is famous for always being filled with trackables. I dropped seven that I had been carrying with me for a while and picked up the six contained therein, completely clearing out the original inventory. And I went ahead and signed the log, too. Why not? With that, another ancient bit the proverbial dust! My sense of accomplishment was palpable and it (along with the car’s heater) kept me warm as I continued on into the night to my next port of call…