By Photo Submission   Sat, May 23, 2009

Wed, Jun 29, 2011

I’d like to introduce Gary Lewis, geoaware, developer of the EarthCaching program for geocachers and Earth Trek, citizen science program as well.

Hi Gary, thanks for talking with us.

Q. Could you give us a little background on yourself, education, occupation, etc?

I am an Australian who lives and works in the USA. I grew up in southern Sydney and then spent 20 years working in the Australian national capital – Canberra. I have a background in geology and education and have been involved in Earth science education for over 25 years in Australia, USA and internationally. I currently work as the Director of Education & Outreach for the Geological Society of America (GSA) and manage a whole plethora of programs to raise awareness and opportunities for people in Earth science.

Q. When did you begin caching and how did you find out about the activity?

I began caching in November 2003. I was sort of introduced to the game through a work colleague who explained it to me well before then…but I did not really chase it through. Then at a GSA meeting in Seattle in 2003 a GSA member mentioned geocaching and we should somehow get involved. I guess that really sparked the interest!

Q. How did the concept of EarthCaches come about?

At this time we had been working closely on another project with the USA National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. When I mentioned geocaching I was struck with the negative vibes – it seemed that geocachers had really created a huge issue for them they that were having difficulty to manage. Not really being part of the game, we asked them what we could do to make geocaching more attractive to them. The issues seemed to be that many of the nations environmental assets in National Parks for example were being managed through obscurity – that is, if people don’t know about them, they don’t visit. If those sites are not being visited, then they are being protected. Geocaching and other GPS related activities (as well as the internet as a whole) means that a person could ‘advertise’ one of these sites to potentially millions of people who may visit. So, what these agencies wanted was a way to check the sensitivity of sites before allowing people to ‘advertise them’, keep people from making new trails, and have the ability to remove a site's listing if the area became over visited and damaged. At the same time, GSA wanted to be able to take people to site where they would be enthralled by the Earth science at the site – where the visitor would learn about significance, importance and excitement of our planet’s Earth science environments. Matching the two issues together made sense…and so the concept of an EarthCache was born.

Q. When Groundspeak was approached with this idea, were they initially receptive or did you have to work some to sell the idea?

Groundspeak have been partners in the concept from almost the first day. The first call was made to Bryan Roth. Shortly after Jeremy Irish and Elias Alvord came to Boulder, Colorado for a meeting with the National Parks, Forest Service, BLM and staff at GSA. At that meeting we developed a draft of some guidelines and we were rolling. It was a very positive process and continues like that till today.

Q. EarthCaching has several sponsors in addition to the American Geological Society, who are they and how do they participate in the program?

EarthCaching has a number of sponsoring partners – organizations that help to spread the word and in the review process. We also had Subaru America provide us some operational support for a number of years that helped pay for the costs of pins, stickers and postage to run the EarthCache Masters program.

Q. This was before my time, but I understand that EarthCaches were moved to Waymarking for awhile. What can you tell us about that and how they came back to stay on geocaching.com?

This is correct. At the birth of Waymarking, EarthCaches were copied over as a category. They sat there for quite a period and did not really grow substantially in number or in visitation. After a period of time, Groundspeak made the decision to bring EarthCaches back to be a part of their educational side of geocaching. At the same time we made changes to the guidelines – in particular those related to the development of educational logging tasks. Since then, EarthCache numbers exploded and visitation rose exponentially. It was a win-win for all.

Q. You were initially the only EarthCache reviewer worldwide, I imagine that would have been a huge workload, how did you keep up with it?

In it first few years the number of EarthCache submissions was low. It was easy to keep up with the submissions. Then the numbers started to swell. At first we formed a team at GSA and we all worked on the submissions. Then various people took on the task – Jen, Anny, Matt. So between us we published around 9,000 from something like 15,000 submissions. Quite a feat!

Q. There is now a reviewer team for EarthCache submissions, what were the criteria for selecting reviewers and how many are on the team?

EarthCache reviewers, of which there are now around 10, are specialist cache reviewers with experience in EarthCaches. Many are Platinum EarthCache Masters and all have a deep background in Earth science. We are always looking for more people to help who fit those criteria. We also have other tasks for people to help us with – like reviewing the classification of Earthcaches.

Q. Not too long ago there were guideline changes for submitting new EC’s. What precipitated these changes?

The EarthCache guidelines have been evolving over time. The changes are normally a response to issues that affect EarthCaching, geocaching or both. Many times adjustments are made to make the existing guidelines easier to understand. We try not to make a lot of small changes throughout the year, but do an adjustment once a year if it is needed. All the guidelines have been developed to ensure that we meet the needs of land managers and the needs of geocachers.

Q. Looking back, how well have these changes been accepted by the EarthCache/geocache community?

Very well. But like all change, there will be some people who have a hard time accepting things need to be done differently. We try and work with those folks so they understand how simple adjustments to their existing caches or submissions will make them meet the guidelines. We really do want the development of EarthCaches to be an enriching experience and not a battle. The guidelines are now very clear and not that difficult to follow.

Q. What is the EarthCache Masters program?

Early in the EarthCache program we decided that we would like to reward people who visited and developed EarthCaches. The idea was simple – visit three or more EarthCaches, fill in an online form and you would be awarded the EarthCache Masters status. There are four levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. For the first few years we even sent out physical pins and stickers to people for free (we spent around $30,000 in pins, stickers and postage!). The response was amazing! The result was that EarthCaches grew in number and visitation. Around 18 months ago we realized that the huge growth and popularity of the program meant that we could sadly no longer give those items away – the pins are still available for sale for a very low price through the EarthCache store.

Q. The EarthCache Master’s program appears to have been quite a success and there will be a new program rolled out soon. How big a role do you think such incentives have played in the growth of EarthCaching?

I think it has played a very important role. People geocache for a wide range of reasons – and one of those is that they like to have goals to strive for. The EarthCache Masters program has certainly meet that need for many thousands of cachers. The number of EarthCaches that have been developed and visited as a direct result of the program is unknown – but I am sure that it has been a major factor for many cachers.

Q. You’ve recently announced an International EarthCache Event. What activities have been planned for the event?

The 1st International EarthCache Event (1IEE) is being held just north of Portland Maine on 2 September 2012 (http://earthcacheevent.org/index.html). The aim is that it will be the first EarthCache Mega Event and it will be unlike the majority of Mega events as it will be part event and part conference. There will be sessions to attend on various aspects of EarthCaching such as how to develop logging tasks, working with land managers etc. There will be social events, games and competitions. At least one event will be for the higher level EarthCache Masters people only. It will be a wonderful opportunity for people interested in EarthCaches to meet and share in their experiences. The venue is outstanding – an operating model farm with a wonderful conference venue.

Q. There is also an EarthCache related expedition planned. What can you tell us about that?

GSA operates a field trip program called GeoVentures (www.geoventures.org) that takes people to see Earth science sites around the globe. Often these trips include visits to EarthCache sites – especially if I am the leader! The trips are not just ‘EarthCache expeditions’ although we have thought about running a trip like that to Australia for people to visit the very first EarthCache as get to see some amazing Earth science (as well an culture, fauna, flora….).

Q. What other programs have you developed that might be of interest to cachers?

GSA has a wide range of programs that might interest cachers. One important one is the global citizen science program – EarthTrek (www.goearthtrek.com). Through EarthTrek, cachers can take part in real scientific research by helping scientists collect data on a wide range of environmental issues. Its easy to participate – you just read through the science protocols/instructions for a project, follow the protocols to carefully collect the data and log your findings online. The scientists will use you data and every so often you will be sent a report of what they are finding. For example, one project has people measuring the weathering of marble gravestones around the globe. The data is being used to see how the atmospheres chemistry may have changed and its affect on marble gravestones and monuments. Other projects have people collecting earthquake data, seeking out garlic-mustard (an invasive weed), watching for hummingbirds etc. Notice – these are not all Earth science related! Its free to join EarthTrek and participate.

Q. There are incentives for The EarthTrek program also, can you tell us about the levels and how you earn them?

Each and every time you collect data in EarthTrek you can earn EarthTrek points. These points go towards you achieving levels within EarthTrek. There are eight levels and these are displayed on your EarthTrek profile. You can also earn points by introducing others to EarthTrek, helping EarthTrek by providing translations or photos and even by blogging/twitter or facebooking about EarthTrek! Some projects even send out physical rewards – like pins – for participating. Finally, you can also show the EarthTrek community that you are involved in other activities – like geocaching – by adding Community Icons to your profile.

Q. That just about covers our questions except one. Would you like to give The Online Geocacher the scoop on the new levels of the EarthCache masters program?

The new award program is called the EarthCache Discovery Awards. These awards are based solely on the number of official EarthCache finds you have in your geocaching profile. There are five levels:

Quartz – 50 or more finds

Mica – 100 or more finds

Garnet – 250 or more finds

Emerald – 500 or more finds

Diamond – 1000 or more finds

To obtain each of these awards you need to apply via an online form on the earthcache.org website with the level of the award and the number of your total EarthCache finds. When approved, you are send an email icon for the level for you to place in your profile. You can also buy some really neat trackable tags to display your level on your pack, water bottle etc

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions and for your role in providing these worthwhile and educational programs for us to enjoy.

By The Travel Bugs   Sun, May 15, 2011

After 3 years of filming in multiple locations around the globe with an all-star cast and a budget of over $300 million, the latest music video by The Travel Bugs for their hit song "To Whom It May Concern" is complete!

The song, from their CD "Found It!", chronicles the woes of a certain Mr. Mug L. Guy and his growing concerns about the strange people he sees wandering around the fields. 

 Happy Geocaching!

 The Travel Bugs

Where are the Travel Bugs?

Marvin:  United States (en route to Antarctica)

Merryweather:   England

Lee:  Germany (needs to return to Africa)

Arturo:  United States (en route to South America)

Angus:  Australia

Shelly:  United States

Ziggy:  Japan

Web Site:             www.thegeocachers.com

Facebook:           http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Travel-Bugs/325852328309

By Photo Submission   Sat, May 23, 2009

 In January I celebrated my 60th Birthday with my wife and Brother in Mazatlan, Mexico.  We were deep sea fishing on my birthday.  My brother and I found several caches, one on the way to the top of the lighthouse.  I have made this trip to the top several times.  On the way back down I said there should be a cache on the top of the El Faro.  So a couple of days later we made the hike back up.  The base is at sea level and the elevation on top is about 520 ft. above sea level.  So if you are ever in Mazatlan MX, find Minnesota loves Mazatlan.  (GC23R8E)

Have you ever been "on the hunt" and felt like you were being watched?
 I don't mean in the middle of muggleville, while you're "tieing your
shoes for the fourth time looking under the park bench for that blinky
cache.  Out in the woods, all by yourself, and that burning, someone's
out there feeling comes over you.  Jewell Park, in Bellevue, Nebraska
is one of those places where you ARE being watched nearly the entire
time you're searching for the numerous caches hidden therein.  Only
some of the eyes watching are animal.  Locals say the place is
haunted, but you shouldn't believe them...or should you?

Wed, Sep 15, 2010

Hey Marvin! How ya doing? It's been awhile since I last saw you and the band. I just saw your press release biography, quite a story! Of course, my readers would like to know more about you. Would you mind if I toss a few questions out to you?

A. Not at all Joe!  It's always a pleasure to have you back on the tour bus.

TOG.  What made you first pick up the guitar and how did you ever find
one in the Antarctic?

A.  I always knew I wanted to be a rock musician, but I never had access to
any instruments until one day I stumbled across this container hidden among
some rocks.  I had no idea what it was at the time. That was my first
Geocache find, and someone had left a guitar inside as SWAG.  I was
instantly hooked on finding caches and learning the guitar. I guess you
could say I owe my musical career to Geocaching.

TOG. What did your parents think of your wanting to be a musician?
Were they supportive? What did they say when you told them you were
headed for warmer latitudes?

A.  They were not happy to say the least.  They just didn't understand.
Don't get me wrong, anyone can see the appeal of standing shoulder-shoulder
with hundreds of other penguins in a 60 MPH sub-zero blizzard for days on
end, but I really wanted to see more of the world.  Everyone in my hometown
kept saying, "Do you know how hot it is up there?!?", and telling me how
impossible it was to find a decent fish latte anywhere above latitude 70°
South.  I didn't care though.  I knew I had a destiny in the Great Green
North.

TOG. So old Lead-Bottom Joe started you down this fork in the road,
how does it feel to get guidance from a Blues Legend?

A.  Yeah!  I was kicking around the New York music scene, and one night
after a gig, this dude starts chatting me up.  It turned out to be none
other than Lead-Bottom Joe!  I was star-struck. Joe handed me this old
harmonica that looked like it'd been retrieved from the Titanic wreckage and
told me to give it a try. The instant I blew a few notes on that crusty old
harp, two things happened: I contracted a horrible case of smallpox, and I
realized the harmonica was the instrument I was meant to play. It was so
much better for me than the guitar. Do you know how hard it is to play a C
minor seventh chord on guitar when you have no fingers!

TOG. When you formed Cold and Smelly, were you confident you would do
well with this new Venture?

A.  I can't believe that you remember that band!  Wow, that's a blast from
the past!  Once I decided to front my own band, I formed Cold and Smelly.
That was a great time for me.  We actually had some success and even managed
to crack the top 40 with our song "Man, Is It Hot In Minnesota!". When I see
pictures of us, I can't believe how dorky we look with the eye-liner and
spiked-up hair.  What were we thinking?!?

TOG.  How does it feel to have The Travel Bugs tagged as the premier
group of geo-musicians?

A.  It's awesome.  Even though C&S was going great, I felt something was
missing.  That something was Geocaching.  I had always been an avid cacher
ever since that first find back in the Antarctic, but it was like a separate
life from my music.  Now, with the Travel Bugs, my music and my passion for
Geocaching are together.  It feels great.

TOG. Which phrase best fits your career philosophy, “sing us a song,
you’re the nano man” or “It’s a long, long way to Tupperware eh?”

A.  Nice!  Nano Man... Nano Man... hey you might be on to something there!
That could work!  We'll credit you if we use that on our next CD.

TOG. What advice would you give any nuvi’s who want to break into the
geomusic business?

A. Go for it!  Just make sure you're having fun and you leave yourself some
time for finding caches, not just singing about them.

TOG. Marvin, I know you’ve got a gig to run to, thanks for taking the
time to talk with us today. Best of luck with The Travel Bugs, you
guys are great!! Let the rest of the band know we’d love to talk with
them too!

A. No problem Joe.  Rock on! ... hey, are you gonna finish those salmon
bones?

By FolsomNatural   Sun, Apr 15, 2012

By FolsomNatural   Sun, Apr 08, 2012

Tips and Tricks

You can give your travel bugs an extra little “pop” by matching the object you send with the trackable item. For example, I matched a toy astronaut with a Helium the Alien travel bug. You can find all kinds of toys and figurines that create a theme for your little messengers. Some examples are shown below. There are travel bugs in the shape of dog tags, fish, race cars, flags, and turtles. This should give you plenty of ideas!

FolsomNatural

By FolsomNatural   Fri, Mar 02, 2012

Some simple examples of hiding caches. This cacher (FolsomNatural) starts with the container and worries about the hiding place later. Making cache containers.

By   Sun, Feb 05, 2012

Quick, simple video of what it's like to go geocaching, what's in a typical cache, and what it looks like using a hand-held GPS unit.

By Lacey38655   Tue, Jan 31, 2012

Extreme Geocaching with Layne Clark aka Tiger130

By Lacey38655

In today’s geocaching world, you have found a micro, urban ammo can, you may have even found a puzzle cache or two, but have you found an extreme geocache? What is an extreme geocache you ask, well it is not the run of the mill ammo can hidden at the base of a tree. An extreme geocache is listed as a 5 difficulty rating and a 5 terrain rating, making this type of geocache extremely challenging to find. So if you don’t want to sweat in one form or another, stop reading now, because this series is going to be all about Extreme Geocaching.

 What we will cover: Who are the geocacher(s) behind those extreme caches, who finds extreme caches, what it takes to place an extreme geocache, and I’ll even tell you some items you will need to bring along in order to log that ammo can at the final.

Today’s  installment you will meet Layne Clark aka Tiger130

What was your first 5x5 geocache found?

Survival 101.  Met some great caching friends while hunting that one.

What was your first 5x5 geocache hidden?

Purple Heart

How many 5x5 geocaches have you found?

Twenty-three.

Should there be a special geocaching icon for extreme caches?

No.  Extreme caches are extreme for their own individual reasons.  What one person considers extreme may be ordinary to the next cacher who comes along. 

List your extreme geocaching gear? Example, rope, harness, scuba gear,

ladder, sling shot, rappelling experience, machete.

Kayak, bicycle, scuba gear, black light,

When did you start geocaching?

December 2006.

When you go extreme geocaching who goes with you?

Bitbrain, endorider, chimps8mybaby, Abiectio, Hoot Owl, pippin98, GC4EVR, Nelms3, 76Stinger, ProntoPup, -boatman-, JoGPS, Monkeybrad, SalPal (heck, the Mojo 13 crew), and even Lacey & Sniperchicken have been known to come out.  I'm sure I left out someone obvious. I hope they aren't offended...

Any injuries from placing, hiding or finding an extreme geocache?

Painful groin pull on Bitbrain’s Third.  I even had to wear a TENS Unit for a week.  Don’t go reading anything into that.

Longest time it took to find an extreme geocache, tell the name of that cache?

First thing that popped into my mind was JoGPS epic night cache Mojo 13: I Just Wanna Go Home.  20 hours on a primitive island, seven hours of hunting multiple Mojo-class stages in the dark.  Pure awesome.

Have you DNF’d a 5x5?

Never on a 5x5.

Explain why you like extreme geocaching?

The thrill of the hunt and the challenges that are set out there to make you push out of your comfort zone.

Should there be more extreme geocaches, or since the number is relatively still small, this is acceptable?

I think any cache that has enough thought and effort put into it is a worthy cache.  It doesn’t have to be extreme to be something I want to hunt.  It’s all about the journey to me.

Do you have any future plans for more extreme geocaches (hint)?

I want to place a scuba cache. 

How far did you go to find a geocache?

Over 1600 miles while on a business trip.  Had to get out and find a cache on that trip.  However, the more memorable travel was to Bridal Veil Falls at Niagara, NY which was 780 miles.

Do you mind having the cache owner there with you while you hunt for an extreme cache, or would you rather they be accessible by phone?

I’d rather just hunt the darned cache.  Cache-owner support is a luxury to the sport, but it can also take away from the challenge.

While doing an extreme cache, did you have to overcome a fear in order to gain the final?

I had to overcome my fear of heights on Cache Obscura and fear of dark, buggy places in 3 Degrees.

What constitutes an extreme cache?

Any cache that pushes you to your personal limits.

Have you solved more than 15 puzzle caches?

I have over 250 Mystery cache finds.  Most of those are puzzles and many of them are extreme puzzles. 

Do you own a boat, kayak, or canoe? Have you done any extreme water caches?

Oh Yeah! I love to get out on rivers, creeks, lakes, bayous and the ocean for caching. There’s a video of me swamp-wading for a cache soon after I met da Brain.

Have you ever felt your life was in extreme peril while attempting to

find an extreme cache?

I wasn’t really sure I would ever get back out of the icy, frozen canyon at Virgin Falls.  The only thing that kept me going is that I knew there was no option to quit.

Tell me about Diving and how you got involved?

October of 2010 is when I realized I needed to learn to dive as I watched Bit attempt to free dive for Spanish Shanty’s Treasure, staying down far longer than I was comfortable with and knowing that my swim team training wouldn’t help me rescue/recover him from being trapped 20 feet below me in the murky water.  I decided my only choice was to get scuba certified so I could be down there with him next time we went to Florida.

Most cache finds in one day?

Eighty-something.  Finding a lot in one day isn’t my cup of tea.

What type of GPS do you use?

Garmin GPSMap 60Cx

Whats next on the agenda?

Completing the Jasmer Challenge, I suppose.  I really hope to cache with no agenda for a while. 

What geocache is on your to do list as the most extreme, intense, unusual?

Deep Dam Cache.

What has geocaching taught you?

I finally know what Westbound on Poplar means.

Most memorable moment in geocaching that made you stand up and say YES!

Being 70 feet down in 48 degree water and finding the Frozen Flight Scuba Cache not only made me say “Yes!” but also made me say “Damn right, I’m a diver!”

Hardest Puzzle cache?

Key to the Cryptonomicon.  Nothing close to it yet.

Puzzle caches like them or hate them?

Luv ‘em!

Ammo can VS Micro?

AMMO CAN

What caches are off limits for you personally, what will you not go after?

Caving.  Something where I’d have to belly-crawl through a tight space for an extended amount of time.  Dave Cave was OK, but more than that would be off-limits for me.

Wed, Jan 25, 2012

I have an idea for a new version of CITO. It is a kind of community cache maintenance.

At the time of writing I have so far found 190 caches but at least 10-15% of them have had damp logs, or rusty trinkets in a puddle in the bottom of the cache while the dry logbook wallows in a plastic bag. It’s a pretty grim scenario and one that is often on the groundsite (groundspeak) forums.

Now, having found a sodden cache and failed miserably to write in the log I could  log my find followed by a “needs maintenance” and cause the CO to have to come out to their cache just to clean it and put a new piece of photocopied paper in or I could do it for them.

I’ve now taken to carrying a Geocache first aid kit with me containing:

·         Replacement log sheets on nano, bison, 35mm and a couple of notebooks for small+ caches

·         Baby wipes for cleaning the paper mache and rust gunk out of containers

·         Log book bag (x100)  - the ones you squeeze the two plastic strips together to seal shut

·         Nappy bags (x100) – for removing the cleaned out debris

The total cost to me was about £3 ($4-$5)

When I get home I dry out the old logs where possible and contact the CO asking if they want the original log or a scan-to-pdf of the log sheets . No one has wanted the log sheet returned and have asked for the scans. That’s fine by me – I don’t have to pay postage.

Each CO I’ve contacted (except one who never replied) has been very pleased as it’s saved them a trek out to their cache. They would still need to go if the container was damaged and someone logged a “needs maintenance” but I like to think I am paying them back for their ingenuity and participation in cache hiding.

After all... I’m on the spot, I can help out, I can make the find more enjoyable to those following me.

Tue, Jan 10, 2012

 December 17th, 2011 is a day to remember in many ways.  My boyfriend, Rocky, wanted to spend the night leading into the 17th at camp.  Camp was the place where we began our courtship and spent many weekends.

Camp was a place of reflection and solitude, a place for memories and remembering. You see, December 17th is a very special day indeed.  It is the birthday of Rocky's beautiful daughter and only child, the child he tragically lost just a few months earlier. So, when Rocky said he wanted to spend that evening at camp I could not refuse. His plans were to take me on our first official coyote hunt and then on a "trial" geocache that he said my brother-in-law had set up.  I knew my brother-in-law had done over 100 geocache's and was really into it so I figured it was totally legit.  Problem was, we did not return from our coyote hunting until well after midnight on the 17th.

  I wrongly assumed that we would do the geocache in the morning, during the daylight, but after warming by the fire, Rocky proposed we do the geocache, now!  Although I thought it strange for him to insist on doing the geocache at 1:30AM, in the dark, by flashlight, I obliged. So we set the GPS, bundled up, and with flashlights in hand headed out to find Larry's treasure.

We walked through fields and woods and finally came upon our destination.  At the base of what my family calls "the # 4 tree" was a heap of piled branches and logs and just peaking out was an army ammo box.  I could not contain my excitement even in the midst of near exhaustion, at this point, and ran to the site to begin the excavation.  I had even brought along a small candy bar to place inside Larry's box in exchange for what treasure I might retrieve. 

Rocky knelt beside me and as I began to open the box he warned, "You might want to be careful opening that, remember, Larry is quite the jokester and he knows how much you hate spiders!"  I had nothing to fear.  Inside was not a hairy spider, but an old rag! As I pulled on the dirty rag in disappointment something else caught my eye.  A small, black velvet box.  I carefully opened the box and inside was a beautiful, shiny, diamond ring!

Rocky proposed to me there, by the number 4 tree, in the middle of the night, on Brandi's birthday.

Needless to say, Larry never got his candy bar. I was too excited to remember and besides, Larry says that if you take something out of the box you should replace it with something of equal or greater value! 

Sorry Larry, not this time:)

 

P.S.  I said, "YES"

This article was written by: Lori Brooks-Young

Sat, Jan 07, 2012

Withdrawal Symptoms

Thanks to my chest infection starter, near-pneumonia main course with a side order of removed toenail and a dessert of sore throat I haven’t had much of a chance to cache since the start of December.  I managed a cough-ridden hobble up the street at the mother-in-law’s to find a cache in their Cornish village but that’s about it...

...finding my Driver’s Licence had expired too without a reminder arriving from the DVLA (DMV) didn’t do much to lift my mood and I am feeling decidedly pedestrian at present.

I’ve passed the lunch times at work and late nights at home over the Christmas break planning a series of caching walks to once I can drive to the start points and, while not quite the same as actually caching, it does mean I can literally grab my caching rucksack and go searching without wasting time planing where to go first.

So imagine my reaction when I looked on geocaching.com at noon today and found a 2 ½ mile walk of 14 caches had been created a few days ago within 3 miles of my office! I quickly copied out all the coordinates and downloaded the pocket query I have called “800 within 100 miles of work” (Optimistic chap, me) and uploaded it to GeoShrine on my mobile phone. I printed out my route, made arrangements to have the afternoon off and for my car-share friend to meet at 5pm at the end of the trail.

Now to upload the GPX file to my GPSr....

Where’s my GPSr?

Oh bugger... It’s at home in our kitchen...

Back to work then.

Wed, Dec 07, 2011

I embraced Challenges on geocaching.com from the start. I was excited about the possibilities and... they were different enough from caches that Vicki has been willing to “go someplace and do something.”

There were the worlwide challenges that we could do, climb a tree, visit a lighthouse, a haunted location, find a fountain and several more, but I was hoping for a little more local action. The cachers in our area haven’t exactly overloaded the challenges bandwagon, either in publishing or completing, but that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying this new activity. There were things to discover and do and learn about and share with those willing to enjoy the same.

The first challenge published in Omaha was to post a photo of you at a relatively difficult terrain location, near two existing caches. We didn’t rush out to do it right away, but we did make plans for it once we had time. We’re both out of shape and we knew this going in. It wasn’t easy for me and it was tougher on Vic with her bad knee, but with hiking poles, careful path choices and perseverance, we kept at it and made the grade, literally. We had completed a challenge that was truly a physical challenge to us, but they would not all be physical.

Challenges had been referred to as the replacement for virtuals and there was a nearby location I wanted to make a virtual. A group of sculptures, including a mime, a stilt walker, juggler and jazz band performing in front of the convention center/arena. Far too many muggles for a traditional cache and one nearby precluded it anyway. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge to just post a photo, so I hit upon the idea of interacting with the bronze performers. Show up at this busy area and pull out an instrument to jam along with the band or show off your juggling skills, or even find your way out of an invisible box. Kind of a ‘do you have the chutzpah to look silly in public, but in a related sort of way’ challenge. The people who have completed it enjoyed the interaction and one group went full out, with electric guitars and drum set, which was really gratifying.

I wrote a few more challenges, some activity types, like flying paper airplanes or to go both up, and down, a very long set of stone steps, while counting your steps each way. A few are historical locations and even a living history experience. Another has you experience an acoustic oddity.

About this time I discovered an android app that the local university put out about public art in Omaha. It provided photos, locations, information and would even identify art you took a picture of, if it was in the database. I was fascinated and wanted to share these discoveries through challenges.

Most of my photo challenges, like the first, involved interacting with the public art I found using that app. Offering different foods to big black squirrels and deciding if they like it, determining if a particular set of semi abstract sculptures were rabbits or squirrels and communicate your choice by being the tail, standing tall and bushy or crouched and fluffy. Even play rock, paper, scissors without an opponent, model for a missing statue or find the Siren call of a pizza shoppe.

So far, other than the first high terrain challenge, mine have been the only ones published in the Omaha area, (see post script) with only a handful of people who accept and complete the challenges. Some have not been completed by anyone yet, but that won’t stop me from publishing more of them, Vicki and I are enjoying the discovery, research and interactions with the artworks that have been placed for all to enjoy.

When challenges first came out they were a hot button topic, with major critiscm, most basically stating this isn’t geocaching. No, it isn’t, but it can be a worthwhile activity to have you “go somewhere and do something.” I would encourage everyone to take a look at challenges with an open mind and consider completing and publishing some of your own. If you feel there are no quality challenges near you, create some that you feel are quality. Also, remember that they will evolve, just as geocaching has, soon a third type (Discover) will be available, which should prove more like the old virtuals that so many people love doing.

Peace!

Post Script: Since writing this article, another family and their canine cacher have also begun publishing challenges in the Omaha area. I’m looking forward to doing several of their challenges soon, especially the Haunted Fire Hydrant. This just got a whole lot more fun!

Thanks for the challenges!

Sat, Dec 03, 2011

We did it, after a few mishaps and false starts we got out on a little caching expedition. It had been a long time. In my swag article, I mentioned that Vicki and I had worked out a way we would both be happy caching, well her happier than me, but any is better than none. That was to do road and camping trips and we would cache as part of those.

Monday, zero eight-hundred hours, we decided to find a local series named for the military’s spoken alphabet, beginning with “B for Bravo’ and ending with ‘Z is for Zulu’ armed with our android geocaching app, the legends and the Nuvi, we drove southeast in search of decon containers.

We decided to work backwards and drove out to Zulu to work our way back home. We quickly found out our signal strength wasn’t good enough and an irritating bug in the app made it very difficult to log on the phones as we cached, so we took notes on a cardboard sheet that had been in the back seat of the car. Most were quick finds and a few were just up the road a ways, only the road disappeared well before then. The Nuvi guided us around those sections admirably though. We finished up the series in just under 4 hours, not bad considering this wasn’t a typical one every .10, on a dead straight road, power trail. Most of the containers were at least a half mile to a mile apart and several had multi-mile detours to get to the next one.

As often is the case our enjoyment came from the experiences along the way as well as the finds. One sight we never tire of is the motion of windswept tall grasses, in several places on this trip; the grassy berms of terraced farmland aided the illusion of a series of soothing, gentle waves on the ocean.

We saw several raptors and drove past one perched on a post. Slowly backing up the car, the hawk remained until Vic decided to roll down my window so there wouldn’t be a reflection, before I could locate him on the view screen, he was in the distance. We also saw a heron flying low along a creek and again, didn’t get the digital camera on and ready until it was far away. Some day we will be lucky enough to take the pics we wish we could of these great birds.

A few deer bounced off as we drove by, only to stop at the verges and curiously watch us invade the area in search of a plastic container. Driving past a stubbled field of harvested corn, a doe sprang away to lure pursuers from her precious fawn. Spotting a splash of color in the drab field, we back up to take some photos. After a few seconds the fawn rises on wobbly legs, probably missing its mom and I bet she cuffed its ears after we had left, saying “Don’t ever, ever, move when those creatures are nearby.”

The absolute, positively, very best part of this road trip was being out with my wife, working as a team, doing something we enjoy together, sharing experiences and building memories that will always bring a smile to our faces as we look back upon them. One moment… “Vicki, have I laid it on thick enough to go out caching again soon?” “Not quite, maybe you should try taking over the all the laundry and cooking chores?”

We’ll see how desperate I get.

By Lacey38655   Tue, Nov 29, 2011

Extreme Geocaching with noto45

By Lacey38655

In today’s geocaching world, you have found a micro, urban ammo can, you may have even found a puzzle cache or two, but have you found an extreme geocache? What is an extreme geocache you ask, well it is not the run of the mill ammo can hidden at the base of a tree. An extreme geocache is listed as a 5 difficulty rating and a 5 terrain rating, making this type of geocache extremely challenging to find. So if you don’t want to sweat in one form or another, stop reading now, because this series is going to be all about Extreme Geocaching.

 What we will cover: Who are the geocacher(s) behind those extreme caches, who finds extreme caches, what it takes to place an extreme geocache, and I’ll even tell you some items you will need to bring along in order to log that ammo can at the final.

Today’s third installment you will meet Ken Notaro AKA noto45.

What was your first 5x5 geocache found? A real (Extreme) Challenge.

What was your first 5x5 geocache hidden? I haven’t hid one yet.

How many 5x5 geocaches have you found? Six.

Should there be a special geocaching icon for extreme caches? I think so. There are not that many of them and they are a great accomplishment.

List your extreme geocaching gear? Example, rope, harness, scuba gear, ladder, sling shot, rappelling experience, machete. This list grows as I do them. I started with a ladder rope then a ladder and have move onto a harness.

When did you start geocaching? 4-21-09.

When you go extreme geocaching who goes with you? Usually a small group of local geocachers.

Any injuries from placing, hiding or finding an extreme geocache? No injuries, but was a bit sore the next day or two.

Longest time it took to find an extreme geocache, tell the name of that cache? I spent 4 plus hours in the freezing cold, doing In Search Of Sasquatch: Strange Noises.

Have you DNF’d a 5x5? Not yet

Explain why you like extreme geocaching? It is the thrill of doing something outside the box. I gets the blood pumping and keeps me young.

Should there be more extreme geocaches, or since the number is relatively still small, this is acceptable? I would say more but I think it’s a good number now.

Do you have any future plans for more extreme geocaches (hint)? Not at this time.

How far did you go to find a geocache? I went 1800 miles to seattle to do the triad.

Do you mind having the cache owner there with you while you hunt for an extreme cache, or would you rather they be accessible by phone? I'd rather they be accessible by phone, it keeps the pressure off me.

While doing an extreme cache, did you have to overcome a fear in order to gain the final? Yes, I have a fear of heights and I have to say I have pushed that to its limits and have over came it, somewhat.

What constitutes an extreme cache? I would say the terrain and the equipment you need to have to find it.

Have you solved more than 15 puzzle caches? I have solved 119 puzzles.

Do you own a boat, kayak, or canoe? Have you done any extreme water caches? I purchased a kayak this year to get to extreme water caches. I have a friend who has taken me out on his boat to water caches.

Have you ever felt your life was in extreme peril while attempting to find an extreme cache? I wouldn’t say in extreme peril, but I was quite nervous at times.

Most cache finds in one day? 883 in one day doing the ET highway.

What type of GPS do you use? I have 3, an etrex, 60scx and an oregon550t. I mainly use the Oregon now.

What has geocaching taught you? The challenge of pushing yourself to cache and the great friends I have made doing this.

Most memorable moment in geocaching that made you stand up and say YES! When I did the triad in Seattle it was a great moment going to the original geocache hide.

Puzzle caches, like them or hate them? They can be fun or extremely annoying, hard to say.

Ammo can VS Micro? I like them both but I prefer ammo cans.

What caches are off limits for you personally, what will you not go after? Nothing is off limits

Thu, Nov 17, 2011

I wanted my 100^th find to be something special so I looked around for a 5/5 and came up instead with a 4/4, GCWK44 Avernum, which looked really interesting. The clue described a tunnel unto the underworld with cold, deep water going some 50-75m into the hillside.

On reading the previous logs, people spoke about ending up chest deep in water and the ghost of a baron goosing them in the darkness (ooh-er!). Another finder logged that this would be an excellent cache to attempt at night.

Well that made my mind up! I was going for it. I asked my long suffering wife, Fiona,  if she would come along if I asked my parents to baby sit our Geokids (5, 3 and 3) but she opted to stay put, so I turned to my brother, Ben.  Ben is a LARPer  - Live Action Role Player, who can often be seen tramping through forests in all manner of middle-earth type costumes with latex weaponry and armour. He’d just become a daddy in last couple of weeks and seemed up for the adventure.

I planned what kit we should need... Torches (obviously), wellington boots (judged as ok looking at the cache gallery), hard hat and wetsuit. I’m  a self-confessed wimp when it comes to cold water, so I decided to wear my beach wetsuit under my clothes to keep my nether regions warm in the netherworld. I finished off the ensemble with a waterproof lock-and-lock box to put the GPS, mobile phone, walkie talkie and spare torches in – just in case I got wet. A change of clothes would remain in the car.

I printed off the clue and the coordinates and stuck them on the kitchen cupboard along with the grid reference of where the tunnel was and where we were parking so that Fiona could alert the emergency services if we didn’t resurface.

After dark we set off on the 10 mile drive to Mary Tavy and parked at the church as planned. Ben’s preparation consisted solely of a big bottle of diet coke, a change of clothes. He wore a heavy leather coat and big, big leather boots that would not have looked out of place on Rubeus Hagrid.

We followed the foot path down the hill in the dark, occasionally switching off our torches to see just how dark it was. Eventually we crossed the foot bridge and arrived at a hole in the hillside with a stream running out of it.

Ben chose to go first and sploshed into the cave quickly arriving at a 6-foot diameter pool of crystal clear water. We could easily see the bottom and guessed this was a filled-in mine shaft. Against one wall was a farm gate which had rusted badly, but some previous cachers had laid down old branches to allow the chance to traverse the pool in the dry. Ben got half way across before the branch shifted (I suppose I should have been holding it steady) and he fell in getting soaked up to his neck.  I followed and, by placing my hands on the roof of the cave, managed to cross without incident.

The tunnel was now about 5-feet and 3 feet wide and the air got colder as we made our way into the hill and our torches picked out misty patches in the air along with the metallic mineral deposits on the rock. Finally, we reached a spot where the tunnel widened and the cache was hidden under a pile of stones against one wall. We signed the log and made our way back along the tunnel. At the pool, I went first and got across safely – Ben went in again!

Once out in the fresh air, I sent a chatty text to my wife letting her know we were ok and an ETA for getting home. Ben sent a one-word text message to his partner:  “Alive.”

This was an excellent cache – many of my friends have commented on the facebook video I took on my camera and as we went along the tunnel. My father said: “How did I come to have such a pair of idiot sons?” I said: “Genetics”

Fiona and my son, Elliot (5) enjoyed hearing about the adventure and they want to go now and sign the log too.... dry clothes on standby.

Wed, Nov 02, 2011

Extreme Geocaching with Pissedfish

By Lacey38655

In today’s geocaching world, you have found a micro, urban ammo can, you may have even found a puzzle cache or two, but have you found an extreme geocache?

What is an extreme geocache you ask, well it is not the run of the meal ammo can hidden at the base of a tree. An extreme geocache is listed as a 5 difficulty rating and a 5 terrain rating, making this type of geocache extremely challenging to find.

So if you don’t want to sweat in one form or another stop reading now because this series is going to be all about Extreme Geocaching.

What we will cover: Who is the geocacher(s) behind those extreme caches, who finds extreme caches, what it takes to place an extreme geocache, and I’ll even tell you some items you will need to bring along in order to log that ammo can at the final.

Today’s third installment you will meet Jeff Lockwood aka Pissedfish .

What was your first 5x5 geocache found? gc13675

What was your first 5x5 geocache hidden? Have not put one out yet...

 How many 5x5 geocaches have you found? 3

Should there be a special geocaching icon for extreme caches? yes

List your extreme geocaching gear? Example, rope, harness, scuba gear, ladder, sling shot, rappelling experience, machete.  I have ropes, ladders, rappelling gear, magnets, mirrors.

When did you start geocaching?  Dec 2007

When you go extreme geocaching who goes with you? I have done some extreme caching with a number of folks. Usually whoever is up for the challenge.

Any injuries from placing, hiding or finding an extreme geocache? None so far.

Longest time it took to find an extreme geocache, tell the name of that cache?  7 hours for the cache itself. GC1KFAD 3 DEGREES BLACKOUT

Have you DNF’d a 5x5? YES

Explain why you like extreme geocaching? I LOVE THE CHALLENGE! I LIKE IT WHEN ALL THE PLANNING COMES TOGETHER WITH A SMILEY!

Should there be more extreme geocaches, or since the number is relatively still small, this is acceptable? I like the fact that there are only a few extreme caches. I do wish there were more in the southeast though.

Do you have any future plans for more extreme geocaches (hint)? Yes, I hope you like water at night.

How far did you go to find a geocache? 350 MILES ONE WAY.

Do you mind having the cache owner there with you while you hunt for an extreme cache, or would you rather they be accessible by phone? I LIKE HAVING THE OWNER THERE.

While doing an extreme cache, did you have to overcome a fear in order to gain the final? YES, SMALL, CONFINED SPACES.

What constitutes an extreme cache? A cache that pushes your mental and physical limits past anything you thought you could do.

Have you solved more than 15 puzzle caches? YES

Do you own a boat, kayak, or canoe? Have you done any extreme water caches? NO, I DO NOT OWN A BOAT AT THIS TIME. I HAVE NOT DONE ANY 5X5 WATER CACHES, BUT I HAVE DONE SOME GREAT WATER CACHES THAT WERE NOT 5X5'S.

Have you ever felt your life was in extreme peril while attempting to find an extreme cache? NO

Most cache finds in one day?  144

What type of GPS do you use? GARMIN 62 ST.

Whats next on the agenda? FINISH THE FIZZY CHALLENGE.

What geocache is on your to do list as the most extreme, intense, unusual?  GC1K275 ALABAMA Well Rounded Cacher CHALLENGE

What has geocaching taught you? Never assume anything!

Most memorable moment in geocaching that made you stand up and say YES!  When my brother and I found GCGD31! It had not been logged in 2 years!!

Hardest Puzzle cache? GC21Z18

Puzzle caches like them or hate them? love em

Ammo can VS Micro? AMMO CAN

What caches are off limits for you personally, what will you not go after? caches behind businesses

Tue, Oct 18, 2011

CACHING WITH NANNCYAN

A normal day

Whenever we attend a Meet ‘n’ Greet I always hear the same thing.  “Your wife is so nice.  You are so lucky to have someone like her to cache with.”  I’m not saying my wife is not nice but lucky is not a word I would use to describe my caching experience.  First off the wife has the uncanny ability to make the simplest of chores into something quite complicated.  Combine that with her ever present klutziness and you have a routine that would tempt the patience of Job.  I guess I need to give an example of  one of our normal caching day.

First my wife is not a morning person.  The, so sweet  everyone loves , person you meet at an event is unrecognizable at 7:00AM.  I’m usually up first.  After I make the coffee I  retreat to the computer room.  If I happen to forget myself and speak to her, she looks at me like a bear being awakened during mid-hibernation.  After a couple of cups of the restorer, she goes to the bathroom to prepare herself to greet the world.  I still know not to disturb the waking giant.  From the safety of the kitchen I can hear her daily ritual. 

Wife:  “Oops, I touched my eyeball with the mascara.  I hate when that happens.”

I will hear numerous paraphernalia fall into the sink or on the floor.  Followed by “Darn it”.  Then of course at least once a week there is the problem with the diabolical curling iron.

Wife:  “Ouch, I burnt my forehead.  Come in here a minute.”

Me:  “What’s wrong?”

Wife:  “The iron is stuck to my hair.”

Me:  “How did that happen?”

Wife:  “I thought I was done so I used my hairspray.  Then I saw a spot I missed.  When I used the iron the spray must have melted.”

Remember we haven’t even left the house yet.  When she is finally ready, we load up the car and head on our way.  That sounded simple enough didn’t it?  I may have left out that after we had traveled a few blocks we had to go back and get the few things she forgot.  We have a system for caching.  I am the driver and the wife is the navigator.  I’m not sure how this assignment of duties came about but it should probably be reviewed.  I have to admit since we purchased the Nuvi, she has gotten much better.  At first she was confused by so many caches being loaded into the Nuvi.  Once she learned the closest would be listed first, she understood how to get where we were going. 

Wife:  “Where are we going?”

Me:  “4 over 4.”

Wife:  “I can’t find it.  Its not in here.”

Me:  “Its not the closest one.  You’ll have to scroll down to find it.”

She fumbles with the Nuvi for a while then says.  “I can’t find it.  You must not have loaded it right.  Wait, there it is.”

Me:  “Good, now load the cords into the GPS and put the Nuvi on go.  I‘m not sure how to get to it.”

Some of you might be wondering why the cords are not already loaded into the GPS.  There is a good reason that I don’t put caches into the GPS.  The wife doesn’t like it.  Any more stupid questions?  It is too much for her to sort through all the waypoints trying to find the one we are going to.  So, even though we have implemented an inefficient system, it is the one we have found bears the least amount of stress for me.

Wife:  “The Nuvi said to turn right on Plymouth.”

Me:  “The traffic is thick, so you look for signs while I drive.  Let me know where to turn.”

As we drive past Plymouth the wife says:  “There it is.”

Me:  “Now I have to turn around.  You need to pay better attention.”

Wife:  “Its not my fault.  This stupid Nuvi was slow.”

Eventually we arrived at our first cache.  The wife likes to carry the cache bag so she put it over her shoulder.  It was cool when we started out so she had put on a light jacket but now it was too warm.  She attempted to take the jacket off but something was wrong.  After a brief struggle she tried to get out of the car thinking it would be easier to remove her jacket once out on the sidewalk.  Too bad she had forgotten to unclasp the seat belt.

Wife:  “My jacket is tangled around the seat belt.  I can’t get out of the car.  Help me”

Me:  “I can’t help if you don’t get your hands out of the way.”

Wife:  “Well, excuse me.”

I unlatched the belt and she got out of the car.  I saw her still struggling with her jacket. 

Me:  “What’s wrong now?”

Wife:  “I can’t get my jacket off.  It seems to be hooked on something.”

When I investigate I found she had put the cache bag strap over her jacket.

Me:  “Your jacket is tangled around the strap of the cache bag.  Take off the bag first and you will be able to get your jacket off.”

Wife:  “I knew that.”

This process is repeated at every cache we go to on that day.  Confusion with the Nuvi, driving past where we need to turn, problems with seat belt or some other calamity.  Lord help me if I critique her navigating abilities.  I’ve tried that before and was showered with the wrath of nanncyan.  So as you can see, lucky is not the correct word to describe my normal caching experience.  But, as the wife points out….

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

By Lacey38655   Mon, Oct 03, 2011

Extreme Geocaching with Sniperchicken

By Lacey38655

In today’s geocaching world, you have found a micro, urban ammo can, you may have even found a puzzle cache or two, but have you found an extreme geocache?

What is an extreme geocache you ask, well it is not the run of the meal ammo can hidden at the base of a tree. An extreme geocache is listed as a 5 difficulty rating and a 5 terrain rating, making this type of geocache extremely challenging to find.

So if you don’t want to sweat in one form or another stop reading now because this series is going to be all about Extreme Geocaching.

What we will cover: Who is the geocacher(s) behind those extreme caches, who finds extreme caches, what it takes to place an extreme geocache, and I’ll even tell you some items you will need to bring along in order to log that ammo can at the final.

Today’s second installment you will meet Scott Bishop aka Sniperchicken who is a member

of the Mississippi Geocaching Association.

What was your first 5x5 geocache found?

 I think it was Five-and-Five#1 The Wooly Swamp (GCMRT5) now archived. I had organized a very memorable group cache hunt. Great memories there !

What was your first 5x5 geocache hidden?

GC1KFAD 3 Degrees:BLACKOUT

 How many 5x5 geocaches have you found?

Presently 8

 Should there be a special geocaching icon for extreme caches?

It would probably be tough for Groundspeak to nail down the requirements for such, but a cache listing attribute that could be added would be cool and could be used to narrow down a "search" for extreme caches.

 List your extreme geocaching gear? Example, rope, harness, scuba gear, ladder, sling shot, rappelling experience, machete.

**kermantle rope, Black Diamond climbing harness, grappling hook(really!),kayaks...other than that nothing most other prepared cachers don't pack with them already.

When did you start geocaching?

Sometime around May of 2006

 When you go extreme geocaching who goes with you?

Usually my wife and caching partner Lacey38655.Sometimes we will go with a group of various cachers. During the winter we usually plan an extreme cache outing weekend with bitbrain, endorider, Tiger130 and whoever else we can get to go with us.

 Any injuries from placing, hiding or finding an extreme geocache?

Umm, nothing major but i have fractured a finger or two on about 3 different cache hunts, threw out a knee and almost fell/slid off a snow covered rock cliff face from 30 foot up once.

 Longest time it took to find an extreme geocache, tell the name of that cache?

 I believe it would be the Walls of Jericho cache. There were several caches along the trail loop that led us to "the walls". Our group started in about 8:30a.m.,we made it back to the vehicle right around 5p.m. ;about 3.5 hrs in to reach the cache and the rest hoofing it back out(and a steep UP). 

Have you DNF’d a 5x5?

I've had to make multiple trips to locate a stage or finish the cache but never had to give up and DNF one.

 Explain why you like extreme geocaching?

It adds another level of excitement to the hobby, plus it makes for some great caching stories to share with others. It's a feeling of accomplishment and daring that you won't get with other caches. Most extreme caches by nature will present a risk of danger and physical distress...how far can you push yourself? Mind over matter !

 Should there be more extreme geocaches, or since the number is relatively still small, this is acceptable?

I think part of the allure of extreme caches is the rarity of them, but a few more would be great for those who have already completing those that are available in an area !

Do you have any future plans for more extreme geocaches (hint)?

No current plans, got some kayaks that need to meet some new water though...

 How far did you go to find an extreme geocache?

We've driven 5 or 6 hours to go on a caching hike of several miles does that count??

 Do you mind having the cache owner there with you while you hunt for an extreme cache, or would you rather they be accessible by phone?

 I might feel too self conscious if they were just watching. Definitely would want to be able to communicate with them if needed though.

While doing an extreme cache, did you have to overcome a fear in order to gain the final?

Not really, I’m not afraid of too much. I've have been uneasy "returning" from an extreme cache site though.

What constitutes an extreme cache?

A cache that requires special skills/tools/techniques to reach and or retrieve the cache. If it requires a long (5 miles+) hike in rough terrain i would also classify it as extreme.

Have you solved more than 15 puzzle caches?

I've completed over 160 puzzle caches

Do you own a boat, kayak, or canoe? Have you done any extreme water caches?

Kayaks and yes we've found several caches that required them.

Have you ever felt your life was in extreme peril while attempting to find an extreme cache?

Extreme peril...No, I haven't. With proper safety precautions and adequate abilities, one shouldn't feel so. Still there ARE times when i felt that fine line between confidence and near panic.

By Onslow Fisherman   Sat, Oct 01, 2011

We have recently been on a 770 km round trip part, of which was to do some cache finding.

This, and other recent events, has got me pondering about the many and varied types and techniques of cache hiders.

On one hand we have the original concept of large (5 litre plus) containers that often take some tramping through dense bush or up mountain sides, or both, to find. They are almost invariably hidden in very thorny, brambly thickets, but when you stumble across them they stick out like sore thumbs. Also, they are very well loaded with stash. These are often in places that you wouldn’t think twice about going to otherwise. What fun!

On the other hand we have the “Drive By” s that are often micros. At a number of these you can park, peer out through the vehicle window and say “I’ll bet it’s under that little pile of rocks”. A quick grab and sign without even taking your GPSr with you.

Now I am not advocating, or knocking, any particular style after all they all get us “out there” and we love it. The only limits are the “Rules” and those of imagination. We would all want there to be something out there for everyone. Almost without exception a cache is placed at a place the hider wants us to visit.

What I have a great admiration for, however, are the efforts made by some cache hiders to be imaginative in what and how they place and to write up their description pages with well researched material.

If you follow the links given below you will find two very good examples that, in my opinion, illustrate these to be applauded dimensions of geocache hiding.

GC2TNGP The Prune (Dunedin, Otago)

http://coord.info/GC2TNGP

GC2V913 Old Stones, First Phones (Central Otago)

http://coord.info/GC2V913

Thu, Sep 29, 2011

I’d become hooked on geocaching after listening to friends (TwoRedBoots and ChickenAnBite) chatting about it in the back of my car as we drove to London to the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace (long story) and I was bemused when, at a roadside services, they suddenly pulled out their iPhones, cried “there’s one not 200 yards away” and disappeared into the night.

After that I read An Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching, registered with geocaching.com and borrowed a friend’s GPSr to find a few in my lunch breaks. I also used Google Earth to locate some others and found them too. From that moment on I was hooked.

Two weeks ago we went for our first Geocache Walk in Northcombe Woods (N50º44.965 W004º10.120) to find a series of 9 Caches with a bonus mystery box. The weather was dull and drizzly and spirits were low but we found the first 3 caches before we had to give up. Last weekend while my wife was at a trade show we tried again, this time taking my father – or Graa as the boys call him. The day started badly as the youngest boys’ wellington boots are in my wife’s car but once we were a third of the way round the course (in very muddy trainers) they cheered up thanks, no doubt, to the sweets and snacks I’d thought to bring with us.

We followed the trail and found all the caches which contained stencils to fill in and build up a set of coordinates for the mystery box. Along the way we also had to collect 4 digits and a letter which would help us with the mystery cache. I assumed there would be a padlock on an ammo tin but to our shock it turned out to be a safe embedded in a tree stump with a digital keypad. Unfortunately our pen died and our pencil had gone missing meaning we were unable to sign the log so I left a business card instead. We had great fun rummaging through the swops in the cache and I vowed to return one weekend to sign the log properly.

As a teenager I had been a Dartmoor Letterboxer and had reached my 1000 badge but now as a father with young children the moor is a little too difficult for the little guys and expeditions actually require far more planning than we have time for. For now we shall stick to urban areas and forestry trails. With Letterboxing I’ve always been used to counting paces and checking bearings to get in the locality of a box then hunting in an ever-widening spiral for the wretched thing but with Geocaching I’ve learned that once I am at the coordinates and the GPSr says the cache is within 3m it REALLY means it and I have to fight the urge to wander off to investigate a distant likely looking spot

So now I’m hooked. I am borrowing a friend’s Garmin Vista HCx. I have 900 caches within 100 miles of my home and work programmed in. I have the GPx file loaded into GeoShrine on my Java enabled mobile phone . I just need to work some more hours to build up some flexi time to cache longer at lunch times now!

By Press Release   Wed, Aug 31, 2011

Great Lakes Seaway Trail, NY and PA —  The Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail has completed its first full year of providing a healthy outdoor activity for GPS-guided explorers with a $150,000 impact for the byway’s local economies in New York and Pennsylvania.
 
Organizers with the nonprofit tourism organization Seaway Trail, Inc., Sackets Harbor, NY, say they expect the total economic impact for the current supply of GeoCoins - tokens available once a certain number of caches are found – will be approximately $400,000.
 
Geocaching enthusiasts who use hand-held global positioning systems have embraced the fun and challenge of finding as many as 75 caches hidden in the landscape along the 518-mile length of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway. The byway parallels the freshwater shoreline of 11 counties: St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga, Wayne, Monroe, Orleans, Niagara, Erie, and Chautauqua, NY; and Erie, PA.
 
A total of 1,481 Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoCoins were claimed by those finding at least ten of 15 hidden caches in any of the byway’s five regions: Lake Erie, Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Rochester/Central Lake Ontario, Eastern Lake Ontario, and the 1000 Islands/St. Lawrence River.
 
Cachers typically spent two or three days geocaching in each region, spending an average of $80 to $150 in each region.
 
“Nearly all the participants surveyed indicated they are caching along the entire Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail, spending nearly two weeks on the byway to do so,” said Seaway Trail, Inc. Director of Business Relations Kurt Schumacher.
 
“People have come from 26 US states, five Canadian provinces, and as far away as Australia to complete the GeoTrail. As we’re seeing more people from outside the byway region, we’re also seeing longer stays and higher average expenditures,” Schumacher added.
 
Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said their GeoTrail adventure was highly likely to influence their decision to travel on the Great Lakes Seaway Trail in the future.
 
Seaway Trail, Inc. President and CEO Teresa Mitchell said, “This ‘get outdoors on the Great Lakes Seaway Trail’ initiative is an accessible and affordable opportunity to enjoy healthy fresh air travel along the entire Great Lakes shoreline of New York and Pennsylvania.”
 
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail will continue in 2012. Logbooks are available at locations along the byway, including:
·       St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, Canton, NY
·       1000 Islands International Tourism Council, Alexandria Bay, NY
·       Seaway Trail Discovery Center, Sackets Harbor, NY
·       Oswego County Tourism, Oswego, NY
·       Cayuga County Tourism, Auburn, NY
·       Wayne County Tourism, Lyons, NY
·       VisitRochester, Rochester, NY
·       Niagara USA Official Visitor Center, Niagara Falls, NY
·       Visit Buffalo Niagara, Buffalo, NY
·       Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, Chautauqua, NY, and
·       Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Erie, PA.
 
This geocaching travel initiative debuted in August 2010 with 75 caches - used military ammo boxes emblazoned with the Great Lakes Seaway Trail logo — hidden by a cadre of local volunteers working in collaboration with Seaway Trail, Inc. and GeoTrail coordinator Jim “Boots” Hooper.
 
Each cache includes a unique punch tool for marking logbooks. Sponsor sites validate the logbooks to issue the collectible GeoCoins. The colorful antique metal-finish square coins feature iconic byway landmarks: the St. Lawrence Seaway, historic Fort Ontario, Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist tour boat, and the Flagship Niagara.
 
Cachers can learn more about the Great Lakes Seaway Trail GeoTrail and where to pick up a logbook by visiting www.seawaytrail.com/geotrail <http://www.seawaytrail.com/geotrail> . #

Sat, Aug 27, 2011

Captains log: Cache Date 7.252011.1343.00

Having completed the contractual period of our cell provider, it was decided to reach for the stars and authorize the acquisition of smartphones. New Android™ OS smartphones.

After the initial ‘shakedown cruise’ period, a swipe of the market icon on the touchscreen and the universe of ‘There’s an app for that’ blossomed onto the screen, broken down into several planets of Apps, communications, medical, tools, social, and widgets plus many more app land masses waiting to be explored. Sitting in my command chair, I zoomed in towards the Tools and quickly found many of the apps a good (self appointed) Star Captain would require, moon phases, Google sky and the tricorder. I also began an intensive course of adaptive missile training using a variety of incensed fowl to batter the defensive structures of martial swine. Never know when you’ll need those skills nowadays.

Browsing through Star Command Communications Grid (GC forums) I find references to an Android app called ‘Whereyougo’ which is a Wherigo player. It was free, so a quick download and I could boldly go where my old Legend gps could not take me, on a location based interactive adventure.

Running a query to establish parameters for my maiden voyage, one, only one, Wherigo cache was retrieved within a hundred mile radius. It was located in the Bellevue sector, an area Sioneva has been known to frequent. Calling up her command credentials on the vid screen, I find she is also lacking a Wherigo certification. Suggesting a joint mission for icon qualification, a date was set for the near future.

Meanwhile, self instruction was initiated at the Wherigo website where my ‘droid downloaded several ‘play anywhere’ cartridges. Success was first achieved on a cartridge where noodles were cooked for 4 minutes using only a 3 minute and a five minute hourglass timers. That was followed by repeated failure to gently land a rocket using short pulses of fuel to fire up the retro rockets and slow down the speed. Don’t tell Cache Fleet Command that I ruined the Wherigo rocket, they’ll pull my license. Dammit, I’m a captain not a fuel injector!

Battleship!! Now there was a game a captain could sink his ships into, except …every attempt at engagement would cause an exception and a force close of the player. The next mission was a return visit to the U.S.S. Hazard, a WWII minesweeper, landlocked in a city park of a nearby quadrant. The location is a Navy museum with the minesweeper, a trainer submarine, 2 jets and a Coast Guard helicopter, with a sprinkling of other vehicles and equipment.

JETSchmidt had initiated cartridge development to establish a used car lot with a friendly, helpful, salesman trying to match potential commanders with the perfect vessel or vehicle. Good salesman too, as he sold the Greek troop carrier that was docked the last time I had been in port. I listened to his sales pitch but the ‘droid reminded me I was short on credits. A sleek, gently used fighter jet was not in my immediate future.

Since I had previously located the associated cache container, listed as a multi, I remain without the coveted Wherigo icon.

The next weekend, Junior Cadet Josh and I, initiated the Wherigo player’s tutorial cartridge. We ventured outside our ship to search for a replacement fuel source as we faced being stranded in a barren landscape. Encountering an alien life form, we carefully considered options on how to best approach. Offering it a snack that was in our inventory, we were given fuel in return, which we placed into a container and safely carried back to our ship. Congratulations, end of cartridge, here’s your completion code. I was now self-certified as a capable CacheFleet Command Captain commissioned to continue exploring location based interactive adventures and Josh was now a full Space Cadet.

(I just got his graduation proof’s. I can never decide… which one do you like best?)

I'm so proud of him!

D day, H hour, I directed my shuttlecraft to the Bellevue sector and docked, awaiting Sioneva’s descent to the land cruiser level. Taking the controls, she quickly delivered us to the Wherigo insertion point. We would be extravehicular from this point on. After a thorough check of the away team’s gear, we began working toward the next zone, following the guidance of the Android.

We were in an alien place habited by wheeled beings with oddly shaped heads that would cry out “You’re left!” as they streaked past us from behind. Hearing this several times, Sioneva and I made a pact, that despite these threats; neither of us would be ‘left’ behind. Working toward the next zone, we saw more unusual creatures, a bipedal female rolling a cocoon in front of her and some fur covered entities dragging bipeds behind them. When the furbearers tried to engage us in communication, our Android Google translator could find no record of their guttural, repetitive language, however by observing body language, we determined they were moderately aggressive and steered clear of close contact.

Continuing on, we entered the final zone and were rewarded with a coordinate readout. After waiting out a single, lanky, biped that loped by without even looking our way, we opened the encapsulation device located at those coordinates and left our marks for posterity. Returning to the cruiser, we did a head count and thankfully, neither of us had been left. Mission accomplished. TFTWC

Captains log addendum: Cache Date 7.252011.1359.00

CacheFleet Command has accepted our logs and we have been awarded the Wherigo Icon for our journey of exploration.

I’ll leave you with the following QR star charts that can hyperjump you to the start of your own location based interactive adventures.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Wed, Aug 27, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Sun, Jul 27, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, Jul 11, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Sun, Apr 20, 2008

This is YOUR free magazine, created as a gift to the geocaching community to provide you entertainment and enlightenment. The Online Geocacher is an online medium for geocachers to publish all things geocaching. The Online Geocacher is everything you wish to make it but only what you make of it... submit content and it will thrive!

It is up to you, the geocaching community member, to provide the content!

Who? Me? You talkin' to me?

Yes! We're talking to you! The impetus for this magazine came from a topic on the forums of geocaching.com wherein several geocachers expressed a desire for a geocaching magazine. There have been and still are several attempts to create such a magazine. This magazine is provided to the geocaching community not to compete but to present a free alternative. Choice is good. This is but one.

The basic concept here is that we will provide the magazine structure, editing and management - Geocachers who wish for there to be such a magazine as this will provide the content.

For that to work YOU have to be willing to write something and submit it to this magazine.

Yes, your stories and experiences are important. People want to read them! You do not have to be 'a writer', anyone can tell a story. If you want help with your writing, we will be glad to provide whatever level of help you desire. If you want your story told in your words, that's fine too.

When we say that this is YOUR magazine we mean it literally and personally... without your input we have nothing. Write something, anything, and my bet is that you will enjoy the experience so well that you will continue to do so! Before long you will have a readership eager for your stories... Voila! You ARE a writer!

Well... "Write something" is a pretty broad request, can you be more specific? No. Write about whatever is on your mind! I know that doesn't help much, but it goes to the heart and spirit of what this magazine is all about... geocacher's stories and content. The volunteer staff of The Online Geocacher stands ready to help you develop your content, but we do not want to guide the magazine in our direction... we want you to take it in yours!

By Lacey38655   Sun, Aug 21, 2011

Extreme Geocaching with Endorider

By Lacey38655

In today’s geocaching world, you have found a micro, urban ammo can, you may have even found a puzzle cache or two, but have you found an extreme geocache?

What is an extreme geocache you ask, well it is not the run of the meal ammo can hidden at the base of a tree. An extreme geocache is listed as a 5 difficulty rating and a 5 terrain rating, making this type of geocache extremely challenging to find.

So if you don’t want to sweat in one form or another stop reading now because this series is going to be all about Extreme Geocaching.

What we will cover: Who is the geocacher(s) behind those extreme caches, who finds extreme caches, what it takes to place an extreme geocache, and I’ll even tell you some items you will need to bring along in order to log that ammo can at the final.

Today’s first installment you will meet James Philips aka Endorider who is a member

of the Geocachers of West Tennessee geocaching association.

1. 1.       What was your first 5x5 geocache hidden?

Abandon Hope 3/11/07 placed

1. 2.       How many 5x5 geocaches have you found?

Five (5)

1. 3.       Should there be a special geocaching icon for extreme geocaching?

Possibly for extreme, or maybe another level for them vs a  5x5 listing

1. 4.       List your extreme geocaching gear? Example, rope, harness, scuba gear, ladder, sling shot, rappelling experience and boat.

Depending on what I am going after, could include all of the above. I have repelled before but don’t have the equipment. I am looking forward to and trying a scuba cache. I think that would be really neat.

1. 5.       When did you start geocaching?

2003 however it was really off and on. It is not all about the numbers for me; more about the places you see and go.

1. 6.       When you go extreme geocaching, who goes along with you?

Any other cacher who is free and brave

1. 7.       Any injuries you have sustained from placing, hiding or finding an extreme geocache?

Just the normal bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes.

1. 8.       Longest time it took to find an extreme geocache, and tell me the name of that geocache.

3 Degrees: Blackout, all day, about 9 hours

1. 9.       Have you ever DNF’d a 5x5?

No

1. 10.   Explain why you love extreme geocaching?

Just the plan ole challenge of the search

1. 11.   Should there be more extreme geocaches or since the number of them is still small, is this acceptable?

Sure but would like to see a way to identify them better

1. 12.   Do you have any future plans for more extreme geocache hides?

Doubt I will hide one, but would go after another

1. 13.   14. How far did you go to find an extreme geocache?

65 miles south

1. 14.   Do you mind having the cache owner there with you while you hunt for an extreme cache, or would you rather the cache owner be accessible by phone?

Of course not, sometimes they can help you if you are stumped.

1. 15.   While doing an extreme cache did you have to overcome a fear in order to gain the final?

No

1. 16.   What in your opinion constitutes as an extreme geocache?

Tunnels, climbing, scuba, anything you normally would not need to do to find a standard cache. Not park and grabs but a standard cache out in the woods that needs more then the given extra equipment and one that could have dangers involved if not performed correctly.

1. 17.   Have you solved more than 15 puzzle caches?

Nope not that much into puzzles but enjoys the hunts on them

1. 18.   Do you own a boat, kayak or canoe? Have you done any extreme water caches?

I do not but have been seriously looking at a kayak just have not purchased one yet.

1. 19.   Have you felt your life was in extreme peril while attempting to find an extreme cache?

No well some were a little interesting in some of the spots you would find yourself in

1. 20.   Do you consider yourself an extreme geocacher?

I see myself as a well rounded cacher

Sat, Aug 20, 2011

The 20^th of August was no exception. We had decided to go out and find some geocaches to mark and to be part of that day.

We had had some snow fall around our house but not a lot and it didn’t last long, but up the hill, not too far away, it was like this:

We had sorted out a route that would take us to Lumsden, Southland, NZ. Our in-car navigation system chose the shortest route from here to there, which took us over graveled back country roads, roads where the snow still lay quite thickly.

Lunch at Lumsden then cache hunt our way back home.

The gem for the day for us was Waikaia Multi.

 This was where our SUV was put to a little test and passed with flying colours.

We have arrived at WP 1. 

And we can see the township of Wakiaia in the middle distance. We collected the necessary information from here and headed off through the snow, to find the container. At the cache container site, the snow was “deep and crisp and even, so I snow shoed my search without the benefit of snowshoes, sinking in at every step. Found what I was seeking and signed the log.

Off to the township for a look around and found the Bottle House. We also found a deserted playground, no children in sight, a bit sad.

Today was not about numbers, it was about having fun and so it was.

Another good day out geocaching, but then any day out geocaching is a good day.

Onslow Fisherman.

Wed, Aug 10, 2011

One of our great joys has always been to need to go to places we probably wouldn’t otherwise go.

Our most recent trip took us, amongst other places, to Mandeville, Southland, New Zealand.

Totally unexpectedly, we found an old and well preserved, obviously well cared for, train engine near one of the Cache sites.

To be able to climb aboard and pretend to be the driver was a little boy’s dream come true.

We spent a lot more time “playing trains” than cache hunting. Eventually we decided to go and find the cache and sign the log.

Ah!! The joys of geocaching. The anticipation of more days like this to come will get us out again and again and again.

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Sat, Aug 06, 2011

Friday, August 5, 2011

Devil's Den

Each time I hit a century cache, I try to make it a special one.  Usually I choose one that has a lot of favorite’s points, but I also make sure that the cache poses a challenge for me.  I have never been the most physically fit, but I did work out for several years and have rode the diet roller-coaster for most of my life. 

Up until a year ago, the most walking I would do is when I was at the grocery store.  Geocaching has helped me change all that and I now have something that motivates me to push myself into doing things that I never would have dreamed of.

The family and I were about the head out on our annual camping trip and chance had it I was on the run-up to my 400^th cache.  Since there were several geocaches hidden in the area we would be camping, I researched the caches for several days and I found the one that I wanted to do for number 400. 

The cache name is “Devil’s Den” and it has a 3.5/4.5 rating on Geocaching.com.  This cache is hidden in the beautiful Pawtuckaway State Park, New Hampshire.

As usual, I ended up turning a 4.5 terrain cache into about a 15 terrain.  :-P  I always seem to find a way to make these hard caches a lot harder than I need to and this one wasn’t any different.  I have never cached in this part of Pawtuckaway before, so I came out to cache the day before to “scope” out the area and determine my game plan for the day.

Before heading out I made sure to read over previous logs, so I knew that this one would take a while.  I wasn’t sure how long it would take, so I made sure to get out there soon enough to ensure that I would be able to finish before the daylight left.  My son and his friend decided to come with me today.  Both of them are (were) muggles and I was happy that they decided to go.  They had said they wanted an adventure and when I told them about this one they were excited to try it out. 

I wanted to make this one my 400^th, so we had to stop on the way to the trailhead to grab a couple of caches, bringing me up to 400.  Luck was on our side and we found the others quickly, so off we went to the trailhead that I had decided to start at.

We started heading in toward the cache and it appeared to me that the trail was veering away from GZ, so I made the decision to take the direct path to the cache.  We were walking through a fairly open area and for a while were following a hiking trail (or maybe an animal trail – I was hoping it was a caching trail, but I think that I was hoping for a lot)  J

The walk was pretty flat with only a minimal of an incline for at least a 10^th of a mile.  This made me excited because I felt this meant that I was heading up the correct side of the mountain.  It wasn’t long before the incline was directly in front of us and I thought, “OK, here we go”  I have never done as much vertical climbing as I had to here!  Wow! 

Before geocaching, I really have never been much of an outdoors type, but I have learned that there are a lot of things that I can do that I would not have attempted in my muggle days.  The climb wore me out.  Of coarse, my son and his buddy had no problem jogging up the mountain, but I was huffing and puffing and taking a break several times along the way.

Finally reaching a rock formation, I was thrilled…this had to mean that I was on the last leg of the journey.  The incline increased, my motivation decreased, but I pressed on.  Ducking under fallen trees and over boulders I pressed on.  About a half hour into the climb I paused and looked up…there were the boys, sitting about 30 feet above me on a boulder, laughing at me struggling up the hill.

I pressed on and found a way to hop from rock to rock to get to the spot where they had been sitting…it was here that I decided to stop and take a break for a while.  The boys went out exploring while I caught my breath.  I stood up and started heading toward GZ – we were only 560 feet away (not counting the elevation change), but we were in a “flat” area so I knew that it was easy going from here. 

 30 feet into the hike on this flatter area and BAM – we were on the edge of a cliff with a drop that there was no way I could navigate…it was then that I realized that I was on the other side of the mountain…grrr.  To top that off, there was no way to get where I needed to go except down the way I came and then hooking around.  Working hard not to roll down the hill, I amused the boys again by sliding down on my butt most of the way, but I made it down – made it around, and then arrived about 90 feet from the cache.

I thought that finding the trailhead would be the hardest part, but it was here that I realized that finding the right spot to enter the den would be the hardest.  I was stuck between boulders and a super brambly area, looking high and higher for a way in.   The boys climbed more rocks and searched a few spots before one of them hollered down “I think I found it”.

I was happy to hear that, but also had a sense of dread, for I knew that I had more climbing ahead of me.  Battered and bruised, scraped and bleeding, I pressed on.  My son helped me find the correct way up the hill and I huffed and puffed my way up.  I took me a good 15 minutes to get there (took them about 3), but I made it.  Once there, I realized that this was it (and there was a much easier trek to get there than from where we just came).

My son asked if I was going in – Of course I was – cant come this far and not check it out.  I got into the den okay – had doubts about making it out, but I walked to the den – found the cache, and then paused to appreciate the den…Super cool!!!  This was the physically hardest cache I have ever done, but oh so rewarding – I am happy that I chose it to be 400!! 

~~Until next time, happy trails and happy caching!

 

Posted by Jim (geocaching as EyeD10T) at 8:50 AM

 

 

Originally published 8-5-2011 in the Author's blog: wherethecacheis.com

Fri, Aug 05, 2011

On a recent trip to Dunedin for other purposes, I managed to fit in some geocache hunting time. Two hides, “Opoho Onion” and “The Prune” were major goals. After some difficulty on my part and considerable encouragement by the CO, I found “Opoho Onion”.  In addition to the smiley, I was rewarded by an invitation to have a cuppa with the CO. Said the CO: “you get on and find the cache I’m going home to put on the jug. Come and join me when you’ve found & logged it”.
Over our cups of tea, I mentioned that I was off to Wellington soon, to accompany my wife to a reunion of ex School Dental Nurses.  My expectation, geocaching wise, for the few days that I would be there had been that since I would be vehicle less, I might be able to wander around the CBD on foot and pick up a few. Oh such serendipity.  My friend very kindly offered to contact another experienced Dunedin geocacher, who has a very keen geocaching sister, living, working and geocaching in the Wellington area. Exchanges of Emails resulted in contact being made with the Wellington sibling. From that point on things kept on snowballing. I was invited to list my “would likes”. One of the suggestions was to go with me to GC46, New Zealand’s oldest active hide.

The 16th of July 2011 turned out to be one of the best if not the best of my geocaching days ever.

This was the day that I was guided and mentored around some of the best geocaches that Wellington (NZ) has to offer.
There were so many highlights, GC46 being the top one. I also got to do five different geocache types in   one day, a first for me.  In all I got to get 11 smileys.  This exceeded my expectations which had been for maybe five, done on foot around the Wellington CBD over the entire weekend.

The highlight of highlights was:

Geocache by Kevin Anderson (Wellington) GC46
A cache by Kevin Anderson Hidden: 26/May/2000
2nd placed in New Zealand. Still active.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC46

 
For the hike in to this one a group of us met at the car park. What a mixture of ages. Here was me, an octogenarian, one of the older active geocachers in NZ, doing my best to walk to the oldest active geocache in NZ.  and four others  to  all of whom I could give at least 30+ years.  Also in the group were three littleuns, children of a member of our group. I felt so privileged to be part of such a select group.
What a thrill it was to arrive at the cache site and see this very important piece of NZ geocaching history. I doubt if Muslims arriving at Mecca would have a greater sense of awe and reverence. I wondered if some sort of genuflection would have been in order but on reflection decided not. My reaction was to just simply to enjoy the feeling of history and to share that enjoyment with my companions.
This was by far my longest hike for more than three years. Hip replacement surgery has slowed me considerably and was a great feeling of accomplishment to make it, to and from, albeit slowly and at times a bit painfully. 
Now it is part of my geocaching history the memory of which will be savoured.
Two things came as a real surprise to me. One, the original logbook is in such great condition and two, considering how long the cache has been here and how iconic it is, that it hasn’t had a great many more finders.

If Kevin Anderson sees this log, thank you for this cache. Also thanks to those geocachers who are maintaining it.

Other highlights of this day were:

Light and Bright Sub-Urban Streets CHIRP (Wgtn)

  http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9ca1cd03-9cc3-4e51-aab3-ab65d0672446

This one stretched me, and

Sub-Urban Pipe Dream - #2 (Wellington)

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=2fd74284-da7d-4de4-8a95-6bc19a10fd79

This was so inventive, so much fun for this fisherman.

So it was a most enjoyable trip to our capital city, Wellington, New Zealand.
One of the big plusses was to be able to stroll along the waterfront, take in the sights and sounds and to find some cunning hides along the way.
My endorsement is... “Wellington is a great place to go for a Geocaching Adventure”
So, many thanks to my new geo-friends for their company.

Jim (Onslow Fisherman)

Mon, Jul 11, 2011

“Anyway I figured I didn't have to pay attention. The guidebook tells you what you gotta do.”

Voyagers! - Episode 1 

When last I Chronicled, a trip to Valentine was in the wind. But you know how these things go... the wind shifted, and started blowing east instead of west, straight into Clear Lake, IA. It had everything to do with the book “Iowa - Off the Beaten Path”. The “Off the Beaten Path” series of books has become an invaluable resource for me – having nearly exhausted the Nebraska one, I purchased Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. That should keep me busy for a while!

So the geodad, Sioncat, and I headed east by northeast, on a leisurely four day Father's Day trip. Because it was Father's Day weekend, this Chronicle will be cache-light, but picture heavy. You have been warned! It wasn't until it was far too late to turn back that we discovered we had a stowaway... the geokitty had snuck a friend along! I guess she was trying to make a point or something.

                     That didn't make me nervous, though.                             But this did.

 Along the way to Clear Lake on Friday, I did manage to find “Where the Tall Corn Grows”, some “Grounds for Fairness”, and that I should “Always be on Guard”. Just another part of “A Growing Tradition”! Plus others, of course.

 We set up camp fairly late, so not much was done after we arrived that first night. Next day promised to be full of fun though – the guidebook listed many fun things to do nearby!

“Which came first, the chicken or the cone?”

 Of course, we needed breakfast the next morning, but what is breakfast without a bit of philosophy? After we achieved a state of donutness at a nearby Daylight Donuts, then we set out to try to answer an age-old question. As a bonus, Dad made a new friend!

 Then we moved on to try to find a nearby cache in a park, but were unsuccessful – all we found were a lot of mosquitoes, and a person pitching horseshoes who gave us a few curious looks as we searched the wall.

 Clear Lake is a very beautiful town, tucked around the curve of the lake; it reminded me very much of Burlington, VT save for the lack of mountains. There was also no organized bus system that I saw, but Dad and I found some alternate forms of transportation in the surrounding area.

The visit to the Rail Museum was great fun; we got to help operate the handcar for a brief trip. They have been working for over 10 years there to put together a steam locomotive from parts gathered from all over the country, which was definitely something we'd never seen before. The geodad got to ask a lot of questions. He liked that! We'll get to the stone bikes soon...

 “Uh... it's... it's a brachiopod!”

Jurassic Park (sort of)

 Next on the agenda was an earthcache about 20-30 miles east of Clear Lake, at a site where you can hunt for – and KEEP – your own fossils! The Fossil & Prairie Park is one of the few places in the US that will let you do that. Granted, the fossils are mostly of clam-sized shellfish, but it's still really cool. They ask you there not to get too greedy, so we only found about 6 or 7. Some people were carrying empty buckets in – that was crazy.

 I was ill-prepared for this though, and ended up having to use my camera case to hold the fossils, which led to the question of where do we put the camera? It ended up in his pocket when I wasn't holding it! But a lot of the time I WAS, because the scenery there reminded me of the Grand Canyon on a miniature scale. All erosioned landscaping, water-shaped.

 On the way back – and we stayed there several hours – we passed through Mason City, IA. I tried to find some caches there, without much luck. Then I went after one called Ecletic Zen... no, I didn't find that cache either. I forgot to look for it. The location was - oh, I don't know how to describe it. This is where the stone bike was. Have some more pictures.            

 The whole place was like that. Everyday objects in weird locations and arrangements. Flying bikes. Every kind of imaginable sign. It's not very large, but we spent a lot of time just goggling! One man put it all together, too, if I remember correctly! Is it any wonder I forgot to even look for the cache?

 “I told you they was organised. ”

Chicken Run

 MEOW! CROAK! HAHAHAHA!

 Sioncat and the Blue-Spotted Frog (BSF), conquering the world, one bottle of chocolate wine at a time! Hangovers and all. We should have known better than to leave them alone in the tent all day with the wine. We'd found a wine shop while windowshopping, and I just couldn't resist buying.

 The next day was Father's Day – I had promised the geodad a cruise and a cache-free day, and I delivered! The Lady of the Lake is a good-sized boat that does 75 minute cruises on Clear Lake – for Father's Day, they have a special one that includes live music and a BBQ lunch on the lower level, plus door prizes for dads. We both really enjoyed it – again, it was very reminiscent of the ferry that runs from Burlington VT to Plattsburgh NY. Shades of my childhood!

     It was so GOOD to be out on the water again!      And in the afternoon, we had an amazing time.        

Later, near sunset along the shores of Clear Lake, the geocat did some tree climbing, but couldn't get back down. As she sat there, yowling her head off, the B.S.F. tried valiantly to get up to her, but could not. Luckily, help was close at hand!

 The crisis over, we stayed to catch the sunset.

A very successful Father's Day weekend!

 I'd also taken Monday off, to let us head home that day. By pre-arrangement, Monday was going to be my cache-heavy day, to try to reach that 2000 goal, and I did manage to find a lot of caches in Ames and Boone, IA. It was a hot day, though, and hunger combined with low blood sugar drove us into the best BBQ place in Iowa for lunch – oh, no. Drat. Darn. Pass the napkins!

 “Once again, the L.A.P.D. is asking Los Angelenos not to fire their guns at the visitor spacecraft. You may inadvertently trigger an interstellar war.”

Independence Day

 Severe storms were predicted for that afternoon, so I cut off caching about 3 PM and started for home. We ran into a bad rainstorm outside Carroll, IA, that forced me to pull over for 10 min. and wait it out – I couldn't see the road. I wanted to stay off the interstate as much as possible, but all the flooding around the area has made I-80 pretty much the only access point from Iowa back into Nebraska. It was about 6:30 – 7 pm when I approached Council Bluffs, regrettably from the interstate.

 I could see the sweep and curve of a supercell T-storm from about 15 miles out, but there was nothing I could do. It looked like the mothership out of Independence Day, seriously. There were no exits and nowhere to pull over; I had to keep going, right into it. I've never been so terrified in a storm. Once inside the curve, the clouds were pitch black, scudding, and swirling. I expected it to drop a tornado, but all we got was the torrential rain. Crossing the Missouri River bridge, I couldn't see the lines in the road, or five feet in front of me, and I was panicking. Dad managed to keep me calm enough to drive and be my extra eyes to find the lane markers, and somehow we made it home... the cell dropped a couple tornadoes around the area, I heard later. I wasn't surprised. Just frustrated that I couldn't get any pictures of what I saw, but I was too busy trying to stay alive!

THAT wasn't in the guidebook...

… until next Chronicle, Cheers, and happy caching!

By Jan Kent   Thu, Jun 23, 2011

My friends said it couldn’t be done – “You’ll never find anywhere to park”, “You won’t be able to get places” so of course I wanted to prove them wrong. Of course I could go geocaching in my motorhome and so off I went to prove it!

I belong to the Camping and Caravanning Club so I went to Ravenglass to give geocaching from my ‘van’ a try and we did 4 caches but that, apparently didn’t count as we were using the campsite as a base. So, I set off from north Lancashire at the beginning of half term, on my own, to see if it could be done in the North Pennines.

My first stop, on a beautiful Friday evening in late May was Kirkby Stephen. I had planned to do all 4 caches on the River Eden and I did – it was beautiful. I discovered the Eden Gorge which I remembered reading about years ago but never following up on, walked the newish cycle track on the old railway line, over 3 viaducts and had a first to find (well, the first in a new log!) with Kissing Gate Bridge. All in all a great start.

Being as this was supposed to be a cheap and cheerful holiday, I drove through Brough (didn’t have time to do the multicache there) and found a wonderful flat spot halfway up the fell towards Middleton where I cooked a late supper and sorted out the following days caches. I have discovered the beauty of being a premium member of geocaching.com; downloading routes to EasyGPS and then all caches on the route straight onto your GPS. I suppose I should explain to those who don’t know that geocaching is like a treasure hunt. You put coordinates from the geocaching website into your GPS and go search for the cache at that spot. Once there, you sign a log book (often damp or so tiny you wonder how they cut strips of paper that small), maybe trade an item or two, often children’s toy figures or other oddments, then record your find when you get home on the website. If you are lucky, there may be a travel bug or a geocoin in the cache. Take it home and log it (it has a unique number) and drop it off when you visit your next cache. We only discovered geocaching this year, although it is 10 years old. It’s a mystery why we didn’t learn about it earlier as both my sister and I read outdoor magazines and surf the net, a lot!

I woke up next morning to rain; I had a lie in (the bed is way too comfortable over my cab) and read. A police car drew up as I was cooking a bacon butty but was only warning people about leaving sat navs in their vehicles. I use one cos I like to see where I am going so it was there, on view, but I hide it if I leave the van.

It still hadn’t stopped raining by 11 but I set off anyway and spent most of the day getting wet but I found 8 geocaches and went to places I would never have dreamt of stopping along that route. My first was an easy find in the car park of Grassholme reservoir, followed by a walk to an old quarry. I then drove through Middleton-in-Teesdale and discovered a wonderful area north of the town along the Hudeshope Beck where there were lime kilns and an old quarry to investigate. I found a cache along a draughty valley where I got wet feet and I parked beside a stream and followed it for half a mile or so to a sheepfold where I found “She’s fallen in the water” cache, so named as someone fell in the stream when setting up this stash. I also had a lovely stroll along Billshope Beck, not somewhere I would have thought of walking before.

However, the biggest find of the day came when I did the EarthCache at Harehope. Just east of Frosterley is an old quarry where Frosterley Marble (which is really a limestone) used to be retrieved. An EarthCache usually involves one looking at the surrounding in a Geographical, Geological or Environmental way. There is a wonderful “Geology Garden” here with information and hands on rock investigation, along with a lovely walk along part of the Weardale Way to view the Frosterley Marble in situ in the most fantastic little gorge below a bridge. Now, without geocaching, I would never have found this. I would also never have found out about the Harehope Quarry Project which hosts educational and community events and has turned the whole area into a nature reserve and is developing an organic smallholding; what a fantastic way to make use of an old quarry.

By now I was pretty damp and I made my last cache of the day much later than planned; it was a drive by but precarious retrieval – the cache was in the hollow of a tree but up a steep, stony slope. I made my way back onto the fells for another comfy night pleased with what I had done but disappointed in that I hadn’t even made a start on the caches in Stanhope which had been my intention for the afternoon!

Well, the Stanhope caches took me most of Sunday! I was definitely over optimistic there! But what a great walk! I started down by the River Wear on a blowy, clear day (which later spat on me a bit), investigating the Weardale railway along with several caches on the Stanhope Saunter. I then hit the Stanhope Ramble and that was great. Just be wary at cache #2 – I ended up head downhill, leg wrapped round a hawthorn bush at one point and I’m still not quite sure how I got myself out of it (let alone in that position!). I went way above Stanhope where I could see the evidence of both its agricultural and industrial heritage; there’s evidence that goes right back to Roman times round here!

I eventually was back in town, eating an ice cream by the stepping stones, then back to my ‘van’ after 7½ miles. I then discovered I could get on the net with my cell!! It’s a new Hero and it has been so useful this holiday – I was able to log all the previous caches and those in Stanhope.

I left late afternoon, driving through Rookhope and to a good spot of the road above Allenheads (where I could also use my cell for logging caches). I did 6 caches on the way so I settled down to cook chicken curry, enjoy a glass of Chardonnay and plan the trip towards Hadrian’s Wall for Monday.

I was up and away Monday morning, doing three caches down Allendale then I veered off to Haltwhistle CCC site. It was a beautiful day but I needed water, to carry out my least favourite job of owning a motorhome (no handy guy to do it for me!) and I decided to have a lazy afternoon reading and logging caches by the river. It was my rest day!

Tuesday dawned nice and ….wet! So it was some retail therapy (aka buying supplies in Tescos in Hexham) followed by working my way to Hadrian’s Wall via caches on the Tyne and on top of an interesting Iron Age settlement above the originally named Wall (no offense intended). There is evidence of round houses atop this hill which was a short but steep and, in some places, muddy climb. It was also one of those caches where I really wished the cache owner was a little bit more specific than ‘under a large boulder’ when there were about 20 of them! I found it eventually and it had a Travel Bug in it, so that made it all worthwhile.

Then began my short tour of Hadrian’s Wall by motorhome. I had decided to leave the caches actually on the wall in the middle third as I had worked out 2 good walks for these. I was after the ones I could walk to from the road and I did 5 out of the 6 I had intended; I couldn’t park in Vindolandia as it was nearing closing time.

There is a lot of Roman remains to see around here; Housesteads is a great visit, as is Chesters and, of course, Vindolandia where excavation continues today. I made a slight detour to Crindledykes, old limestone kilns for a quick drive by. I had had quite a successful day and was happy to settle for the evening near Lambley.

Of course, the day to go home is the nicest! I setoff towards Alston, doing a couple of caches on the way, then went for a short walk along the enthusiasts railway for another find. The one onto of Hartside was disappointingly absent and I didn’t do ones round Appleby as I was very busy – it’s Appleby Horse Fair this weekend. I finished with a visit to Long Meg which is a virtual cache – you answer a question and take a photo and email it to the owner so I did that!

I trundled down the M6, home, pondering on what I had discovered in this trip. I think the main thing is that I went to many places I would never have dreamed of stopping let alone getting out of a vehicle and going for a walk. I also honed my skills in turning my van round, learnt that there are very few places where you can’t stop for a cache and also thoroughly enjoyed, as always, my time in my campervan. Can’t think of a better way to see this wonderful country of ours!

Originally published in Issue 4 of FTF Geocacher magazine.

By West Bend Geocachers   Thu, Jun 30, 2011

Plug in 43.4227777˚N, 88.1842611˚W to your GPS on a sunny day in August and you just may find yourself in the middle of a Bash.

A Cache Ba$h, to be precise.

Set in West Bend, WI, less than an hour from Milwaukee and an easy drive from Chicago and Madison, the fourth annual Cache Ba$h is a huge celebration of all things geocaching. This year’s Ba$h begins on Friday, August 12 and continues through Sunday morning on August 14. 

The event brings together serious geocachers and families for a weekend of high tech hide-and-seek, fun and games. Competitive participants come for the $1,000 in prizes, for the firendly community and to talk about the latest tactics and technologies. Other geocachers make their way to West Bend for  the challenge of level-five difficulty hides and family-centered activities.

What’s new?

Since even a great event can get stale, Cache Ba$h organizers work hard each year to bring new activities and options to event participants. Additions in 2011 include:

• 60 new caches placed throughout West Bend
• “Chirp” Cache—using Garmin Oregon GPS units provided by the Ba$h, geocachers will follow the digital signal, or “chirp,” e-mitted by these caches
• EarthCaching—Hidden in critical geoscience areas around West Bend, the event’s EarthCaches will educate cachers about the landscape, geography and unique topographical features of West Bend
• Multi-Cache—a series of caches, each with a clue that leads you to the next cache
• Geocoins

Look no further for family fun

The Cache Ba$h may have a competitive side, but organizers strive to keep the event as family-friendly as possible each year. In past years, kid-friendly events have included:

• Free swim passes to Regner Park
• Geochutes and Ladders game leading to a candy-filled cache
• Beginning geocaching lessons
• Secret treasure box activity (ages 6-12)
• A post-Ba$h party (children allowed with parents from 7:00-9:00 p.m.)
• Cool Cache Contest
• WGA Big Ba$h pancake breakfast on Sunday

Small town, big draw

The Cache Ba$h in West Bend has been Wisconsin’s largest Geocaching event for three years running, but organizers say the crowds just keep getting bigger. In 2010, Ba$h attendance broke its previous best with 1,556 teams and more than 1,800 cachers at the event. Registrations for the 2011 event are   on pace with those numbers.

Followers of Midwest geocaching aren’t surprised: West Bend is the region’s geocaching Mecca, with an incredible 750 geocaches within a 7-mile radius. And that number continues to grow. Organizers plan to add 60 new caches for the 2011 event. The event (and its $1,000 purse) draws geocachers from across the Midwest, but also from across the world: in its first four years the Cache Ba$h has had registrants from as far off as Denmark, England, Bulgaria, South Africa and Germany.

For more information on the 2011 event, visit the Cache Ba$h website (http://westbendgeocaching.com/), check out the event page on geocaching.com  or hook up with the Ba$h on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/WBCacheBash).

Sun, Jun 05, 2011



“Help us out today and find yourself a place where you won't get into any weather!”

“A place where there isn't any weather. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?”

Wizard of Oz (sort of)

Comes Memorial Day weekend, a whole four days to go camping... and we really wanted to go camping – all three of us have been incredibly stir-crazy this year. Our camping trip plans keep getting thwarted by bad weather! (Three, including the geokitty.) So I dug out my copy of “Off the Beaten Path” to find new and interesting things to do in Nebraska. And kept a close eye on the weather reports.

 So, the Facebook posting that started it all, on Friday evening:

 Finally settled on a 3 day trip to Fort Hartsuff, the Chalk Mine, and lots of caching (I hope). If it rains, the tent will get wet. Tents dry.

If you've read enough of my Chronicles, you know what is coming. Naturally, the above posting meant that the geodad and I would end up anywhere BUT Fort Hartsuff, Nebraska. Sure enough, we were on the road to Topeka, Kansas the next morning, roughly 150 miles away. We NEVER end up where we plan to go originally – this time, the weather made the call. Strong storms were predicted over western Nebraska, but not over north-central Kansas.

 “If I only had a button.”

Wizard of Oz (sort of)

 Minor crisis! Oh, no! I discovered on the way down that the button on my pants didn't exactly want to come on the trip with us, and popped off at some unknown time and place, never to be seen again. What does this have to do with geocaching, you might ask? Well, I had an extra one of these in my purse...

And it served very well as a substitute button for the rest of the day! Plus looking very cool and trendy. Or it would have looked very cool and trendy, if my shirt hadn't covered it up.

 We got to the outskirts of Topeka about 1 PM, and settled in to do some caching – some cemetery caches and a few micros, before heading into Kaw River SP, the newest state park in the state. Lots of caches, some great hiking, but this time of year, also a lot of mud! I was wearing the infamous-boots-of-no-traction, and the geodad had semi-mud-boots on, so we tried to be extra careful. It was a good day for caching! Cloudy, windy, but not cold. (Never quite figured out why “Kaw River” instead of Kansas River, though.)

 After tromping around the woods for a few hours and scoring about 10 caches, we figured we should go set the tent up. I'd my eye on a campground to the south of Topeka, but alas, no room at the inn! Should have expected that, it was Memorial Day weekend. I remembered that there was a KOA in the area, and we found a camping spot there – right next to the bathhouse. That detail will be important later...

“Blinds and Tigers and Beers, oh my!”

Wizard of Oz (sort of)

Caching, check. Shelter, check. What's next? Why, food, of course! We asked the KOA staff for the best place around, and they recommended a place with huge portions, no shared plate fee, and as I found out – GREAT beer. It was off to the Blind Tiger Brewery! (And the history behind “Blind Tiger” was a neat bit of trivia in itself. So here's the geodad:

 Shared an entree, shelled a lot of peanuts, and did I mention the beer? A sampler of 4 cost $3.75, and these were no small samples either – easily half-stein size, each glass. This led to the geodad taking charge, the car keys, and the wheel. Hey, I was happy! Definitely a keeper. Back to the tent to play cards until it got too dark, even by lantern light.

 “There's a storm blowin' up - a whopper, to speak in the vernacular of the peasantry.”

Wizard of Oz

 12:30 a.m. I am wakened by the patter of little raindrops on the tent's weather cover. I roll over and go back to sleep. 1:00 a.m. I am wakened by the pounding of huge raindrops on my sleeping bag. Or maybe it was the thunder and lightning right overhead. Dad, sleeping on the other side of the tent, was unbothered, but the wind was blowing in the tent wall in such a way that everything on MY side (of course) got soaked. Sleeping bag, luggage, me, everything. Hasty rearrangement of STUFF, but the storm wasn't letting up. I woke him up, and we made a run for the bathhouse, crossing the huge, newly formed LAKE...

 We threw everything we could into the car, and tried to sleep in the car, but it was impossible. After the storm finally let up, about an hour, I went back to the tent, and used one of the beach towels to dry the floor of the tent as best I could; we put the sleeping bags back, mine was still wet, and managed to get back to sleep anyway.

 Needless to say, we did not go swimming this trip like I'd planned...

 The next day was to be half caching and half touring the inside of the Kansas Historical Museum in Topeka. I'd picked this nice rails to trails path that had lots of caches along it.. problem was that it also had long waterfilled ditches on either side. Did I mention that the infamous-boots-of-no-traction have a crack on the bottom? NOT waterproof. Leaky leaky. Leaky != cachey – we didn't find many. Then there was the Bridge of DEATH, just waiting for me to step foot on it, so it could finish rotting and fall into the ravine below. Tim the Enchanter did not make an appearance.

 The museum, on the other hand, was very cool! Well, once we got past Lewis and Clark and the Indians, I've had it up to here with Lewis and Clark... Some great stuff on the Civil War, and a lot of kitsch from the 70's & 80's... brought back a lot of memories! Oh, and Dad made a new friend. Voila. And of course, there was a train. (Yes, I know, they are awful dark.)

 “Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning.”

Wizard of Oz

 We got back to the campsite about 5:00, all eager to start our cookout, only to find that the wind had been having a merry time in our absence. The tent was half-collapsed, with one of the Velcro loops all but torn off. And it was still windy. Stormclouds off in the distance - possibility of storms. Should we stay or go? We debated. I declared my tiredness of quitting and giving up. So... while Dad coaxed a fire into starting in the grill, I set up up the OTHER tent, the eight-person tent, in the shadow of the bathhouse. Where it provided a windblock.

 That was a great night. We just relaxed, cooked brats, and roasted marshmellows, and watched the stormclouds off to the west... they went north, never hit us after all. Sioncat enjoyed it, too.

I realized something that night. I'd been racing around for several weeks, trying to find caches to meet a numbers goal of 2000 by the end of June, and dragging my father along. And I wasn't having much fun. Caching is supposed to be fun, and what I was doing wasn't much. Plus, it was expensive. So I decided to stop trying for numbers, and just have fun.

 “I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Sioncat.”

Wizard of Oz (sort of)

 Which didn't mean that I didn't go caching the next day. We WERE only 150 miles from home, and we had the full day ahead of us. We woke up and broke camp early, there were thunderheads nearby, but it never rained on us. I concentrated mostly on P&G type caches, being completely tired of mud – until I got bored. Which happened about 2 PM. I did, however, learn exactly why there is no Pierce Street in Topeka, a neat bit of trivia to dazzle people with later. We headed for home... I found about 25 on this trip. I settled for that. Home, to do laundry and dishes and decompress...

… and write a Chronicle...

Coming soon: Valentine (maybe). But until then, Cheers!

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Sat, Jun 04, 2011

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Sat, Jun 04, 2011

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Sat, Jun 04, 2011

By Press Release   Fri, May 20, 2011

 Captain John Smith Geotrail features over 40 Chesapeake sites in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware

Annapolis – Set to launch on National Trails Day, June 4, 2011 at the Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park, the new Captain John Smith Geotrail is a journey across Chesapeake landscapes that evokes scenes and stories experienced by Captain Smith 400 years ago. Adventurers will have the chance to explore more than 40 sites that highlight places associated with Smith’s explorations, the natural resources of the Chesapeake, and American Indian communities then and now. Located along the James, Rappahannock, Potomac, Susquehanna, and the Nanticoke Rivers, the geotrail’s sites complement and promote the congressionally designated Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

This multi-state initiative is sponsored by the National Park Service and its Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, Maryland Geocaching Society, and Chesapeake Conservancy.

Geocaching, pronounced “geo-cashing,” is a worldwide phenomenon, in which participants use a hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System) to plot map coordinates in order to locate a hidden treasure or “cache.” Searching for a cache is akin to going on a treasure hunt and can involve clues, riddles and visits to multiple locations. Shovels are a forbidden tool – caches are never buried. A “geotrail” is a series of caches tied together by a common topic or theme.

If you are a journalist or blogger interested in a sneak preview with an experienced geocacher, please contact Susan Kelley or Cindy Chance for a Captain John Smith geocache experience near you.

Geocaching volunteers will be on hand at the kick-off event to teach the basics to newcomers, and extra caches will be placed, including some just for kids. The event begins at 10:00 am and runs until 12:00. Do expect most serious geocachers to bolt as soon as the Smith Geotrail cache coordinates are officially “published” sometime around 11:30 and cachers download to their mobile devices.

Participants will find plenty to explore at Accokeek. On the banks of the Potomac, with Mount Vernon visible on the opposite shore, the Accokeek Foundation and its National Colonial Farm offer a wide range of fun activities for adults and children.

“The geotrail is a wonderful way to introduce people, especially families, to the wide variety of resources available on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake trail” said Jonathan Doherty, National Park Service Assistant Superintendent. “As a National Historic Trail, we have an obligation to help everyone discover important Chesapeake places and provide an opportunity to have fun learning about our common heritage. Geocaching is good clean fun that gets everyone outside!”

Charlie Stek, chairman of the Chesapeake Conservancy, said “Encouraging families – and particularly our youth -- to explore the John Smith Trail, Chesapeake history, and our great natural resources, is a top priority of our organization. 400 years ago, Captain Smith sailed Chesapeake waters in search of gold and other riches. With this geocaching initiative, citizens today have the opportunity to join in a similar adventure and discover ‘treasures’ of their own.”

To join the adventure, a geocacher must access the official geocache website at www.Geocaching.com to set up an account. A basic membership is free. Once an account is established, the geocacher can use the advance search function to locate the Captain John Smith account, retrieve the map coordinates, and see the cache details for each Captain John Smith Geocache. Included with the information for each cache location is a description of the site and its significance to the Chesapeake and Smith’s voyages. The next step is to head outside with a GPS to find geocaches along the Captain John Smith Geotrail!

This ss the second Chesapeake-focused geotrail built in partnership with a National Historic Trail. Last year, on a cold February day, the launch of the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Geotrail drew nearly 800 weekend visits. In the past year, that trail has drawn nearly 8,000 visitors to its sites.

A collectible, highly coveted, and trackable geocoin will be given to the first 400 geocachers who locate a minimum of 15 geocaches along the trail. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a trail passport from www.smithtrail.net, find and log on www.geocaching.com at least 15 geocaches from the trail, record the secret code word from each cache on their passport and post a picture of each cache location on the corresponding geocache webpage. After discovering the 15 required caches, geocachers may have their passports validated in person or via mail at the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay office: 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403.

About Chesapeake Conservancy

Chesapeake Conservancy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure conservation, stewardship, access and enjoyment of the Chesapeake’s iconic landscapes, great rivers and cultural and historic assets. The Conservancy advances this mission through education, the marshaling of new resources and the forging of partnerships with governments, businesses, public-interest groups and citizens. The principal focus of the Conservancy is the implementation of: the John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail; the Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network; and a Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative. The Conservancy believes that by helping educate citizens about the Chesapeake Bay and by providing new opportunities for improved public access, tourism, recreation and cooperative conservation of its treasured landscapes and ecosystems, we can create a lasting ecological and cultural legacy for the Chesapeake Bay.

About the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail

The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, extending approximately 3,000 miles on the Bay and tributaries, is the nation’s first water-based trail. It follows the routes of John Smith’s exploratory voyages in 1607-1609 and offers trail visitors recreational and educational experiences on land portions as well as on the water. Primary interpretive themes center on 17th century American Indian societies and cultures and the natural resources of the Bay.

About the Maryland Geocaching Society

Founded in the fall of 2002, the Maryland Geocaching Society (MGS) was among the first groups to organize around the adventure and passion of geocaching. Over the past eight years, the Society has welcomed nearly 3,000 members to its website and sponsored multiple state-wide activities, including “Cache in Trash Out” programs to assist in the maintenance of parks and trail systems. The MGS promotes geocaching as exciting, earth-friendly and adventurous outdoor recreation for the whole family.

By Press Release   Thu, May 19, 2011

ADVENTURE SCIENCE CENTER EXPLORES GEOCACHING PHENOMENON WITH “GPS ADVENTURES” EXHIBIT

New exhibit reveals science behind Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and the growing treasure hunting hobby   

May 16, 2011 (NASHVILLE, TN) – Explorers, young and old alike, are invited to treasure hunt and navigate through a life-size maze in “GPS Adventures,” the newest exhibit at Adventure Science Center opening on May 28.

The exhibit takes visitors on a mind-bending journey in search of a secret treasure city using cutting-edge GPS technology. Navigating around obstacles and deciphering mysterious codes are all part of the adventure, designed to inspire people to get off the couch and into the great outdoors in new and exciting ways.  

On exhibit through September 5, GPS Adventures also introduces guests to geocaching – the family-friendly GPS game that has captured the attention of more than four million people around the world. Managed through the website geocaching.com, geocaching enthusiasts, or geocachers, across the globe hide items, called geocaches, in the great outdoors and post clever hints (sometimes riddles) with GPS coordinates online for fellow treasure hunters to solve and seek. The geocaches – ranging in size from a small film canister to a breadbox – are of minimal value, and often simply contain a logbook for discoverers to sign and a fun toy, such as a bouncy ball. The real treasure is the sense of adventure, exploring new places and the thrill of the hunt.

“There are more than 1,000 geocaches hidden in the Nashville area, alone,” said Susan Duvenhage, CEO of Adventure Science Center. “The growing GPS-based activity has engaged countless individuals in exploration and critical thinking in a way that is affordable, educational and fun for the whole family. We’re excited to bring GPS Adventures to Middle Tennessee to connect geocachers and the broader community with the science behind this fun-filled hobby.”

As part of GPS Adventures, special geocaches will be placed around Adventure Science Center to allow visitors to find their inner treasure hunter. In addition to this, a special day of fun is planned for Saturday, May 28 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. to celebrate the public opening of this temporary exhibit. Included in the day’s events will be activities led by members of the Middle Tennessee Geocachers Club, as well as presentations on GPS technology and the basics of geocaching.

GPS Adventures will be at Adventure Science Center through Sept. 5 and is included with regular admission, which is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 2 to 12, seniors 65+, active military families (with ID) and college students (with ID).  The exhibit was made possible by Trimble, a leader in location based solutions, and created by Groundspeak, the founders of geocaching.com, and Minotaur Mazes.

For more information about GPS Adventures and other exhibits, visit www.adventuresci.com.

About Adventure Science Center

For 65 years, Adventure Science Center has brought science to life for students, teachers and families in Middle Tennessee, Southern Kentucky, Northern Alabama and beyond. The Center offers hands-on, interactive exhibits and engaging programs that encourage visitors of all ages to explore how science is relevant in their lives. Adventure Science Center encourages imagination and curiosity in a fun, dynamic learning environment. Adventure Science Center is located at 800 Fort Negley Boulevard. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults; $9 for children ages 2 to 12, seniors 65+, active military families (with ID) and college students (with ID); and free for certified TN teachers (with school ID). For more information, call (615) 862-5160 or visit our web site at www.adventuresci.com.

About Groundspeak

Groundspeak enables people to create and share interactive location-based experiences in the real world using a unique combination of technology and the Internet. Groundspeak owns and operates Geocaching.com.

About Trimble

Trimble transforms the way work is done through the application of innovative positioning, communication and software technologies.  Trimble enables surveyors, engineers, construction and mobile workers, truck drivers, farmers, mappers, police officers, firefighters and many others worldwide to be more productive by revolutionizing their work processes with position-based information.  By linking positioning to productivity, Trimble helps these professionals to do their jobs in new and creative ways.

About Minotaur Mazes

Minotaur Mazes is a Seattle based company that travels around the world to create interactive and educational exhibits for adults and children alike.  With each new exhibit, we strive to foster curiosity, empathy, personal and global responsibility as we seek not simply to educate, but to transform the world and those who share it.

By 2oldfarts (the rockhounders)   Thu, May 12, 2011

 

 

 Looking south towards the "road".

 

Sun, Apr 24, 2011

Be vewwy vewwy quiet!

Today was a first for me, I spotted a likely container while out grocery shopping and did my cache page, container modifications, placed it and submitted to geocaching.com. All in one day! Quite a feat for a procrastinator who is sitting on dozens of containers.

The container I had found was a soap bubble solution and wand in a carrot shaped container. Immediately the thought flashed through my mind that a second cache was needed in my Garden Series, the first was a lonely little petunia in an onion cache. This one would be less pungent, but a bit trickier to make.

The wand was quite long on this and a perfect place to wind a log around and the round end would make a good handle to help rewind the log. The body of the carrot had some wide shoulders to it so I was concerned that the log would unwind and not come out very well or would get torn up when people pulled it out. The solution I came up with to address this was to have a sleeve slide over the log to contain it and slide back out of the way for people to sign it. The wand fit into a socket in the cap so it was easy to pull that out and start looking for something to make the sleeve with. What I found was a clear round tube of body wash we had brought home from some hotel stay. It just fit into the neck of the carrot container so I was in luck.

The first thing to be done, after writing up something for the cache page, was to determine how wide the log could be and still allow the sleeve to both cover it and pull back far enough to to allow unrolling and signing. Once that was figured out, the sleeve was cut to length with a razor knife and the cut edges smoothed. Choosing a bit big enough to allow a ridge at the cap end of the wand to go through, the flat end of the sleeve was centered up and drilled. One of the circles on the wand was cut off and it was ready to assemble.

The log was cut from a sheet of ruled paper and paper first aid tape (so it could be written on) was used to connect two pieces of paper and to tape those to the wand. Rolling it up tightly several times, the paper log developed 'memory' and stayed rolled relatively tight, tight enough to fit easily within the sleeve. The sleeve is slipped over the cap end of the wand and then the wand is glued into place in the cap.

Now most would stop here, but there was more I needed to make the container fit what I had written for the cache page. The title is a quote from Elmer Fudd who was always hunting the “Wascally Wabbit” and I figured this time Elmer would try to trap Bugs Bunny using the carrot as bait. Disabling the trap, I tied some nylon cord to the trigger area and then to the neck of the carrot and added glue to make sure the knots didn't slip off . We have the trap and we have the bait and now Elmer just has to wait.

Shhhhhh!

I'm twying to twap the wascally wabbit what's been eating up my gawden!

Be

Vewwy Vewwy

Quiet

and

Be caweful not to twip the twap.

Please wehide as found.

Th-th- th-at's all folks!

Originally published 3/29/2011 in It's Not About The Numbers 

Sat, Apr 09, 2011

We live on the west side of Michigan.  That means we are prisoners of the weather.  Lake Michigan has a great influence on how much moisture falls in this area.  In the winter it is not unlikely we will get over a foot of snow during one storm.  We spend the next few days digging out then proceed as if this were the norm.  Then in the spring we have rain.  We had our house built in the spring.  Just after the top soil had been landscaped we had a four inch downpour.  It was a little disconcerting watching it wash down the road.  As bad as that was it does get even worse.  Here is an example of just how bad it can get when it rains relentlessly for days on end.

Wife: “I’m bored.”

Me: “I know what you mean. I don’t remember when it has rained this much.”

Wife: “I guess you didn’t hear me. I said I’M BORED!”

When the wife isn’t allowed to cache on the weekends she gets a little irritable. It had rained all night and now mother nature was letting us know that was just the preliminaries. The main event was about to start.

Me: “What do you want me to do?”

Wife: “There must be a park and grab we could do.”

Me: “Are you nuts? Look outside. Its raining harder than ever.”

Wife: “Its not as though you’re made out of sugar, a little water won’t melt you.”

Me: “A little water? It was a rain like this that motivated Noah to start building the Ark.”

After an hour of trying to reason with her, I finally gave in and off we went.  After doing a couple we could park within a few feet of, I had to admit the wife was right.  Even though it was still raining we were able to stay somewhat dry in our rain gear.  The wife’s caching addiction was being fed so she would be easier to live with.  All in all, things were going very well.   The last cache we decided to do was called “Don‘t roll on by me“. We thought since it was on a paved trail we wouldn’t have to walk in mud, so it might not be too bad. We arrived at a small parking area but there was no problem finding a parking space since no one else was fool enough to be out. Before we got out of the car I checked the GPS only to find the cache was about 800’ away.

Me: “Well that does it. Its too far to walk in this weather.”

The look on the wife’s face let me know it wasn’t too far. We had come prepared with two umbrellas.  Up until now we hadn’t needed them because we made short dashes to the caches.  I had brought my large golf umbrella and she her dainty pink collapsible one. Of course as soon as we got out of the car hers blew inside out. After a short discussion about the terrible effects cold water would have on her arthritis we exchanged umbrellas. So there I was holding this nearly useless little umbrella.  Since it had blown inside out it now was like holding a flimsy bowl over my head.  When it would fill with water one of the sides would collapse and let the water pour down my neck.  Once it had emptied on me it would flip back up so it could repeat the process.  I hurriedly raced down the path to the cache.  The whole way the wife complained I was going too fast and she couldn’t keep up.  So instead of a fast pace we had a leisurely stroll.  All the while  the dainty umbrella was having a good time soaking me to the gills.  When we got to the end of our journey we found the cache was not on the path but up a muddy hill.

Me:  “THE GPS SAYS ITS UP THERE”

I had to yell so the wife could hear me.  The sounds of the rain and the water cascading down the hill were deafening.

Wife:  “YOU GO GET IT.  I COULDN’T GET UP THE HILL THROUGH THAT RIVER.”

After already losing two arguments I knew any protesting on my part would be fruitless.  I waded through the water up the hill grabbing trees to support me. It was like trying to go up a waterfall.  It was dangerous and my progress was slow but fortunately the wife was there to shout encouragement.

Wife: “HURRY UP.  WHAT‘S TAKING YOU SO LONG?  I‘M GETTING SOAKED.”

With all that had gone wrong I was surprised I was able to find the cache quickly.  After signing the log I started back down the hill. I guess I was trying to retreat too quickly because I slipped and came down the hill on my belly. It’s a good thing when my face skidded on the asphalt path it stopped my momentum otherwise I may have hurt myself. Soaked and covered in mud we raced back to the car.  Once we were out of the rain I let the wife know I was done for the day.

Me:  “That’s it I’m going home.”

Wife:  “Can’t we do just a couple more?”

I wasn’t going to lose this argument.  Even through the mud and blood, she could see the look I gave her left no doubt of my determination.  She resigned herself to the fact our caching day had indeed ended.

Wife: “You’re taking those clothes off in the garage when we get home.”

Me: “Yes dear.”

Wife: “Now, wasn’t that fun?”

Thu, Apr 07, 2011

Howdy to all the Online Geocacher readers out there.
On June 25th, we will be hosting the second annual geo-paddle rally at Lake
Natoma in Folsom, Ca.

Think Amazing Race meets Survivor, all done while paddling around a course that
covers three miles.  Last year we had geocachers come from all over California,
plus some adventurers from Nevada. All levels of paddlers attended from novice to
pro`s, as you looked out at the group there were kayaks, canoes, inflatable
crafts of all shapes & sizes and some brave folks even used a air mattress!
 
This year is going to be bigger & better! All we need is water & some crazy
geocachers. We are lucky to have some of the areas most creative cachers
involved in this event.

 

We invite you to check out the event page on GC.Com and if your crazy
enough.......come play!!

GC2AH1B  2011         GC237K7    2010

By catsnfish   Wed, Mar 16, 2011

 Doogie Dog, as you may guess from his name, is a canine cacher from Omaha, Nebraska. He’s the companion of Rotorootie and very frequently accompanied him while caching. Although many cachers bring their dogs along on an occasional cache hunt, Doogie and Rotorootie were dedicated to the search for hidden containers, whether street side nanos, rural ammo cans, multi’s or Wherigo’s. Doogie’s official find count is 5,595 caches, found in four years of caching, however he had cached quite awhile before a friend suggested he set up his own account on geocaching.com. He enjoyed every one of those finds, because of the companionship and adventures he shared, not only with Rotorootie, but all of their friends who joined them in the hunt and the people and fellow canine cachers he met at events.

He enjoyed freedom and the road; his favorite ride was the Harley motorcycle. Long caching trips or short hops across town, he could be seen wearing his goggles, the wind whipping his ears, looking like a biplane pilot trailing a fringed, white, silk scarf. He was a dashing pioneer, in search of new and exciting adventures, as he traveled over the country.

When arriving at a cache location, his safety harness would be unclipped and he would join in the hunt and explore the area. He didn’t locate the caches or sniff them out, but he was there, off-leash mostly, without wandering off… except for the occasional sidetrack for an irresistible scent. Some of his good friends would bring treats for him and he might be just a bit more interested in exploring the bag they were kept in. For most of the time though, he was right there with everyone else. A real trooper, even on the all day cache runs, he was always willing to stretch his legs and join in the fun. After the log was signed, he would be just as eager to get back on the Harley and hit the road for the next location.

He was small in stature, however his accomplishments are great. The first and only dog in our Nebraskache group to reach the milestone of 1000 caches, he was awarded a glass container filled with milk bones and etched with his name and the date of his thousandth cache, “Frog Park” GC1CDRQ , found 5/31/2008. For his 2000^th cache, “Mingo“ GC30, found on 5/23/2009, he was awarded another etched glass container. He completed and logged both the Nebraska 93 County Challenge and the Nebraska Delorme Challenge. He had completed the requirements for the Iowa 99 County and Iowa Delorme also, but had not signed the final logs for those challenges.

He was a member of the Elkhorn Valley H.O.G.(Harley Owners Group), The National H.O.G. acknowledged his 40,000 miles in the saddle of the Harley, with a presentation of a pin that he wore every day as he added more than 10,000 additional miles to that total.

At events, he was always the gentlemen, quietly making his rounds visiting friends and never raising a fuss or causing any problems. He became a fixture at outdoor events, free to roam at will, never underfoot or begging for attention or food. When there were indoor events, where he was not allowed, he patiently waited outside for his after-event road time. He accepted the attention he got as “that cute dog on the bike” in stride; he was always down to earth, dignified, Doogie.

Doogie Dog departed for the Rainbow Bridge on February 4^th, 2011, after sharing his fourteen years. He will be greatly missed by his many friends. I’m certain that, while he waits to be reunited with Rotorootie, he’ll be in on the search for the caches hidden along that bridge. He’ll be happy, exploring that world, as he was in this one.

Mon, Mar 07, 2011

When last we left off, it was about 10 AM, or maybe even 11 AM, and the hondacar was high-tailing it out of Vegas into the Arizona desert on I-40. Lawfully. Really. It was stormy that day. And very beautiful. The road stretched on for miles. (Roads tend to do that.)

 
“You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to.”

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

 Planning the trip, we'd opted to take the southern route back for several reasons: the heavily loaded down car would be happier, avoiding the mountains, we wanted new scenery, and I could fill in the southwest completely on my geocaching map. Only after did we really look at the map and realize that the south rim of the Grand Canyon was only a 60 mile detour to the north... and neither of us had ever been there. There was no way we could pass it up – to be so close and NOT go would have been a crime. Plus, the geodad's senior pass saved us from having to pay the admission fee of $25. Go, geodad!

 Due to our late start, it was an hour or two before sunset as we finally got to the Canyon. I'd stopped to nab a few caches along the way as well, of course – new state #4! The weather was still off/on, rain, sun, rain, and we just didn't have enough time! But I suspect that if we'd had the whole day there, we still would not have had enough time. Or even if we had the whole week. And I /really/ wanted to do some hiking down into the canyon, but getting arrested for murder if the geodad had a heart attack... no, thanks. We couldn't tear ourselves away until dusk though. What a SUNSET.

 Words can't do it justice. Actually, neither can the camera. But here are some pictures. 

 Hard to believe ONE river, waaaay down at the bottom, could do all this. And we barely even scratched the surface of what there was to see. Someday, I'll go back, and hike north rim to south rim, or vice versa. Someday...

Caching-wise, I was very surprised. There are a ton of virtuals down in the canyon, and a few traditionals, but no earthcaches, at least on the south rim. Not until you get out of the park proper – there are a lot there - but it was getting dark by then, and I was starting to fade. Which was a Bad Thing ™, since the road from the Grand Canyon down to Flagstaff is my least favorite type of road – curvy, mountainous, and high. Add in the darkness and the tiredness, and it's amazing that we made it to Flagstaff intact. Noooo caching.

Two things happened in Flagstaff – we didn't find a motel that we liked, and the geodad took over the driving. We passed up a chance to see Meteor Crater as well, it was long closed for the night by the time we motored by. Maybe another time. We continued on into the night, as the Sioneva dozed. Winslow, nope. Holbrook? Okay, we'll stay in Holbrook! I have to say, for a trip that was supposed to be mostly camping, we sure did a lot of motel camping!

“See, this is why we're not watching TV”

Signs

 Holbrook, by happy coincidence, was right on the threshold of the next two major stops on our list – the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, lying on either side of I-40 as it angled northeast. The geodad had seen one, but not the other; I'd never seen either. And our late night drive meant that we could spend half the day there before moving on. We was happy. Part of the road passed what used to be old Route 66, so Dad was able to get his kicks on Rt. 66, as well.

These three pictures were taken in the Petrified Forest. The colors of the minerals replacing the wood only happened here – petrified wood can be found everywhere on earth, but not in THESE colors. They're very careful to make sure no one carts off any of it – but they sell chunks in the gift shop? Okay. :) Anyway... the bottom picture is of the Teepees, a pretty cool formation in itself.

There was an earthcache in this area I was sure I logged – either I forgot, or the log was deleted. But it was still interesting, to say the least – the effects of minerals on “Newspaper Rock”, a rock the Indians used to draw pictures on. Prehistoric graffiti? Who knows!

Afterward, we moved on to the Painted Desert. Supposedly, it never looks the same way twice, but always changes according to the light. It was a hot day. Must have been hotter than I realized, because we saw this little devil out there:

 … and these people. Yes. All sorts of strangeness. I'd never seen a dust devil before. Pity I couldn't get a better picture!

 But all good things must come to an end, and we knew we had to move on as it got to about 1-2 PM. We ended staying that night in a small town near the New Mexico/Texas border. I made an appalling discovery when we got there – no caches loaded in the GPS for New Mexico! However would I get state #5? PAF to the rescue! I called up Twinstars, who patiently read off coordinates and descriptions to me from his computer – not the first time he's come through for me like that.

 Aimed with such useful information, we hurried to find one cache the next morning, before leaving – with the motel room key in my pocket. Yes, a real key, not a credit-cardy thing. I had to mail it back to them when I discovered it, 200 miles later... at least it wasn't a cache container, right?

“You better get out of Dodge before sunset.”

Gunsmoke

 But new state #5 was mine – and it would be the last that trip. We cut across the corner of Texas and Oklahoma, states I already had; we didn't stop. I had no preloaded caches. And into Kansas, where we made three stops – Pawnee Rock (a major landmark on the Santa Fe Trail), Dodge City, and Salina, for supper. We couldn't wait to get the heck out of Dodge, it was very disappointing. Nothing authentic remains of what used to be there, but there's sure a lot of kitschy fakes. Oh well. At least there was a train.

And I snagged an earthcache at Pawnee Rock, but something about Kansas earthcaches makes me forget my hat. Sheesh. Oh, yes. And the land was flat again. Horizon to horizon. Back in the corny states where a bump in the ground is an oddity.

We stopped for dinner in Salina, looking for a good BBQ place – but we couldn't find one. The menu was semi-fast-food Mexican, before we made the final push for home; yes, we drove from New Mexico to Bellevue, NE in one day, cutting through five states. Aside from the New England states, I think that's a record for me. Arrived home just at midnight. Collapsed.

I stink at writing conclusions, so I'll just say ... it was a great trip, would love to do it again! (If gas prices get lower, anyway.)

 Tune in next month for the MOGA Chronicle – until then, cheers from the cool people! 

Sun, Feb 27, 2011

Understand, while this is a geocaching story, this was also a trip to Las Vegas. Hence, you can safely assume that the multiple time gaps in the accounting below were productively, and in some cases, profitably, filled with gambling and eating, visits to old friends, and when we found time for it, sleeping. The Meg and the geodad favored the slots. The Brother and I went for the poker and blackjack tables, and some slots as well. In terms of food – the Mesquite restaurant was already mentioned. El Pollo Loco. All you can eat breakfast buffet at Sams Town Casino. In-N-Out Burger. Dinner with old friends. Menny menny other tasty places.

 Proof that we gambled. Kinda. You'll just have to take it on faith that we ate.

 Sam's Town Casino                                                                   Fremont Street

(this was Meg's and my favorite & off-Strip casino)                          (the old Strip)

 That being said, and pictured, let's jump into the non-eating, non-gambling portions of the trip!

“It's chocolate.”

“That's chocolate?”

“That's chocolate!”

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

We arrived and checked into the motel. The Meg went off to see some old friends she had there, the Brother took off for the tables, and the geodad and I, left to our own devices, ventured onto the Strip and were lured into the M&M Museum by the smell of chocolate. MMMM! They had every color of M&M imaginable, plus every kind of tchotke you could even remotely imagine. And some … interesting... movie posters:

Dad made a new friend.                                           And I couldn't resist, had to buy the Meg this shirt:

 We eventually managed to tear ourselves away without buying too much, but brought the sibs back with us the next night. More merchandise bought, more pictures taken, but I'll spare you that.

"They all went down to Hoover DAM!”

“They all went down to Hoover DAM!”

 The days seem to blur together, looking back now – some days stick out more than others, in terms of what we did – some things, I can't remember when we did them. Like the visit to the Hoover Dam. We were smart enough to leave early, whichever day it was; on the way back, we saw all the traffic and got to congratulate ourselves for missing it. No, we didn't actually driveOVER the dam. Nor did we take the expensive guided tour. But we did get a lot of“ nice shots, admired the view, and enjoyed ourselves. I looked everywhere for Jimmy Olsen, but I only found a not-so-strangely-posing person.

No caches though – while there was a hot springs earthcache nearby, I lacked a boat. Just couldn't fit it in the hondacar.

 “I'm not. I was just caching in the canyon.”

“I thought you were driving.”

“Right, I was driving... to the canyon... where I'm gonna cache.”

Iron Man

 Roughly 20-25 miles out of Las Vegas, to the west, lies Red Rock Canyon. This is my favorite place for hiking and rock climbing around Vegas. The seasonal waterfalls had long since dried up of course, but the area is still chockful of lovely views, and great free-hand climbing; I'm not advanced enough to try ropes. We – the Brother, the Meg, and I – made it out there mid-week (the geodad opted to stay behind, pleading advanced age or something like that.)

 It was everything I remembered. Plus a bit more. The geology alone is incredible – all sorts of different rock formations and colors. Not just red. Tan, white, dark, swirled, looking like ice cream cones, etc. And of course, no lack of caches, earth and otherwise, to satisfy the most picky cacher. I was kind, and let the sibs use the GPS. Of course, we kept getting distracted by what lay beyond the next rock, or “can we get up there”, or “I wonder where these footprints go”. So we only nabbed about 5 caches, but it's a huge area – 13 mile scenic drive, with multiple stopping points. We left near sunset – reluctantly.

 HE had fun. (Growing out of the rock again??)                                    So did SHE.

Vegas Valley floor, near sunset:

   “Cache-A-Roni, the California Treat!

Ding, Ding!”

 Comes Friday, the day before most of us were supposed to leave, and sadly, we had to drop Meg off at the airport for her flight back to MD. I just realized that I don't have a cool caching name for her. I'll have to think of one. No, that wasn't what caused the sadness. Once we saw her off, though, we turned them horsies southwest and headed for... California! The cache-rush was on!

 Now, I don't like avocados at all. Icky green things. But we had to find a cache between the “Avacados at Yates Oasis”, and so I steeled myself... Fortunately, they were smart enough to hide from me, and any unpleasant encounters were avoided! Score new state #3 for the Sioneva crew! Plus, I dropped off a CA-bound TB, so I did my good deed of the day. It felt very good to be caching out in the desert again. It felt familiar. I'd missed it. Dusty trails, cacti, wide-open expenses, rock-hidden caches, like this one: (and you wonder WHY I hide rock caches?)

But I digress. After we found that one cache, we headed back toward Nevada, to be all Primm and proper. A lot of the caches out in that general area are along ATV trails or roads that require 4WD, which obviously the little hondacar doesn't have. I didn't want to tempt fate twice. *insert flashback sequence of hondacar on ATV trail, 5 years ago* So, that sort of limited our options, but there were still plenty to pick from.

 One that particularly stands out was Just Over the Fence! While technically in California, the cache could be reached from either state... and oh, the pathos. The Brother and I were separated by the fence! Here, a fine example of cross-border outreach. Also, a very rare shot of the Brother signing a logbook...

 After getting a handful of caches around Primm, NV, we moved on to get a handful around Jean, NV, and also Sloan, NV. The tiny, WAY out of the way town of Jean was a real treat – it was swarming with out of state, or in one case, out of COUNTRY, cachers that day! At one cache (on an ore cart, of all things), we ran into a pair of British cachers, and had a good time talking with them and comparing notes before heading our separate ways. I love British accents. So cool. :)

 And unknown to me, my evil archnemesis from Maryland, the infamous Vinny of Vinny and Sue Team, was occupying the Jean hotel/casino overlooking that very same ore cart! When I saw his log in the logbook, I was shocked! But we did not meet in person, so the world was not annihilated. I can only imagine why he was out there...

 I was shaken, and the blackjack tables were summoning the Brother again. We moved on to Sloan, found another handful of caches, then headed on back toward Vegas. We just had one more stop to make. And this should come as no surprise... that's right, we were officially welcomed to Vegas the day before we left! All four of us! At least it was Fabulous. 

 You don't REALLY think that the Sioncat would ever forgive us if we didn't bring her along? And the geodad has learned the proper way of holding her, so no incidents this time. There is a virtual at this location, of course, though I didn't have it loaded in, so I took pictures of every sign and marked nearby, just in case I needed that info.

 After this, we headed back to the motel room briefly. Then the Brother and I were off to my friends to load up a load of boxes and misc stuff, to drop off at a nearby Goodwill. Then back again, for the stuff I was taking with me. That took a couple hours – North Las Vegas is not exactly close to the Strip. There's a lot of valley to spread out in! By that time, we were all pretty beat, and Tom's plane left really early the next morning, so we turned in earlyish.

 Getting up at 4 AM to drop Tom off at the airport was no picnic. I was driving. (Oops, I missed the exit.) (Oops, I'm lost. Claire, you are NO help.) (Oops, gas light is on.) The geodad got to sleep in, the big lump. Crawled back into bed, and opted for a later start than we planned that morning...

 … and that's where the next Chronicle will pick up!

Sat, Feb 26, 2011

A treasure hunt game
Some happy moments in our life
Fun, love and friendship

Caches with geocoins
Places to see and take photos
Shiny metal travellers

Logbook for cache diary
Adventures and stories in pages
Ink is our speaker

Forums with friends
Fun, love and care inside
Soul mates from abroad

Cointests to play
Spreading some smiles to all
Pretty coins as price

Mystery coiners too
Generous giving persons
Kind angel souls

A game for all
No matter the age you have
Makes you child again!

A GPS in the hand
Some good shoes to wear
A new way to live!

Nikos Stamoulis (GATOULIS)

Sat, Feb 26, 2011

What follows are the continuing stories, antecdotes, tall tales, and exaggerations of mythic proportions of Da Krewe, a blended family scouring the world in search of geocaches and a good burger...

So... the story starts with a ringy dingy from the cell phone. It's about 10:45pm on a Wednesday night and it goes off 3 times.

"WTH?", I think as I reach for the phone. I open the email app to find 3 new geocaches. I quickly scan them and find that 2 are in another county and look like they are on some road where, when you turn onto it, you can hear banjos playing in the distance. So, automagically, those two are out. I pull up the third one and am interested. It is just off of Hwy 69. "Check The Tide" (GC2P4PN) is its name. I look at the cache, then to the snoring beauty laying next to me. After a few minutes I decide to stay put and go to sleep...

The alarm goes off at 6am and I jump in the shower. I start wondering and thinking. As I finish my morning ritual, I wake up my beloved and tell her about the new caches.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You did wake up. You looked at me, said "SSSSSssssshhhhh!" and went back to sleep".

"Whatever. Someone probably hit them already".

I opened the app and found that none had been hit. I looked at her and said, "I'm going to get that cache!"

"Not without me, you aren't!"

We got the kids up and ready for school in record breaking time. Mrs. Da Krewe had to drop her mom and Lil Bit off but swore me to a blood oath to not go to the cache without her. Actually it was more like she swore she would leave a bloody pile of humanity that was once me if I hit it without her. Isn't she wonderful?

When I get to the general area of the cache I notice we may have a small problem. I call Mrs. Da Krewe...

"Honey, we may have a small problem".

"Like?"

"I'm showing a ditch or canal or something with water in it between me and the cache"

"Well, go look and see what is it and we will go from there"

I park and take a few steps and see it is a ditch. A DEEP ditch, but a ditch we can cross. For an instant I flash back to that back road in Louisiana where Mrs. Da Krewe tried, and failed, to jump across a not large ditch. Good times...

I make my way across the ditch with no problems. I walk towards GZ and can see what I assume to be the cache. I suddenly get all panicky and paranoid as I realize we could very well be the FTF and other geocachers could be, at that very instance, heading to this cache and may try to get to it and sign the FTF before us! I quickly ran into the woods and stood over the cache like a lion that has taken down the antelope. Of course, I was being very silly.

After what seemed an eternity, Mrs. Da Krewe pulls up and gets out of her car. My heart is racing. She walks, ever so slowly to the edge of the ditch. I'm almost jumping out of my skin! She looks at the ditch and exclaims, "I can't cross that!"

"Sure you can. Just kinda walk sideways". Obviously, this woman has never played in drainage ditches!

After a few minutes of talking, convincing, and begging, she starts down the ditch. She makes it to the bottom and starts up the side. I grab her hand and help her up. Now, we are only feet from what we hope is our First To Find cache. And, to top it off - it's a "hit man" cache!

We walk into the woods and open the cache. It has some swag, but we are more interested in the log. I pull the log bag out and see...













...that it is NOT signed! Our 1st FTF!

WOOHOO!

I date the log and Mrs. Da Krewe signed it. We celebrate, but have to both get to work. Now, Mrs. Da Krewe decides that maybe there is someplace else we can cross the ditch at. We walk one way for a while and decide there is no place easier, so we head back to where she crossed. We make it across without incident.

We walk to our cars, kiss, and head off to work...




As, I am heading home from a hard day at work, I get a call from Mrs. Da Krewe telling me that she is taking Krewe S to get a dress for a wedding/not wedding we are going to this weekend. Its weird so I won't try to explain it. So, I think, "She is out, spending money. I'll grab Da Boyz and go caching".

I get home, tell Da Boyz to get their shoes on while I look something up. I get online and find that the 2 other caches that were posted last night still have not been logged. "Cool beans", I think and decide we are going to hit both before dark.

We load up and hit the road. I figure we have maybe an hour of light. Interesting note: M and J Krewe's mother lives not too far away from these caches.

We get within .10 of a mile of the cache and get turned around. We take a wrong turn and get confused. We finally get things straight and back to where we need to be. We still end up about .11 mile from where the cache is. We park and start to hike to the cache. We are a couple of hundred feet into the woods when I realize that J Krewe is wearing shorts! "Well, hell. Be careful, son", and we continue. I know, Father of the Year material...

We come to a levy. A STEEP levy. Me and M Krewe manage it with no problem. Krewezer and J Krewe need help. After we get on the levy we see it. Not the cache, but a swamp. A Real Swamp. With Cypress trees and mist on the water even! I look at the boys and see we still have over 400 feet to the cache. "CRAP!"

"Son, you have your phone?"

"Yes"

"Stay here", and I start into the swamp. There were a couple of fallen trees at the edge of the water so I stepped on them and started into the swamp. Let me pause here to inform you all that I can't swim. Back to the story...

I wade, crawl, pray myself out to a cluster of trees with some dirt at their bases and stop to see how far I am from the cache. The boys are watching as I take out my phone. 408 feet from the cache. I look out over the water and back at the boys. "We ain't getting this one tonight boys". I turn and make my way back to semi-dry land. Only incident going back was the cramp I got and almost slipped into the water/muck/ick.

We bail out of the woods quickly. As we pile back into the car, I pull out the phone and look for the third new cache. It is about a mile and a half down the road. It is getting dark and it is now that I remember that my flashlight is on the bed in the house! Well, maybe we could get there and find it without the need of a flashlight. Yeah, right...

A mile and a half later....

M Krewe is on tonight and gets us within 20 feet of the cache. And, it is dark. Pretty freakin' dark. The cache, "Hollow Tree"(GC2P4QP), was somewhere right over there...

And now, we are stumbling around, in the dark, trying to find a cache, in the dark, without a flashlight, in the dark, in the woods. I remember something about a flashlight app and quickly download one. The light, from the phone's camera flash, is bright and lights the area well. As I start to look where I think the cache is I hear "CRACK!" then, "Oops!". I look up to see Krewezer stopped in midstep.

"Son, remember the name of this cache is 'Hollow Tree'. Let's NOT destroy the cache before anyone finds it, please"

I start to go back to searching when I hear another "Crack". This time I look up to see J Krewe stopped. I just shake my head and... "AH!"

The cache is found!

I open it and grab the log...

We are first again! 2 in one day! Far out!

I send M Krewe to get a couple of bits of swag and I sign the log with all of our names. We replace the cache without anymore destruction to the area and load up and start home. As we pass our DNF, we vow to return... and soon!

It started out as a regular day and ended up being a very notable one. For this geocaching family, we reached a notable event twice in less than 12 hours.




Pretty good for a Thursday...

Mon, Feb 21, 2011

“Is there some wrong I can right, some peril I can face, some quest I can undertake?”

Camelot

 It's said that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, for several years, a lot of my stuff happened to stay in Vegas; I hadn't been able to take it with me, but the thought of it sadly awaiting my return weighed on my mind day and night. And eventually, a plan coalesced to drive out there, retracing my route from Nevada to Nebraska, and finally pick it up. Of course, I would need some relief drivers, some caches in the GPS, and some money... it was not until September 2010 that all the necessary elements fell into place.

  Enter the relief drivers! We picked up my brother and sister at the Omaha airport, each flying in from a different east coast city, and headed west... with a stop along the way to replace some caches at Mahoney State Park. Of course, the sibs had to go up the tower and look out over the Platte River Valley (“a mile wide and an inch deep!”). They had some fun with the camera, too, as you can see.

That is my younger sister, Margaret. Most people call her Peggy. I call her Meg. She hasn't featured in the Chronicles up to this point... but I guess it's time.

“He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below

He saw everything as far as you can see”

John Denver, Rocky Mountain High

 We had three drivers for this trip – the geodad, the Brother, and myself. The original plan was to drive straight through to Vegas, switching off drivers as we needed to, and stopping at caches along the way as I had carefully planned. But you probably already know what is coming, since the geodad and I were involved in the planning – it didn't work out that way. Of course not. We made it past Denver, and were getting tired and cranky, so we stopped and found a motel in a little town in Colorado called Idaho Springs. Go figure. :) Of course, we didn't realize at that point that the tunnel we needed to go through closed at some point after dark, and we wouldn't have been able to continue anyway – it was about 11 PM that we stopped.

 The next morning we woke up, and someone put a mountain outside the door. What a special surprise!

I found a few caches in Colorado – that was new state #1.A TB hotel found by flashlight before Idaho Springs, while the rest of the group stretched their legs, and did some mock boxing in the parking lot. Don't ask. :) And an earthcache revolving around an underground coal fire that has been burning in South Canyon, CO for decades. Pretty cool stuff. But in the end, Colorado was all about the VIEWS, not the caches. We'd all had a good night's sleep, and driving through the Rockies in September is breathtaking (almost literally, too, I think Tom was having real trouble with the thin air at that altitude.)

 The Summit Rest Area, along I-70, 9,000 feet up:

South Canyon, CO, and the trees in fall colors near Aspen, CO:

We spent a lot of time congratulating ourselves on being wise enough to have stopped for the night, so we didn't miss all this. :) And kept driving on, through Colorado, past Aspen, past Vail, past Grand Junction, and into Utah, where yours truly was born.

“You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be dragons.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (sort of)

And now we were in new state #2, in caching terms.. And that means... earthcaches! One of them, at least. Plus controlled fires, mesas, strangely-posing people... etc.

Black Dragon Canyon, UT (this was the earthcache site). Later, a strangely-posing person:

I was struck by how much one of the formations looked like a castle:

 Sadly, we really didn't have a lot of time to stop for caching, aside from the obligatory one I did find. We were still under the delusion we could make it to the camping site at Lake Meade in Nevada that night. Cue the tired crankiness, earlier than before – we hit St. George, UT, and decided to stop for the night, some substandard Mexican was the meal that night. Nice motel though. More sleep. Yes!

“I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

 We crossed into Nevada the next day, coming down the Virgin River Gorge (absolutely stunning, but no pictures; I was driving) from St. George to Mesquite. Now I was on familiar territory, and Meg, too. Between the two of us, we remembered where the best Mexican restaurant this side of ANYWHERE is, and after going to church, we went there for the lunch buffet. My brother and father left raving about the food, and it was hard to tear ourselves away to head on to Vegas. Found a cache in Mesquite for old times sake, and headed down the interstate toward Vegas, trading memories with Meg, while the geodad and the Brother napped. All those times we drove the 75 mile stretch just to get to that restaurant, the caches we found, the speeding tick... er, never mind. We had memories. Moving on!

So, two days later than we originally planned, we arrived at Lake Meade, outside Vegas. Unfortunately, where I sent us to camp the first way was a lot farther outside Vegas than I liked, and we moved camp the next night. But Meg did convince me to climb the nearby hill with her at dawn, and we got a great view as a reward. Plus, there were flowers outside the tent:

And some strangely-posing people in the Valley of Fire. Naturally. Is the one on the right growing out of the rock?

We'd decided to camp the first two nights we were there, then move to a motel about a mile from the Strip for the reminder of the time. The next section of this Chronicle will pick up from the point where we went into Vegas, and the geodad makes a new friend... stay tuned! (I know, this part is picture-heavy and cache-light.)

Cheers!

By Da Krewe   Mon, Feb 21, 2011

The Milestone Reached!

300 – That was our goal this morning. To hit one of the many milestones of our geocaching lives.

We are Da Krewe, a family of 7 who cache together and separately. We are me, Mr. Da Krewe (old as dirt), Mrs. Da Krewe(not old as dirt), J Krewe (10), M Krewe(15 and sooooo bored), Krewe S(11 and blonde), Krewezer(11 and not blonde twin brother of Krewe S), and Lil Bit(3 year old demon spawn). Sometimes we bring our Geodog, Princess (want a dog?) with us. Collectively, we have been Geocaching since November 2010. WE love the sport and have enjoyed many an adventure in our short time doing it.

So, we have a beautiful Southeast Texas winter day with temps in the mid 60s, clear skies, and two cars with full tanks of gas. We have no real plans other than “keep going til we hit 300”! We started the day at 285. So all we need is 15, right? How hard can that be? Well…

We are all getting our gear together at the house. We carry a camoed toolbox with logs, containers, baggies, swag, and tools. We also have a backpack for romps into the woods. It also has everything we would need including rope! You never can be too prepared. Mrs Da Krewe and I go over our plan. Well, at least the first 3 caches to hit. They are in a park we have never been to in our hometown of Beaumont, Texas. “Beaumont” means “beautiful mountain”, but don’t come here looking for mountains, beautiful or otherwise, cuz there ain’t none!

Anyway, I take the lead as we head out. With me are M Krewe, Krewe S, and Krewezer. As we are heading to our first stop I turn on the Geocaching app for my phone. Anyone who has a Geocaching app knows it can take a while for the satellites to catch up with you. I think nothing of it. “We are going to a park”, I say to myself. “A city park. It will be easy to see”.

Several miles later…

We are pulled over on the side of the road trying to locate the park on our 250 dollar cell phone using our 10 dollar app that is trying to talk to multi-million dollar satellites.

20 minutes later…

We final get hooked up with our satellites and find we passed the park about 5 miles ago! When we go back we find that the reason no one saw the park was because it was on the OTHER side of some railroad tracks!

We park and offload two cars full of people. I take my krewe and head for a cache named Right of Way (GC2JE4H) from one of our favorite Geocachers – hit man. Krewe 2, led by the beautiful Mrs. Da Krewe, starts to head for another one named Safety First, In The Woods Too (GC2J92T) placed by, TxTadpole, Chicken and Mudfrog. As we are walking away from each other, I turn to my beloved and say, “Look, honey, a ditch!” which brings back memories of a cache in Louisana that we hit. Long story short – Before she tried to jump a ditch I told her, “if you fall, fall forward”. Well, she did!

I have a good laugh at the memory and take maybe a dozen steps before I attempt to step over a wire. Well, wouldn’t you know it! I fell flat on my face! Everyone got a good laugh out of that one, including me.

Though there were plenty of thorns we found our caches and met up to find the third in the park. It was under a bridge.

Back at the cars we decided to split up on the next caches. She hit Skipbo’s Fantasy 2(GC1EW8F) while we ventured to Cool Pipe (GCVGYT). At one, a dead dog was found about 5 feet from GZ while at the other, Krewe S learned NOT to stick your hand into a hole you can't see into(empty wasp’s nest!).

Now we are rolling! Our next few caches were quick Park & Grabs in the city of Lumberton. It is at this point that we decide to head back to our town and finish up strong. We are 5 geocaches away from 300!

After a pit stop at the hacienda, we decide that we will split up again and go after nothing but hit man geocaches. We find a 300th and backtrack from it. We each take 2 and plan on meeting at #300.

Our first stop - #296 – was titled “No Swimming Allowed” (GC23VJB). My son, M Krewe was proving to be at somewhat un-good navigator so I got the new and still getting used to, Garmin Explorist GC, and found we were 18 ft off GZ… by their calculations. So, we start walking the fence line looking for the geotrail when he spots the cache. I send Krewezer in to get it. It’s a Gatorade bottle camoed. Krewezer is 11 but as tall as a grown man. He is also as clumsy as all get out. He is reaching in the brush to try and get the container with one hand in his pocket. He is able to pick it up but as he turns he falls and rolls around on the ground making this distressed moose sound! Fortunately, he threw the container clear and didn’t crush it!Signed the log and left our calling card.

Back in the car, we head towards our next - #299 – “Perfect Fit” ( GC23YDF). Mrs. Da Krewe had found her 2 – “Mystery Cache 7” (GC1PA2H) and “No Closure” (GC23YDX). So she came over to help us. We could actually see her as we pulled up to our cache, that’s how close we were to each other. While my new GC has me 9 feet from GZ, her phone has us 5 feet from it. I think the cache is on one side of a canal and she is standing next to a fence post say “I found it!” The 3 words a Geocacher hates to hear!

Now, we are here. It’s that time! The moment we have waited and worked weeks for! Find #300! The name? Got the Power (GC23YD1). We see big overhead power lines down the road so we figure that’s where it is. We load up and make a dash. Mrs. Da Krewe is out of her car in a flash. She has that look in her eyes. The rest of Da Krewe is slowly pouring out of the cars. I start to mention the obvious Geotrail, but she hears nothing. Her Geo-senses are tingling! She moves with speed and precision. And, just like that! She has it in her hands. Geocache 300!

We celebrated with a little cheer and pictures of the milestone for us.

We hit one more that day and, aside from two cats fighting that scared M Krewe, Krewezer, and myself out of our skins, it was pretty much downhill from there.

We started this adventure – Geocaching – because J Krewe is a cub scout and needed to learn how to use a compass and about camping. We stayed in a state park where there was a class about geocaching. We haven’t looked back yet. We have been places, near and far, that we never thought about ever going to. We have seen things we never thought we would see. And, this one, growing sport has done one thing better than any other sport could. It gave this family something we could do together… as a FAMILY.

Mike Aguilar

By Daddy Tree Frog   Mon, Feb 21, 2011

Half Mile to Joy

2-11-11

            Let me start by saying I am in no way a writer, but I have recently been struck by the stories I have read about on this site, but I didn’t feel that I had one share. That all changed today, well actually last night when my principal text me and told me we were out of school again for third day in a row  because of the second major snow storm to hit Oklahoma in as many weeks, and the fact that our children were in school.

After dropping the kids off at school and allowing my wife to sleep in a bit she is slowly awaked by the aroma of coffee permeating our quaint little house. Coffee and breakfast on board we decided to do some kid free caching. Something we had not been able to since finding our first find by accident (the accident part is a story for another day) on sixteenth of January this year. Looking over our list there had been a cache tugging at me to find. The description stated a half mile walk around the south end of the lake to and old CCC building that used to house an entertainment area of days gone by. We were looking for a small lock and lock. After a short drive, a few sips of coffee and a quick potty stop we arrive at our destination.

As we park at the fallen tree blocking the road my wife reminds me I forgot to tell her it was going to be a hike. Crossing the gate we look ahead to the snow laden trail that lay between us and our payoff. Quickly I noticed tracks of another person and several squirrels which had recently made the journey as well. The sun was warm on our faces and soaking up the abundance of quietness I look over only to realize my wife had stop to photograph the trail ahead. Scattered about in a narrowing of the trail as it dips into a creek bottom I noticed the first of many deer tracks we would see along the way.

Through the creek bottom we rise to an opening in the trail where we get our first glance out over the frozen lake from this end. The compacted ice and red clay makes for a very rust colored unattractive body of frozen mass that they call a lake. Through the next creek and around the bend we come to the opening where a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) building stands (well at least what is left of it). With a quick look around at the old building and taking in some of it’s history I pull out the GPS and acquire our coordinates realizing we are fairly close, but noticing though that we needed to be on the other side of the point so we head off make our way through the head high grass and left over snow to the edge of the lake where my GPS pointed to ground zero. As I poke the snow around the base of trees where I am thinking I would hide a cache if I had one, I hear the elated voice of my wife stating she had found the cache. She is just good that way. A few pix and a quick sign of the log we find our way heading back down the trail heading toward the truck.

The walk back was equally as splendid as it was going in and before we knew it we were at the truck only to realize we only needed two tenths of a mile to make a full mile round trip. So with a quick walk around the playground and a little more sunlight and piece and quite we reach one mile. Sitting in the truck I realize that sometimes it  takes just a half mile walk and a small cache to break the stress of cabin fever and make one appreciate what they truly have and can enjoy. Especially the one you love.

Thanks for the hike Mama Tree Frog.

            Daddy Tree Frog of the OkieTreeFrogGang

            Central Oklahoma

Thu, Feb 17, 2011

There are moments in geocaching that stick with me. I remember the moment that my family and I made our first find. I remember the really beautiful places that I have been and things that I have seen. Unique containers that I have come across every now and then stay in my mind. I remember the history behind many of the areas that I have been to – places that I would probably have never known about had I not learned about geocaching. Many of these moments started as a spur of the moment, many were caches we just came upon because they were in the area, and a good portion of these were planned because of an upcoming milestone. I will never forget the first night cache that my wife and I did. Because it was our first night cache, it was a planned cache (well, planned as well as I tend to plan these things).

 It was mid November when I decided that I wanted to go for a night cache. The cache was one that I had come across when I was searching through caches in the area. It seemed like the right time of year for a night cache. It was the time of the year where it is cold enough that the bugs wouldn’t be bad, but not so cold that we would freeze while doing the cache. Additionally, since the leaves had fallen from most of the trees, I thought that it would provide a better view of the night sky – enhancing the experience. Yes, I know, I tend to over think things sometimes.

 I am still fairly green on the experience scale when it comes to geocaching. I know enough to make the find, but sometimes I get myself into a situation where I realize that I didn’t know enough to do this or to do that. I even made it a point before doing this night cache to research it and go prepared. My wife and I decided to make this a date night, so we enlisted a babysitter and headed for the cache.

 The cache that we went for was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This is a premium member only cache listed on geocaching.com and the GC number is GC17K8M. Being a 3 ½ star difficulty, I knew that it was going to be a challenge, but I was prepared! Based on the name of the cache, you can probably tell that this was a cache based on the story by William Shakespeare. Although I never have read the story nor saw the play, there was enough information in the cache description that I knew what we would be looking for; faeries in the woods!

 The description gave enough information that we knew how many faeries that we needed to keep an eye out for. The description said that the faeries would be located within 30’ of the trail and there would be a tag near the fairies that would give us a portion of the final coordinates. There were also coordinates listed that marked where the hidden faeries would end, so we would not go past our destination. Find all of the faeries and you get the coordinates for the final - all sounded simple before we headed out.

 Neither one of us had been to the area where this night cache was located, but we had a mobile GPSr that provided excellent directions. We drove up a highway, turned on a backroad, and before we knew it we were at the area where the cache was supposed to start. We got out of the car and started looking for a faerie that would point us in the direction to go. I realized at this very moment that I wasn’t ready. There were 2 trails here, heading in an opposite direction from one another. We spent a good 15 minutes looking for a faerie before I decided that I would pretend to know what to do and said. “Lets take this trail – I am sure that we are going to come across faeries along the way”. I could tell by the look that my wife gave me that she was less than convinced, but based on the “no faeries beyond this point” coordinates, this had to be the direction to go. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before our flashlights were lighting up a marker.

 We searched the area where the marker was, but were not able to find a tag nor a faerie, so we decided that maybe this wasn’t a marker for the night cache, rather it was a marker for either horseback riders, snowmobiles, or someone that had a reason to have to watch out for the structure that this marker was attached to. Deciding that this was a maybe waypoint, but probably wasn’t, we moved on.

 By now I was starting to have real doubts about my night cache preparation and research. I didn’t want to say anything to my wife, but she knows how ill prepared I can be when bringing her out for a cache, so I was sure that she already knew that I had dropped the ball again. I wasn’t deterred. Keeping a positive attitude, we moved forward and it wasn’t long before we saw them – 3 bright sparkling items about 20 feet on our left. I had no doubts this time – we found a grouping of faeries. We headed off the trail and to the location where the faeries were located and within moments, we had our 1^st clue.

 The 1^st find was the best part because we now knew what to look for. I think we both had expected some form of a faerie, but now we realized that the faeries were actually the firetacks that were marking the waypoints. For those that are not aware, firetacks are tacks that have a reflective material attached to them. They come in different colors and are used by hunters, geocachers, and anyone else that have a need to navigate through an area in the nighttime.

 With new found motivation (heck – we were only about 500 feet down the trail) we struck forward. The trail that this night cache is on is an old railroad bed that was converted to a trail. There were an occasional pile of horse leavings here in there. I used my deductive skills to take a guess and say that this was because the trail was used for horseback riding. Well, that and the fact that there is a good sized horse ranch to the right of the trail. Also along the trail was an occasional tree stump or roots that were growing above ground and across the trail. For a guy that is clumsy in normal situations, it wasn’t long before I was tripping over tree parts and step in the horse…well….you know. :-P

 If you have been night caching before, then you know that a good majority of your time is spent looking up and looking around for those fire tacks. My wife and I ended up splitting up the task – one would watch our footing while the other would watch for the tacks. This was a system that worked well for us. Yes, I was tripping over things, but I would have done that in the daytime, so I am not blaming our foolproof system for that.

 Farther down the trail we saw another set of tacks – they were a good 20 – 30 feet away, but there were two of them and they were side by side. Heading off the trail and toward the tacks, I blinked and they were gone…they were not tacks at all, but the reflective glow of an animals eyes. Oh Great! Now the animals are checking us out. We were doing so well up until this point. Tripping, dodging horse poop, and now wary of animals – this kept getting better.

 My wife mentioned that she was a little spooked. The funny thing was by then I was past spooked. I had been hoping that she would be the brave one but I realized that I had to pretend to be brave – whoever invented chivalry was never on this trail, I can tell you that much!

 Animal eyes, horse bombs, tree parts and missing faeries – we were having some fun now…but at least this was it – the weather was nice, the night was calm, so onward we headed. We found the next set 3 sets of tacks and the clues that went with each and I started thinking that we might actually finish this cache. All of the sudden – we were at the no faeries beyond this point…point.

 Well, that’s just great, I thought. We were at the final point of the trail and still needed 2 waypoints in order to get the final hints that would give us the coordinates to the cache. We stood there for a while trying multiple variations of codes to see if we would get lucky and figure out where the cache was. But it was not meant to be. There were just too many combinations of numbers, giving us a couple of dozen possible locations for the final.

 We made our way back toward the parking lot. Looking for those waypoints that we had missed, but we didn’t find them. By the time we reached the car, we were both very hungry and decided that we would have to give it a go another night. We enjoyed the trip very much, had a great dinner, and headed home.

 I spent the majority of the following week reading former logs and reading the cache description over and over. We decided to invite another caching couple out with us and they accepted. The date was set for one week from the night that we had originally gone out.

 We met the other couple, who had their older kids with them. I just knew with all of the extra sets of eyes we would have no problem finding the cache this time. My wife and his wife teamed up and led the pack. I and the other gentleman cacher were in the middle, and the younger set of cachers took up the rear. We all divided sections of the trail to be on the look out for and headed out. I am not sure how, but we all bypassed the area where I thought the first waypoint should have been. The rest of the waypoints that we had found the week before were found again and the other caching team located one of the caches that we had missed the previous week. We hit the no faeries beyond point and still were short a waypoint.

 We decided that we would go back to the area where we had seen what we thought to be a waypoint to see if there were any tags or clues that could be located. With 6 of us hunting in that immediate area, I knew that if it were truly a waypoint then we would locate the tag…we didn’t. We then decided that we should take a look at the coordinates that we did have and see if we could figure out where the cache might be. After a few minutes, we determined that the cache had to be in one of two places. Since one of the locations was past the no faeries beyond point, the other had to be the location.

 It was getting colder by now, so ¾ of the other caching team decided they were done and were going to sit in the car. My wife, myself, and the gentlemen cacher decided that it was only about ½ mile and would be worth going for the final – I mean, come on…we are this close. So, off the three of us went. I don’t recall the reason, but we decided that I would be the navigator. So I plugged the final coordinates in my trusty GPSr and off we went. We had a mission by golly, so we were making good time. We didn’t need no stinkin numbers and I was feeling good that I had only tripped on tree parts a couple of times this evening. The trail ahead had a fork and I led the group on the left fork. We walked for a few hundred feet and I knew that it was time for the bushwhack to the cache. It was about a 300 foot bushwhack, which I thought was kind of mean for a night cache, but at this point I didn’t care – we were there!

 About halfway through the bushwhack, we ran into a stone wall. At this point, my buddy and I decided to continue over the wall while my wife decided she would wait for us there. We walked the length of the wall until we reached a level portion of ground. It was at this point we realized that we had water all around us. Only 90 feet away from the area that my GPSr was telling us was ground zero, we trudged on. We got to GZ and looked around. It was pitch black out and I no longer could see the light where we had left my wife standing. We looked for a few minutes and I knew in my gut that something was wrong, although we did find some clever hiding spots. Not wanting to leave my wife standing along too long, we headed back. Yes, it was another DNF night for us.

 By the time that we got home, I was re-energized and I went over the cache description again. I read and re-read and I knew that we had to have the correct coordinates. A few hours passed and I decided to take a break and check my email - sure enough, my caching buddy had gone home and done the same thing. He mentioned in the email that he sent to me that we had the right numbers, but when he plugged the numbers into google earth, the spot for GZ was a little up the road on the other fork opposite of the fork that I had led the group to. I opened google earth and could see that he was right - but I have never had a bad reading with my GPSr, so how could it have been so far off? I had to look, so I booted the GPSr to check what I had put in as the final coordinates and sure enough! Where I was supposed to put in a 5, I had put in a 6! No wonder we could not find it.

 I sent my buddy an email to see if he wanted to meet up the next evening to try it again, and then I went to bed. I didnt sleep well that night...I was wanting to go out to see if I could find the final. It was bugging me. By the time morning came, I had nothing else on my mind but making it out to this area. I thought about going to the final during the day, but when I saw that my buddy had confirmed we would meet, I had to wait until evening to go out. I was also happy to see an email from the owner of the cache with a few words of encouragement for the next time out. I emailed him back, letting him know what I thought I had done, and sent him the coordinates that we knew should be the final. he confirmed they were! I was happy now! I knew that we would make this one final trip out and would be able to find the cache!

 My wife and I brought our youngest daughter with us this time. Our daughter has some of the best geosense that I have seen in anyone. Any time I have a hard time locating a cache, my wife or our youngest usually can find it. We grabbed a few other caches along the way and we met up with my buddy at the posted time and place. I was so prepared this time. I even knew where all of the tree parts and horse poop would be, so I didnt have to worry about stepping in or tripping on any of it. I was no longer nervous about the creepy crawlies any longer, for I felt that I earned the right to OWN this trail on that night!

 Without hesitation, we set off. It was about a half mile to the cache and we made a beeline to it. Instead of taking the left in the fork, we took the right and shortly made the 10'bushwhack from the trail to the cache (and yes, our youngest found the cache). What a great feeling that was! I was elated! We signed the log, took a picture, and then headed out toward the parking area. On the way out, we decided to take one more look in the area where we were not able to locate the faerie tag. Within 5 minutes, our youngest found the tag - in a place that I had looked at least 2 times previous! I guess my eyesight is getting worse than I want to admit. It took 3 tries and a few hours of research, but we found the cache!

 If you have never done a night cache, you need to do so - it’s a different experience and it is a lot of fun. Do it in a group, though....you may need help!

Tue, Feb 15, 2011

Oh Where Oh Where have my Travel Bugs gone?
Oh where oh where could they be?
I sent them out and they dissappeared,
Oh Where Oh Where could they be?


With Lofty goals I did send them out,
To places that I'd like to see.
One of them went eleven whole miles,
Oh Where Oh Where can it be?


I Love to see Travel Bugs in a cache,
But they're few and far in between.
Maybe they've been dropped or maybe they're lost
Oh Where oh Where could they be?


I always move bug that I find as soon,
As I find a cache where they'll fit.
But apparently someone is keeping mine.
Oh where oh where could they be?
 

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Sun, Feb 13, 2011

If a tree falls...

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  This is a philosophical question that has been debated often over the years.  Scientifically, sound is a vibration that is transmitted, acknowledged via our senses, captured and passed through our ear, and is recognized by nerve centers that acknowledge the sound.  Therefore, if there is no ear to capture the vibrations, then sound does not exist.  But, if a tree falls in the forest and you are there to hear it, does it make a sound.  I say it does and here is why.

I was geocaching on the Mason rail trail outside of Mason, NH.  there are several caches along the rail trail, and they are known as the Mason Rail Trail North (or South) Progressive Challenge.  If you are interested, you can look up GC1G0B8 for more information. 

 This particular rail trail runs from Greenville, NH to Ayer, Massachusetts.  I didn't complete the trail, but I did get a few of the caches there and it is a great place to go geocaching.

So I searched for a good 45 minutes looking for one of the caches that is along this trail.  I decided to go look for some of the other caches and then come back to this elusive one.  I  found a couple of more caches and then decided that I wanted to give the elusive one another go, so I headed back to the spot where the cache was supposed to be.

I had recently gotten a smart phone and had not really used it for caching before.  I decided to use it to check my coordinates to make sure that I had the correct ones loaded in my GPSr.  I logged onto geocaching.com (I love technology) and looked at the cache information and sure enough - the coordinates had recently been changed because the cache had to be moved from its original spot.  So, I cursed myself for not updating my GPSr before heading out and went to the new spot.

I found the cache in its new location.  I was elated.  I knew that there was another cache about 500 feet due east and it looked like a bushwhack the whole way.  I figured - I am here now, so what the heck.  I loaded my gear and proceeded to head in the direction of the next cache when I hear a thud...thud....creak.  ???  What in the heck? 

 Thud...THUD...CREEEAAAAKKKKK!  There was some noise and it was about 150 feet in front of me.  I paused and could hear rustling in that same direction.  The thuds and the creaks continued and for some reason I decided to look up.  There was a tree top swaying back and forth.  With each thud the treetop shook....with each creak, it swayed back and forth.  Then all of the sudden there was a SNAP!  and then a bunch of rustling as the tree top disappeared and the tree fell to the ground.  The impact was loud and it the ground shook when the tree hit.  I don't know what it was that caused that tree to fall....a bear?  A Moose?  Whatever it was, it was big enough to push over that tree.  I was not interested in any way to find out what it was!  It didn't take me long to high tail it back to the rail trail, and I did a 1/2 mile faster than I have since high school!  :)

Can you hear a tree fall in the forest?  I say yes!  Would that tree have made a sound if I were not there?  Well...think about this - with all of the bugs and animals out there - come on!  Something has to hear it, right?  If nothing else - that big "whatever it was" that pushed over the tree would have heard it!

Geocaching - its a blast, but sometimes I have to wonder what the heck I got myself in to!  LOL! 

 Happy trails and happy caching to you all!

Originally posted Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the author's blog: wherethecacheis.com

Wed, Feb 09, 2011

Is winter ever going to get over? Snow is still covering lots of ground, and now it’s crusty from the little sunshine and warmer weather we have had. Temperatures are still quite brisk, and when you figure the wind chill factor it’s downright cold. I don’t want to go for a long hike and find GZ is a foot deep in snow for 100 feet in all directions. I could take my snow blower but I don’t want to be hunted down by all the CO’s after I post a “Needs Maintenance” log! Just kidding.

There is a rumor of sunshine and temps in the upper 40’s and low 50’s coming in a few days, but I have lived in Nebraska long enough to know that we could get 12 inches of snow right after that too.

I have done some online shopping this winter. I bought some of those Newbie favorites, the dreaded magnetic micros. I also went to a hobby shop and bought various colors of paint to make them really blend in. Insert mad scientist’s depraved laugh here. I also bought a window decal traveling bug, so if you see it, log it. Feel free to follow me to where ever I am going and after I explore every foot of GZ and I’m heading back to my truck with that blank look of DNF on my face, you can go find the cache. You can chuckle to yourself as you post your, “Found it with no problem TNLN TYFC” right behind my DNF. It makes me feel so inept when I see that. lol

While I am waiting for warm weather and a new population of ticks to mature, I am gathering the parts I will need for a new cache idea I have. It will be a multi cache, not sure of how many stages yet. I want to make it more difficult , my caches have been very lame so far.

I am going to retire Feb 23, 38 years in one job is long enough. I am anxious to log more finds, see more places in Nebraska, and take more pictures of the places my GPS leads me . I have a new computer coming in a week and want to learn all about Pocket Queries, and loading digital pictures to my logs. For some selfish reason, my job wants their computer and cell phone back before I turn off the lights and lock the door on that last day.

My first grandchild will be born in April and I am looking forward to the day HE will want to go geocaching with Grandpa.

OLD MAN WINTER it’s time for you to retire for the season too!

By Jim Edwards (caching as EyeD10T)   Thu, Jan 27, 2011

The Woronoco Dragon

Sun, Jan 23, 2011

I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile. My wife has been burned out on caching since shortly after completing our triple crown of 1000 finds and the Nebraska 93 County Challenge and Nebraska DeLorme challenge. Since she is my favorite caching partner and I’m not burned out, I’ve been trying to gently, yet persistently, rekindle the spark for her. My short article,”I’m a Geocache Kid”, while heartfelt, was also an attempt at that. One she saw right through. “Awww, I wanna retire to the geo-playground with you too! ...Good try, but I still feel burned out.” I had mentioned in that article that we don’t re-trade swag but keep it in a chest as tangible memories of our caching adventures. Even as I was writing that paragraph, plan B began to form.

“Dear! We should go through the swag chest and write a story about the treasures we’ve kept in there. Let’s try to make some time to do that.” “Yeah, we can do that; it might make a good story for you. I can’t promise I’ll be gung ho again after that though.” Can’t put anything past her! It did open a dialogue though and we’re making progress towards her return to being the driving force in our cache adventures, and once again, we’ll treasure the pleasure in equal measure.

Yes, we play as pirates, 2 hundred years too late, Cannons don’t thunder, though we’ve plenty of plunder, We are over-forty cachers who’ll state, “This caching is great, yeah, caching is great!” Jimmy Buffet-ish (Apologies, Sioneva, for the style rip-off)

Aaarrr! We be seeking traysure (not buried!!)

Most of us grew up with a healthy imagination, and enjoyed playing as cowboys and Indians, soldiers, ballerinas or princesses but there seems to be a universal appeal to the free-spirited, flamboyant rascals who sailed the seas seeking plunder. Pirates, privateers or buccaneers hoisting the Jolly Rodger as they overtake their prize and anticipate the excitement of boarding and the revelry of success. What a life that must have been! Now, we can seek hidden treasures, mapped by satellites, but still testing our wits and senses against those who would keep us from the loot. The excitement of the hunt, the thrill of the find, followed by pawing through swag! Har! Har! A pirate’s life for me! ... Jist one question, be it truly plundered if’n ye trade fer it?

We found this buccaneer bendy left behind to guard the loot in a series about Tom Flint, the river pirate, who along with Corvus, his carrion eating companion, terrorized the shipping lanes of the Missouri river. As the end came near for him, he left a string of caches with sections of map to the final treasure hoard for those bold enough to seek it. While we didn’t cross the path of Corvus during our attempts, we did run afoul of Capt. Flint’s Irish bosun, Snarly O’Possum.

Another item in the theme is a pirate die game. No, not walking the plank or here, sharky sharky, we’ve a morsel for ye, or even a quick round of catch the cannonball, but a game where ye roll the bones, dice ya know. Made from the blackened bones of players past, tumble the dice and shout “Avast!” First to put both ship and crew, at tombstone marked thirteen, safe from bein' blackened too, har! we be playing mean.

This here’s the rubber duck, … come on … mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy. C.W. McCall

Rubber ducky, you’re the one! You make cache swag lots of fun!

We’ve picked up these fellows along the road, never knowing when we would hear the crackle of static followed by “breaker, breaker, cache-finder … room for another duck? come on.” The answer is almost always “you got the back door, good buddy” and the little fellow slips into the cache bag. The standard yellow duck is cute, but there is such a wide variety of adorable character ducks. Police ducks, fire ducks, soldier ducks even geo-ducks (not the bivalve) and, yes ... a whole crew’s worth of different swashbuckling, eye-patched, bandanna wrapped, ready to float the seven seas, pirate ducks. Peace sign hippy ducks and glow in the dark microducks and I believe I may have seen once, a gap-toothed hockey duck. Yes, the mighty duck is a supreme swag find and one that always makes me smile.

Parts made in China, licensed toys, if you please, tickles finders on a regular cache run. McToys Corp. jingle

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, this king of swag does not upset us. Finding a cache with a cute McToy in it is like digging into the paper sack, past the fries, past the nuggets, to find the happy mealtime prize. “I wanna see what I got!” Nothing brings out the kid in me like having a chattering Ice Age squirrel chomp fries or a Happy Feet penguin doing his steps on my cheeseburger or a Toy Story slinky dog chasing his tail round my drink cup. And some of my best Guardian Series guards have been interviewed and hired right out of a Smiley Meal sack!

This is also a type swag we often exchange for whatever we want out of a cache. We inherited several bushels worth of new, in the bag, toys from my parents, who walked to the nearby B.K., or if they felt more adventurous, the McD’s just .1 mile further. They would order 2 Smiley Meals almost every day and staunchly resist the impulse to tear in and play with Buzz Lightyear and Woody or Brother Bear or Frodo or whatever the toy du jour happened to be. Their restraint was our gain.

All I have is a piece of brown sandstone, but it’s not for throwing… it’s for looking through. Chief Dan George-ish

If you’ve followed along in my column, you’ll know that my wife and I really enjoy EarthCaches. When possible, we try to collect a representative rock for the sites we visit and a few non EC places too. We have red Sioux Quartzite that we found near Sioux Falls, a few colorful chunks of chert we picked up near Joplin Mo., small fossils and crystals from an Iowa roadcut EarthCache, where it was expressly permissible to take samples, and a piece of sandstone riddled with holes from Kansas. Tailings from a coal mine and even broken marble tile from a construction site refuse pile near a traditional cache. We have chalk from a chalk mine and slate to write on and limestone from a quarry. While visiting Pipestone Minnesota, we bought Native American carved catlinite, even though small pieces were lying around everywhere. It is considered a sacred place and at other sacred site EC’s we have visited, we’ve only taken pictures or if we couldn’t take pictures, a kitten. These various pieces of rock bring back great memories for us. We’ve also found finely polished agate stones and sig items with painted rocks and even granite from a state capitol building awaiting our discovery in caches.

We’re looking forward to adding to our mineral swag collection as well and would relish a visit to a dig a diamond or sift a sapphire, or even excavate an emerald, type EarthCache. And of course, we would be just as eager to do a placer gold EC. Maybe someday that will pan out for us.

Tee Hee Hee, got your nose, Papa Joe! Emmaleigh

One of my favorite swag items we’ve ever found hasn’t made it into the chest and probably never will, I get way too much fun out of it. A red vinyl clown nose with “The Greatest Show on Earth” printed on it. I like to think of it as my EarthCaching nose because “The Greatest Show on is Earth.” Also, my granddaughter likes to either “honk” it or grab it off my nose and run away giggling. You could consider a happy, playful, grandchild the second greatest show on earth. I do.

Fri, Dec 31, 2010

A Cache I’ll Always Remember

It was May and a nice day, I decided to go for a cache a few miles from home. I entered the coordinates in my Garmin Nuvi 1350T, pack some Diet Dr. Pepper and a few snacks in a cooler and hop into my pickup. I was familiar with where the cache was located and soon arrive and park under a shade tree.

I didn’t know if this geocaching idea was going to be a full time hobby yet and only had the Nuvi for navigating offroad. I scanned through the favorites list and selected the coordinates to show me the way.

There was a campsite, a tent, and a mini van not far away but no one sitting at the picnic table in front of the tent. There were 3 guys next to the river getting ready to go on a canoe trip. The Nuvi showed that I had to go 500 feet, so I walked past them and head along the bank going downstream. I have to stop every once in a while to check the “Where Am I” feature on my Nuvi. I was so new to using the Nuvi to navigate that I would write down the coordinates on a piece of paper and compare them to the WAI (Where Am I) coordinates when I refreshed it constantly. I would get the readings, compare them to the note, and see if I am getting closer, continue on a ways, and repeat. Over and over again.

I had made it a couple hundred feet downstream and when I checked WAI it showed I had come far enough this direction. Now I had to turn and head for the other half of the coordinates. Small problem, there is a knee deep river between me and the 250 feet I need to travel. It’s time to regroup. I backtrack the way I had come and waved at the 3 guys canoeing past me. I am thinking about returning to my truck and firing up my laptop to get a better understanding of where I need to go. I happen to spot a footbridge upstream of where the tenters are staying. Duhhhh, why didn’t I see that before? The trail takes me in front of the tent but I get by without an encounter, maybe the are the ones in the canoe. I cross the footbridge and try the WAI again. Wow, I really had to backtrack because I’m twice as far away as I was when I was supposed to turn and walk on water.

I get a new reading and head for a spot across the river from where I was earlier. The going gets tough, no foot trails, no deer trails, just bushwhacking like I am on a safari. I finally get back to the spot where I need to turn. No trails of any kind here either. The only way to get to where I need to head is through Brier Rabbit’s thorn bushes. I gently weave my way through thick brush and thorn bushes. I check the WAI again. I’m getting closer. Is it starting to rain? I feel something running down my arms. Nope, it’s not water. I sure have some bright red blood! I hope I can keep most of it inside me before I get done.

I wander around, this way, back that way, and through any openings the thorn bushes give me. Hey, look at that. It’s the cache. Finally! I get the sheet signed and hide it back where it was. Now I have the dreaded trip back. Do I want to go back that way again, and still have enough blood to remain conscious for the drive home? My arms and legs have 4 votes, my brain only 1. I will try to find another way, OK arms and legs? I see an opening and start off that way. It’s getting easier now. There is less brush and no thorn bushes. I come out of the brush onto a very nice hiking trail. Boy, I feel like an idiot now.

I know the direction I came from, now I have to find the footbridge. The hiking trail meanders around a bit but I stay on it and avoid shedding any more blood. I eventually come back to the footbridge and then to my truck. I used some ice water in my cooler to get the dried blood off of my arms. I guess I won’t pass out from loss of blood after all. I must have some blood left in me, because now I find 3 or 4 ticks on me. Sorry ticks, I already donated.

I later found out, reading the forums in a web site, that I can set a feature that shows where I am as I move. I have upgraded to a Garmin 60CSx since this find. I now only use the Nuvi to get me to the parking areas. Now that I know about the feature that shows where I am when I’m moving I will use the Nuvi as a back up if I need to.

By catsnfish   Wed, Dec 29, 2010

Thu, Dec 23, 2010

‘Twas the dawn after Christmas, with coffee to rouse,

A new cacher downloading, and clicking a mouse.

The hardware was found, and the driver software,

Now onto the website with listings to share.

The Garmin now loaded, he’ll go where it led,

While visions of adventure, played through his head.

He pulled on his parka, and a warm knitted cap
,
And going out the door, he grabbed a roadmap.

Once out of the house, he got satellite lock,

And picking the nearest cache, drove down the block.

Pulling up to the curb, he put it in park,

And searched for the micro called “Having a Lark.”

He searched and he looked, both up high and down low,

Then it caught his eye, as he was turning to go.

A little birds nest, yet a fake it was clear,

With fake baby chicks, and a fake momma near.

He plucked out the blue egg, but it had a trick,

The halves could unscrew, so he twisted it quick.

Unrolling the paper, this egg had contained,

And he laughed and he giggled, as he wrote down his name.

A seeker! A Finder! A cacher I’ll be!

On lampposts! On guardrails! On street signs, I’ll see,

A container well hidden, just waiting for me!

I’ll cache today, cache away, cache on a spree!

Now replacing the egg, in the nest as before,

Walked back to the car, turned around and then swore,

His tracks in the snow, went straight up to the cache.

And retracing his footsteps, he made a quick dash,

From this tree to that, while confusing the track,

“Can’t make it too easy, for the next one to crack.”

Once snug in the car, the next nearest he’d check,

It had the strange name of “Who’s up on Deck?”

He drove the four miles in the blink of an eye,

To a little league field, where he realized why.

He searched and he looked, both up high and down low,

But couldn’t spot anything but trampled on snow.

Tired and placing his hand, on the fence post to rest
,
He smiled and he grinned, passing this new caching test.

The next was a large, on the outskirts of town,

At the top of the hill, he parked and walked down,

Soon spotting the can, beneath a big pile of sticks,

Found it had a wet log, but this he could fix.

From out of a pocket, he pulled a notepad,

And tearing off sheets, he shared what he had.

He found some more cans, and lock and locks too,

Driving off to the west, the time really flew.

His tummy was rumbling so he stopped for a bite,

There was some fast food, over there on the right.

He ordered a meal, for kids and drove through,

He’d be eating his meal, and have trading swag too.

Then back on the hunt, he cached through the night,

But paused in the dawn, with its growing light.

He brought out the roadmap, and that’s when he saw,

He’d cached from Toledo, to North Omaha.

I’ll cache my way back, he yelled feeling quite brash,

“Happy Caching to all! And Thanks For The Cache”

Happy Holidays

from

The Online Geocacher

Thu, Dec 16, 2010

 You’ve gone after that one cache countless times. Each time there have
been numerous people in the park, several even near ground zero.  It’s
been frustrating, because you are sure you know exactly where it is,
but you don’t want to compromise the location and cause the
disappearance of yet another ammo box (or lock-n-lock, or blinky,
or…).  You’ll just have to come out some other time…again.

Hey!  That’s not going to be a problem for about three or four months
now!  You have the parks ALL TO YOURSELF!  The only problem,,,is the
cold.  And the snow,  and the cold,  and the parking, and the cold.

Last year I struck again into the winter weather to find several
caches.  The previous February, my first in the world of GPS hunting,
I had gone after several caches in out of the way places during the
white season, but I hadn’t done much in the area of preparing, so I
suffered during those brief searches.  When the opportunity came
around again, I made sure to have some basic things with me in the
Jeep.  Aside from one particular cache, during the search of which
common sense took a back seat and I stepped through ice into a stream,
my pre-search preparation served me well.

During the winter months I now carry a thermos of hot coffee when
planning to search the snow, and two blankets are in my standard
cold-weather kit for winter driving anyway.

On my feet I keep a pair of nice thick wool socks, or an even thicker
pair of thermal cotton socks.  The wool keeps your feet warm even if
they get wet.  The cotton socks don’t do quite as well, but my boots
usually compensate for that.  My boots are either a pair of regular
insulated hikers, or a pair of “Mukluks” that I kept from the service.
 That was many moons ago, and they’ve still held up.  If you can find
a pair at a surplus store, pick them up.  They’re wonderful.

Headgear for me includes a hat that covers my ears, with a thermal
facemask in the cache bag for those windy days (like last Saturday).
Now for the deal breaker.  Gloves

.

The gloves you take with you while caching need to do two things.
They need to keep your hands warm (duh), and they need to allow you to
use your fingers.  Mittens are great at the former, but if you have to
take them off to open the cache container, you lose all that heat in
about ten seconds.  It gets really hard to sign a log with frozen
fingers (many times, you have to take your hands out of your gloves to
unroll the log after finding that blinky anyway, but let’s at least
get the thing open before you have to cool your hands off).  The brand
that I wear are Kinco, they’re insulated, they cover my hands beyond
my wrists, and I can open about three quarters of all cache containers
with them still on.  They are made of sewn leather and cloth on the
outside, and baby seal fur on the inside (JUST KIDDING! The insides
are felt lined! The same fabric as my hat and facemask! Honest!!).
They are the best gloves that I’ve worn to date.  They never get wet
inside and my fingers seemingly never get cold in them.

When you are winter caching, and you are able to park close to the
hide.  Don’t be afraid to take the cache container back to your
vehicle to do your signing and trading.  I do this for a couple of
reasons.  My Jeep is still warm, and I’m better able to keep moisture
out of the container.  You can tell the difference between a cache
that I’ve handled this way, and one that I’ve signed on the spot with
my gloves off.  The signature of the one I took to my Jeep is almost
legible.  Since you are the only person silly enough to be at the park
during a blizzard, there is little worry that a “muggle” is going to
ruin your fun, but be watchful, you never know when another player is
going to come looking for the cache that you’ve got in your toasty
vehicle.  It might be fun to do, but it’s awfully rude to let them
search when it’s not there at the moment.

Oh, one other thing.  When your get out of your vehicle, drop your
keys into a pocket that you can zip up.  Searching for lost keys in a
snowbank can be dang frustrating!

Mon, Nov 29, 2010

By now, you've noticed that there are two kinds of cache logs, the short, sweet, one-word aknowlegement that "someone was here," and the ones that list who was in the party and say a polite thanks or comment on the cache container, if it was especially creative.

Did I say two?  I'm sorry, there is another kind of cache log out there, I guess.  One that spins a little yarn about the weather or comments on the number of "muggles" near the hide.  Oh, and then there are the stories.  The detailed accounts of every bird and deer and mud-puddle along the way.

Now, I know what you are going to say, "but I'm just not creative..." "It takes so long to type a log..." "I found 150 caches today and can't possibly remember them all..."  Well, if you're sticking to those stories, well, such is life.  But if you want a little help on BECOMING creative, read on.  I'm just thinking aloud here on what you can do to make your log entries worth reading, if you are so inclined to have people know you were here.

You don't have to be a novellist to write an interesting cache log.  Start simple at first.  Start with just the facts.  Where you parked, how long it took to find the bugger, what you thought of the container (you don't have to spoil the container to do that), what condition the contents were in, etc.  After you've created a little pattern, then you can expound on little parts of the log.  It took you so long because... It was such a short search because...  Again, don't spoil the hide, just give a little detail about what you thought while you were there.  If you like the container, area, hide, color of the fence,,,why did you like it?  The same if you didn't care that much for the hide.  I had a finder of one of my caches mention that they didn't think the container was quite as cool as the previous ones in the series, cool!  Now I know where to go with the next container!  The effort (or lack thereof) did get noticed!  My next cache container in the series will be a little more involved (perhaps).

As you search for a cache, you might think of something from a movie or book.  Include that in your log.  I keep a notepad in the Jeep for that specific purpose.

Caching paperless?  That does not mean you should cache commentless.  I've had several logs recently that say "sent from my <wireless device>" and nothing else .  I've never been more tempted to delete a log than when I saw that(but I didn't, because I'm not a total jerk).  I know that there are other people logging from their "wireless device," most of them actually leave great comments.

Each cache you go on is an adventure, from the lowly "LPC" to the 14-stage multi that makes you swim across the river twice.  Let the cache owner know about your adventure.  It was, after all, the reason that they put the cache out there in the first place.

When you really start feeling brave, invent a story.  You know you can do it.  Just think about when you were a kid and the aliens abducted your dog while he was eating your homework.  It may have been scarring mentally, but your teacher bought it, didn't she?

Lastly, don't make it tedium.  Don't think you have to come up with something extra special for every cache.  Many caches out there ARE easy finds, put there because the spot was convenient.  The owner knows that.  But there are plenty out there that really do deserve more than TNLNSL-TFTH.

I'm off to go battle some aliens for a tupperware container with something glued to it out in the woods somewhere...Have fun!

By DarkZen   Wed, Nov 24, 2010

I'm lucky to live in an area that has a wide range of cache-types. My favorites tend to be the long rugged hike type. Practically right around the corner from me is The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and it's loaded with these kind of caches. When a couple of new ones popped up in an area of the forest I wasn't too familiar with, I was anxious to get out there. Having been in that general area before I knew this was going to be quite an effort getting to these caches so I called my geo-pal Evil Cow Pie told her of the 'good' news - I wanted those new caches!

ECP started her caching stint as an urban finder but as we spent more time caching together I slowly converted her to more of a hiking finder. She can always be counted on to pick up a challenge with me and I've certainly dragged her through more than her share. We had tried for this cache (GC1ZP7P - Nisene Hideout) earlier hoping for the FTF but against the advice of the CO we went at it straight on (read - straight up) and were turned back by the terrain and ultimately the light. I should have seen this as a harbinger of things to come...

On the day of the big push I tried to rise early so as not to let the lack of light be our excuse. But as these things sometimes go by the time we got our gear together, stopped to buy food for the trail, etc. our start was only moderately early. As I was loading up my pack I threw in a magnetic compass almost as an after thought. Bikes loaded, we headed out and parked at the park parking lot closest to our destination. This gave us about a 6 mile ride in, uphill. The toughest section called The Incline is so steep we had to push our bikes (it's ride-able for real mountain bikers - so I'm told - but not for me). "Conquering" that section we peddled the rest of the way to Whites Lagoon where we had to ditch our bikes because they are not permitted on the trail from that point on. I spied a good spot to hide the bikes and locked them to a nearby tree. Stowing helmets and other accoutrements of cyclery, I pulled out my GPS and turned it on. Being half distracted by talk of the upcoming hike I took the coordinates of where our bikes were and off we went.

It is beautiful in that section of the forest. Big redwoods and hardly any underbrush. It was a nice day and we were feeling great. The first cache we searched for was The Nisene Tree Climb (GC1ZP8F). I dutifully followed The Machine's suggestions but saw nothing that looked like the tree we were searching. We expanded the search quite a bit but still nada. Mind you, this should have been a pretty easy tree to spot. The coords were bouncing like mad so I encouraged ECP to plop the coords into her GPSr and see what she got. About that time my GPSr came to it's senses and both of devices indicated that the cache was .18 miles away. Hmmm. Off we went and sure enough we now found the tree with no problems. I shimmied up the tree, grabbed the cache and signed the log. Time to head for the other cache.

Now is the time I should have been questioning what had been wrong with my GPS device. But the time we spent looking in the wrong place had cost us precious daylight and I was anxious to keep moving. There was a trail from this point on so the going was relatively easy. We got to GZ and quickly made the find. A big yummy ammo can in a very cool spot. We took a quick break, snacked and headed back. I knew we were cutting it close time-wise but I also knew if we made it to the bikes before dusk, the fire road back to parking would be a piece of cake. We had been hiking/biking for about 6 hours at this point so the climb back up to The Nisene Climbing Tree cache was a challenge but being on the trail, all we had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Back at the Climbing Tree the trail vanished and we were on our own, bush-whacking from this point. No problem though because all we had to do was follow the arrow on the GPSr, right? We headed off and after a while I started having a feeling that we were not going in the right direction. We took several different readings but The Machine kept telling me to continue on. Shortly we started descending a hillside steeper than I remembered. Also the underbrush got very heavy. OK, now I need to stop and figure this out. We are losing light and elevation fast. I had two choices; Go the direction I thought we should go or trust my GPSr. I made what I thought was the right decision and trusted the technology. When we arrived at the bike coordinates nothing looked familiar and within about 5 minutes the forest went black - literally. We searched through our packs and found that we had exactly one penlight between us, the kind that uses one AA battery. Thoroughly lost at this point the thought ran through my mind that we might be spending the night out here. Not good.

ECP was rightly concerned but I assured her that everything was OK and we'd figure it out. We rested a few minutes and consumed our last Gu packet and drank our last water. Feeling more refreshed I was able to think a little better. I had the map and the GPS but how to locate where we were on the map? I remembered a trick I had seen another cacher use in the deep woods. On the edges of the map there were printed latitude and longitude markings. Whew! I took a GPS reading and was able to locate ourselves in the park. I also now knew which direction to go to get us back to the nearest trail. But how to mark and maintain that heading in pitch black, off trail with only a tiny pen light? Aha, the magnetic compass! With the compass I was able to orient the map and plot the direction we needed to hike. I took notice of where the moon was in relationship to our intended path of travel and asked ECP to note it. I used the penlight to navigate the bushwhacking while she kept us on course. We eventually made the trail, found our bikes and headed back. It felt great to be heading back downhill on the fire road but we still only had the one light between us so it was a little dicey to say the least. In the end it seems I had turned on my GPSr and marked the bikes' coordinates without letting it warm up or thoroughly find itself in the heavy redwood forest. A mistake I won't make again soon, I assure you. I'm also never without a good flashlight (or two) and that lifesaving magnetic compass.

The ranger was waiting at our car as we were way past the dusk designation for leaving the park. We were scratched and bloody and had to sign a waiver absolving the park of responsibility for our wounds. And since we waived off his suggestion that he should call for an ambulance, he took photos of us as documentation. He must have thought we were loons but at least he had a good story to tell. We laughed all the way back home adding our experience to another great adventure that geocaching had bestowed upon us.

Sun, Nov 21, 2010

Have you ever stood looking out the window and marveled at how powerful nature really is?  It was late October but we were getting a summer-like pounding from the weather.  The winds were up to sixty miles per hour.  Many had lost power due to trees falling from the force of the wind.  As I stood gazing out the patio doors I was thankful I had a solid home where I could be safe from the havoc I beheld.

Wife:  “I’m bored.  Let’s go do a few caches.”

Have you ever notice some people are oblivious to their surroundings? 

Me:  “Have you observed what the weather is like?”

Wife:  “Are going to let a little breeze stop you from going outside?  I didn’t realize you were that big a whimp.  Would you like to go cower in the basement?  Maybe you should go down there and hide under a mattress or…..”

Me:  “Alright, alright, I’ll see if there are some quick ones we can do.”

I found a cache named “The Snowflake Troll”, and from what I could determine looking at the maps, it didn’t seem too far to walk in the hurricane.  Off we went to the area.  After I parked I saw it was over a quarter of a mile walk.  I mistakenly mentioned it was too far for her to try under the conditions.

Wife:  “What’s that supposed to mean?  I’m not the sissy trying to stay in the car.  Why don’t you stay here while I struggle to the cache?  Don’t worry about me, I’m sure I can make it on my own.  You stay right here nice and safe from the big bad breeze.”

As we were walking down the path the wife had a death grip on me.  The combination of strong winds and her slight frame made it almost impossible for her to stand without support.  With the speed of a tortoise who recently sprained all his legs we made our way up the steep climb to the GZ.  We arrived at the top of a hill by a bridge.  Being out in the open and at such a elevation there was nothing to hinder the wind from beating us into its will.  I led the wife to a handhold on the bridge so I could look for the cache unfettered.   I no sooner turned away to begin my search, when instantly I heard a chilling scream.  I looked to the sound and saw the wife being blown down the path like a tumbleweed.  It was an impressive sight to see.  The wind effortlessly somersaulted her down the bridge and into the fields. 

As awestruck as I was, I had the presence of mind to chase after her.  As I got near, the problem of how to stop her momentum raced through my mind.  Has a piece of paper ever blown out of your hand and you chased it in a futile attempt to get it back? Then you had the brilliant idea to stop it by stomping on it with your foot.  Well, that’s what I did.  Not stomp on her of course, but on her coat.  With my foot securely pinning her coattail to the ground all the wind could do was to make her flutter like a flag.  It was a stroke of genius.  To the wife it was the dumbest thing anyone had ever had done.  I explained to her how I had to think of something quickly or I may never have seen her again.

Me:  “Just curious, but why on earth would you let go of the bridge?”

Wife:  “My eyes were watering and I was getting a Kleenex out of my pocket.”

Me:  “Just a thought, but in hindsight, don’t you think you may have been better off waiting until I had found the cache and was able to hold onto you again?”

Wife:  “That’s just like you.  I can’t do anything right, can I?  You think everything has to be done your way.  Well, I can manage just fine by myself.”

Me:  “Of course, you’ll get no argument from me.  I’m sure you would have stopped rolling once you got into the woods.  Lots of trees to halt your forward motion.”

Wife:  “Just pick me up smarty pants, and lets go get the cache.”

Well, we did make the find with her holding on to me like a potential drowning victim.  Then we made our way back to the car.  Going to the cache was with the wind, coming back we felt the full furry of its wrath.  When I explained how slow our travel was before, I didn’t realize it was a sprint compared to the speed of our return trip.  A few months later we were back in the safety in the car.  I had had enough and headed home.

Wife:  “Admit it, I was right wasn’t I?”

Me:  “Right about what?”

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

Thu, Sep 23, 2010

Kin9 writes a blog with a series of helpful Geocaching 101 articles. Good reading for geocachers of all levels of experience!

Read it at http://www.examiner.com/area-geocaching-in-philadelphia/michael-dettinger

Sun, Sep 05, 2010

A new cache named Rock Hard was published a few days ago.  No one had found the cache yet.  It was unusual because of all the FTF chasers in the area.  The cache page said the cache was five feet high and was the size of a large pill.  I told the wife we could try to find it but there had to be something wrong and we might just fail like all the others who had searched for it.

Wife:  “It’s a nice day and my work is caught up, so let’s go for it.”

When we arrived at the cache site we could see others had searched the area thoroughly.  After searching for a few minutes we stopped to discuss where we thought the little bugger might be and came to the same conclusion.  We figured it was no longer up but may have fallen down.  The wife used her cane and I found a stick then we tried to find it in the matted down grass.  We hadn’t looked long before I searched by the trunk of the tree and what do you know there it was on the ground under some sticks.  We high-fived each other and I wrote our name in the log book. 

Here is where the festivities ended.  The wife saw a group approaching us.  I looked up to see the X-4 gang.  The leader yelled to us.

Leader:  “Did you find it?”

The tone in his voice was not congratulatory but rather menacing.  Well, I thought the only reasonable thing to do was to put the cache back and yell to him, no we hadn’t.  My thinking was we could make our getaway while they were looking.  Of course my plan was immediately quashed by the wife yelling back excitedly.

Wife:  “Yes we did!”

I don’t know if you ever met this band of hooligans X-4 hangs with, but let me tell you; if you happen to snatch a FTF from them it would be best if you were a long ways away when they found out.  The gang consists of X-4, JBExpress (X-4’s mom and dad) and their two sidekicks Sparkles 7 and Sprinkles 4 (X-4‘s two daughters, I think the numbers are their ages).  The last two are the meanest of the bunch.  They would grab a FTF from your hands quicker than snow melts in Arizona on a hot day in July.

Sparkles  7:  “You were planning on sharing that FTF with us weren’t you?”

Me:  “Share?  Oh my yes, certainly.  It seems only fair.”

Wife:  “Just a second.  I’m not sharing the FTF with them, we found it while they weren’t here.”

I’m not sure what proper etiquette is for sharing FTFs but I could see that even though I was willing to be flexible the wife would not be moved.

Sprinkles 4:  “I think you ought to listen to your husband lady.”

Wife:  “Dear, give them one of our path tags.”

I obeyed.

After the gang had a chance to examine the tag they looked at the wife who was holding her cane in a very threatening manner.  She resembled a Samurai preparing for confrontation.

Immediately the whole gang retreated to at least a two-cane distance.

Leader:  “We don’t want no trouble lady.  We’ll just sign the log and be on our way.”

Wife:  “And.”

Leader:  “What?  Oh, congrats on the FTF.”

Wife:  “Why, thank you.”

In the car and racing away to another cache…

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

If you can't see the pathtag image clicky here or go to http://pathtags.com, click Site Nav then Search Gallery and look for tag 12658.

Tue, Aug 24, 2010

Yesterday we planned on making our first cache trip to Lake Mead, but plans changed.  I looked up the weather before leaving and found out Lake Mead was a good 105+ degrees, which quickly turned us off.  Within 10 minutes I created a new route for Mount Charleston at Mary Jane Falls, loaded the coordinates onto the GPSr and we were off!

On the drive we passed by Fletcher Canyon Trail and soon hit Mary Jane Falls trailhead.  We got packed up, checked the coordinates and walked in the opposite direction of the trail, but to pick up a cache of course!  We walked down the gravel road to a spot of freshly cut trees.  The GPSr was pointing in the direction of the cut trees so we continued.  After a bit of hiking my Dad spotted the cache, as I walked right by it looking down at the GPSr.  The cache was a micro so I just signed the log and continued on.

After actually making it to the real beginning of the trail, we started the hike!  There were many muggles on the trail, because it is one of the highly hiked trails in Mount Charleston.  Once about 30 min passed we found the first cache which was a regular size, signed the log, took a quick video and continued on our way.

The entire trail seemed to increase in elevation ever so slightly with each step.  This made a “moderate” hike a bit more difficult.  Not much time passed until we were on the GZ of the next cache.  Apparently my GPSr was confused by the high trees again, because I wasted 15 minutes digging under a tree stump when the actual cache was just behind a few rocks under an adjacent tree.  This area was covered with other families who were taking a break in the shade, so we had to wait everyone out.  Once we were the only ones left, we grabbed the cache, signed it, and quickly put it back before anyone else arrived.

We continued on the trail and were already less than 525 feet from the next cache.  The description stated to “watch your footing” so I knew I’d have some climbing.  The clue also stated it was at eye level, so we figured it was hanging.  After some upward climbing in broken branches and leaves, I was directly on the coordinates but couldn’t see the cache.  My parents stayed where the coordinates said to, because it was too difficult for them to go any higher.  A good 10 feet upward, I walked into the cache, literally.  Cache was well hid and a successful find to add to my log!  Signed the log, and with some swift steps made it back on ground level.

From this point we had already snatched 4 out of 5 caches, without even making it to the Mary Jane Falls!  My book, which has worked amazingly so far, said that once we make it to the switchbacks to take the switchbacks and continue on.  However my GPSr was telling us to continue on away from the switchbacks for the last cache.  We decided we would do the switchbacks first and make it to the falls and then on the descent pick up the last cache.  We started the switchbacks not knowing what we got ourselves into.  A switchback is a series of levels used to get up a steep hill or mountain.  You walk in one direction, then at some point it turns upward and you walk in that direction, and then switch and so on.  We saw many families and hikers on this trail taking breaks because the incline was so steep.  You could literally miss one step and be sliding down the mountain, and it wouldn’t be fun. 

After an extremely intense hike constantly going up on the switchbacks, we finally caught a glimpse of the falls.  Due to the season and weather, the falls were not gushing water, but it was a better sight to see than another switchback!  The switchbacks alone took a good hour to hour and a half but it was worth it.  Once we made it to the base of the falls we enjoyed the view, ate some lunch, and relaxed.  Some families even went in the water, not quite sure how because the mist alone hitting us was freezing! 

From where we were sitting, I could see two people making their way to this big cave.  Of course I had to make my way over there and see what it was.  After lunch I put my backpack on and turned the walkie talkie on because my parents weren’t coming.  The cave seemed far away, but within a matter of minutes I was already there.  It was quite a view inside and out the cave.  After spending some time in the cave, I made it back to my parents, and then the descent began. 

The descent was somewhat worse than the ascent because once you got going it was difficult to stop, so you had to walk very slowly down the switchbacks.  We passed many, many families that had no idea how high the Falls actually were and didn’t seem too happy to say the least.  After a tiresome descent, we were finally back on the floor level of the trail.  We continued passed the switchbacks onto the fifth and final cache.  By this time of the day we all were tired but couldn’t leave knowing the last cache was less than .2 miles away.  The last stretch towards the final cache had an incline that was too great for my parents so I went on and found the cache myself and took it to my parents who “hid” themselves off the trail on a downed tree.  My Dad and I scrounged through the cache, signed the log, placed it back, and were officially done! 

We successfully found 5 out of 5 caches that were planned.  These 5 caches make my grand total 34!                       

Tue, Aug 24, 2010

The trip was only semi-successful to say the least.  It was our first time going to Mount Charleston to hike and look for caches, so we were all very excited.  The hike itself didn’t let us down one bit, it was the fact I had to log my first ever DNF, but to make matters worse, I had to log two DNF’s!  I’ll get to them later, but first I’ll begin with the hike itself.  We pulled up to Fletcher Canyon trail, and stepped out of the car to feel the dramatic change in weather.  For once it was actually “cool” outside compared to the constant 110 degree weather of Vegas.  We began the trail surrounded by pine trees and oak trees, which was all new scenery for us compared to the desert.  With the smell of the fresh air in our nostrils, we began the trek to hopefully find 5 caches. 

The first cache was found within approximately 45 minutes, but not without any difficulties.  This was my first time using my GPSr in a setting that had many tall trees so I wasn’t expecting such an issue.  After a short but useless hike through some thick trees, branches, and rocks, we finally found the first cache.  If I would have known, we could have stayed on the trail and simply walked right to the cache, but if it was that easy, it wouldn’t have been as much fun. 

The second cache on our trip of hopefully five was an important one to say the least.  The cache was a bit off the trail, but on our way to it, I spotted our first wildlife and snake for Mount Charleston!  There is a pipe that is extremely rusty and used to run from the top of the mountain to the bottom, and I’m guessing its use was for water transportation.  These days it is broken up and rusted out, which makes a perfect place for a good 3 foot long snake!  Before I could grab it or take a good photo of it, he squirmed his way back into the pipe.  If I or my parents hadn’t noticed him, we would have walked right on top of him, which would have been a bad situation to say the least.  After the snake incident, we found the cache merely 10 feet away from his spot, so I quickly signed the log, not wanting to meet any of his snake friends!

What was supposed to be the third cache in the line of five was quite some trouble.  We arrived directly on the coordinates and began searching.  The cache name had “log” in it, so we searched the nearest log.  After about 15 minutes of searching one log that seemed to be perfect, we searched the area.  My Mom and Dad needed a break, so they set up “camp” which was a blanket on the ground giving me more time to look.  Once 45 minutes passed and still no cache, I was getting impatient and really wanted the cache.  Pine needles covered the ground so I figured it might have been buried by Mother Nature, so using a stick I brushed away hundreds upon hundreds of needles hoping to see some Tupperware looking back at me beneath the mount of needles. 

With no log signed, we continued on to the fourth cache, and planned on looking again on the way out with a new perspective of the land and a fresh start.  We headed up the trail and walked for a good hour until the scenery began to change.  With help from a family taking a break near a small running stream, we were guided towards the canyon, still not knowing what to expect.  After some climbs over small hills, we were met with enormous walls of rock and were astounded.  We had never seen anything like that and couldn’t wait to get inside it.  Within minutes we were surrounded by 30-40 foot walls of rock.  Luckily for us, there was no rain that day because this would not have been a good place to get trapped in with running rain.  The climb through the canyon was treacherous, due to the rocks being very slippery from the constant pressure of water running over them in the winter and spring.  After some amazing views and pictures of being inside the canyon, we made it to where the waterfall would be if there was snow melting. 

It was very cool being inside of it, but the GPSr lost service extremely quickly.  This left us in quite a pickle, I remembered from the one cache’s page, it being behind a log.  Sure enough, my Dad points out to a log, and told me to check in it, and so I did.  Reached my hand in behind some oddly placed rocks, and there it was, cache number 3!  We had to quickly sign the log and place it back because a family full of young kids who were not Geocachers was on our tails.  Not thinking they could climb up the steep ledge to get where we were, we continued on into the canyon to where it ended.  Knowing from memory that there was another cache in this vicinity based on coordinates, I began scrounging around.  I saved the clues onto my phone, and the clue stated you would need to find a way to climb up the canyon wall, and so I did.  Not knowing I climbed into the completely wrong area. 

After looking for what seemed like hours in this small ravine barely big enough for my body, covered in dirt and dust I finally called it quits once I turned on a small light, and saw mounds of bat guano, also known simply as poop.  The sight of all those droppings turned me off on the cache and I jumped down as quickly as possible.  Once a bit of climbing and sliding down a ledge I was back on the ground with my parents where we regrouped and were met with the family of small children.  We still don’t know how they got up there, but we politely said hi and carried on our way out of the canyon.  Leaving the falls area, we found a “waterslide” that was made probably by the pressure of the water, so I attempted to “slide” down it when it was dry, which didn’t work out.  Either way we left the canyon disappointed yet again, hoping to go back to the spot of the other hidden cache and locate it to make up for the last cache. 

After some back-tracking, we made it to the original spot of the unfound cache which was supposed to be some “log.”  Again, my parents relaxed as I frantically hunted for the cache.  Hikers were constantly walking by us, but since we were somewhat quiet and out of sight, they never even knew we were there.  I dug up many, many logs, piles of needles, rocks, etc.  Luck was not on my side that day, I had to give up and log two DNF’s.

Besides the two caches that slipped by, the hike was great and we found a snake and 3 making the grand total 29!  Hopefully in the near future we can get back to this trail, because I have some payback to give for those 2 caches that I missed! 

Mon, Aug 16, 2010

Here's a link to my geocaching blog. I hope you enjoy it!

My Geocaching Log

Enjoy!

Sun, Aug 15, 2010

“With firm application and determination... I made a fossil of myself!” 

Court Jester (sort of)

July 16, 2010: Today we headed north to Dakota again! Making a nice, two-hour stop at Ashfall Fossil Beds first. Aside from the fact there was an earthcache there, I'd been eyeing this particular spot for several years, ever since I'd read a book called “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, by Bill Bryson. I'd wanted to get here for so long... and it didn't disappoint. It EXCEEDED! We even got to meet the palentologist (YOU try typing that after too much rum!) Mike Voorhies, who originally discovered the fossil beds. He is retired now, but still comes back a lot. They have built a huge barn over the area they are excavating, to protect it from the weather while they work – every year, there is a waiting list of student interns champing at the bit to come work here.

This place was awe-inspiring. We quickly got the answers for the earthcache, and took the required photo, but it was the other photos that really tell the story. We also got to talk with one of the students, who was working on uncovering a baby rhino. It was so nice of him to stop to talk to us, and he really knew a lot! We spent at least two hours at that site, despite the heat, and we could have stayed so much longer...

But... enough of that! Some photos. First of the geodad excavating... then of the intern doing it for real!

And inside the rhino barn... this was awaiting us.

Yes, that IS real. And just one of many!

“These are trained cachers, Larry. They won't stop until they hear a specific word.”

“Oh, you mean a word like... DAKOTA!”

Night at the Museum (sort of) 

July 17, 2010: Other earthcaches were calling, and the pull of South Dakota on the geodad was strong. We continued north, after camping at Niobrara State Park in Nebraska – chalk up another earthcache, and some great sunset pictures. This area of the river is getting very choked up with sand, which was part of the theme of the earthcache – even with all the flooding this year!

Coming up the way we did, we crossed into South Dakota on a fairly new bridge at Vermilion – the geodad liked that, we'd never been over that bridge before. It was a hot day, we sort of meandered around South Dakota according to where that little caching arrow led. And, much to my embarrassment... HE found the first two caches... but I was too vertically challenged for one of them. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I told him he had to be careful, or he'd lose his 'honorary cacher' status, and I'd make him start logging them online!

Took a few minutes to drive around the University of SD campus at Vermilion where his father had gone to college, before we headed for Yankton. And here's where I realized my error.... on a 100+ day, excluding all the park and grab micros from your pocket query – NOT smart. All the larger caches required longer hikes, and we dinna wanna hike! So... not much luck in Yankton. North again... to nab earthcaches – but first I did some sitting on the dock of the bay. And the geodad made a new friend.

“The *engine's* overheating, and so am *I*! Either we stand down, or *blow up*! Now *which* do you want?”

Battle of Britain

Okay, this was the less fun part of the trip. The “out in the middle of nowhere and the car is acting up” nailbiting part of the trip. Really hot day, and as we discovered on getting back to Yankton, the car was very low on coolant. I'd noticed it was running rough, but … well. The engine refused to catch for about five minutes while at the Beaver Dam earthcache site, and we had to pop the hood, wait for it to cool down, and hope for the best. It finally agreed to start, and we didn't shut it off again until we got back into the city... Which doesn't mean I didn't cache on the way back, of course – but I was really regretting the lack of micros in my GPS! After we got the coolant in, the car behaved better. Not perfectly, but much better... dumped in some HEET as well, for good measure.

“I'm gonna divide the river.”

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (sort of)

We wanted to camp at Lewis & Clark State Rec area in SD (and grab those caches), but it was completely full up, so we got the last tent site at Cottonwood Campground, in the shadow of the Gavin's Point Dam, one of the five (or was it seven?) huge dams on the Mo. It looked like it was coming on to storm, but it never did. So after the clouds cleared some – we drove around a bit, crossed the dam back into Nebraska and came back up, ate dinner, cached, and got some great shots. In other words... we lived the caching experience!

Stormclouds & sunset over Lake Yankton... and Gavin's Point Dam, from both sides.

Going home the next day was sort of anti-climatic. We'll just skip that part.

“From this moment on, you shall now be known as Mosquitobait.”

“Mosquitobait! Hoo ha ha!”

“Welcome, Sister Mosquitobait!”

“Mosquitobait! Hoo ha ha!”

“Enough with the Mosquitobait.”

Finding Nemo (sort of)

August 7, 2010: Why am I here? How did I get here? Where is here, anyway? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Ah, philosophical questions like this are endless. Here, in this case, seems to be be Goat Island, in the middle of the Missouri River, between South Dakota and Nebraska. How I got here – well, the most immediate answer is bobbing in the river behind me – two canoes and three kayaks. Here's a photo, just before pushing off...

Why I am here – well, supposedly I'm here to help this group find caches... but I'm starting to sense that the real reason I'm here is to feed the mosquitoes. The fact that the first cache we are after is called “Starbucks” is a clear giveaway to... something. And they seem to be laughing at the layers of bug spray we have on! insert sound of one hand slapping.

Joined up with a group of northeast Nebraska cachers for their annual pilgrimage to Goat Island – there are about 26 caches on this 3-mile long island in the middle of the Mo. The only way to get there is by boat, and gosh darn it, I missed out on it last year, I wanted to give it a try! Now I'm thinking... maybe I knew something I didn't know I knew!

By god, it was hot – heat index of 111, I heard. The kids spent much of the time in the water along the edges of the bank, Old Man 124 rolled his kayak and got a nice bath in the Mo... I got to play lifeguard and throw him a rope, go me, go me, and my pitiful canoe-paddling skills were demonstrated for all! I felt like Goldilocks - “oh, no, this paddle is too long!” “oh, no, this paddle is too short!” I never did get one that was “just right”, and eventually switched to kayak instead – hadn't used one since kayaking on the Potomac 9 years ago, but hey, it was like riding a bicycle, or something.

Unfortunately, they'd already gotten most of the caches on the island, so we only went after a couple – including a FTF! Or maybe it was fortunately – it /was/ really hot, and the Mo was running REALLY high from all the rains – all the usual landing places along Goat Island were underwater. A lot of scrambling up 90-degree banks. Docked at the camping ground where we were going to cook and camp, after about 7 hours on the river. And the mosquitoes were waiting for us, there, too...

Regarding the FTF – little wonder why it was so tough to find! We had to search some Remnants of the Past... which didn't include the unhappy encounter with barbed wire one of our group had. Ripped pants and skin, oooouch.

Back to the water, where the mosquitoes DIDN'T roam... Dinner was under the cottonwoods:

And so were more mosquitoes! But my tent was a mosquito free zone! We all turned in pretty early, it had been a long, hot, tiring day. But looking back, I wouldn't have missed it – even if I'm STILL scratching at mosquito bites now! Meant to cache on the way home, too tired, just drove home the next day.

August 14 – 15: Made homemade calzones, beer bread, and went to church. Exciting, no?

Until next Chronicle – cheers!

By The Internet   Wed, Jul 21, 2010

I really enjoy the inspiration of geocaching.  The beautiful locations, the creative hides, and the time being out on a small adventure.  I also really enjoy getting a glimpse of what experiences others are having while on similar pursuits.  Seeing different terrain in places far from my location, unique hiding techniques that I haven’t encountered yet, and (especially) the fun stories that accompany a trek bring a smile to my face.

I thought I would create a simple place that would be an easy combination of these elements.  My attempt at this is called cacheoftheday.com .  The concept is one hide is featured every day; no more, no less.  The cache is accompanied by a short story of the find and a few pictures to help narrate and share the experience.  No GC names will be listed (to keep from a ‘walk-thru’) and caches will be accepted from all over the world.

I hope you find this idea as interesting as I have and will share in the experience at www.cacheoftheday.com .

Thanks,  Andy

Sun, Jul 18, 2010

My wife’s job is to criticize me.  It is her duty to mold me into something better.  Whenever I do something blatantly wrong she will be right there with words of rebuke.  She does this out of love.  Although when she is chastising me for my latest blunder it is hard for me to see any of that love.  Conversely, it is not my job to help her be a better person.  Once I stupidly pointed out a failure on her part and was immediately put in my place.  When I asked why it was alright for her to transform me but not alright for me to do the same with her, I was told she didn’t need improvement.  She reminded me that while we were dating, sometime in the past century, I had told her she was perfect.  Of course I said I did not remember saying any such thing. 

Wife:  “So, now you’re telling me I’m not perfect?”

Well, I could see right off no good would come from denying having said such a rash thing so I was backed against a wall.  

Me:  “I didn’t say that.”

Wife:  “Good, go pick up your socks.”

I hate to admit it but it was my idea that the wife come geocacheing with me.  As much as I regret my indiscretion there’s nothing I can do to change it now.  For some reason she seems to think the husband improvement doesn’t end in the home but applies to caching as well.  Reading the following story will prove my point.

Past experience should have taught me not to, but I usually start out a day of caching with unbridled enthusiasm.  As we pack up the GPS, Palm and tools needed for a successful day I can’t wait to make our first find. 

I think some people have way too much time on the hands.  Do you remember the saying “Idle hands are the Devil’s playground”?  Nothing could be more correct when applied to cache owners.  I believe some of these evil minded CO’s stay up nights trying to think of new ways to torture poor unaware cachers like me.  I blindly go out to find these caches without giving a thought to what some twisted mind might have invented with the express purpose of tormenting me.  I don’t understand it.  I haven’t done anything to them.  I don’t ever remember meeting them.  So, I could not have said or done anything to warrant this kind of abuse.  Here is an example of the kind of sick minded people that are laying these traps for me.  At the same time they are giving fresh fodder for the wife to have bountiful opportunities to correct my caching techniques.

We had done a few uneventful caches in the area and took time to have lunch.  It was an unexpectedly nice day in December for the state of Michigan.  We took our time with lunch and enjoyed the beautiful day.  After we finished we plotted out our next conquest.  We found one we could park fairly close to called “Goofy’s Twist and Shout“.  Off we went to claim another find.  We parked a short distance form the GZ and walked quickly to the cache.  The cache consisted of a large PCV tube sticking out of the ground about four feet tall with another slightly larger tube with a cap which fit snugly over the top of the first tube.

Wife:  “There it is right out in the open.   What a lame cache.  Some people have no imagination at all.  Go ahead and pull that top tube off and let‘s get on to the next one.”

Me:  “I can’t get it off.  It seems to be catching on something.”

Wife:  “Well pull harder.  Why do you have to take a simple task and make it so difficult?”

Me:  “What was the name of this cache?  Wasn’t it something about twisting and shouting?”

Wife:  “That’s right.  Maybe it doesn’t come straight off.  Maybe you have to twist it a little to get it to slide off.” 

Me:  “It doesn’t look too complicated. I should have it off in a minute or two.”

I twisted.  I pulled.  I pushed it back.  This sucker was not going to give up.  It didn’t help that the wife kept letting me know everything she thought I was doing wrong.  About an hour later the wife took over.  Did you ever notice how some people like to critique but don’t take kindly to criticism aimed at them?  I’m not saying the wife is that way but she let me know it might be in my best interest if I were to “Keep my mouth shut”.

When we started this cache it was a very pleasant early December day.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the planets were aligned, and everything was right in the world.  Now after too many hours in the same woods at the same cache, the skies were turning ominous.  Darkness was setting in, the winds were picking up, nature was getting ready to unleash its furry, and demons were approaching from all sides.  The wife had given up and set me back to the task of removing the tube.
 
Wife:  “If you don’t get that thing off of there in the next two minutes; I swear I’m going to brain you with it.”

I knew her threats were idle because try as I might, and believe me I did, I couldn’t remove the tube from the ground.  Then suddenly a miracle occurred.  Quite unexpectedly it came off.

Me:  “I got it.  I can’t believe it.  It does come off.”

Wife:  “Quit patting yourself on the back.  Its snowing so hard I’m not sure we can find our way back to the car.”

We quickly signed the log put everything back together and drove away.  On the way home I was forced to listen while the wife pointed out all I had done wrong with the cache and detailed everything she felt I needed to do to improve my caching tecniques. Then after an extended period of sullen silence the wife said not too convincingly…

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

By catsnfish   Fri, Jul 16, 2010

Ok, maybe a little.
Here is a new cache critter, once again made of PVC pipe. The photos are of the second one we made, in the 4 inch diameter PVC; we had previously made a prototype out of 1 ½ inch tube.
I had seen similar birds for sale on the internet and one site even had patterns for sale but of course not the pattern I wanted. I could tell from the pics, the techniques would be relatively simple but would need a good pattern to follow. With my limited drawing abilities (stick figures) I turned to autocad, which also allowed me to scale the patterns to match the different diameter tubes available. The 1 ½ size would be my prototype since I had that size tube laying around at home and I designed it to fit on 11 x 17 paper. After I was happy with the design onscreen, I printed a smaller version and cut it from paper to test how it would look formed. A tweak or two, and my pattern would be ready to use. The 4 inch size drawing would be printed in sections on 8x11.5 paper; I could then put the pieces together for a full size pattern, tape to the PVC and trace in pencil.

The thicker, schedule 40 PVC is a good choice for this project in diameters 3 inches and over. It will give your bird much more strength and since we will be forming simple bends and not ‘sculpting and stretching’ as we did on the cobra, the extra thickness won’t work against us.

Here is the pattern I used, you may download and print if you like.   8x10pelican.pdf

   We would be cutting this in the ‘round’ and not flattening it first, so we need a jigsaw with fine, narrow, curve cutting blades. Because of the stroke length on my saw, I had to grind off a portion of the blade so that it wouldn’t hit or cut the opposite wall on the 1 ½ pipe, this won’t be a problem with the 4 in pipe. Rotate the pipe as you follow the lines of the pattern, trying to keep your cut at right angles to the material, go slow and take your time on this step. Clean up and smooth your cut edges with a file, sandpaper or rotary tool.

Now before you begin to form the bird, you’ll need to decide if it will be freestanding on its own feet or if it will be mounted to a base, as that will affect the possible poses you can do. This is where a paper model can be handy as you can get an idea of the angle you would like the body to be at and how to pose the neck and head.

Using the heat gun, carefully begin to heat the PVC, constantly moving so as not to burn it. It will take a bit of time to soften the PVC enough for bending due to the thickness of the material and staying in one spot too long can easily burn or discolor it. Wearing heavy leather gloves to protect your hands from the heat, start forming the legs. Bend roughly 90 degrees where it meets the body and where it meets the feet, this should give you enough room to work on flattening the feet into a good stable base and these angles can be adjusted later. Remember to use ice cubes or cold water to cool and set your bends.

 The head and bill get formed in opposite directions, the head forms up and the bill forms down.  It may help to use a straight edge of some type to keep your bends even along the long length of the bill. The ‘hinge’ between the head and bill should be soft enough to bend also, but if not heat it a bit and form to as natural a look as possible.

 What you do next with the neck can set the whole character of your bird; you can have a sleepy bird with its neck pulled in tight to the body or outstretched about to take off in flight or almost any mood you can imagine. You could turn the head to the side a bit or leave it straight on. Now that your bird has character, you can go back and adjust the body to be breast up or down and to a limited extent, adjust the balance of a free standing bird by centering the weight over the feet.

Taking your cues from the personality you’ve already given your little fellow, you can paint the eyes and other details as realistic or as comical as you like, then give several coats of a clear sealer to protect the paint. So now I’ll introduce you to…

“drumroll”

……….Pellie!

We decided Pellie might get lonely, so we introduced him to Penny, he really turned her head!!

Depending on the size you chose to make, the actual cache container can be a large bottle Velcro’d in the body area or possibly a bison tube tucked up in the pouch. You could even bolt it to an ammo can. In this case, I wanted a container large enough to hold a notepad type log so finders could leave comments.
This is the last of this series of creative cache critter crafting,……maybe, at least for awhile.  I hope you’ve enjoyed them and that they may have sparked some ideas for making your own fun caches.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Sun, Jul 11, 2010

My girlfriend at the time and I went on a vacation down to Cancun back in January. This trip had been planned for some time, and I had decided long ago that this was the time when I was going to propose. But how to do it? I decided that since we have enjoyed geocaching together during our formidable dating years, it would be fun (and unexpected) to pop the question while geocaching.

Prior to the trip, I scoped out the geocaches near the hotel and found the one that appeared to be the most scenically located (I think it was called SouthPoint), it was disabled at the time we were down there (washed away in a storm) and was archived shortly after we returned from our trip; we never got to post this story in the online logs. But from the cache description and other people's log entries, it appeared to be a beautiful area right on a jetty on the beach. With the help of my brother using Photoshop, he removed any reference to the fact that the geocache was disabled. He also removed the clue and replaced it with a new decoded one I had prepared specifically for the occasion. I printed up this doctored cache description, purposely leaving the clue encoded, and for good measure, printed up a few "genuine" caches as well and packed them in our luggage bound for Mexico!

We flew down on 1/7/10. The next day was a beautiful day (the best one of our week long trip). After exploring the hotel grounds and laying around the pool for a few hours, my girlfriend (at the time) KT said she was tired of sitting around and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I said sure, and suggested we bring along the GPS and try to find a geocache or two. Great idea!!!

After a meager attempt to find another cache close by, but getting detoured due to rough terrain and scary bugs, as well as our first bus ride in Cancun, (which could deserve it's own equally exhilarating message board post), we finally started walking toward the South Point Cache. The engagement ring, an antique style custom design I had been researching/saving up for for 8 months, was wadded up in a paper towel in my shorts pocket, and basically had been since we departed from Newark Airport. Since we were on vacation, I was terrified KT would find the ring box when she maybe went through my luggage looking to perhaps borrow a tee shirt. Determined not to let this happen, I decided not to keep the ring in it's box, since that would be a dead give away should she even see the box. KT, above all else, wanted to be surprised by her engagement, and thus far, I got the impression she had absolutely no clue what was about to happen. So I had the ring in a paper towel, in my pocket. Prior to this, it had been on my carry on luggage, as I was also terrified when going through airport security that I would get chosen to be searched more thoroughly, and forced to exposed this big hunk of metal. Suffice it to say, while I was prepared to get down on one knee and propose right there in the airport check point, I certainly hoped to wait till we got down to Mexico!

Anyway, back to the story, we were headed toward the geocache. The GPS read .2 miles, we cut through another hotel property out to the beach. Gentle waves were beating against the light sand. We had our shoes off, and it was wonderful to feel the sand between our toes. January, right after the hectic and blustery holiday season in NJ, was certainly a nice time to be visiting Cancun; it was our first time there.

.1 mile, I could see the jetty, and my heart skipped a beat as I realized that there was where the "cache" would be, there would be where this incredible moment was about to happen. 300 feet. We're walking hand in hand. 200 feet. A small child, the only person in the immediate area, happily runs by, holding a hermit crab he had just caught. There are a couple of table/chairs fashioned out of huge tree cuttings. 100 feet. Closing in on the location, there is a signal beacon nearby, and blue skies as far as the eye can see.

50 feet, 25 feet, heartbeat is getting faster. 10 feet. I start to slow down and veer slightly right. 3 feet.

I stop.

"We're within 3 feet of it. Here, why don't you decode the clue real quick while I start looking?"

"Sure"

I hand her the doctored cache description and a pen. While she starts to decode the clue, I'm pretending to walk around, and also trying to stealthily get the ring out of the wadded paper towel. Now my hands are trembling. Finally, it comes loose in my clammy hand. I turn around.

KT is looking at me, confused. "It says....Will you marry me?"

I get down on one knee, and tell her what she means to me. I propose, and she says YES!!!!

Yay! She also loves the ring, which I am thrilled about, too.

We are getting married this upcoming October in Easton PA, and have told this story to all of our friends/family. We always need to preface the story with the question "Do you know what geocaching is?"

It's nice not to have to type out that whole part of the story!

Editor's Note: I saw this story in the geocaching.com forum and just had to share it with you. Congratulations to The Diggers!

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, Jul 02, 2010

Tune in live to listen to and post online commentary about an Oregon Field Guide radio show featuring geocaching on Oregon Public Broadcasting Friday July 2nd at http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/geocaching/

Fri, Jun 25, 2010

The fame of our superhero team (myself, the Untrackable Geodad, and Sioncat the Trackable Geokitten) has been spreading! We strike fear into the hearts of many an evil cache, and bring hope and joy to travelbugs imprisoned everywhere. In fact... we have been deluged by applications from eager wanna-be superheroes. We have conditionally accepted one of these, on a probationary status, of course.

Introducing: the Sionuvi!

Her nickname is Claire, because she speaks with an Australian accent. At least at the moment. Obviously, for this photo, she has borrowed the famous Sombrero from the geokitten. We have high hopes for this newest member of the team; her superpower is always knowing where she is, and the ability to tell others in many different accents! Plus, she is specially equipped to detect the existence of a geocache, and chime annoyingly.

(Between you and me, I also have dark suspicions of her actual motives, but we will get to that.)

But enough of that! Let's get to the caching portions of the Chronicle! This past June has seen an increase in trips – with the geodad off visiting relatives, I decided to take the Sionuvi out for some solo adventuring. Just her and me.

First, we went north! Up by Norfolk, Crofton, and Fremont, NE, around Memorial Day. I found a fair number of caches – including one named Kitty Killer, I was glad the geokitten was safe at home – but did not get very many pictures. It was very windy that day, and I was out in the country without a hat. The wind kept slapping my hair in my face. Some friends of mine in Norfolk put me up in their trailer for the night (thanks, Lighthouselookers!) and cached with me until the wee hours... much fun was had by all. I got so totally lost and turned around while trying to get the night cache... and there were often reflectors that were not man-made. They moved. Eeeee!

I did get this one pic, in a park near Crofton.

On a complete side note - several of the caches I got in Norfolk are now disabled – June has been the month of storms and serious flooding in Nebraska. Many of my caches are underwater. So are a lot of others. Bridges have been wiped out, roads closed, campgrounds and parks completely flooded. This used to be a nice campground by the Missouri. Now it is Lake Haworth. Because of storms like this:

Yes, that is a grill sticking up out of the water!

The next weekend, I decided to see how the Sionuvi would handle going west, to Hastings, Harvard, and Lincoln, NE. She did well! 50 caches were found and logged that weekend, though it was a real struggle reaching that number. It was very late and I was very tired when I got back from Lincoln.

Again, I did most of my caching out in the country – despite the recent weather, the roads out west were nice and dry, and even the network of dirt roads were great to drive on. This wasn't the case closer to Lincoln, alas, I thought my teeth were going to rattle loose! I stayed overnight in Hastings at a nice campground on the outskirts. While I was there, I was able to add something extra to the superhero armory, see a beautiful sunset, and the next day, watch a storm coming in:

I'm not even going to THINK about my attempt to go east into Iowa. All attempts at caching in Iowa fail. The forces of evil are very strong there. It will take greater preparation and stronger allies to bring them down. And south will wait for the trip on July 4 to Independence, MO.

So... with south and east blocked, what did that leave? Why, northeast to Valentine, for the annual Cache – N – Splash event! This was the one I'd been waiting for!

It didn't disappoint, either. There were fellow cachers and early morning walks in the woods:

splashing around in the waterfall at Smith Falls State Park like a child:

and some time for reflection.

But in the end, I always knew I'd end up here:

The event itself was a lot of fun. There were a lot of familiar faces, and some not so familiar – it was great to meet some of the cachers from South Dakota who came down for the trip. I was hunting a cache in Government Canyon, with no luck, and heard voices approaching in the distance - “I think there's a path here!” Grinning, I leaned against a tree to wait for the relief help to arrive. Sleuthmeisters, if you are reading this, “Yes, there's a path here! And thanks again for the help!” We found the cache together, traded phone numbers, and later on, hints – they were headed in, I was headed out.

I ran into other cachers, of course – Valentine was crawling with them! Some by prearrangement (thanks, catsnfish!), and some by accident (BBMJ, you FTF stealers! Grrrr!) Some STFs, one co-FTF with catsnfish, several DNFs, and just a lot of fun, topped off by great food, COBBLER, and turtletrax cake at the picnic afterwards!

I even picked up a Father's Day gift for the geodad there – he's native to SD and loves the Black Hills, so when jedicachers showed their new Black Hills / Mt. Rushmore coin, I bought one for him. He correctly identified it as a geocoin the moment I gave it to him, too. Good for him! Had to pack up early the next morning, and left the tent drying while I found 3 or 4 more caches in Valentine – then it was off to home.

And into a very bad storm raging over Bellevue. Not AGAIN. But I got home in time to take the geodad out for Father's Day dinner at a great German restaurant, despite the weather. And snagged 47 additional caches that weekend... I can almost taste that 2000 finds coin! (Metallic, in case you are wondering.)

Oh! Yeah, I haven't explained my suspicions of Sionuvi yet, have I? I'm half-convinced that she's a plant or spy, sent to get me arrested or kill me... Cases in point:

A)       Sionuvi → “Turn right on Cowboy Trail.”

           Sioneva (thinking) → “That's a hike/bike trail. Are you kidding me?”

           (repeat at least six times)

B)        Sionuvi → “Turn right on road.”

            Sioneva (thinking) → “I'm in the middle of a BRIDGE!”

I don't know... I'm going to have to keep a close watch on her... but if I survive until next Chronicle...

CHEERS!

(P.S. Forgive the lack of movie quotes for this one. It's a temporary lapse.)

Thu, Jun 17, 2010

I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a geocache kid!
    Somewhere, sometime, long long ago, my childhood ended. Not abruptly,  but over time, the sense of wonder at the world, the imagination and the dreams slowly faded away, covered over by layers of stresses and strains of daily life. Parenthood, a divorce, unfulfilling jobs and other of life’s dramas took center stage and relegated the child I was into the shadows of the wings, remembered as a supporting character on occasion, but never brought into the limelight.
    Life kept changing, a new wife, a steady fulfilling job, her children moving out and a pair of happy every other weekend, empty nesters had time on their hands. Fishing filled some of that time and we both enjoyed those peaceful moments at the lake we spent together, even if one of us wouldn’t bait her own hook. We tried to share this time with my younger children, but it was too boring for them and fish stink and lines get tangled and Nintendo’s got more attention than the twitching tip of a fishing rod.
    One day she came home from the local library, face beaming excitement as she told of the activity they had just done. You use satellites and a receiver to find things, little treasures, cleverly hidden so most people would never notice they even existed.  You follow an arrow until it says you are close then you look very carefully to find the cache. I was told I would have to get my own receiver too because she wasn’t gonna share. Since we had recently started buying collectible cats on e-bay, we looked for gps auctions and soon had a yellow Etrex in hand shortly followed by another. She was serious about not sharing. We began seeking the nearby caches listed on geocaching.com and discovered neat little areas in our own neighborhood we had not seen before. Although a few stumped us for quite awhile we enjoyed the challenge and eventually made the find, even if it took a few visits.  We were enjoying ourselves and our time together on this new activity. We took my children out a few times but they never quite ‘got’ it the way we had. That's ok, it's our activity.
   We began to hide a few caches, fun, creative little ones that people seemed to enjoy and even laugh when they were found and the description finally made sense.
   We planned trips to nearby towns with the only goal being to discover what other cachers wanted to share that was special and unique about their area. And we found little travelers, toys and treasures on a mission to visit faraway places and we could help them along and follow as they visited places we would probably never see. And we enjoyed the wit and humor that some of these travelers and caches exhibited.
  We stocked up on swag and even began filling a treasure chest with all of the trinkets we traded for. We never traded away swag we had got from a cache; it all went into our chest to become a tangible memory of how and when we came by each piece.
   We talked of caches we had done, caches we wanted to do, ideas for containers. We went to events and met other cachers. We planned more trips, more discoveries and more explorations. We sought more knowledge about the activity and began to frequent the forums gaining insights, entertainment and friends from around the globe.

    We worked together, each with their own jobs but with the same goals achieved as part of that team.  Best friends. Caching buddies. Out to explore the world together in a grand series of adventures one cache at a time.
   Childhood is even better the second time around. I can't wait to retire and play on the geo playground all the time... with my best friend!

Mon, Jun 14, 2010

As we approached this cache I could see the wife would not be able to help as she was still recuperating from her broken foot.  I had parked too far away from the first stage for her to walk down the hill.  So, I went on my own and left her in the car to wait.  When I got to the first stage I met a frustrated female cacher.  Not wanting to cast aspersions on her character, for she in no way acted inappropriately, she will remain anonymous.  I will not use her name but instead refer to her as “Red”.  This way no one will ever be able to figure out her identity.

As I was saying, I met Red at the first stage.  She was glad to see someone show up to give her a hand.  When I first saw her she was on her back laying on the muddy ground searching the bottom of the sign for a clue.

Red:  “Look out for the snake.”

She pointed to the big Blue Racer hanging in the bushes.  Well, I must admit I had never met a woman like this.  Not afraid of snakes and willing to lay in mud to find a cache, I was intrigued.  My wife would have been running back to the safety of the car and complaining of how her shoes got dirty.

Red:  “Give me a boost so I can see the top of the sign.”

I cupped my hands and she stepped into them and searched the top but found nothing.  After she got down I looked over the sign to see what I could find.  Shortly, I found the clue for the final.  The way Red fawned on me for making this find was foreign to me.  She seemed genuinely impressed with my caching abilities.  All I usually hear is "dumb luck" or "how on earth did YOU find that?"  Happily Red and I made our way to the final.  It was a short walk into the woods to a downed tree with thick brush.  Feeling cavalier I tried to help Red over the log.  As usual my foot got caught on a branch.  As I fell I didn’t let go of Red and pulled her on top of me as we hit the ground.  My shirt was torn and we were both covered in mud.  After we untangled I could tell Red’s opinion of me had fallen tremendously.  We made the quick find of the cache and went back to our cars.

The wife had gotten bored and was standing at the top of the hill as we approached.  Red had twigs sticking out of her hair and I was a mess.

Wife:  “What have you two been up to?”

Red raced to her car and sped away, leaving me alone to face the wrath of the wife by myself.  My recent admiration for her faded as quickly as her car.  Having to fend for myself, I did the only thing that might avoid trouble.  I lied.

Me:  “That woman tried to seduce me.  It was an awful fight but I prevailed and got away.”

I don’t know what reaction I was expecting but hysterical laughter was not on the list.  The wife sounded like a hyena at the Improv.  I’m not sure what she found so funny.  Was it the fact that any woman could find me so irresistible or that I could have had a chance to win in a fight with Red?  When she at last regained control she had an angry look on her face and said.

Wife:  “Did you enjoy caching with that woman?”

The way the wife treats me in public, one would think she is not the least bit jealous.  One would be wrong.  Its not that she thinks I would be unfaithful, her opinion is who would want me.  What she won’t stand for is me caching with another woman and enjoying it.  If I am going to be happy it will be with her or not at all.

Me:  “With Red?  No way.   I was wishing you could be there the whole time I was with her.”

Wife:  “Red?  Now you’re on a first name basis?  Admit it, you like caching with her more than me.“

Me:  “Don’t be ridiculous, you know I would rather cache with you than anyone else.”

Wife:  “Then how come you’re so dirty?”

Me:  “I promise the next cache we do, I’ll get even dirtier.”

Wife:  “Promise?”

Well this went on far too long.  In the end, of course, I had to apologize for something I didn’t know I did wrong.  I convinced her the episode meant nothing and finally we went to our next cache.  I was hoping that would be the end of it.  Of course the wife got the last word.

Wife:  “I had better never catch you having that much fun again!”

By catsnfish   Fri, Jun 11, 2010

Building a Cache Critter III:  Frog on Log
This one will need a toy frog, a cigar tube, a short length of chain, a bison tube, a few wood screws, a log base and a…fly.

First, we’ll prepare the frog by removing the squeaker from the frog’s mouth and making a few small cuts just big enough to allow the cigar tube to slip through.  This tube will keep the bison tube and its chain from dropping inside the frog and making it more difficult to retrieve, plus it gives it a good presentation. Determine the angle the tube will need to sit at to go through the hole and sit at the tail end inside. Mark the angle on the tube and use the side of a bench grinder stone to take off material creating a flat base with the tube at the correct angle. Next drill a hole big enough for the shank of a wood screw to go through easily. Push the tube through the  hole in the frog’s mouth and make a mark on the tube so that when cut it will protrude just far enough past the inside of the mouth to take a bead of silicon glue all the way around. Cut and smooth the edges.

Open a link of lightweight chain, like what would be used on a screen door chain, and run it through the hole for the keyring on the bison tube, then paint both cahin and bison red. The cigar tube will hold this chain and part of the bison tube ‘tongue.’ Allow the chain to slide into the tube, loosely building up until the bison sits at a point it will be supported but not be completely inside the cut off tube, this is important to make retrieval easy. Adjust the length of the chain by opening links and removing them from the free end.

Make sure that the wood screw will go through the chain link easily yet still be held securely; depending on the type chain you may be able to adjust it with a pair of pliers. Slip the chain into the tube and using a twist tie or string attach the last link so that the woodscrew will go through both.

Apply a little bit of glue to the flaps at the mouth and slip the tube into the frog and by cutting a slit in the frog’s back to allow access, screw the cigar tube and chain link through the frog’s tummy and into the wood base. Run an additional woodscrew into each leg to attach it more securely to the log.

If you’re lucky the screw head will bury itself into the leg and won’t be visible, if not touch the screw head up with a little paint. Load the chain into the tube and set your bison in place. Apply a bead of the silicone glue all around the tube and lastly glue a plastic fly onto the end of the bison. This fly probably won’t last long but it adds a nice touch for the first few to find.

You could mount several frogs all on one wooden log and only one have the paper log, (eeney meeney, miney frog, which one of you fellas has the log?)

I hope you've enjoyed the critter series, I'll have at least one more to share and I think that one will make quite a splash. If you have a creative cache or techniques for camo, please consider sharing it with your fellow readers.

Mon, May 31, 2010

Trip time, once again! This time, we were going North by Northwest... yes, we'll get to that later. This Chronicle covers several days and is VERY long and picture-loaded. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Our route led us across upper Nebraska, along the South Dakota border - we all three were along on THIS trip - me, the Untrackable GeoDad, and Sioncat the Trackable Geokitten! There was skullduggery ahead! But before we ran into any, we had to traverse the solar system, from where the Sun shone in Norfolk, NE, to where Pluto lay, 238 miles from there. Yes, the Sioneva had to complete the Solar System Challenge cache series! (ref: GC15YAM Solar System Challenge) I'd found all of them except Pluto, which turned out to be in Eli, NE.

Let me tell you about Eli. ... That's Eli. There were three buildings, and one cache. What a weird place to find a planet, but hey, I didn't put it there. Pluto always was a weird planet anyway... if it even is a planet, officially, anymore. But I was very happy to find it, anyway!

And then we moved on... there was another place I wanted to get to. (catsnfish, it's all your fault!)

"Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, and valiantly, he chickened out.

Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat. A brave retreat by brave Sir Robin."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Out past Crawford, NE, lies the Toadstool Geologic Park. Having heard so much about the strange formations at the place - from certain people - I wanted to check it out, since it was more or less on the way to Hot Springs, where we meant to stay the night. Beautiful, desolate terrain, beautiful, desolate clay road, beautiful, desolate storm cloud - er, Dad, wait a minute, that cloud looks like it has company. And it's getting bigger. And fatter. And darker. And this road is VERY desolate, and it looks like it'll be mud in about 5 minutes. And my little hondacar is... a little hondacar.

So, we decided to turn around before actually getting to the park. We're still patting ourselves on the back for that, too - we could see that cloud letting loose to the west of us, just after we got back to the highway. However! We also had storms letting loose to the east - and well, how often have you seen a double rainbow? Here's what WE saw!

Now, that was a good omen! So we continued on, entering South Dakota from the south. My father is native to South Dakota, but he'd never come in from this direction or along this road before, so we both enjoyed the novelty of seeing this:

It rained that night. It rained a lot. But I'd upgraded to a nice little KOA cabin instead of pulling out the tent. We stayed dry. And everything was... say it with me... CLOSED! Yes, everything in SD seems to shut down after 5 PM. Except for the bars. Which can be a pain when you're really hungry. The geodad doesn't do bars. We finally found an open restaurant. Food was decent. The geodad and geocat enjoyed the porch swing at the cabin though, and the sunset was beautiful.

"I want a beer!"

little girl outside our cabin about 8 am

Pancakes and mammoths were on our menu the next morning - and more rain. But no beer, alas.

We'd already planned to tour some of the caves in the area, and what better day to do it then on a wet, dreary day? The geodad was doing allll the driving at this point, since it was his native place, and I was perfectly happy with that! I'm just not used to high, windy, curvy roads. Not too many of those in Nebraska after all. We swung north and headed for Wind Cave first - I absolutely loved this cave. There were so many passages, explored and unexplored, and they estimate they only have about 10% of the cave mapped out. There's a 4 hour crawling tour for just $29 that is calling my name...

There were also two earthcaches there. Just another reason to pay close attention to the tour guide and all the cool areas!

We went to Hill City afterwards, the self-proclaimed "Heart of the Hills". But first I found a cache or two, and sampled the wares at a nearby winery. No cheese to go with my wine... but a sudden burst of anxiety when I called Jewel Cave Visitors Center at 1:45. The last tour of the day would be at 2:30 - and we were about 35 minutes away. Soooo, while my dad drove - I've never seen him take curvy roads so fast! - I booked our ticket reservations over the phone. Ah, the wonders of modern technology! Got there with 5 minutes to spare, quick pit stop, pick up tickets, and the tour started two minutes later. That's called cutting it close!

"Seek ye out the calcite in the rough..."

Aladdin (sort of)

Jewel Cave was completely unlike Wind Cave... much different kinds of formations, and a different method of being formed, if I remember correctly. It was very bumpy, with layers of calcite crystals clinging to the rock. The tour guide was a little bit more showy, too, but in both caves, they turned off all the lights at one point. Talk about pitch, utter dark. I literally couldn't see my own hand in front of my face! The geocat wouldn't have liked it. No light to make her eyes glow weirdly.

However, there was bacon:

And some other interesting formations:

And there were stairs. Lordy, but there were lots of stairs, and slotted metal walkways over yawning gulfs below. First time in my life my fear of heights kicked in when I was several hundred feet below ground, but there's a first time for everything. But my legs hurt from all the stairs for two days afterwards - and I thought I was in such great shape, too. Guess not!

There were two earthcaches at this cave, too, but arriving so late, I couldn't look for the answers... so while the geodad took care of business after the tour, I buttonholed the poor rangers (who just wanted to go home) and held them at GPS-point while I rattled off arcane questions like "What is the chemical composition of calcite?" It worked at least, but they were sure looking at me funny...

Then it was back to Hill City, once again - you see, the geodad had spotted a trainyard there, & it was "All Aboard!" So he saw that, and I saw this:

"It is easier for a trailer to go through the eye of a needle..."

Matthew 10:24 (sort of)

The next day was a full one, too. There was so much to do and see and find! Fortunately, it was sunny and warm in the morning, because we wanted to go up Needles Highway, and cloud cover would have hidden all the needles... of course my knuckles were white from clinging to the inside door handle, but that's par for the course. Lots of hairpin turns, and breathtaking views. And Needles, of course. And... BIRCH TREES! I am particularly fond of birches, and they just don't grow in Nebraska, except in the very north-central parts!

And up near the top, there was a wide pull-over, with room for many cars. We stopped to take in the view, and take many pictures... but I was also absolutely riveted with watching a car towing a trailer try to make it through a very tight tunnel we had just come through. I was making bets with others watching whether it would make it, or get hopelessly stuck in the tunnel. This has happened before, apparently. It did eventually wiggle through, but had to retract it's mirrors, or lose 'em.

It was clouding up again, but didn't start raining until we were out of the Needles and near to our next stop - Rushmore Cave. And pretty soon we were underground, so once again, we could pat ourselves on the back for good timing.

Rushmore Cave was the most "solid" of all three caves we visited. It reminded me the most of a mine, too. We ended up getting a private tour, since we were the only two there for that particular tour time. Very cool, we got to take it at our own pace and ask lots of questions. All three caves were very different; this was my second-favorite, after Wind Cave. Rushmore had teeth. And a pig. And weird, warty-looking stalagmites (or was it stalactites that hang from the ceiling? Whichever!) And pizza-crust rocks. Bubble, bubble...

No earthcaches here, but apparently there had been quite a lightning storm while we were underground. It was still pouring very hard as we headed for Mt. Rushmore, and I didn't go after any caches.

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

LOST, Season 5

"I don't like the way Teddy Roosevelt is looking at me."

North by Northwest

When I was last at Mt. Rushmore, I was 10 years old. I don't remember too much of it, so this felt like a "first time" thing. But first... there was the RAIN to deal with. We retreated into the restaurant at the foot of the mountain to eat our obligatory bison burgers, while these four stone statues kept watch over us. Not bad! But didn't see Eva Marie Saint or Cary Grant come running through, more's the pity... Eventually, the rain let up, and we ventured outside - they've built a walkway that goes around right up to the bottom, so you can get really up close and personal - neither of us had been on it before. Very cool!

Oh - Nicholas Cage was a no-show as well. Actors. Sheesh. But here WE are - and I just liked the angle on this one, too.

"We're going to knock your Wall down."

"By walking around in circles?"

"Yes."

Veggie Tales

I know this is getting really long, but we have one more day to get through. So just bear with me - or not! Our next stop was to be a campground in Wall, SD, that night, but when we pulled in, we didn't like the look of it. So we found a nice, pretty inexpensive motel instead. The tent never left the car at all this trip, it must have been very angry! Most of the stores were - you know it - CLOSED - when we got there, but we still did a bit of windowshopping. And now it's time to just let the pictures speak for themselves, for a moment.

In a really weird coincidence, while I was shopping for T-shirts, in strolls a caching family from my hometown that I'd met several times before at events. They spotted us through the window and just came in to say hi. We had a good laugh over it, before heading on our separate ways again.

We'd originally planned to spend one more night camping, but it was about 11:30 when we left Wall, to head down through the Badlands. We talked it over and decided to make the 450 mile push for home, instead of staying out another night. But first, we DID get to drive through the Badlands, and my camera was busy, clickclickclick. Also picked up two or three earthcaches here - are you noticing a trend? I didn't get many traditional caches, but I got at least 8 earthcaches... and there were so many I didn't get. The Hills were alive with the sound of earthcaches!

A few randomly selected shots of the Badlands, before I close this out. I've still got to get out and cache today, you know...

(If you think the last picture was part of the Badlands, I obviously made this Chronicle far too long. Just testing you! It's actually Smith Falls State Park outside Valentine, NE. We passed by on the way home.)

Until next Chronicle - cheers and happy caching!

By jlondon1963   Sun, May 16, 2010

The Wild Adventures of the Game Are Calling

    This is my story and I am sticking to it!  I stumbled on this sport in June of 2005 after reading an article in the Omaha World Herald.  Very intriguing a scavenger hunt of sorts with a GPS.  An electronic gadget that leads you to a set of coordinates where there is a treasure.  Remember treasure is in the eye of the beholder.  This seemed like it could be right up my alley.  Now close to 5 years later I am still hooked.

    How does this sport hook you?  At least to begin with for me it was the hunt, it is like an adventure leaping off the pages of a book.  I have not run into any lion, tigers or bears but I have stepped over a rattlesnake caching in Indio, CA.  It is the journey taking you on the road less traveled.  It is about getting back to your inner child.  Who doesn't want to be a pirate or a world class adventurer.  This sport encourages you to respect and keep your surroundings free of trash.  With this sport you visit places you may have never have taken time to stop and see if it were not for geocaching.  There are challenge caches that take you to every nook and cranny of a state and you see what that state truly has to offer.  Take Nebraska who knew there was more to offer from this state than corn and the color red.  This game provides exercise for the body and the brain.  I have learned so much more about reading a map including topographic maps.  Puzzle caches do make my brain hurt but as much as I may grumble I do enjoy the challenge of learning something new, and knowing that I did not lose all my brain cells after childbirth.  I still despise math but I am getting a little better and willing to at least try the puzzles.  

    When I started I bought a blue etrex Legend for less than $100.  it was on clearance.  My first try was for Chalco Hills I, which has since been archived, I would like to say I nabbed it on the first try but that would be a lie.  It took a couple of tries while I learned how to use my new toy.  My first successful cache was Omahopoly 14, also archived, part of a really neat Monopoly series with an Omaha connection.  I have since graduated through several other Garmin systems a 60Cx, Colorado 400T and now a Oregon 550T.  I plugged along here and there until I met this flower child what was his caching name...oh yeah 8601delphinium.  I think when we met in the Fall of 2008 I may have had about 400 caches found to my name then I decided in January of 2009 I wanted to try to get to that elusive 1000 caches found.  As luck would have it I hit 1000 in enough time to earn my Golden Ammo Can at the Kearney Picnic.  I hit my 1000th find with Andrew aka the flower child at Omaha History Series - Omaha Memorial.  I give kudo's to Andrew in showing the fun of group caching and the fun that can be had in getting other cachers to a particular goal, not to mention the stories that can come out of those adventures.  Two words....Geo Kittens!

    I finished the year with 1598 finds.  The best part of all the finds found that year was the camaraderie of group caching and the memories that were made.  Events are a great way to spur adventures like the chili feed in North Platte, NE, or the Jesse James Cache Bash in St. Joseph, MO, and who could forget a Mega event MOGA 2009, or even a Summer College Caching Road Trip with my daughter (who is not a cacher but humors her mother), and the GPS Adventure Maze Trip where Geo Kitty was born, or the KC PIcnic run to get Rotorootie to 5000 finds.  I have even had my first run in with an officer of the law while caching.  I was with a group in Grand Island, glad he knew what caching was he even helped to retrieve the cache that was up in an unclimbable tree.  One thing to keep in mind honesty is the best policy most know what geocaching is about.  MOGA my first Mega event who could forget slogging up and down mini mountains in the pouring rain with the temperatures steadily dropping as we collected punches at the selected cache sites for our four man event.  It took our four man group 2 hours to collect half of the required punches.  We were soaked to the bone and our emergency ponchos were ripped to shreds from the thick underbrush.  Crazy you say it is no different than sitting in a frozen rink watching your kids play hockey or getting rain drenched at your childs soccer game.  Don't forget it is about the adventure.

    Like the adventure I had while caching this past summer with my sister Renee7e in the desert of California, we hit the Pushawalla Power Trail it is a 5 mile hike through the desert there are 29 caches on this power trail.  The trail takes you up to the top of a ridge line then down into an oasis then back out onto the desert floor.  Average temps in the desert this time of year is 115 degrees.  Don't worry it is a dry heat!  We started at 6:30am to beat the June desert heat, we packed plenty of water and we did as recommended and started at the end and worked our way to the beginning.  The views were incredible you could see the San Andreas fault line from the top or the ridge.  We passed another morning hiker who told us to be careful of a rattlesnake sleeping as we went down into the oasis.  I am sure I was looking everywhere but then I heard my sister tell me quietly to keep moving.  She took pictures to prove I stepped over the snake then we debated asleep or dead and should we poke the snake.  We thought better of the latter idea.  We kept moving and kept our eyes open for any other desert dwellers which we did see plenty of lizards and mice.  Note to self to look for snake gaiters for next year.  Walking into the oasis was like walking into an air conditioned room.  We spotted an owl up in the Palms, got some great photos in the oasis then started our trek back out.  We found 20 of the 29 caches we did cut our hunting short as we approached the 10:00 am mark the heat was a good 100 degrees and we were down to our last water bottle. The cache containers were a variety of matchstick holders, decon containers and ammo cans.  A few of the decon containers had been nibbled on but for the most part the caches were in good shape.  We passed by the last four or five caches vowing to save them for next year.  Once we made it back to the car we pulled 2 more water bottles from the cooler downed them and headed to grab some lunch for my daughter who stayed behind to babysit her cousins.

Yes, that is a rattlesnake, you be the judge sleeping or dead.  I went with dead.  Did you know rattlesnakes can strike twice their length.

    Map of the power trail.  There is a visitor center a quarter of a mile up the road from the trail head it is recommended to park there as there has been vandalism to cars parked at the trail head parking. 

story contributed by jlondon1963.

Thu, May 13, 2010

For the Cause

By design, The Online Geocacher magazine is an angst free publication where cachers can share experiences, and as such would not normally bring two opposing sides of an issue together in one article. However there should be enough humor and artistic license in the following to be able to make this an exception.

Ladies and Gentlemen…….in this corner,
weighing in with very vocal forum opinions, and new threads every month.
...
Bring Back Virtuals!!
(applause/shouts)  

  
  And in this corner,
The Quiet Giant and heir apparent to the containerless cache……….
I give you…
Waymarking!!
 (applause/shouts)

Tonight’s competition between these two formidable foes will be …
Anthems for the Cause!
 made up to fit…
 Beatles tunes!!
Ok gentlemen, I want a nice clean fight
No nitpicking or gouging, no direct confrontation,
Winner will be determined by individual personal decision.

The World will vote!

And now the cointoss… heads! Virtual, you’ll go first.
Now go to your corners and come out singing!
DING!! DING!!

Uh  mmmm  ok got one!
To the tune of ‘Yesterday’

Virtually
Many great finds have been virtually
But we’re told that this just cannot be
Oh, we still need
New Virts today

Logically
There are places caches cannot be
Many places we would like to see
Oh let us place
Them virtually

Why Virts
Had to go, I don’t know
Signal wouldn’t say,
We were
Told it’s wrong now we long
For Virts today

Virtually
It was such a pleasing game to play,
Now I need a box to hide away
Oh we still need
New Virts today

A-L-
R-‘s were banned, out of hand
They couldn’t stay.
I had
Caches planned so I long
For Virts today

Virtually
It was such a pleasing game to play,
Now I need a box to hide away
Oh we still need
New Virts today

 (wild applause, footstomping , flickering lighters and chants of All we are saying, is give virts a chance!)

                                                      Waymark! You’re up!

To the tune of Day-tripper.

Got a good reason, for taking the gps out
Got a good reason, for taking the gps out, now

I’ll be a way....marker, search great places, yeah
I’m gonna go…..out and find out, what it’s about

Such a big pleaser, all of the places I’ve found
Such a big pleaser, all of the places I’ve found, wow

Now I'm a way....marker, find cool places yeah
It lets me share....sites I found out and you'll seek out

My receiver, it’s a tour guide in my hands
My receiver, it’s a tour guide in my hands, yeah

Yes I'm a way....marker, find neat places yeah
It lets us share…..sites you found out and I’ll seek out

waymarker
waymarker yeah
waymarker
waymarker yeah

      (wild applause, footstomping , flickering lighters and chants of Waymarker, Waymarker, yeah)

Ladies and gentlemen that concludes our bout this evening.

 And now the world decides

               Will it be Bring Back Virtuals with “Virtually” or Waymarks with “Waymarker”?

Vote for your favorite by texting the word “vote” to IGO-VIRTS if you want to Bring Back Virtuals or WOW-MARKS if Waymarkers are the way to play!

Fri, May 07, 2010

Paul and Dana Gillin discovered geocaching and found it fascinating. Experienced writers, they read the available literature about geocaching and found something missing - stories about the people who play this game.

So they wrote a book! Months of research and extensive interviews in person and online with some of the most notable players in the game provided the basis for The Joy of Geocaching. I think it is the most interesting and compelling book yet written about our marvelous obsession.

Here is an excerpt from The Joy of Geocaching:

Excerpt - Chapter 6 - Caching to the limits.

We encountered two kinds of extreme geocachers when researching this book, and they couldn’t be more different. In fact, they don’t like being lumped together in the same category because their approach to the game is diametrically opposed. Nevertheless, we couldn’t resist spotlighting these people in the same chapter because both groups push the game to its logical limits. It’s just that one of them uses a car.

Extreme geocachers place and hunt for targets that require extreme skill, physical fitness, and a tolerance for occasional terror. Power cachers cope with sleeplessness, anxiety, and mental exhaustion in their attempts to log the maximum number of finds in 24 hours. We hope you enjoy meeting them. Let’s start with the crazy ones.

Extreme Cachers
When Wouter “Dutch” Sanders was growing up in Europe, he was fond of windsurfing, hiking in the Alps, and engaging in any “crazy stuff” he could find. Moving to the United States (specifically Macungie, Pennsylvania) and getting married settled him down a bit, but the spirit of adventure was still there.

Linuxxpert (so-named because of some early computer work he had done) discovered geocaching in 2007. Like many novices, Sanders started with the standard parking-lot and suburban finds, but he quickly grew bored. He noticed that some geocaches carried much higher difficulty/terrain ratings, including a few that were classified as 5/5—the very pinnacle of geocaching challenge.

Caches rated 5/5 are rare. If you were to draw a circle with a radius of 500 miles around Knoxville, Tennessee—a 785,000-square-mile area that reaches roughly from Baltimore to Jacksonville, Florida—you would find only 236 5/5 classifications out of the tens of thousands of caches in that range. A hide with a difficulty rating of 5 is “a serious mental/physical challenge that requires specialized knowledge, skills, or equipment,” according to the Cacheopedia.com website. A terrain rating of 5 means the cache “requires specialized equipment (for example, scuba gear, rock-climbing gear, a boat, or a four-wheel-drive vehicle) and the skill to use it, or is otherwise extremely difficult.” In other words, you’d better be in excellent shape to attempt a 5/5 geocache. Or, you’d better be a little nuts.

Linuxxpert is both. Among his 368 finds are 21 rated 5/5 and dozens more rated higher than 3.5 difficulty or terrain. He’s also placed four 5/5s and several others rated at the upper end of difficulty.

Linuxxpert’s geocaching adventures may involve ropes, ladders, mining helmets, and life rafts. He frequently places himself in situations that others would consider dangerous, even life-threatening. But for this extreme geocacher, part of the fun is conquering his fears. “I love to see people pushed to the limits,” he says.

He practices what he preaches. Linuxxpert has rappelled off cliffs over 100 feet high and dangled from railroad trestles spanning major rivers. He has spent over ten hours to find a single geocache and has tracked down some multi-stage puzzles that had 11 stages. “Some of the stages you can find in five minutes, some take two hours,” Sanders says. “That’s one of the thrills of the game.”

His hides are as daunting as his finds. For one recent placement (GC1G86E), his tongue-in-cheek warning stated:
"Do NOT attempt this cache if you are not in good physical shape, or if you are afraid of heights. Climbing gear WILL be needed, and you may get your feet wet. WEAR A HELMET WHILE CLIMBING THIS PILLAR AND/OR WHILE STANDING NEAR THE BASE! There is a lot of loose concrete debris that will fall down. Watch out that you do not knock the container off the pillar with your gear. It will kill you when hit, or more important, it will damage the container."

Rare Breed
Jeff Spencer (SNSpencer) is another thrill seeker. In the fall of 2007, he teamed up with a companion and headed out to grab and replace a 5/5 underwater container near Lake Tahoe that had been reported to be leaking water (GCG62F).

He tells the story:
We grabbed a few caches on our way up the mountain, then rented a kayak to go 700 feet out on the lake and do what we came to do. That’s when the day became an adventure. By the time we arrived at the boat launch, the wind had picked up and the water was getting rough. We headed out anyway, and found the cache on our first try about 12 feet below the surface. But a gust of wind suddenly blew us away. Within seconds, the GPSr showed we were 130 feet away.

We circled back, found the cache, and were blown away again. This cycle was repeated over and over. We finally decided that on the next pass I would dive into the water with the new container, dive down, unhook the old, hook on the new, and swim back to the kayak.

I rolled off the kayak with the new container in hand and swam down, but I couldn’t find the carabiner holding the old container on the anchor’s rope. So I had to pull the whole rope back to the surface. That wasn’t so hard, but the coffee can filled with cement that served as the anchor made it a real challenge! Kicking as hard as I could to stay afloat in the surf, I struggled to switch the containers, but the anchor was too much for me. I had to let the rope go.

Defeated, I swam back to the now-overturned kayak, where Dichroic was floating in the water. We took a short rest, holding onto the kayak, while I put on my life vest. We righted the kayak and paddled back to shore. Waiting for us there was a park ranger who’d been called by someone who thought we were drowning. We were okay, but the worst thing is that we were defeated! Mark my words: We will be back!

Life on the Edge
“Feeling like I’m going to die is exhilarating,” says George Merenich, a Dorrance, Pennsylvania-based extreme geocacher who goes by the handle of keoki_eme. “If it doesn’t involve a hike that means risking at least a little of my life, then I don’t want to do it.”

Keoki_eme and Linuxxpert enjoy a friendly competition in their region. Each says the other is nuts and both go to great lengths to prove his rival correct. They place caches intended to be so difficult that the other can’t find them. So far, neither has the upper hand, although keoki_eme takes particular pride in having subjected Linuxxpert to ten and a half hours of hell to retrieve The Gauntlet (GC1NEPJ).

As keoki_eme tells it, “The Gauntlet is at least eight stages with an extreme elevation change. It’s a killer hike for about a mile-and-a-half; you’re almost going straight up. Every stage is tough. At least three stages require rope. I conned my brother to help me place it and I don’t think he’ll ever go back in the woods again.”

The cache description begins with a four-minute YouTube video that advises the player to bring at least 150 feet of rope and plenty of water. “Start your journey EARLY,” it recommends. “This ain’t no walk in the park.”
Indeed it isn’t.

The experience of completing The Gauntlet is best summed up by this edited log entry from Clancy’s Crew, which found the final in March 2009:
Although we had all rappelled down structures, done some free climbing, and climbed many radio towers, some bridge girders, and a telephone pole with spikes, the whole ascending technique was new to us.… My trip down the cliff didn’t take long, although the lack of a wall to push off the last 15–20 feet was disconcerting. The highlight of the trip for me: After nine hours, I ascended a structure at one of the last stages, grabbed the cache, and ended up hanging in mid-air while removing the ascending gear. You have to trust the safety gear and harness, because it took two hands to remove the carabineer, pulley, and other equipment, with nothing to hold on to, and snow, ice and rocks below. Now we know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry—the cache wasn’t damaged.

Keoki_eme and Linuxxpert are sometimes joined by Maureen McArdelle, who got hooked on extreme geocaching when it taught her how to rock climb. Like other extreme geocachers we interviewed, the challenge of pushing herself to the limit is an important motivator. Extreme geocaching “has made me feel more empowered,” she says. “There is nothing I can’t do. You place it, I can get it. You create that puzzle and I will solve it. It has given me more confidence in myself.”

Being female has raised the stakes, since so few extreme cachers are women. She enjoys the odd blend of camaraderie and competition that’s typical of extreme sports enthusiasts. Players use good-natured insults to urge each other on. Her male compansions “are always teasing me about what color bandana I am going to wear, what color my toenails are going to be painted,” she said. But the taunts help her along. “I honestly don’t think I would have gone over the top on any of [Linuxxpert’s] pillar caches (GC1F925 and GC1G86E) without Dutch standing there telling me I am such ‘a girl’ if I couldn’t do it,” she says. And she adds, with some pride, “I climb barefoot and I think it amazes them.”

Hiding What They Find
With 5/5 geocaches being so challenging and rare, the people who find them are also likely the people who hide them. Linuxxpert recalls his favorite hide, Conquer Your Fears (GC17VAR):
There’s a big industrial park on the Lehigh River and this cache is hidden near an old iron furnace. There’s a[n abandoned] train trestle that crosses the Lehigh River and one of the containers is underneath the bridge. You have to crawl out to the middle of the river on the rail trestle and then climb down. The hint says to “look for what all geocachers desire” which is a smiley. I painted a smiley on the bridge.

In another stage, you have to crawl down into a hole that used to be an old iron furnace. And in the last stage, you have to crawl into the ceiling of another tunnel and make your way around a 90-degree bend.

Keoki_eme remembers another Linuxxpert challenge called “Too Difficult, Too Dangerous And Just Too Crazy!” (GC1812Z):
The first stage is on a[n abandoned] railroad trestle 30 feet above the river, but you have to climb a support tower another 20 feet above the trestle. The second stage is a 40-foot-high concrete pillar in the middle of the woods that you have to climb without a ladder. The third stage takes you down a long tunnel for several hundred feet, and the next stage is hidden in an old signal light.

The final is another trestle that’s missing most of its railroad ties. You have to balance yourself across the beams and walk to the middle of the river. There’s a magnetic ammo can that you can get to by crawling across the trestle.

Extreme-difficulty geocachers don’t play by the same rules as everyone else. One thing they agree upon is that after subjecting searchers to an hours-long physical ordeal, they won’t finish them off with a devious hide. “I make it a physical challenge to get there but there’s no way you’re going to miss the cache when you arrive,” says keoki_eme.

They’re also quick to call owners for advice on how to attack a challenge, and the owners are pretty reasonable about helping out. Everyone knows this is a potentially deadly pursuit, and they don’t want to make a determined player’s job more difficult than it has to be.

And even the extremists will admit that some finds are barely worth the effort. Asked if he remembers a time when he thought he was going to die, keoki_eme remembers one adventure on the Hawaiian island of Kauai with Tunnel #1 (GC146Q9) and The Other Way To Hanalei (GCHH2F):
It was the most grueling hike I’ve ever had. It was two-and-a-half miles on a mud trail as narrow as six inches from start to the finish. Then there was a mile-long tunnel with only a little dot of light at the other end and six inches of water all the way. It took us 45 minutes to get through the tunnel. Then we had to walk back the whole way again. My wife, Amy, was exhausted. I remember thinking, “If she goes down, there’s no way we’re getting out of here.” I’m not sure I would do it again, but I’m damned glad I did it.

Power Caching: Joy in Numbers
Ed Manley, the man we met at the very beginning of this book, prepared for GeoWoodstock IV for months. The annual gathering of thousands of enthusiastic geocachers had been a fixture on his calendar for years, but this year’s event was different. In 2006, GeoWoodstock would take place in Dallas, one of the caching capitals of the world.

Holding GW IV in Dallas was like staging a wine lover’s convention in Burgundy. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is infested with geocaches. In one six-square-mile area of Dallas alone, there are more than 80. Within about a 10-mile radius of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, there are an incredible 940 caches.

So this was the geocaching Olympics, and Manley (TheAlabamaRambler) wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to break the world record of caches found in a 24-hour period: an incredible 246 found by a team in Jacksonville, Florida, in October 2004. Manley thought it was possible to log 300 finds in one day, a figure that would have seemed absurd just a few years earlier because of the relative sparseness of hides.

The planning took more than two months. TheAlabamaRambler and seven other enthusiasts—three Americans and four Germans—had met and become friendly in geocaching forums over the last couple of years. They reached a consensus that Dallas was the chance to break the world record and, operating as a loosely confederated team, they had scoured the list of cache candidates to identify the optimal route.

They boiled it down to 500 cache possibilities, but that was just the beginning. Each cache owner needed to be contacted individually and had to agree to participate in the record attempt. Not all owners approve of team caching, you see, and the record attempt would be made by a group of eight men who, in the interest of time, would sign the logbook only once. Owners had to be cool with that.

Fortunately, the owners thought the thrill of being part of a record attempt was enough incentive to bend the rules. Everyone agreed. Meanwhile, a few of the members began playing with Microsoft Streets and Trips software to create an optimal route. Time was of the essence. Team members calculated that they could spend no more than three minutes looking for any one cache.

The 12-person Chevrolet van would have a driver, a scribe, and a group of designated hunters. When the location was reached, members would jump out of the van and search for the cache in a choreographed arrangement. While a few were searching, others would be in their van feverishly preparing for the next find.

The team gathered on Friday evening, laptops in hand, to go through a practice run. They hadn’t gone very far when it became clear that they had a problem. The process of digging the logbook out of each cache was going to slow them down to the point that the 300-find goal would be impossible. So they devised a workaround: Instead of signing the logbook, they would use a felt-tip pen to mark the outside of each found container. They believed that mark would be sufficient proof that they had found the cache and, after all, the purpose of the logbook was mainly to establish proof of the find.

On Saturday morning, the team hit the road in the van for what would become one of the most memorable days of TheAlabamaRambler’s life. “We laughed the whole time,” he says. “The Germans didn’t speak English, and we didn’t speak German. You can imagine the scene!”

Twenty-four caffeine-fueled hours later, the team staggered back to their hotel. They were bleary and exhausted, but they had found 312 caches out of 352 attempts, obliterating the previous record. In the end, they would agree to record only 295 of those finds, the result of a dispute that arose when the team split up to retrieve a trove of 17 caches clustered together. In fact, a debate raged on Groundspeak forums for nearly three weeks after the team’s feat was recorded, with members debating nuances of the caching rules.

The record wouldn’t stand for long. In late August 2009, a team of three geocachers—f0t0m0m, ventura_kids, and EMC of Northridge, CA—logged 413 finds in 24 hours (see sidebar [below]).

Geocachers, it appears, are sticklers for the rules. Several forum members took issue with the Dallas team’s decision to sign the caches on the outside rather than opening the log books and signing each one individually. Some members argued that record-setting attempts in themselves debased the spirit of geocaching by reducing the game to a mere numbers competition.

Despite the controversy, the so-called “power caching” phenomenon has gathered steam. In a community in which the number of caches a member has found can bestow a kind of celebrity status, enthusiasts are increasingly challenging themselves to amass impressive totals.

Sidebar: One for the Record Books
Power cachers are always pushing the limits of the game, and as we were in the final stages of writing this book, we received word of a new record claim by a team that included two people we quote extensively elsewhere: Steve O’Gara (ventura_kids) and Elin Carlson (EMC of Northridge, CA). They joined with Jim Hoffman (f0t0m0m) on August 29, 2009, in a midnight-to-midnight run that netted 413 caches in one day.

The trip involved extensive planning using GSAK, Google Earth, and Geocaching.com. Ventura_kids created nine possible routes, consuming an estimated 45 hours of preparation. The team figured they needed to log a find every three minutes and 22 seconds to hit the record. Searching time was limited to one minute once they stopped the car and considering that, it’s remarkable the team logged only 23 DNFs for the journey.

Their odyssey started near Denver airport with five “warm-up” caches just before the midnight kickoff. The team logged its 100th find at 5:30 A.M. By then, they had already battled swarms of grasshoppers who thought their car was a nifty place to hang out in the darkness of night. All day long, our heroes suffered through heat and dehydration in the process of traveling 471 miles.

“There were no bathrooms,” ventura_kids told us. “Anytime somebody needed to go, I’d say, ‘Cache is on the left, bathroom is on the right.’"

Everyone had a role. Ventura_kids has a near photographic memory for routes, so he did the driving. EMC posted constant updates on Facebook and Twitter. F0t0m0m was in charge of music (and decided on country music just to annoy EMC, who sings mostly classical music and opera for a living).

“We discarded the multi-stage caches and worked every puzzle we could,” ventura_kids said. “We got rid of the ones that even looked like a problem. I had a map with approach drawings on the left and departure drawings on the right. As we approached a cache, the others would pour out of the car, with Jim saying, ‘I’ve got the left!’ and Elin saying, ‘I’ve got the right!’ I’d turn around and be ready to depart when they got back.”

Fatigue nearly robbed the cachers of their record, as the hours passed. “You don’t realize how tired and emotional you’re going to be,” ventura_kids said. He told jokes to lighten up the crew, even when he was feeling the stress of the day. EMC sang for her friends. Everyone was energized by the prospect of setting a new record, and in the end, they were rewarded with a new world record to their name. Will their feat stand for long? No doubt there are others plotting right now to make sure it doesn’t. (In fact, as we went to press, word came in that a team in Sweden had logged over 500 caches in 24 hours!)

What Is Power Caching?
Power caching is an extreme version of the game that can push participants to and past exhaustion. An outing typically consists of a frantic run through an area of dense placements with the goal of finding each container in just a few minutes. The activity usually involves teams of people, but even individuals have been known to log well over 100 finds in a single day.

In the process of researching this book, we were treated to a power cache excursion by a team of two Austin, Texas-area veterans—The Outlaw, who organized the day, and TreyB. (See “Power Caching Journal” following this chapter.) We logged 102 finds for the day, but we had several advantages, including the fact that The Outlaw had found nearly all of the targets previously and had hidden a third of them. The adventure took an exhausting 15 hours and instilled in us profound respect for the enthusiasts who power cache on a regular basis. These people are just as nuts as the extreme cachers.

There is little elegance about power caching. Difficult or cryptic hides are usually avoided in the interest of time. Participants seek to maximize the number of easy-to-find caches and to optimize their route so that a minimum amount of time is spent in the car. A one-day power caching excursion may be preceded by two months of planning. Veterans say the activity is physically draining and can be monotonous, since it focuses on the least-challenging caches to find. Do it for variety, they recommend, but only in moderation.

Still, the act of running up numbers can be exhilarating. Among the more than 20,000 finds that EMC of Northridge, CA has rung up were 300 on July 4, 2007, with Andy and Jen Perkins (Team Perks) and Bill Varney (Cachepal) in a manic run in Porterville, California.

Ventura_kids (Steve and Sandy) usually power cache with Jim Hoffman (f0t0m0m). Steve drives to the cache in his trademark Jeep. He’s the driver because he has an incredible photographic memory and knows the routes to and all the details of all the caches he’s ever sought. (This is a truly impressive and savantish feat when you consider Steve’s found over 18,000 geocaches.)

Once they get to the location, Steve starts counting down from 40. By the time he gets to 10, f0t0m0m or Sandy has usually found the cache. F0t0m0m hands the cache to Sandy, who retrieves the log as she and f0t0m0m rendezvous with Steve. They each attach log stickers, rehide the cache, and jump in the car for their next destination.

Meanwhile, Steve has started the Jeep up again and is ready to head to the next location. Sandy is the second one in the car and Steve keeps an eye on his dashboard for a signal that the right rear door has closed, indicating f0t0m0m is back in the car. When he sees that dashboard indicator, he goes. He doesn’t turn around to check, as that would mean wasted time. Of course, this means that sometimes they leave without f0t0m0m being in the car. Usually Sandy notices this and yells at Steve to stop.

As for the day’s timing, Sandy keeps the time for the group’s trip, and she’s as severe as a drill sergeant: The rule is if they don’t get 10 caches each hour in the morning, then the team doesn’t get to have lunch. “We created the seven-minute limit to ensure we never waste too much time,” Steve says. “We start our little timers [originally an actual timer; now it’s just Steve counting backwards] as we exit the Jeep, and if the cache hasn’t been found when the alarm goes off, we leave.”

WE4NCS agrees it’s necessary to have a plan when power caching. A 61-year-old who goes on regular power caching trips with Roger Dillard (rldill, age 55) and Granpa Alex (age 63), WE4NCS loads power caching trips from GSAK (once he’s filtered them for ease and cluster locations) to Microsoft Streets and Trips. Then he plugs in his portable USB GPSr and tracks the car’s progress on his laptop, in addition to tracking the progress on their GPS units.

Using this method, the team can alter their plan while on the go and get the most caching bang for their time. They’ve been known to cache for 40 hours at once without stopping to sleep. What possesses 60-year-old men to do this? “It’s better than sitting in front of the television!” WE4NCS says. The team plays so often together that they’ve created a name for themselves—Team CHS (Cache-Hunting Studs).

Why Would Anyone Want to Power Cache?
Doesn’t that mad dash betray the Zen of the game? It’s true that the goal of traditional caching and power caching do not mesh. Traditional caching is usually about a good walk, fresh air, discovering a new park or trail, the thrill of the hunt for that one elusive hiding spot, the details you write in your log, and that one smiley that means so much because of the experience.

Power caching is about getting there and moving on. It’s a numbers game in which your eyes only leave the GPSr long enough to fix on Ground Zero. It is hours of heart-pounding, focused intensity. “When you’re power caching, you can’t be bothered whether the sun is shining,” says dgreno. “Just make sure you carry big flashlights and plenty of extra batteries.” This explains his penchant for 36-hour continuous power runs.

Power cachers often have a goal, such as 100 finds in 8 hours or 500 in a week. They pay the price: Ankles and hamstrings throb the next morning from climbing into and out of the car and dashing between targets. Logging finds can be a chore when you can’t really think of anything special to say about your 78th cache after 11 hours. And that one smiley that means so much in traditional geocaching is only a means to an end in power caching—that final count for the day.

But power caching is actually more than numbers. It’s about setting and pursuing goals and pushing yourself to the limit. It’s about competition with others, personal records, and new targets to shoot for. Ask a power caching veteran to tell you about her personal records and she’ll usually rattle off a string of numbers, dates, and locations, frequently recalling memorable finds along the way.

Power Caching the USA
When elite geocachers conspire, weirdness ensues.

It took a team of three geo-fanatics—dgreno, Alamogul, and Roger Seaman (retiredprof)—to dream up the most remarkable geocaching story we heard during our months of research and scores of interviews. The team, which has more than 68,000 finds between them, geocached across all 50 U.S. states in just 10 days. Their odyssey covered 12,000 miles, not including the two plane flights needed to log Alaska and Hawaii. It was a masterpiece of planning and execution.

The goal was to qualify for and grab the “Found 50 States, I’m Going to Disneyland!” cache (GCRFNN), which they nabbed in world record time. In fact, like DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, their record is likely to stand for a long time.

The adventure began in San Francisco, where the team rented a new car with less than 200 miles on the odometer. They drove north to Seattle, logging Oregon along the way. Their flight to Alaska was longer than their stay there: just three hours on Alaskan soil.

The plan was to take the northern route east and the southern route west. There would be no sightseeing or lounging by the pool for these men on a mission. Dgreno had been planning for two months.

The goal wasn’t big numbers. In fact, the players set out to log only two finds per state in order to make sure that at least one was recognized. As it happened, they finished with 350.

Among the time-saving shortcuts they employed:
•    Staying on interstate highways to maximize speed.
•    Renting rooms at the cheapest hotels with Internet access every other day to shower,—“so we could stand to be in the same car with each other,” according to dgreno.
•    Equipping the rental car with power converters and plenty of batteries to keep computers and GPSr units humming 24/7 without stop.
•    Alerting cachers along the route of their arrival so that events could be planned—and logged—as they passed through.

Somewhere in New Mexico near the end of the trip, Alamogul slammed his laptop shut with a pen still lying on the keyboard. The screen was destroyed. He called a friend in California to say that the trio would reach Albuquerque two hours later. Could the friend please find some local cachers to lend them time on their computer?

They shortly got a note from a family of Albuquerque enthusiasts who said they’d be happy to meet the team. Dgreno, Alamogul, and retiredprof pulled up at 6 A.M. to find a hot breakfast and a warm computer waiting. They downloaded the missing data, ate, bid adieu to the family, found a cache on the front lawn of the house, and hit the road again.

The Alamogul laptop tragedy aside, the trip went surprisingly smoothly. Returning to California ten days after they started, the team boarded a plane for Hawaii, cached for a few hours and flew back to complete the run. Disneyland, here we come!

Oh, we forgot to mention one big cost-saving tip: renting a car. The bill for the 12,000-mile journey was just $250 (plus gas, of course), thanks to unlimited-miles pricing. The only unfortunate part: The team discovered only on the final day that they had had access to satellite radio all along.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, May 07, 2010

Groundspeak has created a new brochure explaining our game that we can all print and use.

I am going to have a bunch of them printed in full color to pass out!

http://www.geocaching.com/articles/Brochures/EN/EN_Geocaching_BROCHURE.pdf

By Web   Mon, Mar 16, 2009

One of my favorite cache logs...

August 18, 2008 by oldboyhiker (3772 found)
Indiana Hiker was tense. This situation was different than any other he had encountered before. Several months ago an old colleague, Professor Warren Gubbool, had set off on a quest to the great north woods. In his studies the Professor thought he had found the key to answer the age old question of who were the actual first European settlers to live in the new world. Though quirky, off center, & often looked down upon by the mainstream due to his rather "primitive" lifestyle Indy knew the professor had a hunch that very well just might change the history of the new world as we knew it.

There was one slight hitch. The Professor had explained to Indy that an old drunk one legged traveler had once told him that these first Europeans had come to the new world in ships filled with gold from the old world. The story went that the Europeans thought they would need the gold for barter with the locals. But of course the local Indians could be bought off with cheap beads & trinkets, so the gold was never used. The colonist found out the gold wasn't any good for growing crops, or hunting, or building a fort out in the new world wilderness. It didn't make for good tools or even fertilizer. The Colonists decided to hide the gold for safe keeping until they either returned to Europe or a supply ship came by. Unfortunately, for the colonists the local Indians distrusted the newcomers & in a great uprising slaughtered all but only the infants. The Indians found the gold, but of course had no use for it except in the telling of stories of "The sun that you can hold in your hands".

Indy knew the professor couldn't be the only person looking for the first European colony. The gold aspect of it attracted everyone who knew & believed the story. He figured several groups had to be actively searching. A few were not honorable & one or two were just plain rabble. The most notorious was a group of American Irish Republican Army (IRA) sympathizers. The organization had been quiet for over twenty years. But certain "do gooder" American sympathizers saw an opportunity to revamp and refund the terrorist activities if they could only find the rumored gold themselves.

The Professor had disappeared; Indy hadn't heard from him or received a text from him in weeks. Indy decided he had to head north to find the old geezer. So he set out & arrived near the Professor's last known position parched & tired from the long trip. He stopped in a nearby small hamlet called Trussville. A backwards place, the Taco Bell was the ritziest restaurant in town. Indy knew this would be the last store bought food he would see in awhile. He went in hungry.

A hush came over the restaurant when he walked in. The locals had never seen him before. Everybody knew everyone else in this burgh. The young teenage kid at the counter looked Indy over good as he walked up. He was skinny, pimply faced with red hair & freckles. He had dreamed of seeing the world & this worldly stranger from PHAH interested him. What he wouldn't give to go explore with this guy.

"Could I have a taco, a burrito and a coke please" Indy said to the teenager. The boy nodded. People in the restaurant turned & looked. From his accent they knew he was from the far away south. "Maybe even as far south as PHAH" one girl whispered close to her boyfriend. The whispers stopped when the front entrance to the store was flung open heavily, so that it slammed the back of the glass window. The Taco Bell boy looked up. In the back of the store he saw several people, maybe four, all dressed in black, with sunglasses who had burst into the store & spread out inside. Indy, hungry & tired, was oblivious to what was going on behind him as he quietly waited for his order.

The leader of the dark group, a woman, signaled to a man & another woman to cover the other two exits while she took the back. "Pigeons both sides" she snapped. "Scooter go get started". "Scooter" headed to the front of the store & brushed shoulders with Indy as he walked past. Indy thought the man looked familiar. The man didn't notice Indy. The man turned & announced to the people in the restaurant. "Everyone stop what you are doing! Listen to me" the man yelled coarsely. "We are here looking for a cave. The one that has the ancient Indian gold in it. Where is it? We must know now or some of you could die!" All conversations stopped. Indy was at first stunned, then perplexed, then fearful. "What the...." he thought. Someone in the crowd yelled "that's just an old legend. It's not true & never was". Suddenly, from the back the lead woman stepped up. "Listen to me good..... We know that the existence of the cave is a true fact". Indy recognized the voice immediately "O hail! It's O'Hail" his brain screamed. He knows he can't let her recognize him as she was surely looking for the same thing Professor Gubbool was. He looked down at the floor. She continued "There was a man here recently. He walked everywhere. He told lots of stories, gray beard, and funny wide brimmed hat. Probably made a nuisance of himself too I'll bet. He liked cookies...... & he was looking for THIS cave. Where is he now?!" Someone in the crowd spoke up. "Yeah, I saw him". O'Hail, turning to look at the speaker from near the counter glanced at Indy. She then looked back. When she did, it was squarely into Indy's face who was still trying to look down.

"AuuuuGH!" she yelled. "Who do we have here? Indy? Indiana Hiker? Here?" She turns toward the crowd. "See people this is the great Indiana Hiker. He doesn't come all the way out to this Podunk forest for no good reason. He must think there is gold here too... Don't you Indy?' She turns & smiles wickedly & points at him. Pigeons get him!" Just then the red haired kid behind the counter yells "Mr. Hiker! Here's your order sir & tosses a small wrapped up burrito to him. Indy reacts quickly. Caches the burrito & flings it in front of Mr. Pigeon who steps on it, slips, & falls face to the floor. A lady fearful for her child in the crowd picks up the dear girl with a hefty lift & swings her over her shoulder & turns around. The girl's feet hit lady Pigeon smack dab in the face & she is knocked onto the floor out cold. Everyone in the restaurant, now seeing a chance, all dash wildly for the exits. Both Pigeons are prevented from getting up by the trampling crowd passing by. The red haired kid then grabs O'Hail from behind, dumps the coke on her head & wrestles her to the ground. Indy looks up, punches a surprised Scooter in the jaw & turns to high tail it out the door with the crowd.

Out the door Indy takes to the vehicle & begins to start the car. Just as it begins to move forward the red haired Taco Bell counter kid runs out in front of the car. Indy slams on the breaks. CLUNK! The kid hits the front of the car. Indy is stuck. He can't get out without running over the kid. So he gets out of the car to move him. As he tries to push the kid away the kid tells him. "No, Mr. Hiker I want to come with you" "I am sorry kid you can't" replies Hiker. "No you don't understand. I know.... I know...." He pants "You know what kid?" "I know where the cave is Mr. Hiker. I've been there. I used to play there when I was little." Indy offers him a hand & helps him into the car. They leave the parking lot spinning gravel all over a green jeep in the parking lot. The car heads out into the rural night air.

The kid leads Indy to the cave in the dark. As they move closer they both see a small light bobbing around at the mouth of the cave. "You stay here kid. I'll go investigate" says Indy. Carefully, Hiker makes his way down to the cave. He keeps a constant watch on the light. Wanting at all times to know where it is. The light stays over in the far corner of the gully, not moving, as he climbs his way down into the hole. At the bottom Indy quietly moves toward the light. Without warning....WACK,... WACK! Indy feels a pain on the side of his head. Then he hears a shriek. "Son of a Bisket!" WACK.! Another sting. "Son of a Bisket!" WACK! Finally, the beating stops. "You son of a bisket what are you doing here? I've got a gun.." It was a sharp female voice; aggressive & intense. A blinding light as bright as the sun then was shined in Indy's eyes. Indy squinted & covered his eye with his hand. There was long pause.......

"Indiana Hiker!!! Is that you? Sure haven't seen you in awhile....... Ok, now I have. The gold & the artifacts will GO WITH ME! UNDERSTAND?" The voice then softened. "Poor baby" Indy recognized the sweet southern tones. It was Magnolia Tupelo. An eclectic southern girl, more at home in Greenwich Village than the wilds of these parts. The last Indy had heard of her she was the head collector for the New York Museum of antiquities. He hoped she still didn't want his head on a spike, but he couldn't remember for sure what the situation was at their last parting. She was aggressive about her finds & the numbers of artifacts that she collected for her employer was astonishing. A relentless searcher well veiled by her slight five & a half foot frame. "Hi,.... Magnolia" He said as he rubbed the blood on his skull & shook the cobwebs from his brain. "You swing that stick pretty good lady. Somebody teach you to do that did they?" "You know somebody taught me how to use that a long time ago Indy.... You old piddlefart! Just thought I needed a little more training using it. Yeah. Did I pass?" She smiled as she checked the cut on his head. "You know the New York Museum DOES have the rights to this one? This IS going to be my find! So what ARE you doing here Indy?" "I'm looking for Professor Gubbool, Magnolia. Have you seen him?". "Lord No! I haven't seen him in months......." She paused while she thought. "Or even years. He was a mess. Bless his little heart".

Just then falling rocks are heard as the Taco Bell kid comes bouncing down the hillside on his butt. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!! Mr. Hiker! They're coming. The people from the restaurant. They're coming". "You got a name kid?" asked Indy. "Yes sir. It's Jim...... Jim Betterman sir." "Well, Jim Betterman lets get in the cave. How do we get in?" "There's a steel gate over the entrance Mr. Hiker. It has locks. Locks from both inside & outside sir.... But....." "But what Jim?" asked Indy. "But she can't come". "Why not Jim?" "Well,.. Well, ... sir, she.... she's.....a...GIRL!" "Granted Jim. She is. Now how do we ALL get in?". "Ok, I have both keys". "Keys? You just happen to have keys? Both keys Jim?!" "Yes sir. I always have my keys with me at all times. I go lots of places. Everyone lets me have them, so I can get in. My dad was the care taker here many years ago. There used to be a bar in there during prohibition. They had bands, alcohol, & dancing in there during the 30's." "Ok, Jim that's good, but you carry the keys with you all the time?" Jim stares blankly at Indy & says nothing. A long pause..... Indy gives up. "Ok then, Jim lets go in. What's above the cave?" "Oh, there is a lake up there Mr. Hiker". Indy didn't like the sound of that, but figured no point in mentioning it now. "But the valve stays shut off Mr. Hiker, so we'll be safe. There is an escape tunnel. It was so if the cops raided the place everyone could get out. It's very narrow though. They could open up the valve & flood the front part of the cave. That way the cops couldn't get in for awhile & everybody had time to climb out the back. They had to climb out and up a tall ladder though. It's old now." "Did it work?.. The flooding?" asked Indy. Jim looked puzzled at being questioned. "I suppose it did Mr. Hiker. But we got to go I hear someone coming!" The trio opened the gate & locked back all the locks & then disappeared into the black inky hole.

Five shadowy figures quietly made their way into the gully headed for the cave. One extremely large man had joined them. As they stepped down to the gate the large man lifted a large sledgehammer and swung. CLANG!!! CLANG!!! CLANG!!! Cheers of "Go Dib. Go get it!' came from some of the figures.

Jim, Magnolia, & Indy all searched the area for clues of professor Gubbool's whereabouts', the lost colony, or the gold following the dark dank cave passages. In the first room there was clearly a stage over to the left. "That's where the band was my father told me once" said Jim. They came to an ornate set of stairs that spiraled 15 feet or so up to the second room. They were tiled in a bright blue, green & white motif. The tiles were arranged, so that they took the form of a bright tropical parrot from the side and a palm tree from the top. "Cool!" said Magnolia. If the valve to the pipe in the lake is opened the water fills up this room, but doesn't get up past the stairs explained Jim. "You hope" said Indy. Both Indy & Magnolia were scanning the ceiling. What they saw astonished them. "A crystal chandelier!" announced Magnolia. "Double cool" says Indy. Walking through the cave everyone's eyes & lights were active. The light landed on a rough wooden statue of an aboriginal man. "Are there any more of these down here Jim?" Indy asked. "I've seen a few. I don't know why they had them down here. It doesn't fit the rest of the decorations". "No it doesn't" Indy replied. "Magnolia, do you recognize this?" "No not me." Indy smiled. "This is from the Threecard tribe. An ancient savage people who were run off by the other Indians tribes prior to the Mayflower. Legend says though short in stature they ate their dead as celebration & were expert water crafters. The rest of the tribes thought they were devils and chased them away after several wars. Maybe a few of them holed out in this cave. Indy smiled. "Don't you think so Magnolia?" Indy's face lit up when he pulled on the statue's head & it came off. "You BROKE it!" Jim said in a surprised voice. Indy explained "Some of these ancient tribes kept secret things in these statues. Let's see." Indy pulled out a little crystal vile with some liquid in it. "The head always represented the being. So only the most precious things were placed there. Look, see the writing on the top of the crystal?" Magnolia grabbed the bottle from Indy. "I don't see a thing" She said. "Well, shake it then Magnolia. Shake it good until the blue liquid inside coats the top of the vile". "Oh, now I see it. I can't read the symbols." said Magnolia starting in a high pitched excited voice. "Ancient Threecardese is a backward language Magnolia. They were a very coarse people, almost evil, beastly even some say.... May I?" as Indy gestured for Magnolia to give him back the vile. At first she just stood there fighting her own strong desires to keep the vile close to her. It took all her effort to give Hiker back the vile. "Thank you" Indy smiled & then read the symbols. "Room of sun other pathway". "See I TOLD you we chose the WRONG passage getting here." Magnolia dug at Indy. "Where is the other pathway?" Magnolia says looking at Jim & smiling like an angel. Small drops of sweat are forming on her cheeks. Jim replied "Yes, but it is in a lower part of the cave". "Jim is there another statue like this in the other passageway?" "Yes, I think so Mr. Hiker. There is also another one of a monstrous beast."

The group headed back to the front room & back down the spiral staircase. They could hear a rhythmic sound of the sledgehammer pounding at the gate. "It's O Hail" Indy quietly tells the others.. The group stops at the front room to listen. Indy looks at Jim. "Do you know how this valve works? We may have to use it". "I'm not sure says the young man". Just then a cheer is heard from the gate area. "They just broke in the gate. I guess it's time we learn, Huh Jim?" "Yes, sir" the boy answers timidly. Both Indy & Jim start to try & turn the big wheel of the valve in front of them. It doesn't budge. They try again. Nothing happens. It's locked solid. Both Jim & Indy are sweating profusely of fear, tension, & effort. Magnolia walks over to investigate. "What's this lever here?" she says, unlatches it & moves it to the other side. The valve wheel immediately starts to freewheel when the boys push on it again. Jim gets his arm caught on the wheel & rides it in a big circle before being tossed out in the middle of the floor while Indy deftly spins out of the way. The whole cave starts rumbling & shaking as thousands of gallons of water start shooting into the first room. "I didn't do that" Magnolia squeals. Indy turns & tells her "Thank you. You just unlocked that valve my dear".

"This way. I know the way. There is a dam way down the tunnel. We'll have to run!" shouts Jim. The elders follow running. The pathway they are taking is at the same level as the first room, so the water catches them, flows past them & then starts to rise slowing them down. "How much further Jim?" Indy asks. "A long way" Jim replies. Just then a wall of water hits the trio. Indy being behind the other two is caught first & slung onto the backs of his companions. The lights are immediately lost in the wave & arms, legs, feet & heads all tumble against one another. Indy grabs a rock on the top side of the wall & then finds an air pocket. He is now alone. The others washed away. The air pocket starts to shrink as the water rises to the ceiling. He has to tread water. His only chance is to let go & find another big air pocket. He lets go and is gone. Sucked under in the silence, darkness, and airlessness Indy's lungs about burst as he is pulled by the current feet first. His feet hit a wall in front of him & his whole body tumbles from the water. When he is upright he pushes off the bottom strongly with his feet. Straight up. "There has to be air!" he thinks. His head hits something soft, but then it is gone. Indy hardly notices as he takes his first giant gulp of musty air. He floats there for several minutes chocking & gasping for his breath. He is at the dam that was made to allow escape from the flooded section of the cave during the prohibition. On the other side of the dam he hears Jim saying "Where is everyone? I can't see. I can't see." & Magnolia moaning curses in pain somewhere on the other side of the dam below him. Magnolia had run up against the dam just as Indy had. She had waited in the deep water with her back against the dam & had just about pushed herself halfway out of the water onto her backside when Indy surfaced straight up. He rammed her right squarely on her butt with his head with force enough to knock her up out of the water & over the dam where she tumbled down the wet steps on the other side.

There was silence for several minutes. Indy felt his way down the slippery steps on the backside of the dam. "Everybody here?" asked Indy. Both the others responded; but barely. Then more silence. "Anybody got a light?" "No" "Nope". A third very weak voice called out. "Is that someone? I have a light. We need water though. Please help us. We're over here."

A glimmer of hope rose in the dank blackness. "Shine your light" shouted Indy. A faint light is seen 100 feet away "Who are you?" asks Indy. "I'm Scott & that is Jewels". He pointed over to a small ball rolled up over in the corner. "We've been down here for three days. I'm with the local university here. We came to look for artifacts & to place a geocache. We were repelling back up the hole above when I slipped & we both fell back down onto the cave floor". "Any broken bones?" asked Indy. "No" But I twisted my knee". "If you give me a cup Scott I'll get you both some water. There's plenty of it here now" offered Magnolia." "Thanks. Who are you?" "I'm Indy & these are my partners Jim & Magnolia. We were looking for a wooden statue of an Indian. Have you seen that?" "Yes, we found that one" Do you remember where it was?" "I don't recall it at all" Scott says. "My mind is blank. I think Jewel's actually found that one. I have a friend that has found it too. Do you want me to call him & ask?" "You have a phone?" said Indy. "Well, I can use it when we get out of here" replied Scott. "Jewel's dear. Do you remember the statue we found? Do you remember where it was?" Jewel's did remember & gave the directions to the explorers. They all sat & rested for several minutes in the pitch dark while Jim took the light & explored the area of the cave where the cave people had fallen.

"Hey Indy" shouts Jim "This is the exit shaft. No more ladder though. But the repelling equipment is still here, but it's all laying on the ground. Geez, I want to get out of here! HELP, HELP, HELP" Jim starts to scream. The filtered morning light can be seen from above though the shaft. "HELP, HELP!" Jim then thinks he caught sight of a little movement right at the top edge of the shaft. He's not sure. Then he makes out a color. A light gray; & it moved again. Then a little more of the object appears. It's a cowboy type hat... "I saw it move" yelled Jim. "Somebody's up there". "HEY, HEY HELP US we're down here!" Indy fumbles his way over to the shaft in the dark next to Jim. Just then an old grey bearded face of a man peers over the edge. "Is someone down there?" He calls out. "Yes, Yes, we need help to get out of here" explains Jim. The stranger above pauses a short while. Then he calls back facetiously. "There is some climbing rope up here should I tie it off & throw it down? Would that work?" "Ahhhh, yeah that would be good" answers Indy.

The rope comes down & Indy looks up at the would-be savior. The stranger casts a familiar silhouette. The stranger asks "What are you folks doing in these parts?" "My name is Indiana Hiker. I came to help a friend, a professor Warren Gubbool. Any chance you might have seen him in this area?" answers Indy. "Help a friend? What friend can you help from down in that hole? It seems to me if you wanted to HELP somebody you wouldn't get yourself stuck in a CAVE where CAVE PEOPLE live. It also seems to me that if the one you are trying to save, saves YOU instead then you must be a miserable FAILURE at saving people!!!. Especially, when the one who is to be saved is getting along by himself quite well, such as the afore mentioned Professor Gubbool..." Indy looked up, dropped his shoulders & smiled "You're a butt you know it? But I am glad your Ok buddy." It was Gubbool. "Of course I'm a butt. You drove 2200 miles here to be in a cold wet hole & I am up here safe, warm, & enjoying my hot cocoa & pop tarts for breakfast".

The first order of business was to get the cavers out. Every one in the cave was tired, wet, covered in mud from head to toe & cold. It was decided Gubbool & Jim would work on that using Scott's expert repelling knowledge while Indy & Magnolia went back to search for the other statue. Gubbool filled them in on what he had found out & tossed down a couple of good lights to explore the cave by. Indy & Magnolia headed back off down the cave. Both lights were moving quickly along the cave perimeter. Magnolia spied something & ran toward it & grabbed it. It was another small vile hanging on the wall. "But there is no statue here?" Indy wondered out loud. Magnolia holds the vile out toward him. "Read it. Read it Indy. Read it now." Indy looked at her. "Are you sure you trust me?" & smiles. She gives him a grimace. Indy looked. "This one is totally blank. No one has ever found this before!!!!"

"We did it Magnolia!" "Yes, we did Indy!" "What about the gold though Magnolia?" "Aww, forget about the gold. It was the Caver's FTF we really wanted".

WAA HOOO FTF BAY BAY.

We leave our hero's with the knowledge that somewhere deep in the bowels of the Birmingham Beast there is still an unfound cache of ancient European gold more valuable than any geocache. Will YOU be the one to find it?

The end.

Fri, May 07, 2010

Alright, my wife broke her foot.  Every time we go anywhere I hear, “What did you do?”, or “Oh, you poor thing.”  Enough already. 

It's not that I don’t feel bad for her, but what about me?  My life is in turmoil as well.  The constant, “Honey could you get me the…”, or, “Sweetie, I can’t reach the…”, and of course, “I don’t mean to bother you but…”.  Multiply that by a thousand and see how you would bear up.  If things were turned around I’m willing to wager that about the second time I said, “Honey could you get me..?”, and I’d hear an emphatic, “You don’t need it.”  And another thing, you can’t imagine how her accident has disrupted our caching.  Let me give you an example.

Wife:  “I’m bored.  You just don’t know how terrible it is to be stuck in the house for days on end.”

This is where I get confused.  I don’t know?  Its not as though she’s been alone.  Where have I been?  Out painting the town red while she sits home alone moping.  Who’s been her gofer for the last three weeks?  Of course I didn’t mention any of that but instead tried to find a solution to her discomfort and a fix for my caching addiction.

Me:  “Would you like to try to do a simple cache?”

Wife:  “I suppose we could if it doesn’t involve too much walking.  Its so hard to get around with the crutches.  Do you think you could find something we could do?”

Something we could do?  I had a long list compiled of easy caches recently published while we’ve been trapped home.  I tried not to sound too anxious.  

Me:  “I think I may be able to find something.”

So off we go.  That sounded easy, didn’t it?  What really happened was it took about an hour to get her ready and stuffed into the car.  I had picked a cache that wasn’t exactly a P&G but would still be easy and offer the wife somewhat of a challenge.  We parked next to the paved path which lead to the cache. 

Wife:  “How far is it?”

Me:  “The GPS says about two hundred feet.”

Wife:  “That’s too far.  You go get it while I wait in the car.”

I knew if she didn’t go after this one it would be a long time before we would get to go again.  It took some convincing but finally she relented.  It was almost as arduous to get her unloaded as it was to get her into the car.  Soon we were walking down the path.  When I say walking I may be misleading.  It was agony to watch how slowly the wife was moving.  I know she was using crutches and was wearing a large black boot but, come on.  She was moving so slowly I believe if she was in a race with her shadow, she would come in a close but disappointing second.  As I watched her inch along I was reminded of my experience in Army basic training.  Our Drill Sergeant would make all the recruits run a mile on an oval track.  To discourage running too slowly the sergeant would get behind the recruit in last place and kick him in the seat of his pants yelling at him to go faster.  At the time I thought the sergeant’s behavior was abhorrent.  But after watching the wife’s painfully slow progress, I could now better understand the wisdom of the sergeant’s training techniques.  I tried to stay behind her so she wouldn’t see my frustration.

Wife:  “I’m going as fast as I can.”

Me:  “I didn’t say anything.”

Wife:  “Don’t think I can’t hear you sighing.”

Me:  “I’ll try not to breath so loudly.”

Well, after a few days we arrived at GZ.  It turned out the cache was a couple of feet from the path hanging in a small tree about shoulder high. The wife spotted it and quickly retrieved the bison tube.

Wife:  “I found it!”

I stood amazed at how nimbly she could move.  I was equally amazed at how quickly she reverted back to almost helplessness as we labored back down the trail.  By the end of the week, we got back to the car.  I performed the task of reloading the wife and we were on our way home.   Having found only one cache, I was brooding over the miserable time we had had when the wife said…

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

New Geocaching Music!

The Travel Bugs

The CD

 The Travel Bugs are proud to announce the release of their debut music CD “Found It!”

This album is a collection of songs about Geocaching, and the style

of the tunes ranges from poprock to bluegrass to blues with just

about everything in between… a great trade item or gift for the

Geocacher in your family and the perfect soundtrack for caching!

We are also pleased to say that the good folks over at Groundspeak

decided to carry our CD in their online shop. You can purchase a

copy at:

http://shop.groundspeak.com/productDetail.cfm?CategoryID=16&ProductID=300

The Band

The Travel Bugs is a band of worldtouring musicians who travel from

cache to cache in a pursuit to learn about music all over the globe.

You can see where each of the travel bugs is currently at on their

web site at:

http://www.thegeocachers.com/BugsMap.php

…or follow them on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Travel-Bugs/325852328309

Hope you enjoy the tunes and happy geocaching!

Wed, Apr 14, 2010

This might come as a surprise, but I’m not an emotional kind of guy.  I generally don’t get sappy, or melancholy, don’t suffer from road rage, get upset by coworkers or customers, and only rarely do I lose my temper.  I also don’t jump for joy or, or get giddy with excitement, those kind of things, although I do get quite animated when I’m teaching, especially when teaching pilots.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that when my Dad died this last November, I didn’t have much outward emotional grief.  Yes, I cried at the funeral, but in the days following I wasn’t what you would call emotionally distraught.

On the outside.

Something was wrong, however.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I wasn’t right,,, somehow.  There was a giant hole there somewhere.  So one Sunday morning, I got up long before anyone else (normal for me on the weekend), and just left.  No, I wasn’t abandoning my family.  I just needed some time by myself.

It turned out I was on a Spirit Quest of sorts, although I didn’t know it at the time.  The weather was very nice, so I jumped on the Harley and pointed it down the road and twisted the throttle.  At the bottom of the hill, I turned East.   At 25^th street, I turned South.  I decided once I was on Hwy 75 southbound, that I was just going to go where impulse led me.  I felt like I would just ride a little while and then come home to continue on with life.  I reached the northern part of Plattsmouth, there’s an auto dealer there, and just past the auto dealer is a stop light.  Impulse sent me West at that point, and told me just to ride straight on.  I won’t bore you with everything that I saw, but it was a nice ride.  I came, at length, to a sign that read “Low Maintenance Road Ahead,” and stopped.  The road looked kind of rough,  There was a bridge ahead, and I was  considering ending my ride and going home.

While I was sitting there, engine idling, a good sized dog came trotted up toward me.  Now, if you ride, you know what’s going to happen next.  The dog is going to start barking and growling and letting you know that you and your loudness are not welcome.  That was not what happened.  She trotted up like she knew me and put her chin on my knee.  I have NEVER had a dog, other than my own, do that.  I pet her while I was still trying to make my decision, then she lifted her head, trotted over to the bridge, stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.

Well, I know a hint when I see one.  I slowly rode forward, following her lead across the bridge.  At the other side of the bridge, she stepped off to the side of the road, sat down and watched me.  I stopped, told her thanks, and then she trotted back across the bridge and was gone.

I sat there for probably another minute before I put the bike back into gear and headed up the hill.  Hey, it was kinda weird, and I knew it.  The going was slow.  Most of the road was, well, low maintenance, with deep ruts but a good flat strip that I could easily ride on.  At one point I was running about 45 miles an hour, but most of the time, about 15 to 20.  I came to a spot and had to stop.  I had to stop not because of the road, but because of the area.  I actually turned off the engine and got off of the bike, and marveled at how wonderful the area was.  I just sat down and enjoyed the silence for a while, noticing a little pond nearby, and a stand of trees, and other features of the land that we often ignore.  I got up, walked over to the Harley, and pushed the button on the GPSr, saving the waypoint(I have a mount on my handlebars for it).  I’m definitely coming back to this spot.  There’s something almost spiritual here.

Geocaching? Sorry, got kind of wordy there.  I’m coming to that.

After doing my little enjoying the world thing, I got back on the bike and headed down the road again, still not ready to head home.  That’s when it happened.  Well, honestly, I got back onto pavement, took a couple of turns, road down the road some more, and THAT’S when it happened.  A little treasure chest popped up on my screen.  A Geocache called my name, and I had to follow.   "Mopac," the name said under the little treasure.  The area that it led me to was a little parking lot by a trail, one of many.  There were power towers and the like, but what caught my attention was the little stand of trees there.  The needle on the GPSr was pointing into the trees.  I spent a moment standing there, looking at the stand of trees before I headed toward ground zero.  The place seemed familiar.  It made me think of when I was a kid, and Dad and I would go squirrel hunting.  It wasn’t the same kind of place where we hunted, but it felt like the same kind of place.  The cache was a fairly quick find, about 20 feet from where my gpsr said it should be, which was about normal.  After signing the log and rehiding the cache,  I sat there for a few minutes.  Back on the bike and down the road.  Another ‘cache loomed onto the screen, named “Goodbye, So Long.”  Hmm, I’m starting to think this isn’t a coincidence.  I found that one quickly (it was designed to be a quick find) and decided that since I was in the area, I’d get “Another Bridge, Another Metal Bridge.”  I normally spend too much time on caches like these.  I decided that I had plenty of time today, nobody at home was probably even awake yet, so I settled down and prepared for a lengthy search.  I found the cache in less than three minutes.  I walked to ground zero, then walked to the end of the bridge, stepped to the side, and spotted the container.  I came back and signed the log, after fighting to get the little darling free of it’s hiding spot.  It had a really strong magnet.

Walking back to my motorcycle, it finally dawned on me.  Life goes on.  The game continues with one less player.  Dad didn’t geocache.  I had invited him to join me once or twice, but he expressed that he wasn’t interested.  In fact, any time I mentioned it to other family members, he had this “Terry’s playing a silly game again” grin on his face.  On this day, just this once, I felt like Dad was Geocaching with me, and enjoying it.  Suddenly the giant hole in the middle of me was filled again, and I felt whole as I rode back home.

Oddly enough, incidently, two new Geocaches were published shortly after Dad died.  One’s final location is maybe a hundred feet or so from Dad’s final resting place.  Mom has joined me to look for those, and I think she wants to come along for some more.  Funny how things work out some time, isn’t it?

By catsnfish   Mon, Apr 12, 2010

Dusk on a warm summer evening, and streaks of yellow/green light dart about and happy children chase and collect these flashes, putting them into glass jars to watch closely as they glow and dim, glow and dim. Called glow bugs, fireflies or lightning bugs, they are often the first insects that children really look closely at.

While shopping one day, I came across a little reminder of those summer nights and the fun my family has had chasing lightning bugs and catching them. I figured cachers might enjoy finding them still.

How to do it?? Glass jars are out, and an ammocan just wouldn’t work either. Rummaging through my cache supplies, I notice it is almost exactly the size of some keyholders I had. Gathering up a few other items, I was ready to start making the critter.

The keyholder was a hinge type made of softer plastic than the rigid keyholders with the sliding tops. I had also found some plastic coated wire leftover from our granddaughter’s birthday presents. These are used to hold the toy in the packaging and take forever to untwist and remove, especially with a 3 yr old wanting the toy… NOW!

This firefly is actually a candy container so it will need some careful preparation to get it ready to use. Chop off their heads, suck out the juice and throw the skins away…. Wait, that’s a song, what we want to do is...Twist off the head, suck out the juice and make the rest a cache... yes, that’s better. While the sticky sweet goo begins to rot my teeth, I rinse the tail thoroughly with hot water, getting it as clean as possible and completely empty. Rinse with a mild Clorox solution to rid it of food odors and let dry thoroughly.

Now to make it glow!! …Or not, I chose not, due to indecision on when it should glow and how to make that happen over the entire life of the cache. I’m sure an LED would work, but a power supply and switching would be another matter. In other words, I wanted a simple cache and not a big challenge to my limited technical abilities. However if anyone should decide to light up their own bug, I would be happy to publish your article on how it was done.

The firefly is comprised of 3 pieces, the tail section where the candy was, a body that fits like a jacket over the tail and finally the head or cap. Determining where I’ll be able to wire it to the keycase, two places look promising. The neck area just behind the head is a good place, so I just twist the wire twice and leave plenty of extra to go through the keycase. To keep the tail and jacket together, I’ll have to push a wire or two through both pieces, in addition to a little glue. The plastic covered wire will go through two pre-poked holes on each side of the tail. Be patient here, as it can be very tough to line up the wires with the holes. Using another dab of glue, twist the head on and line it up with the body. It now looks like it has 2 extra sets of legs and antenna on the bottom.

Laying it on top of the keycase, I determine where the holes need to be and poke them through the keycase with a push pin. Make sure it is positioned so that the keyholder can be latched and unlatched easily. Depending on the size wire available, the holes may need to be enlarged a bit, in this case I used a small diameter drill, twisting it by hand, to get the right size. There will be two holes at the neck area and four where the body will attach. Feed the wires through and twist each set together inside the keycase. Twist just enough to firmly hold the bug without putting too much stress on the wires. Clip off any excess and flatten as much as possible before covering each set of twisted wires with a generous glop of silicone sealer to completely cover the wires and not mound up too much.

Allow the silicone to set up, then add a log in a plastic bag and place it somewhere people will have to feel for it. There is nothing like coming across a giant bug while blindly feeling for a cache.

The coated wire and silicone sealer technique also work well with lock and locks and other containers. I have made five or six very different type caches that way. Be creative and have fun!

Sun, Mar 28, 2010

Every DVD has a blooper reel these days. Sometimes the bloopers are intentional jokes – sometimes they are NOT. Well... here's mine. I try to keep up with the latest fashions. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

"I cannot wait to rush in where angels fear to tread..."

Camelot

Cache: Composite 2: The Sequel

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: January 8, 2006

Scenario:  Picture an eager new cacher with a basic Garmin Geko 101, a silver Honda Civic, and a touchingly naïve belief that the shortest, and therefore best, distance between two points is a straight line. Got it? Now picture a network of ATV trails existing between a paved road and the cache site... The hondacar somehow survived, even down what looked like a 45 degree slope – said cacher's touchingly naïve belief died a quick death that day. (Nevermind that I nearly had a heart attack.)

“Stop ripping holes in my pants!”

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (sort of)

Cache: March to the Arch

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: March 7, 2006

Scenario:  Jeans fabric is very tough. The rock surfaces around Las Vegas are very rough. The march to the arch was high and steep. When scooting and sliding on the rear end became a necessity, it became a “irresistible force meets immovable object” type of scenario. The rocks won... and since my car was parked at least a third of a mile back along the road, anyone driving along Lake Mead Blvd that particular day had a better then usual view of my derriere.

“Uh... it was nice meeting you.”

Twister

Cache: First Creek Falls Cache

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: April 4, 2006

Scenario:  Two eager cachers heading for a cache in the foothills west of Vegas, where the seasonal waterfalls and pools trickle. One mile, one way, from car to cache, roughly. Half the way in, a rock. Upon the rock, a man. Practicing, as near as we can tell, burro calls – not that we know what a burro call really sounds like, but we had to assume /something/. Rock and man were skirted, and we continued on to successfully find the cache.

We took a different route back.

"It's time to swim or sink...

Toss the cacher over the side, drop her in the drink."

Muppet Treasure Island (sort of)

Cache: The Missing Cacher Series—Part 2—His Lunch

Location: Omaha, NE

Date: October 5, 2006

Scenario:  A seven part series in the woods. A deep, fairly narrow creek winding through. An inconveniently placed road that bridges the creek. Doing the caches in numerical order requires multiple crossings. Once I jumped successfully. The second time – well, that bit of solid looking ground – wasn't. Did I mention the deep nature of the creek? I was submerged up to my shoulders, very nearly! *squish**splash**curse*

"The thing's hollow... it goes on forever...

and oh, my gosh, I just dropped the cache down it!"

2001: A Space Odyssey (sort of)

Cache: Wheels

Location: Bellevue, NE

Date: July 30, 2007

Scenario:  A metallic pyramid, about six feet high, made entirely of bicycle pieces and parts. Somewhere on it – a bison tube on a hook. Six visits to search. On the seventh visit, success! In the excitement of the moment, the cache is fumbled, and disappears into a long tube, presumably never to be seen again, occasioning a frantically apologetic “needs maintenance” log... but it was easily retrieved and replaced the next day by the cache owner, so all ended well.

"Come with me if you want to get inside your car again."

Terminator 1, 2, or 3 (sort of)

Cache: Tombstone Graveyard

Location: ~1.5 miles outside David City, NE

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2009

Scenario:  Let me just quote the DNF log:

A) When out caching, always wear a jacket on windy, cloudy days. That way, if you happen to, say, lock your keys in the car, you won't freeze on the walk back into town.

B) It's really very neat to get to ride in a police car, at least when you are riding in the front seat. :)

C) The police department and the county sheriff are very helpful! And they don't charge for unlocking locks!

D) It'd be better to use that magnetic keyholder I've been hanging onto to *gasp* hold a spare, door-unlocking key under the car, rather then place a cache in. Did you know they can hold KEYS?

"The ends, my friend, are blowing in the wind...

The ends are blowing in the wind."

“Blowing in the Wind”, Kingston Trio (sort of)

Cache: Hides of Horror: War of the Worlds

Location: Bellevue, NE

Date: March 27, 2010

Scenario:  Multi-cache. I have the first stage in my hands, and the coordinates in my GPS. Put it back where it's supposed to go, and with my incredible talent for such things, manage somehow to wedge it in there in such a way it's impossible to pull back out. *tug*tug*tug*SNAP* Suddenly, I'm peering down at the waxed string... it's fluttering in the wind in my hands, happily unattached to anything. The cache is currently disabled, pending replacement – which I've offered to do. Waiting to hear back. Got this guilty feeling – oops!

Mon, Mar 22, 2010

I don’t consider myself a selfish person.  Sometimes life throws you a few curve balls just to let you know things aren’t always going to go your way.  Recently the wife broke her foot.  Very inconsiderate of her, I thought.  Because of her accident our caching has been put on hold.  After a few doctor visits she now walks with a large black boot and crutches.  Without the boot I had to jump up every time she needed anything.  With the boot she was much more mobile.  As much as she complained about the boot being heavy and bulky, I was very relieved to see her getting around on her own.

I was on the internet perusing nearby geocaches. I spotted one not too far away that had yet to be found.  The excitement of a possible FTF got the best of me.  I looked over at the wife comfortably sitting on the couch under her blanket drinking her morning coffee.  I hesitated a few minutes before I decided to give it a go.  The thrill of a FTF got the best of me.

Me:  “How would you like to get out of the house?  There’s a chance for a FTF not too far away.”

The look she gave me made me take a step back.  You would think I had asked her to give up a kidney. 

Wife:  “You’re not serious?”

Me:  “Why not?  You’re getting around much better and I’ll be right there to help you.”

Wife:  “My foot is broken.”

Leave it to her to point out the obvious.  It took some doing but I was finally able to convince her to try.  It took her forever to get into the car.  I think she was going slow just to irritate me.  When we arrived at the Nature Center I thought she would refuse to get out of the car and ruin everything.   To get to the cache was going to be a .39 mile walk .  It was early March and even though the snow had melted in my yard there was ice on the trails in the woods.  We hadn’t made it very far before she fell the first time.  I would have thought with all the practice she had walking with the crutches she should be more stable.  I picked her up and of course she fell repeatedly on the way to the cache.  Again, I think she was going slow just to irritate me.  I would not put it past her to teach me a lesson by flopping in the mud like a fish out of water.

I’m reminded of the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants.  Apparently along the way some of the animals mis-stepped and fell to their doom down the mountain.  I have to believe after several of these accidents he was second-guessing his wisdom in insisting on bringing the pachyderms on the trip.  I think I was sharing his thoughts as I watched the wife land in the mud for the umpteenth time.

Wife:  “I thought you said you were going to help me?  You‘re too far away from me.”

Me:  “That’s because every time I get close you whack me with your crutch.”

Wife:  “Well, excuse me for slipping on the ice.  Remember this was your dumb idea.”

Well, after what seemed to take forever we reached the cache.  By some miracle we were FTF.  I quickly signed the log and practically carried the wife back to the car.  On the way home I had to listen to her go on about all the mud covering her and that I had not been much help to her at all.  I have to admit she was taking quite a bit of the Nature Center home with her.  After we got home I helped her get cleaned up and into clean clothes.  An hour later after she had settled onto the couch with a warm blanket covering her and everything back to normal she said…

Wife:  “It was nice to get out.  Wasn’t that fun?”

Wed, Mar 17, 2010

It's all catsnfish's fault. If you are sure of nothing else, be sure of that. It is directly attributable to catsnfish.

And also Edgar Allen Poe.

With that being established, here is the tale of how a lowly little traditional-seeking cacher advanced in find and hide counts, miles on the odometer, amount of mud on the boots, and many other advances that I won't go into... to become an EarthCache PLATINUM MASTER (dum dum dum!)

WARNING: LONG!

"Once upon a December dreary, while I cached, weak and weary,

For many a quaint and curious 'tainer on Missouri shore"

My first EarthCache, admittedly, was rather a throwaway at Schramm State Rec Area, back in 2006. I was less than a year into this thing called caching, I was lucky enough to be caching with a friend who had a digital camera, and the requirements simply called for a photo to be taken at the site. Barring my usual reluctance to have my photo taken, there was nothing to it. I don't have any other photos... and I was destined to return to this spot again, anyway. So.

"Ah,", thought I happily, "an easy smiley. Only this and nothing more."

"While I focused, quickly snapping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some oversight insistently rapping, rapping, impossible to ignore--

"'Tis some oversight," I muttered, "tapping and impossible to ignore--"

My second EarthCache was a catsnfish EarthCache - and so I came to their attention. This was L&C Allom Stone Clift, in Ponca State Park, Nebraska. From this park, one can look into South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska, depending which way you look. I was camping and caching up in that area in March, '09, and had a conventional film camera with me - so I figured why not! I happily went to the coordinates to view the signs, but alas... no signs. As I stood there, scratching my head, it gradually sank in that hey, I was on a cliff. So I looked down, down, and sure enough - signs! Spent a bit of time kicking myself, and proceeded down - I was too far away to read the signs, from above. Or to search the cliff for fossils, which was the assigned task!

"Ah," thought I self-defensively. "an easy mistake to make. Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was on the D-Day of June;

And each separate fossil layer stared out from the height of the dune.

Then it was back to where I began! The original Schramm EarthCache having been archived, another had been set up in that area (by catsnfish... what are the odds?) And so I resolved, with my non-digital camera, henceforth known as the NDC, to return, get another picture, and answer some crucial questions about fossil layers.

I actually had to return there twice - there was a busload of children at the site the first time I went back, and they were very curious! When I came back again, I was alone, so a self-portrait was the only answer... and I'm not going to post that here! (It wasn't a very good answer.) That made 3 EarthCaches - but only in one state. I needed one in another state...

"Ah", thought I dubiously, "an EarthCache in Iowa is needed. Only this and nothing more?"

Eagerly I wished the excuse;--vainly I had sought why the use

Of the sign's message of welcome-use for those who come--

For the head-scratching puzzled use for those who come--

It was at this point catsnfish took me on as apprentice... or something like that! The next EarthCache I went after, I was with Joe of catsnfish, and he took the pic - the NDC was not needed. This would be the cache I needed to get the bronze earthcache ranking. This cache played off the oxbow-creating nature of the Missouri - and it's unpredictability; the questions to answer all related to river research, and I learned a fair bit.

Most people assume that the Missouri River is the border between Nebraska and Iowa... and normally, it is. Except for Carter Lake, IA, which found itself on the wrong side of the river, due to an ice jam and a shift in the course of the river 1.25 miles SE in 1877. Given that Carter Lake partly surrounds the Omaha airport, it has caused endless confusion to travelers not aware of this oddity, and endless amusement to people who are, when they pass the "Welcome to Iowa" signs! It took them well over a decade to straighten out all the legalese afterward. It's also spawned a pair of caches along "Iowa's Shortest Highway", which is completely surrounded by Nebraska.

"Ah", thought I cheerfully, "THAT'S why! A mischievous river! Only this and nothing more."

And the silken, hurried, undirected rushing of each bubbling cascade

Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic desires to get in and wade;

Later on that June, my father (in the pre-Untrackable Geodad days) came from Arkansas for a visit, and we went up to Huron, SD where my mother is buried. On the way back, we passed through Sioux Falls, SD - you know what is coming, next, don't you? There are two EarthCaches in that city, coincidentally enough centered on... the Big Sioux River Falls! He was perfectly willing to wander the park with me, collecting information and measurements, and I even bought him ice cream after!

The falls have wore down to the pink quartzite bedrock underlying the region, which was highly prized for buildings all throughout the area. That was the focus of many of the signs, and one of the requirements was to get a photo taken next to an old mill. It's in the background of the photo below.

"Ah," thought I wistfully, "if only I had my bathing suit - only this and nothing more!"

So that now, to stop the biting of my skin, I ran swiftly,

"'Tis some mosquitoes seeking a snack buzzing in my ear--

Some blasted mosquitoes seeking a snack buzzing in my ear;--

Well, I'd studied fall and cliff and river... what was next? I needed more! I needed to get that silver EarthCache pin! What was next?

What indeed! How about this?

Well, okay, technically that wasn't the site of any of the three EarthCaches I nabbed in Florida, on the way from Miami to Key West - but who could resist that scene? I went to Florida in July of last year - the story of THAT trip is in another Chronicle, so I won't repeat myself too much. But by the time I was done, I'd studied the effect of tides, the geological composition of the Florida Keys, and beaches and reefs! Not to mention learning firsthand about the ferocious Florida Mosquito...

"Ah", thought I frantically, "What can save me? A can of OFF? Only this and nothing more??"

Presently my surprise grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "and Madam, truly in your debt I am forever more;

Having little money for travel, oddly enough, for the next few months, I bumped around eastern/central Nebraska, collecting smileys and educating myself on alluvial fill terraces (thanks, catsnfish!); the nature and origin of natural springs; aquifers, water tables and river velocities (thanks, catsnfish!); and the nature of saline wetlands. Yes, all of the above can be found in Nebraska - it's not /just/ prairie, y'know. EarthCaches #10 - 14. The numbers were climbing... at EarthCache #12, Borrow Pits, I earned my gold pin. Of course, I had to also place 2 caches for that - but we'll get to those.

Somewhere during those months, I was given a shiny, pink digital camera (thanks, catsnfish!), to replace the NDC; this would make things a lot easier and save a ton of money on developing film.

"Ah," thought I gratefully, "Now I only need to supply batteries. Only this and nothing more!"

But the waypoint I was recalling, and so gently water came falling,

And so faintly water came falling, falling from the white ore,

That I scarce was sure I heard it"--here I studied the type of ore;----

And then it was Thanksgiving... Texas, anyone?

When I'd started out with a Garmin Geko 101, back in January '06, I was living in Las Vegas. My first caches were desert caches. But I had no desert-themed EarthCaches - yet. Though the Sandhills of Nebraska are full of cacti (ouch!) and rattlesnakes (eek!), and sand (naturally), so is part of Texas, around Killeen. And I was visiting family, so... naturally I dragged them with me to observe an ephemeral desert stream and waterfall, and categorize layers of rock. Again, another Chronicle has a more complete accounting. I'll just post this picture and move on. Space's filling up!

"Ah," thought I observantly, "So little rain lately, the fall is a trickle. Only this and nothing more."

Deep into that stone field clearing, long I stood there wondering, peering,

Theorizing, studying rocks no mortal ever dared to study before;

Well, what do you know... on the way back from Texas, our plane landed in Kansas City, MO - and a detour into Kansas STATE won't take too long, will it?

"Dad, let's swing through Topeka. And, oh, yes, while we're at it, let's get these two EarthCaches nearby."

I was closing in... I could taste that platinum pin! (It tasted metallic, in case you are wondering.) And so we journeyed into Kansas, to claim yet another state, and learn more about glacial erratics (boulders picked up and dumped somewhere else) and river channel deposits / cliff erosion. Oddly enough, the boulders we studied were pink quartzite. I wonder now if they came from Sioux Falls - same type of rock! They plainly didn't belong - the rest of the rock around was a boring grey.

"Ah," thought I curiously, "Why the hole in the rock? Was it from ice? Only this and nothing more?"

But the quest was marked as won, and nothing remained undone,

And it certainly had been fun, of earthcaches full score

These I placed, and reflection proudly glinted back the pins I wore--

2009 inevitably rolled on into 2010, and just as inevitably, clouds rolled in and dumped a lot of snow... Omaha set a record for most days with snow on the ground, this past winter. My caching suffered as a result. (I could hear it crying at night.) But that brings us to March, and familiar territory for the last three EarthCaches to complete a set of 20. When in doubt, look to your own backyard - particularly if a river runs through it!

One cache took me out on a walking bridge over the mighty Mo, to study how man's efforts to control the river have changed it; one took me up a tall tower (with catsnfish, male, practically pushing me up the stairs - did I mention my fear of heights?) to study what used to be the Missouri River valley; and the final cache had me studying samples of dirt from both sides of a road - on one side loess soil; on the other, plain river mud. Astonishing what difference 100 feet can make!

And that made 20... but just finding them isn't enough - you have to develop 3 or more to complete the quest for platinum. How I came to do that is a tale for another time, but here's some sneak peeks for the three caches:

Mission Possible: The Smith Falls Adventure (picture taken from Wikipedia, alas)

Mission Possible: Mammoth Springs

Mission Possible: Boyer Chute

"Ah", thought I finally, "There is nothing more to say. Only this, and nothing more..."

...UNTIL NEXT CHRONICLE - CHEERS!

By vartan84   Wed, Mar 03, 2010

^This video may be a spoiler if you cache in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.^

Chester Creek Cache-
My second episode of geocaching comes from my first day of the geocaching hobby. We drove to this site just five minutes from episode 1's location just after making my first find ever and so I'm still fresh to how it all works. Once again my friend Jimmy picked a great cache to help introduce me to geocaching. The bridge the cache is located under is located by the entrance to the great Westtown School, and the river by which the geocache is located goes into a manmade reservoir aptly named Westtown Lake. I really like this episode as it illustrates some of the main reasons I love geocaching: it takes you to great places you otherwise never would notice, you see some pretty nature like the waterfall next to this one, and we ever got to interact with a few creatures who call the site home. You'll see all of this in the video, and if you saw episode 1 you'll recognize the way with which we decide to wrap up our hunt!

By catsnfish   Fri, Feb 26, 2010

This was one of my guardian ideas that I just never got around to doing till now. I decided it would be a good idea to share the process and a few things learned along the way.

We'll start with a bit of background, several years BC (before caching) I wanted to give my children something handmade and different for their birthdays. Didgeridoos came to mind because I had bought one at a big Boy Scout event that was made of PVC pipe and I figured 'I can do that!' Firing up my grill and heating up some tube, I made my first one with twists and kinks in it like the one I had bought, to create the back pressure that was needed to efficiently play a didge. Doing more research over the internet I found various techniques to sculpt the PVC pipe, creating knots and bumps and bell ends and came up with some realistic looking "hollow tree branches." With Vic adding the painted details, we had some unique instruments and when we donated two to a charity auction, they brought in a combined total over 250 dollars. Not bad for a 25 dollar tool investment and less than 4 dollars worth of material.

How to make a cache critter from PVC pipe

First you'll need a heat source, my first didges were made using charcoal in a hibachi grill, but a heat gun used to soften and remove paint is a much more efficient source. The material is the 1 ½ diameter thin wall PVC that you can buy in some hardware stores for around 5 dollars per 12 foot tube. You do not want to use the schedule 40, thicker walled pipe as it is much more difficult to work with. Cut off about a 3 foot section with a handsaw and smooth the cut end. Measure the circumference of the pipe and mark ½ that distance on a piece of paper folded lengthwise.

 That distance will be the widest you can make your template. You'll notice there are 2 different templates in the photos, after making the first cobra I decided to tweak the pattern a bit for a more realistic look. I made the pattern for the hood, head and fangs a total of about 8 inches, the length of the paper I used. The hood was full width and the base was equal to half the circumference.

Using a coping saw make a "smile" cut to about half the depth of the pipe, keeping it as even on both sides as possible and make a pencil line to the end of the tube centered on the smile like this (------. In the photo's you'll see the first trial without the smile cut and the second with it. The cut will allow you to flatten the tube much better and gave a smoother flow to the transition from body to hood. Use the heat gun or other heat source to soften the PVC and use a razor knife to carefully split the tube along this line. Spread open the tube, we used the end of a baseball bat to get it started, and flatten it as much as possible. By using leather gloved hands and pushing onto a smooth surface as the heat is applied you can get it pretty flat.

 A word of caution here, as we were doing this part my son, Jens, had braced the tube against his upper thigh, after a few moments he said "Dad, Stop!" and ran through the door to grab a handful of snow to cool himself off. Super hot air travels down the tube quickly, so be careful where you put the other end. Heat guns can generate 1000 degrees f. Keep your hair covered and away from the heat, as hair can quickly catch fire at those temps. One last warning, unless it is turning brown or melting, PVC does not 'look' hot but can burn you badly; always use leather gloves when shaping it.

After the flattened end has cooled you can trace your template onto the PVC. Cut out with a coping saw or scroll saw with very fine blades. Clean and smooth your edges with a file, sandpaper or a sanding drum.

Now to form the PVC, you'll need to gather some tools to use. We used a large metal serving spoon and a crescent wrench. Jens held the gun as I moved the center of the hood area back and forth in front of it, when the pvc was soft enough I pressed the handle of the crescent wrench into the back side creating a squarish ,raised central 'body' for the cobra. As I held the tube and wrench, Jens grabbed some snow to 'set' the PVC and cool it off to retain the shape. The next steps were to fold over the head and pinch the sides of it together and give the fangs a nice curve, trying to keep everything symmetrical and as realistically shaped as possible. Each time I was happy with a shape we cooled it with snow, but ice cubes will work well too. Using the spoon, we repeated the heating and pressing/stretching process to shape the hood.

Now to give the cobra's body a nice S curve, in a section between your gloved hands, heat until it is warm enough then give it a slight bend. Do this in several spots, the PVC stretches and will flatten some when bending this way. Be careful not to overheat the tube or bend too much as that will burn or tear a hole on the pipe, and if you let it straighten out before it is set a wrinkle may form. If any of those occur, don't worry, it can be fixed but it takes a bit of effort. It was just such a tear on our first attempt that leads me to come up with the next step. The actual cache container for this will be a preform marked 'antivenin' that would use a wire hook to hang on the inside of the body. The hole in the prototype cobra was almost at the same depth the preform would sit at and I thought of pushing a piece of the waste PVC into the hole to create a shelf for the preform to sit on, eliminating the need for wire. I could then use an epoxy putty to fill the hole the same way that I have repaired holes on didges I've made. This putty comes in a plastic tube and has a layer of green hardener surrounding the grey putty. Cut off what you need, mix and knead the hardener into the putty till you have a uniform color, then apply directly to the PVC and feather the edges as much as you can. Enough of the putty will go through the tear to help lock it in place when it sets and if you can reach it inside you can smooth it down as well. Working quickly, you can use wet fingers to help smooth it down and after it has set it can be worked with a file and sanded to blend it into the PVC surface. Another layer can be applied if necessary too.

Go back over all of your cut edges with a fine sandpaper to smooth them out and go over the surface with fine steel wool to prepare it for painting.

We decided on a more abstract look rather than trying for a photo quality cobra representation, in the hopes it would blend a bit better with vegetation. After painting, we give several coats of a matte finish clear coat to protect the paint job without making it too shiny.

And here is the finished Cobra Cache!

I haven't addressed how the cobra will be mounted because I haven't checked with my reviewer yet to see if pushing the tail end into the ground would go against the guidelines no digging rule, or if I would need to make a base for it to sit on.

If you would like to make your own cobra or other PVC sculpture, practice and get a feel for the different techniques and limits, the material is certainly inexpensive enough.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Mon, Feb 22, 2010

FTF Geocacher is a bi-monthly print magazine catering to the geocaching community. It is a paid subscription and ad-supported publication, but as advertising and introduction the premier issue has been published free online as a .pdf file. Read it at http://ftfgeocacher.com/FTFGeocacherMR.pdf

Check it out... if this first issue is any indication then FTF Geocacher Magazine will be a valuable and entertaining resource for all geocachers!

By Gwyn Calvetti   Fri, Feb 12, 2010

Winter is never an excuse to stay inside and let the Garmins collect dust, at least not at our house.  A new snowfall covering the landscape along a stream, hoarfrost on the branches, no bugs, especially no deer ticks.  Perfect!  Winter also brings another kind of caching fun, one that allows you to walk on water for those five star terrains.

Our favorite caches are usually adventures, ones that challenge us physically and bring us closer to places of natural beauty.  Coming to geocaching as already active outdoors people, we have all that extra gear.....snowshoes, cross country skis, chest waders, a canoe, a kayak.  We love paddling adventures, taking us along riverways or across lakes to islands, watching the loons dive in front of us as we ply the waters to our goal.  So why in the world would we want to take on a five star cache in the winter?

Two words: fuel costs.  If we're going to haul that canoe or kayak a couple hundred miles cross state, our gas mileage will drop.  That's not such an issue, but having to figure out shuttling to our start point is.  At least once, we've dropped a bike at the ending point to ride back to where the car is parked, and after paddling the river all day, pedaling the road loses its appeal.

Some might say walking on the hard water is taking the easy way out.  Sometimes, it is. But others......

We'd had our sights set on a cache near West Bend Wisconsin, Cedar Creek Cache (GCGW8Q).  We've been trying to fill up our D/T grid with caches that qualify for the original California Fizzy Challenge and this cache was one of those.  Some had found it in the previous weeks, so we met up with caching friends from around the state, Seth of Team Honeybunnies and Marc, also known as marc54140.  The day was bright and clear, but not too warm. "Not too warm" is a good thing when seeking caches on islands or across rivers.  We headed off for the cache, located in the Jackson Marsh state hunting grounds.  The first challenge was the road itself.  Having received a significant snowfall early in the season, much of that had melted away after recent heavy rains, rains which then froze solid all over everything.  The road was a bumpy ice rink, but we managed somehow to get to the parking area and not fly off into the swamp.

We looked at Cedar Creek.  Some frozen areas along the shoreline created a large broken shelf of ice on the banks angled down a good 45 degrees or steeper.  Not at all conducive to getting onto that ice layer to check strength.  Now what?

"How about we just walk upstream a bit to find a better spot?"

"Good idea."

"Look, there's a nice deadfall that spans a good way across."

"With open running water just beyond it, are you crazy?"

Checking out the ice

One member of our group was not to be convinced. 

"A hare-brained scheme is good for the soul," taunted Seth, while the rest of us were ready to move on to something less dangerous.  A skirt lifter in front of a good local restaurant, perhaps?

Seth wasn't giving in.  Gathering up a large deadfall, he set off to create some kind of bridge across the two feet of open current in the middle of the best crossing point we'd discovered.  What could we do?  The rest gathered equally solid deadfalls and the bridge was laid.  Still uncertain was the actual ice thickness on either side of the bridge, but where current is involved, it was safe to assume it wasn't terribly thick.

Trekkin' and marc54140 carry big sticks

Handing over his Garmin and his cell phone, Seth prepared to cross.  Trekkin' grabbed onto the crosspieces to prevent them from tipping into the current, and when everything was set, Seth got down on all fours and scuttled across like a waterbug.  With a well placed toss, his Garmin was back in hand and the rest of us watched safely as he walked toward ground zero and freed the cache from its ice-encased location.

Making the passage across

The whole process was reversed and he was able to return dry and warm, with a smiley to be logged later that night.

We congratulated him on his brave and probably foolish move and headed off for our next adventure, all of us agreeing that this cache would have been far easier to reach by kayak in June.....with bugs, though!

For those who think accessing a five star terrain cache in the winter is the easy way out, think again.  It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "walking on water."

Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The Kearney event was coming up and I had offered to hold a mini class on Earthcaches since someone suggested seminars and classes would be a nice change from event caches and games. What had I done to myself?? I may talk a good game in my stories but in real life I’m a quiet guy not prone to public speaking, and enjoy listening much more than talking and especially if the talking is done in front of a group.

  I had made the offer, not because I think I’m an expert, but because of the great experiences Vic and I have shared at EC’s and I feel strongly that Nebraska needs more of its landmarks developed as EarthCaches. So I would be teaching about what they are, what they can be and how to develop them for submission. Beginning an outline and starting to fill it in, I thought wouldn’t it be great if the cachers at the event could visit an EarthCache as part of the class? But what could I develop around there? The event would be held in a state park with manmade lakes, nothing very geologically impressive there but a great place to camp, with fishing and swimming lakes and nice shaded areas to pitch your tent. Tent stakes can be pushed with your foot into the sandy soil and don’t have to be pounded in like… Sand! Why was it there? I had the beginnings of my EC.

    Writing up the page describing depositions of sands from a widely meandering Platte River, I find an article about the construction of Interstate 80, saying material had to be quarried nearby to make the roadbeds. It went on to say, that this material is taken from what is called a borrow pit, (I have a title now) which obviously leaves a big hole in the ground. Knowing the water table would fill those holes; these pits were dug with the intention of creating recreational areas and fishing lakes. Hmmmm, water tables? Well, now I had my logging requirements too!

  After receiving permission from the park superintendant, I sat on the submission for a bit, trying to time the publication of “Borrow Pits” with the event. There had been a large number of EC’s worldwide published in the last few months and the workload was causing some delays in approving and publishing EarthCaches. I sent it in to geoaware about 10 days before the event and made handouts of what would be the page in case it wasn’t published in time, so that we could discuss it.

Of course the subject of fritters came up, both between Vic and I and Sioneva as well, while making our plans to attend. It had become a bit of tradition for us to bring a donut or two for Sioneva whenever we both attended an event, whether a frigid flash mob in the middle of a river or a sweltering summer picnic, we did our best to provide her donut fix. I had been talking up the fritters to her (she normally enjoys frosted cake donuts, but we had been priming her for these) and would make sure she got a “Kearney Fritter”. Vic decided we would buy a few on Saturday morning to share with Sioneva and GeoDad and at the same time place our order for 2 dozen more to be picked up Sunday to take home and freeze.

I was as ready as I ever would be to teach my class and Borrow Pits had just been published! Great! People could visit and log it during the event. Two days to go.

Originally planning to camp until the likely prospect of heavy rain was predicted, we made reservations for Friday and Saturday nights in a motel and offered our previously reserved camp spot for Sioneva’s use. Getting off work early, I was told I would be driving, something to do with Vic being sick of driving after only 2400 miles or so a few weeks previous, no problem, I can step up when needed, if she is ok with my hawk watching while driving. Cloudy skies but no rain, eh, this won’t be bad. About halfway there the skies open up on us, everything is dark and the wipers are struggling to keep the window clear and passing a semi trailer makes them lose the battle altogether and we drop into an abyss at 70 mph. The whumpa whumpa of the wipers and the thrumming din of the rain on the roof combine in my mind to make the sound of screeching, groaning metal and I picture bolt heads zinging off followed by fantail sprays of high pressure water, the glass cracks on a dial and begins to drip as the dark interior of the van starts closing in on us as the needle on the  fathometer reads deeper and deeper.  Whoa..bad time to daydream!! Get your mind back on the road, Joe!!  I’d have to pay attention and do without the imaginary sonar. Traffic slows but doesn’t stop and when the storm lets up a bit, everyone is back at or over the speed limit. We had multiple waves of abysmal conditions, interspersed with the merely torrential, the rest of the way to Kearney and we listened to the wind howl and rain pelt the windows of our room through most of the night.

Then a new day dawned and it was sunny, reflecting its sparkly brilliance from puddles and ponds of standing water that had yet to seep away in the sandy soil of the Platte River valley. With the promise of fabulous fresh fritters, we start our day. A leisurely morning, we didn’t even go caching and rolled into the campgrounds just a bit early (still working on that) with our pasta salad that had aromatically enhanced our motel room in a most delicious manner as we combined the fresh ingredients. (Yahoo, my sniffer works again! and onion smells w o n d e r f u l ! !) Placing the gladware container on the serving table with a blue ice block underneath to keep it cool, we mingle a bit before chow time.

There is a pin the flag at ground zero game going on and the registration table has a box for trackables to be discovered or moved along. One trackable that hadn’t been able to fit in the box was a painting of a very familiar crow, an opalsns WOA TB, in fact the original one. About a week or so before Kearney, I had noticed a painting (?) in the geocoins listings on e-bay and had recognized the name of the seller from the geocoin forums. Thinking of the magazines reader’s, I thought ‘there’s a story here’ and contacted opalsns to do a short interview about this novel twist to trackables. After some correspondence, the interview was published in the new ‘Spotlight!’ column of The Online Geocacher magazine. Having only published the story a few days earlier, I was really tickled to find and discover this caching crow at our event.

Another traveler that didn’t fit in the shoebox was to appear in a little bit and when it did it was green and about to croak, no it wasn’t that hot out, it was …………Signal the Frog, who had hopped all this way just to be a discoverable part of our event and proved to be a well photographed visitor with as many adults as children, handing off cameras to “take my pic” with Signal…myself included.

The next activity was lunch and everyone lined up to sample all of the potluck goodies. I wasn’t seriously dieting this year, so naturally I didn’t eat much. Actually, Vic and I had a fritter each for breakfast and a bit later in the morning we gave into temptation and split one of the two fritters we were going to give to Sioneva.  Now these fritters are, without any exaggeration, a bigger diameter than most dessert plates and a tad over an inch thick, of fruity, dense bread like dough. Fried crispy outside, tender inside and drizzled with glaze, they weigh what seems to be a full pound, and are a meal, or more, to less accomplished fritter critters than ourselves. We later found out the fritter we had given to Sioneva had fed her and her father with a bit left over. Back to lunch, it was all good and tasty and my tummy was satisfied.

Time for the awards and ceremonial logbook signing, I believe the Nebraskache group had 14 golden ammo cans to distribute to achievers of a thousand finds and several coins for those who had multiple thousands . Next, the Delorme and 93 County Challenges and both of those cache owners called up those who had completed them and asked each to say something about their experiences. When we were called up I said “Read about it in the magazine!” no actually I didn’t say that, I had pre written the log for Vic to enter into the logbooks (she has much better penmanship) and made a short remark based on that, but we all knew I would eventually (6 months later) write about our adventures.

Shortly after that people began to disperse. Some would go caching and others would stay for the presentations. I was scheduled to give mine first and setting a time for everyone to be present I began to gather my handouts and courage.

Slipping on a red clown nose found as swag a few weeks ago I began:  “A caching friend from the Netherlands dared me to wear this clown nose today, and it’s actually kind of fitting, So here goes, EarthCaches are fun and like my nose says, they are “The Greatest Show on Earth!” the Earth itself.”  And after making sure we got a pic to prove it to my friend, I took it off so I could be understood and introduced myself; “I’m not a geologist, although I get to play one while visiting EarthCaches. I’m also not a teacher but I did stay at a Comfort Inn last night. Beyond that stellar resume, Vicki and I are platinum EarthCache masters with visits to over 30 EC’s, 5 that we have developed and more in process.” We covered the submittal process, what makes a good EC, the masters program, and good locations in Nebraska that could be developed. A few questions and my time up front was over. The class had gone over well and my jitters dissipated, oh, about the time I answered the last question.

  The next class began with “I am a teacher but I didn’t stay at a Comfort Inn last night.” His class on mystery caches would explain the 9 different types that fall within this designation and go on to discuss creating and solving puzzles. He had brought a large classroom sized pad of paper and needed the help of someone to hold it as there weren’t any handy places to prop it up. A young lady from the audience volunteered to come out front to hold the pad up and turn the pages as needed. She had stepped into Vanna White’s shoes easel-ly and did a good job of it. Vic and I listened closely as he went over tips and tricks for solving and some examples of different puzzles.

After the presentations, we took a very short drive to the site of “Borrow Pits” and met a group going for the EC smiley at the swimming beach. Vic didn’t have her swim suit on this time; I guess she prefers spring fed waterfall showers to lake bathing. It was warm enough it would have been quite refreshing though. Stopping to remove sandburs and discussing why some of us had walked right through the patch of burrs while the other, smarter spouse went around them, we realized it was almost time for the chili and soup dinner that was new this year for the event, so offering a ride to the group of walkers, we all headed back to the shelter.

 You can work up a good appetite sweating out a group presentation, so I was ready for the chili and especially the potato soup someone had brought. Enjoying some conversations, the time flew by and I began to smell charcoal coming from a corner of the shelter. A few more people began showing up and soon it would be ….cobbler time!! Tantalizing wafts of pleasant peach, aromatic apple and cherry fragrances teased me as the fruity delights bubbled in the Dutch ovens, and promised another outstanding finish to the Kearney event.

Lingering the next morning over the continental breakfast, we planned out our day. Find a few caches, go home and do laundry. But first……..pick up the 2 dozen fritters we had ordered. Setting them out of easy reach from the front seats, we go off to find a ball field bison and a huge Wells Fargo wagon. We had a few others that we dnf’ed and decided to call it a day, we just didn’t have a great drive to find any caches since our big push to complete the three challenges in time for this event. We’ll get it back though. After all, Geowoodstock is coming up.

By vartan84   Sun, Jan 31, 2010

^This video may be a spoiler if you cache in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.^

My long-time friend, Jimmy comes from a family of geocachers and he had been telling me about the hobby for a little while. Finally one day he was back in town and we decided it would be the day I would finally experience geocaching for the first time. We picked two caches which looked liked they could be fun in the area and headed up for an early afternoon of caching. On my way I decided to bring my camera, and that's what turned into this video. I start recording within 50 feet of the cache after a quick walk into a local park to get there and my geocaching series is born.

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

We have all done it, whether we admit it or not... We’re out caching some distance from home and we have a list of caches in the area. We do quite a few caches and think we are having a pretty good day. Overconfidence sets in and we start to get a little cocky. Being well aware of my limitations this never happens to me, but the wife seems to be inflicted with the disease.

We had just done “Dakota’s Cache” and saw that “The last Boy Scout” wasn’t that far away. The woods we were in had several paths going up and down large hills. It took a great deal of effort to get the wife up the hills to the top as she is hindered with a bad back and walks with a cane, but she is a trooper and we managed. As we followed the trail from “Dakota’s Cache” to “The last Boy Scout” I saw the needle on the GPS pointing ominously down into the valley. When we got to where the trail descended down to the river I knew we were in trouble. It was a good three hundred foot steep drop down the hill to the river bank below.

Me: “The GPS says its 500 feet down there..”

Wife: “Well we’re a long way from home and we are here so let’s go get it.”

Me: “You’ve got to be kidding? How do you think you can get down that narrow slick path? Not to mention getting back up.”

Wife: “I swear, sometimes I think I married the biggest sissy one could find. You don’t hear me complaining, do you? Stop worrying, we’ll manage just fine.”

On the way down we found the path not only narrow but it consisted of a clay that was like walking on oil. Luckily as we slid down the mountain I would bounce off of various trees which would slow our decent to a less life threatening pace. I must have looked like the metal ball in a pinball machine. What really helped was the wife shouting words of encouragement.

Wife: “Slow down. Can’t you be more careful? That last branch nearly took my hat off.”

How we managed to make it down without going head over heels was nothing short of a miracle. I would be psaltering with the truth if I were to say getting down to the cache was easy; but it was nothing compared to getting back out of that godforsaken valley. We found the cache then planned our strategy to get back up. There was no way we could go back up that slippery path so we had to make our own way. I started climbing the mountain at an angle and would switch back every twenty or thirty feet trying to lessen the incline. It was a long and arduous task. I could appreciate the efforts of those who had scaled Everest. After what seemed like days which was actually only hours the gods smiled at us and mercifully we crested the hill. Slowly we made our way back to the car.

Shortly after the paramedics arrived they were able to get my breathing back to normal and my heart rate to less dangerous levels. The one good thing that came out of doing this cache is that I was able to see how much the wife was concerned about me.

Me: “It was touching to see how worried you were about me.”

Wife: “Well, who else would be stupid enough to carry me up and down those kind of hills?”

Me: “Its just nice to know you care.”

Wife: “You’re welcome. Now wasn’t that fun?”

Tue, Jan 26, 2010

This one isn't about one of Bosac's caches, although I did drive by the hide location for one of his this morning and decided to bypass digging in the snowdrift.

A week or so ago I went "Winter caching," and found a couple of caches in the snow.  It was quite the challenge.  Getting one cache un-frozen from it's hiding place took longer than finding it.  It was fun because I dress for the weather, which allows me to search a little longer before getting cold.

Today I had a few hours before work, so I decided to hit four or five caches.  The first one I drove by was the aforementioned Bosac cache, the First  "Curse of the First to find." A micro in a snowbank?  Nah, let's proceed West.  The second was easy to find, so I was encouraged to head farther west toward 72nd street, where I knew there to be a multi, a small, and a couple of micros.  The first micro was also under a snowbank, didn't feel like digging.

The next challenge was in a park right off of 72nd street.  It looked easy enough, so I parked the car, grabbed the GPSr, and headed toward "One Walked over a Cuckoo's Nest."  I figured it would be a quick find.

I arrived at ground zero and spent a short time looking around before thinking about the cache's name.  Hmmm, it would make sense to me to put it there.   I headed toward where I thought I might get a better view of where the cache might be hidden.  The ice looked thick, it was, after all 15 degrees out, the weather had been below freezing for some time.  There shouldn't be any liquid water down there, right?

Well, I was about halfway across when my foot went right through the ice, into the water below.  I pulled my foot out, cursed my stupidity, and headed back toward the top.  The ice, by the way, was pretty slick, so it was a good thing I had something above to hang on to.

I grabbed my GPSr from where I set it down, within 4 feet of GZ.  I did that so I had a reference to search by.

Are you aware it takes about 15 steps for pants to freeze solid in 15 degree weather?  Thank goodness for Jeep heaters!  My foot never got uncomfortably cold on the drive back home to change.

Now it's off to work!

Make sure you watch your step!

By catsnfish   Sat, Jan 16, 2010

Using a Spreadsheet to Create Ciphers

In January a few years ago, I had proposed to our local group that we collaborate in placing a themed set of caches. The Hides of March was born and the theme would be Roman, Latin, Caesar or none of the above. All caches had to be placed during the month of March. Of course a Caesar shift cipher would work perfectly within the theme. I had decided to add a twist however and came up with this cache description:

 U? V?.. The Hides of March

The Roman alphabet as written had no u, so v did double duty. Certain architectural styles, mostly government buildings, have examples of this. Check ovt the DOVGLAS COVNTY COVRT HOVSE, vvhere ivstice is served. Hmm, I gvess there are some other missing letters as vvell. To solve the coordinate pvzzle use the classical Latin alphabet of 23 letters for a trve Ivlivs Caesar shift cipher.

This is a high mvggle area, so exercise cavtion. You are seeking a nano container.

There are plenty of ROT13 and Caesar shift websites out there but I didn't know of any that used the classical alphabet so I set out to make my own cipher sheet.

To make it work, I set up a table in Excel (Open Office Spreadsheet should work as well for this) and wrote lookups to that table. The table was the Roman alphabet which doesn't have J, U or W and it was repeated on the next line but beginning with B instead of A and continued in that manner until there was a complete alphabet both vertical and horizontal.

Adding a number designation to each row, I could write the lookups. Allowing a cell per letter with empty cells between words, I typed in my coordinates, spelling the numbers out.  A few rows below that I added this formula =IF(AA3="","",HLOOKUP(AA3,$A$4:$W$26,$Y$2+1,FALSE)), AA3 is the cell 2 rows above the formula and the dollar signs ensure that the formula always looks to the  alphabet table and rotation value. The other values would change relative to their position, always looking 2 cells above to the text that you want encrypted, when it is copied across as far as needed for both the North coordinates and the West coordinates. By changing the number in the grey (Y2) cell, the letters would change as the alphabet shifted by that amount.  You'll notice that the coordinates don't use U or W for this alternate alphabet. Of course for added difficulty you could forget to mention it is a non standard alphabet.

This same process can be set up to use a symbol substitute for each letter and follow the same process as above. Variations could be a progressive rotation for each word, alphanumerics, or plain text backwards then ciphered. Vowels can be omitted or words garbled but still readable before encrypting.

Sun, Jan 10, 2010

Ok, it's the 25th of February.  I've found 4 of the Hides of Horror, all very cool containers, all in out of the way places right under your nose that you might never have wandered across without a purpose to go there.  Ah, that's on of the things that's made this such an obsession for me.  The logs are out there for you to read, but I also keep a journal for caching.  I don't write every cache adventure in the journal, but this ones in there.  The cache; The Mummy -- Hides of Horror, GC1GK8H.  The time, lunchtime.  I start the journal entry:

"This was to be a quick, lunch time find.  A 3-part multi-cache in a park.  Find the first part, take those co-ordinates to go to the second part, then the last co-ordinates to the final cache.  The find logs all talked about tough terrain, but I wasn't too worried.

I should have been.  The first find didn't take too long, but the second took me to a place where I had to climb down a very steep hill.  The second part of the hide was more difficult to find.  It took nearly my whole lunch hour to find the first two and in the process, I fell and got my pants and shoes muddy.

No more multi's at lunch, or else I just have to do them one part at a time."--end of journal entry.

Actually, part two would not have needed to take me down such a steep hill, had I approached from the right direction (heh heh, I think I'll leave that pretty detail out).  But I made the note and went back to work with muddy pants.  My co-workers got a chuckle out of that.

The next day was not conducive to searching(very muddy), so I had to wait until the 27th to go after the final.  By now the ground was quite frozen and much less slippery. I had this one in the bag.  Stop laughing, Bosac.  I found parking near where I could go into the woods and get the quick find, and started off into the park.  Wow.  There are some steep drops in there!  I circumnavigated around the park for some time, choosing not to try to make a bee-line to the final location.  It actually was a good decision, although my initial start was all wrong.  I felt like a billy goat back there.  I found the cache after quite the walk.  The container was another one that had taken a little effort and imagination, and I just had to take some photos of the thing.  I got a couple of the container out of it's hiding place, one remote picture of me with the cache, and then I put the cache back into its cover and grabbed my camera to take one last picture of the hide.  Now, I'm somewhat of an amateur photographer, so I was framing the shot just the way I wanted it.  Moved around a little to the right, a step back to get the whole thing in...

Honest, there was a path there just a moment ago.  When I stepped back, my foot found only open air.  I threw my camera and tried to get my balance forward, but I was already gone, over the edge, and down the hill.  When I finally settled at the bottom, I looked up and said, aloud, to nobody, "that could have been much worse," and got up and climbed back up to pick up my camera and my other stuff.  Then it was back to work.  I did get that picture, but I'm not sharing it here.  I don't intentionally spoil hides.  The trek back to the Jeep was much easier, now that I knew where the steep stuff was.  On the way, I spotted a group of deer, something I did not expect to see in this area, but they were too quick for me to get a good picture of.  Oh well.

Sat, Jan 09, 2010

Hi, tell us a bit about yourself.

   I am a recent college graduate now working a regular job and looking for some more interesting things to get involved in. As you might be able to tell from my videos, I live and cache in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area which is where all my videos have been filmed.

   Geocaching came along when a high school friend introduced me to it in September 2008. I embraced it and started caching after work and then on lunch breaks until I had found most of the caches within a 15 minute radius of my job. I recall hearing about geocaching once and visited the website years ago, perhaps as early as 2002, but at that point I didn't know what a GPS was or how to do the hobby. I actually still don't own a GPS myself (yet), and have to thank my next door neighbor- another fellow geocacher- for letting me have hers on a long-term loan. We've cached together a few times as well and once went out very early in a morning to get our first FTF.

   If this hobby had existed when I was in elementary and middle school I know I would have loved it. In my school's yard at recess my friends and I would make certain areas our own special part of nature, would enjoy the trees and sometimes even hide things in it. I really liked the idea that these things were out there- and that I knew that it was there but without others really realizing it. It's sort of hard to explain, but I think you can see the clear parallels to caching! I immediately loved the idea that in geocaching you can have a can hidden way back in the woods where it feels like no one has ever been and that if all goes well it will remain there for years. I often drive by a location where I've found a cache or know one exists and enjoy the secret knowledge that there is something there, sometimes practically out in the open, that almost everyone walking by has no idea about. In reality it isn't that big a deal, but I suppose it sort of gives our otherwise everyday world a bit more magic.

   I've actually been making my own videos for youtube since 2006 (on another channel) where I'd make episodes of my own series based on the world created by a popular youtuber at the time. I also just like to capture interesting things I do on tape, so based on this history I suppose it was just natural to bring my camera along as my friend Jimmy took me on my first geocaches ever. I don't know if I had even decided that I would upload the video or not, but since it was such an enjoyable experience I felt why not upload it? Episodes 1 and 2 were filmed consecutively and are two random caches we picked to find that afternoon. We ended up having a great time finding them, so we really got lucky with our choices. Jimmy had just been visiting the area for the weekend, so even though he had to leave after those finds I continued the hunt on my own and threw myself into the hobby. I didn't film any of those hunts though because I did them alone and I feel like another person being there really adds to the episode. Finally two months later I got to take two other friends on their own first cache hunt in a state park and those hunts turned into two more episodes for the series. Whenever I go on a hunt with somebody else that I feel like is going to be a special one I bring the camera along just in case.

I’ve seen a few of your videos, I like them but they’re a bit of a spoiler aren’t they?

   You know I've had a couple viewers leave me comments like this, that I'm ruining the sport by systematically showing others where caches are hidden, but I don't see it that way. First I've only made 9 episodes, and there are (tens of? hundreds of?) thousands of caches out there- so even if one wants to see my video as essentially "ruining" the cache- I've only ruined about 0.000001% of the hobby so far. Second, I don't see my videos as any different than the potentially-spoiler comments section on each cache's page. People often give away some of the secrets of the cache down there and so people know to read those with caution. I think it is only natural to view a video of finding a hidden cache with the same sort of caution if they are planning on finding it. Also, I found it funny because one of the people accusing me of ruining the sport was from Oregon. I asked in response if they had ever been to this corner of the country or are ever planning to cache here. The vast majority of my viewers come from all over and odds are will never cache anywhere near here to have their hunt ruined by my video. Even if someday they do, there are so many hundreds of other caches in this area, and I really doubt that at that point they will have remembered the exact details of a video they watched months or years before.

  I met the cache owner of the cache in my first episode at a geocaching event a year ago, and she said she was really glad to see I made a video dedicated to her cache. She actually had suggestions for other caches of hers I should make videos finding. Of course not every owner might feel the same way about this, and in fact I've sent links to the respective owners of each video's cache. I either got no response or a positive one. I even discovered that for one of the owners that I had inadvertently made not one but two of my nine episodes with caches (he has great ones!) and he is eager for me to make a video about one remaining cache to complete the set. So while no owners seem to have a problem with my videos now, there is always the chance a future one might. I would be willing to discuss some sort of compromise with them in that case- such as perhaps taking out the last 100 feet of the discovery or mixing it up to make it less easy to determine how to get there. They did place these caches out in nature though and opened them up to the public, so I feel like one more of less lose control over what others do with it at that point. For example muggled caches are a part of geocaching life, so while I'm sure there's some cache owners out there who might not like the "spoiler" aspect of my videos, there are certainly worse fates for caches than someone taking the time to make a video dedicated to it! Two words: Bomb Squad.

  I am totally amateur in this respect. With my original youtube series which I mentioned before, other people would all use webcams to record their videos but I didn't own one, so I devised a method of using my digital camera propped up on a desk recording video to mimic a webcam. As for the geocaching videos I just carry around the digital camera on record and then use very simple editing software to splice together the funny or important moments of the hide. What I'm using is merely the Windows Movie Maker, so I can't do anything special with it, but it serves its purpose. Same for the digital camera, it'd be nice to get a real professional camera someday but for the most part the digital one does a sufficient job.

Thanks! You certainly made my job as interviewer easy. I'm looking forward to sharing your videos with our readers.

Find The Geocaching Adventure Series on Facebook

Sat, Jan 09, 2010

   Well here it was finally, the oft put off, long awaited passage through the panhandle which after completion, would take us most of the way to finishing the Nebraska 93 County challenge. We were ready for it, Vic had finished summer school and I had taken 8 working days off. We would be tent camping. The van was packed to the gills with tent, chairs, air mattress, clothing, cookware, cacheware, food and other necessities and niceties for travel.

   We head out along I-80, bypassing 6 counties south of there, which we would pick up at a later date and since we had cached along this route before we didn't cache along the way. Arriving at our first nights camp spot, Johnson Lake, we setup our tent, a screen house and got the raised queen size air mattress blown up. May as well camp in comfort! Then it's off to find a few caches and collect our first 2 counties of the trip with a short drive around the lake. One cache near a marina looked on the map to be in the lake but turned out to be on a finger of land that jutted out into the lake. After finding that and getting back in the van I noticed we were getting a wi-fi signal. Telling Vic to stay put, I needed to check email, which can be quite a slow process for us at times, but I had submitted 2 EarthCaches a day or 2 before we left and wanted to see if they had been published yet. Nope, so I pop onto the forums, when Vic notices that she indignantly tells me we're not just sitting here while I count cheese in off topic, cause she is hungry and we need to get back to camp and cook dinner. Spoilsport!

    We've tried to think everything through ahead of time and be as efficient as possible in camp so we had more road time. We were using a propane stove, with tried and true camping meals, not only quick and easy to cook but minimal cleanup as well. We would eat and enjoy outdoor time in the relatively insect free screenhouse.  We had gotten an electrical site and had brought 2 fans to keep Vic cool and non grumpy and a coffee maker to keep me caffeinated and there was one other item we would be using for the first time, a bucket privy.

   It proved its worth the first time it saved Vic a hike in the dark to the facilities several hundred yards away, what didn't live up to expectations was the air mattress, we had used it before and was quite comfortable, but between then and now it had developed a slow leak, so if either of us got out of bed to use the bucket the other would get bounced around and towards morning time it had leaked enough air that when one got up the other fell down to hit the ground. Not a great experience but this was the only day of the trip when Vic didn't want to linger in bed until late morning, not that I let her do that of course!

   Popping out the plug and letting the remaining air out I strip off the bedding and start to empty the tent, while Vic starts cooking breakfast, ziplock omelets!! They were ready about the time I had the tent rolled and back in its bag. After breakfast we threw our trash (not much, ziplocks and 2 paper plates, plastic flatware) into the bucket and changed out the liner and added new kitty litter. Then came the fun of trying to fold up the screenhouse, it was the first time we had used it and we hadn't figured the best way to fold it yet. It did end up back in its bag, but we still haven't figured it out. Once that was done all we had to do was toss the bags in the van, head for the showers and hit the road, eager for our first full day chasing the challenge. Later in the day we made sure to buy two twin raised air mattresses when we finally found a Walmart.

   This trip I would truly be the navigator, choosing caches and routes to most efficiently achieve our goal of a cache in every county in the western 2/3 of Nebraska. If we DNF a cache, I had to get us to another one in the county and set us up for the next county. We discussed much of it and some particular caches or locations were on again off again and we didn't really know where we would go next till we found the previous one. The only exception to this was Hayes County; there was only one cache in the entire 713 square miles of this county. It was a "Do or Die" cache, find it or fail. Down some minimum maintenance roads where we spot a red fox crossing warily about 20 yards in front of us, he watched us from the roadside until we turned the corner. Pulling into a lake area, I'm sent off to find the cache and follow a turkey into the wooded area. His gps must have been reading different satellites than mine so our paths diverged. I came up with the cache but don't know if the turkey found what he was looking for. When I came out of the trees, Vic had our sandwiches made and chairs set up facing the tree bordered sedimentary exposure across the lake. After a pleasant lunch, we scratched off Hayes from the list and drove towards the next county.

   At Lake McConaughy we drove over the dam and around a bit to get to the little lake in front of the dam, the big lake being on the other side of the dam. Dam, that word comes up a lot here! As we approached the coordinates for the cache there is a flock of 14 buzzards just ahead of us and we get close enough I don't need my cheat sheet to tell they are not regal eagles. They took off as we tried to get some more pics of them. I wonder what the collective noun for buzzards is. I know that it's a murder of crows, a wedge of geese, and a bevy of doves. Ok, I gotta know, and googling tells me it is a wake of buzzards, makes sense to me.  After locating and signing the cache log, we spot some distant pelicans and do our best to get some good pics of those impressive birds. I won't worry about the pelican collective since they weren't grouped together...<Jeopardy theme>..Hmmmm, Google says... a pod or a scoop of pelicans; curiosity got the better of me.

   One place Vic had wanted to see was the corner of the panhandle and the virtual cache located there but it was a bit of a detour. No problem, we're here to see the sites. The monument was quite interesting with plaques and benchmarks in each corner, 3 for Nebraska and one for Colorado. Vic really wanted her pic taken in Colorado; we discussed picking up a cache in Colorado before the trip, but decided it was too long of a detour. What??? Okaaay, yes, I will..... Vic says "show em the pic! Oh, wait you can't, you deleted those pics!" looks like she's still a bit miffed about that. We were taking a lot of pics and I started to worry about running out of room on the 64k XD card. So I started downloading the pics each night and deleting the images from the card. I missed downloading a few before deleting and when she realized it, I wasn't allowed to delete anymore until she had gone over the pics each day. Anyway it was a neat place and I wish I could show you the pics. "Yes dear, I told them it was my fault."

   Taking a drive around the campgrounds at Minitare State park, we scout out a good site. The first area we drive through is kinda swampy and we continue on only to find out that is the only electrical camp area. A beautiful lake with cliffs and wooded areas and even its own lighthouse and the camping pads are only 5 feet above water less than 10 feet away. Oh well, we decided to stop at the lighthouse before setting up camp and I climbed to the top while Vic stayed in the parking area. The lighthouse is really an observation tower, there isn't a light in the top and being only 55 feet tall, the spiral stairs were built rather narrow to keep the proportions looking right. There are several little benches set into the central wall as you go up but those are more to allow someone coming down to pass another coming up as there is no way to fit two on the steps. But it was a nice view. Back to camp, get everything set up, dinner cooking as we watch a storm start to roll in and it looked to be a nasty one, hmmm maybe there was a need for a lighthouse here? As it turned out the storm blew itself out and we only had light rain for about 20 minutes. Waking the next morning we find we have a young goose we named Alf that has decided it liked us, we tried to feed Alf some popcorn, he didn't seem interested in it but he did like the van's tires. He stayed in the immediate area the whole time as we packed up and got ready to go. Driving off as carefully as we could, not being able to see the silly goose, we make it to the showers, look back and see he appears to be injured. Before we can check him out he waddles off into the water, we certainly hope he his ok, because we would not like to see Alf lack for anything if he was injured.

   We stopped along the roadside on the way to Courthouse and Jailhouse rocks to go after an ammo can, I had read a few of the previous logs and decided to take along our walking sticks, something we rarely use but always have handy on our trips. We went past a small hillside cemetery heading towards some rock outcroppings and I was in the lead as I have a faster walking pace than Vic. I was within 20 feet of where my gps put the ammo can we were seeking, when I heard a dreaded sound, the raspy ratchety shake of a rattlesnake's tail. The rattle was a much softer sound than movies had led me to believe, but still instantly recognizable. Acting on instinct, I jumped back hard enough to land on my butt, then quickly got up and took a look around me to see where it was and spied it slithering off in the brush. Looking back I told Vic to stay back and to get on top of a nearby flat rock. Her reply was "what??" but she quickly realized the situation. Taking a moment to calm down, I started ahead, slowly, swinging my walking stick like a blind persons cane hoping to startle up anything that may be in my path. I made my way to the far side of the large flat rock to find the prize. Poking around with my stick and hooking the can back to where I could safely reach it, signed the log and traded for an angel ornament before replacing the container. Repeating the cane tactic back to where Vic has been anxiously waiting, we make our way to the van.  She said she hadn't heard anything until I told her to stay put, I said" yeah, you can't scream like a girl if your heart is up in your throat!" The angel went right onto the rear view mirror and has stayed there ever since.

   A bit after that we arrived at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. After a quick tour of the visitor center, where a Native American was doing beadwork, we decided to make the walk to the excavation sites. The path was a wide concrete walkway that wound up to a lookout spot and then onto the site. There was a fair grade to it but nothing bad for someone who is in decent shape, so we took our time and made use of the couple of covered benches along the path so thoughtfully provided by our park services. At the beginning of the walk way was the now familiar warning to stay on the path, this is rattlesnake country.  Along the way we heard a rattle rattle SNAP sound and when we first heard it, I froze until I saw what had caused it. Grasshoppers, we were scaring up grasshoppers from the edges of the pavement and they flew off with a sound similar to my earlier snake encounter, only louder. After a few seconds of flight there was invariably a loud snap that sounded like those little paper teardrop snappers that are thrown on the ground to make their distinctive noise on the Fourth of July.  After a few more minutes and several more of the firesnapper grasshoppers Vic noticed that with each snap they changed direction almost as if the sound was them being swatted and sent off in a new direction. At one point along the path there were enough to make us think of a roll of Chinese firecrackers, snapping and jumping and traveling down the line as we walked.

   We met another couple coming down as we went up and exchanged comments on the heat and the tough walk up, but I noticed they fairly bounced off as we started trudging up again. At our last stop before the sites, there were blooming prickly pears for us to photograph and few plants that looked like burnt pineapples. Onto the site which we explore for a bit and take a timer photo of ourselves together. I screwed that up though by having a rock in the frame and the camera focused on it instead of us. Taking some parting shots of the view, with a teeny tiny visitor center lost in the panorama we do our best to change that perspective in a hurry, it was lunch time.

   After sandwiches, chips and lots of water, we head for the EarthCache here. It was quite near the entrance, we had passed it on the way to the visitor center. Pulling into the parking area, Vic tells me I'm on my own; she is done in by the last few miles. Grumbling, I tie a cooldanna around my neck and taking along a tripod for the EC pic, shuffle off up the hill. Passing an interesting ripple rock formation I round the bend out of site and soon find a bench and a display behind plexi-glass of the fossilized corkscrew burrows that are the subject of the EC. Taking a pic and making a note, I almost turn back, it is hot and I am tired too, but the gps says it's still a quarter mile away, so I decide to press on and finish the trail. Off in the distance on a flat top bluff I see a silhouette of a pronghorn antelope and try to decide whether it is a plywood cutout (we had seen similar cutouts in other places on this trip) but looking up again after a short walk, I watched it crowhop to the other end of the bluff. Rounding another turn I find the cased daemonalix fossil and set up for the pic and count spirals for the logging requirements. The van looks so far away once it finally comes in to view. I'm exhausted when I get there but not grumpy at all, what I saw was worth the walk in the heat and I was cooled off and ready for more by our next stop.

   Carhenge, sacred tourist trap of Nebraska lived up to its name with a mostly full parking lot and people oohing and aahing at autos painted rock grey and stacked on top of each other in a circular semblance of Stonehenge. Many were saying "I used to have one of those!" as they looked over the variety of vehicles. I was tickled when I spotted an AMC Pacer just like the one my mom used to have. There were other attractions as well with an 'auto'graph where you were asked to sign a car standing on its tail. There was the Conestoga'd station wagon and my favorite sculpture the "Salmon." Near the visitor center was a Subaru Outback with dot painted boomerangs and kangaroos. Making our rounds with an occasional glance at the gps, we narrowed down the search grid until Vic spied the container. It would be difficult to retrieve and sign the cache here without tipping off muggles, but with a loud cry of "Look!  A Pontiac Solstice! Over there!" while waving toward the entrance, Vic was able to grab it. She replaced it after I walked away as all the people kept their eyes on that strange man who carried a tripod and shouted at imaginary cars. Grabbing a cool drink as we waited in line for the single restroom, we fed the sacred tourist trap squished penny machine (4 different images!) You know if there is a squished penny machine, the place is at least revered, if not sacred, in bringing home those tourist dollars! Maybe they should sink a few of those dollars into more plumbing.

   Scotts Bluff, I never expected it to be as big as it is. There is a whole range of massive rock bluffs we gawped at as we drove toward them. We grab a cache or two before checking for our first motel stay of the trip. Catching up on current events and getting a good cool nights sleep, we rollout in the morning a bit later than I had wanted but it ends up we could have tarried a bit longer. Arriving before opening time at Scotts Bluff National Monument we take a little stroll around the parking lot. The visitor center opens and we watch the short film on westward expansion and this landmark, then remark on the stuffed rattler on the desk, "yeah it was about that size, Vic" before buying a hat pin. The gates are open now so we drive up to the summit and enjoy the view. On the way back down we get a few pics of a deer in a grassy area. Wildlife and history and rocks and a view too, what more could we ask for?

   Next stop Chimney Rock. We toured the visitor center and discussed walking out to the rock but decided against it because of time (it was a long walk and warm) and warning signs (we would hate to poison a snake by letting it bite us!) There was a nearby cache and we got a nice view and pic of the Chimney from there.

   Pulling into the Fort Robinson State park, we cruise around looking for a place to camp and they are filled to almost capacity. We find a non electric site and go to register at the office. We park, plop, post and pitch and soon our camp is presentable. Vic decided to make use of the post pool to cool off and after driving there we find out it was closed for another hour. Detouring back they way we had come, we stop at an old gymnasium that now houses the Clash of the Mammoths exhibit. These two full mammoths had been found near Crawford Nebraska. The curving tusks had become locked up in a fight and they had gone to their death bound to each other. The display separated the larger mammoth and used it in a standard museum pose. Beyond this big boy was a large flat raised area representing the field where they had been found, lying on their sides. Using the bones of only one mammoth, the two combatants were recreated. Quite a remarkable display.  After a quick look around the gift shop, we head up for an hour of relaxing coolness in the pool. Waking the next morning we quickly break camp, pack the van and go off in search of bison and mushrooms.

   Making our way down gravel and dirt roads we follow the map and gps to a very thoughtfully placed cache at Hudson Meng Bone Bed. It was thoughtfully placed because it was published just before my last pocket query for the trip and allowed us to find the location with our electronics instead of a paper map. Pulling up to the gate, it is locked, but still before the posted opening time, so after collecting an FTF on the thoughtful cache, we wait for the arrival of the gatekeeper. Pulling into the parking area, it was still a quarter mile walk to the building where a portion of the bone bed was displayed and it was dotted with informational signs. We took pics of every sign because I wanted to develop an EarthCache here. Entering the building, we were greeted by a very pleasant woman who would be our tour guide. Asking about the entry fee we were told it was a fee-free weekend. Man we timed this one right, FTF on a five day old cache, fee-free tour and a very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful geologist giving us a tour for the next 45 minutes. During that time I was furiously tapping text into my palm to use on my EC. After getting contact information, our guide invited us to go on a buffalo hunt with an atlatl. My prey was a plywood bison, roughly 20 yards away and my weapon was a five foot long aluminum shaft made from several modern arrow shafts fitted together. This was the "dart" to be thrown with the atlatl, a flat, narrow piece of wood about as long as my forearm with a raised spot that engages the hollow end of the long arrow shaft and a loop on the other end so you don't throw it along with the dart. Using this, the Paleo-Indians were able to throw further and with more force. My first attempt flew a few inches above the back of the silhouette, I over corrected and threw low on my next try, a few more tries that never did bring home the bison bacon and we give our goodbyes and thanks to our guide. Onto Toadstool Park next, we could walk a 3 mile trail from here or drive several more miles roundabout to reach the same place. The scenery was stunning as we drove to the park. There was another thoughtful cache near Toadstool as well, although it had been placed well before our trip and we DNF after a short search.

  There were a cluster of signs under a roofed area, inside of a loop drive.  We took pics of these signs also, for the same reason we did at the Bone Bed. There were a few groups of people coming back as we went through the gate armed with a self-guided tour pamphlet. It was beginning to warm up as we walked armed with walking sticks and a tripod up the slope. At first glance the slope appeared to be a loose gravely material but it was weathered stone underfoot and solid. What a fascinating area! Toadstool formations the size of pickup trucks, rows of stone gazing balls and wrinkles from rivulets running down the soft stone faces. You could easily imagine being back in time with the dinosaurs or on another planet.  Many of the formations had narrow veins of a smoky, grayish crystal and some areas had crystals laying all over the surface. It was heating up with the sun beating down from a nearly cloudless sky and reflecting up from the light colored rock underfoot and I asked Vic if she needed to hurry back to the ac of the van and she said " I wanna look around more" so you know it must have been quite a place. There was so much to see in the short space of a mile hike, this was probably our favorite spot on this trip, although we appreciated each location we visited for what it was.

   One of those mornings where you just want to lay in bed a little bit longer, I watched a good sized caterpillar's shadow creep up the tent wall behind a dozing Vic. It got to a bit above where Vic's elbow was when the tent wall suddenly bulged in as a bird picked off the easy meal. All at once, its wings or claws made a bonk, frrt frrt kinda sound against the fabric and Vic bolted out of bed with a wild look. "What was that?" after explaining about the caterpillar we noticed another inch up the tent and again a bird came along to fill its tummy with a tasty tidbit.  "Cool!!" we could see each outspread wing feather distinctly as it beat its wings and rebounded off the tent side. Getting dressed and keeping an eye on another brave climber working its way to the safety of the tent's rain fly summit, we wait until he is safely out of reach from hungry birds before we start our own breakfast. When I took the tent down, I picked the lucky fellow off and set him down at the base of a tree since we didn't want any hitchhikers on our trip.

   While planning this trip we had selected certain things we would both like to see and visit and a few things one of us wanted to see. I was getting frustrated and apologetic for the meandering routes I was taking us along trying to catch up every county and Delorme map page. Meandering? More like gyrating at times. I offered to pass on visiting the Museum of the Fur Trade because of how long I thought it would take to go through its displays. Vic said I had let her go to the handle of the pan so we would visit the trappers. The building was smaller than I had imagined but made excellent use of floor space to exhibit the huge amount of artifacts from the period. There was a colorful temporary display about French voyageurs that included some beautiful assomption sashes, fingerwoven with vivid lightning bolts, chevron stripes or the impressive ceinture' flechee' arrow sash. Someday I will learn to make those. We spent about 45 minutes in the museum but could have spent days among the Hawken rifles, plug tobacco, camp kettles and traps and other such truck needed to hunt beaver,  well not Vic, but I could have. As we left to get back on the road, we searched for a thoughtful cache placed here but call it a dnf after 10 minutes.

   We stopped for the night in a small town and decided to hit the restaurant next door for real, not prepared under the hatch of the van or propane heated food. Soon after we were seated it began to fill up with big hats, big belt buckles and boots as it became apparent folks were making their way in for the Thomas county fair that would be in a few days. Our steak dinner was excellent, around here they know beef.

   Most of our planned visits had been completed and we were on the homebound loops. Two places were on again, off again as I adjusted the route to color territory, Happy Jack Peak and a small town where I have relatives. We had visited the chalk mines at Happy Jack a few years ago when we had vacationed out this way, pre caching. Neat place, the only room and pillar mine  in the U.S. that people can visit, but we didn't have time for the tour and Vic said climbing the peak was a once only thing for her and she wasn't going back up to log a benchmark. I told her there was a cache on the peak too and she growled at me. We did pass that way and collected another cache that was in the parking area and had even gone onto Scotia to refill coffee and soda and to look at another possible EC, a building built of chalk from the Happy Jack mine. Later, just before dusk we pull into a little dam site in my relatives town and search for a keyholder over our heads. Vic really shined here as she made a caduceus of our flexi mirror and flexi light and quick work of eliminating possibilities while finding the decoy. I made the find, purely by luck. No time to visit, a few more counties in the dark and we could at last go home. We had been moving, driving, caching for 16 hours today and traveled well over 700 miles.

   We had earned some rest after that last day and we planned to complete the challenge in a few weeks.  I went back to work on a Wednesday and Vic began to settle into her summer routine. On Thursday, Vic told me," We're gonna finish this!" and once again I ran queries and Vic repacked the van for another overnight trip to collect counties. A few of the biggest highlights of a very enjoyable little trip was a clown nose I found as swag and had made good use of for the rest of the trip, ("All I have is a red clown nose, but it's not for blowing..It's for honking through."), the murals and the country's smallest police station of Friend and the final resting place of Willy Wonka.

   We were close to 1000 finds and after a few in town caches, and a run with Sioneva, we went for #1000 at an EarthCache. We had now become a triple threat with the 93 county challenge, the Nebraska Delorme challenge and a thousand finds. We would sign the official logbooks and receive our Golden Ammo Can at the annual Nebraskache event in Kearney. Cobble gobble, here fritter, fritter!

Thu, Jan 07, 2010

The first cache that I ever found was on the 6th of January 2009, and
it was attached (sort of) to the building that I work in.

This is not about that cache, nor is it about the last cache that I
found in that same year, which was in a park across a field of waist
deep snow from where I parked.  I might write about those caches
later.  This is about some of the caches that a certain unnamed hider
(Bosac) has hidden, perhaps with a couple of others thrown in.  Don't
worry Bosac, I won't spoil any locations.

Shortly after I started geocache hunting lunch became the time of
choice to search for caches.  I was working until 4:30 pm, and I had
to pick up my son from school, so that left little time to look for
caches before sunset.  Weekends were available, but I knew there were
several caches close to where I worked, and I wanted to do something
at lunch other than eat.  I spotted a cache on the map called "Swamp
Thing -- Hides of Horror" and thought, "that sounds cool."  When I
brought up the listing, it was a story.  I love a good story, so I
read it and decided that this was the cache for me on this day.  I
borrowed a coworkers Nuvi to take along with my own ETrex, since I was
looking for a replacement, and thought I might as well test his out.
I approached the area not sure what to expect, and parked on the
street to the northeast.

I was, by now, a geocacher with a month and a half experience.  I was
ready for anything.  So far everything I had found was on flat ground
(does Nebraska have anything but...?).  So I had a game plan.  I would
walk down the street until I was directly east of the cache, then walk
directly west to the hiding spot and find the thing.  Easy, right?
Somewhere, Bosac is laughing already.  I found that spot and walked
toward the cache.

Whoa there Nellie!  (who's Nellie, anyway?)
I stepped across the curb and noticed that the ground sloped away into
the woods...no, that's not quite accurate.  The ground DROPPED away
into the woods.  I was looking down a pretty severe hill.  Suddenly I
liked this cache even more(when I was in the military, I learned rock
climbing in the Rocky Mountains)!  I started down the hill with nary a
thought about my slick souled work shoes, but only for the first
couple of steps.  Remember what time this was? February 2009?  Yep.
We had had a pretty good snow, and then a couple of warm days.  The
hill was slick, and I was goin' down!  I reached out my arm
instinctively(read:in a panic) and caught the first thing going by.
That little tree redirected my descent and twisted my body around and
suddenly I wasn't falling anymore.  I looked around again, and chose a
different path to the bottom of the hill, where I knew the cache had
to be now, and headed down again without incident.  I reached "Ground
Zero" a few minutes later, after walking around in circles while the
two GPSr's had a fight over where that was, and the cache wasn't
there.  I turned off the Nuvi, concentrated on the ETrex, and walked
around a little more.  I understand it's called the Geo-chicken-dance,
or some such thing.  When I got to a place where the GPSr said the
cache was located, I looked around for a minute or two for a likely
hiding spot.  I located the cache in about the third place that I
looked.  It was the coolest container that I had found to date, so  I
knew I need to find the rest of the "Hides of Horror."

Fri, Jan 01, 2010

Thu, Dec 31, 2009

Hiders of caches seem to try to bring you to places they themselves have enjoyed.

You know what I mean... you discover a well maintained park and you think to yourself "wouldn't this be a nice place for a cache?"

I remember once being on top of a hill overlooking Wabisis Lake. Of course I had to put a cache there. I was happy when people logged their finds and expressed their gratitude for bringing them to such a beautiful spot.

I have seen videos of people in various states documenting their search on top of mountains. The scenery was breathtaking. You come to appreciate the thoughtfulness of others as they go out of their way to share their everyday experiences.

The point I would like to make is we should be thankful. Not everything may be to our liking and we may not have gone to these places without the benefit of a cache, but still you have to appreciate the fact that owners are trying their best. The wife doesn't feel the same way about these particular caches and I think she is being unfair. Let me present the evidence and you be the judge.

A cacher in our area had placed a few caches that ran along a theme. We've all seen it before; a series of light poles, a group on guardrails, maybe several on bridges. This particular theme seemed to be strip clubs. The owner had place three caches at three different clubs. After the wife and I had finished doing all three caches, I wrote this log.

"First Parkway Tropics, then Sensations and now Lady Godiva. Well done! By the way, if you ever need anyone to help you to place your next cache, I would be more than happy to tag along and help you in your research for another location in context with your theme of"... Excuse me one moment.

"What's that Dear?"

"I'm just logging our cache."

"What?"

"Oh no, Dear."

"I wouldn't think of it, Dear."

"Of course, Dear, I understand completely."

"I couldn't agree with you more. It is disgusting."

Me again. I just looked at my schedule. Unfortunately it appears I'm booked solid for quite some time. So forget what I was saying about the research... Thanks anyway.

Now don't you agree with me? Isn't she unreasonable? Unfortunately the owner of the caches moved back to Alabama. He claimed he couldn't take another winter in Michigan. The wife seemed far too pleased about his leaving. I'm not so sure she didn't have a hand in it. As for his series of caches...

Me: "Wasn't that fun?"

By Shrek & Fiona   Sun, Dec 27, 2009

Shrek from team Shrek & Fiona posted a note to do a cache that is not visited very much.  It is on the lonely cache list.

  Two teams (the Balks and Team Raslas) responded that they would be interested in the challenge to go find this cache. We set a meeting time and place and when we got to the area we did not think about the past weather and all the rain we recently had.  To our surprise, the very small creek is now a raging river!  We looked for a place to cross upstream and at that point we thought about giving up before getting started.  We thought about that for about 30 seconds and all agreed to go get this cache one way or another.

   As a group/team we moved downstream looking for a way to get across--but nothing looked promising.  Now it is time to get serious!  Shrek found a dead tree and pushed it over. This will make a good bridge.  The Balks found a down tree, now it is bridge building time.  Our first try it floated away.  Our second try, the Balks' boots got filled with water when he stepped onto our second bridge,  On the third try, two people made it across the makeshift bridge, but after the second person, the bridge fell apart and floated away. Now what are we going to do--2 people on this side of the river and 2 on the other side.  We still have the dead trees that are now floating away so we made our way through the brush to catch up to the trees in the water and retrieve them.  We let them float farther downstream till we got to a narrower spot, but now the river split and there are two to cross.  We lodged one tree and crossed to the next spot.  We did the same with the next dead tree and made our way across.  Then we thought we better pull that one on land so it doesn't float away.

 The four of us are all together again to continue on our way to the cache. A few steps and the ground is all flooded under the tall grass.  We are now an hour into this adventure and our feet are cold and wet.  The water was deep enough to get into our knee high boots but no one was willing to turn back.  So through the wet marshy area we went stumbling and getting more wet.  This went on for another hour.  We are worn out when we finally get out of the wet tall grass area and back onto some hard ground.

 We rested for a couple minutes and thought how foolish this was, but how much fun we were having as a group.  Now for the easy part--into a small wooded area and out the other side to make the find.  We got the cache and signed our names.  A short rest there and then we looked at the fence that was only a few feet away thinking how we could get over that and walk up to the road just a few more feet away.  But then reality set in.  We can't cross that fence because it would put us on the interstate and there was no way anyone would stop and pick up four wet dirty and rough looking geocachers.  We put our back to the fence and our nose into the wind and headed back. It took two hours to make the quarter mile in and one hour to make our way back out stumbling and falling in the tall wet grass, crossing the makeshift bridges and returning to the cars for our group photo, wet and ducking behind open car doors to change out of the wet clothes. Now it was time to refuel our bellies and go home--but wait it was only noon so we couldn't waste the day and headed into the Black River Forest to hit some more but easier caches.

written and submitted by Shrek & Fiona

Sat, Dec 26, 2009

*Editors note: This is the story that was the source of "A Cachers Carol" that appears elsewhere in the magazine. It has remained unpublished until now. The caches described have been archived and the story is no longer a spoiler.... for those caches!

  We had been Geocaching a month or so when a local mystery cache had caught our eye, but it was rated at a 4.5 D/4.5 T so we figured to get some more experience before going for it. Oh! Let's be honest, the logs had scared us off. A previous log spoke of the hardships and medical trauma incurred during the search for this cache which included an infected foot from stepping on something sharp while crossing a scummy pond, a brown recluse spider bite and a hand that was flayed wide open from grabbing a branch during a fall. The log included very graphic photo's of each of these injuries. Very graphic and frightening. Wow! what a bad day caching. After reading the log Vic sent a get well email to the injured cacher.

   Prior logs also spoke of great difficulty solving the puzzle and retrieving the various legs of the multicache. Personally I never could make any sense of the puzzle and soon gave up trying. Vic is better at solving them than I am but she gave up as well. We put this cache on the back burner and in our watch list.

     There is a perversity in human nature that makes us want to show the extremes of our chosen activities. Maybe it is trying to appear more than we are, or the vicarious bravery we have by taking part in those "possibly dangerous" activities. Whenever we spoke about our new hobby to family and friends and there was a computer handy we would show them the logs and photo's for this cache. Yes, we were taking on a high adventure, potentially disastrous, exciting new hobby.

    A week or two later and we had come across a log on another cache that was near a town west of us. It was written by the owner of the local cache we were watching. It was a very long log and we had discovered the fact that longer logs on a cache generally meant a more fulfilling cache experience. Lamp post caches usually get a TFTC but caches that provide adventure got whole paragraphs. This cache had a lot of paragraph logs on it just like the cache in our watchlist.

    His log spoke of a difficult approach to the cache, dragging a fire extinguisher with him. It detailed a water crossing and using the fire extinguisher to remove the leeches from his skin and other tribulations. Right after finding the cache and logging it, he met up with his wife and dog both of whom, not having to obtain the coordinates to the next leg, took an easier path. At this time they were approached by an angry individual of a stereotypical backwoods type, a redneck or as the log calls him "the bubba." bubba had his scattergun with him and was loudly cursing the cachers and ranting about "no one's gonna have no meth labs in my neighborhood!" The cachers tried to explain what they were doing but bubba wouldn't listen saying he was gonna hold em till the law got here. The cacher offered the use of his cell phone to call for them. In the time before the deputies arrived the cachers were getting pretty bold in what they said to bubba considering he kept the shotgun trained on them the whole time. Even the dog showed his disdain by giving a hind leg salute right on bubba's boot.

     With the arrival of the law enforcement officers, the situation was defused with the cachers explaining caching to one officer who had previously heard about it, while the other disarmed and arrested bubba for unlawful incarceration. The log ends with the explanation that they would have to return to testify in bubba's trial.

       Vic and I talk about this one and we really can't picture the cacher, whom we had met, saying what he did while a man held a gun on him. Never know though, what can happen when you are under duress. We also talked about this cache log to family and friends. Yup, this was quite the hobby we were taking part in!

         Several months later, literally out of the blue, I came to the realization that the local cache was not as it seemed. I don't know what triggered the thought but there it was. This was a cache of fabricated logs, cacher's constructions, finder's fiction. In short, this was a "liar's cache."  I laughed out loud and Vic asked what was so funny. When I told her, she just said "noo" with an incredulous look on her face. We had both heard the term liar's cache before but were just at this moment putting it all together in our heads.

  We reread the logs with our new found understanding and yep it was glaring at us. Too many inconsistent details. We were picturing ourselves in conical caps on tall stools in the corner, when after doing a Google search on brown recluse bites, we find the exact photo that was in the log. We find another of the posted pics as well. And Vic had even sent a sympathy email to the "injured" writer of the log!

   I can tell you our mouths were stretched out really wide from being hooked so hard. We looked up the bubba cache as well and sure enough the logs had all the same traits. We had been taken in totally and completely!

    So how did we feel about this? shocked at the deception, relieved our new hobby wasn't that dangerous, wanting to somehow strike back at those who fooled us. Sure, but mostly we laughed at ourselves, letting out a big chuckle whenever we thought about it.

      We had begun placing our "Guardian Series" of caches last autumn. It was a series inspired by the time Vic reached for a cache and grabbed the fur of a snarling, needle toothed, possum that denned up next to the cache. Shortly after that we began to hide our own caches and came up with the Guardian idea featuring animals or insects that could potentially keep someone away from a cache. I had a whole bunch of ideas for containers and I still have several in the series that need to be placed.

         On one of the warmer late winter days when it seemed you just had to get out caching or go nuts, the cache owner of the local liars cache found several of our guardians. His logs said they were nice quirky containers but he wished more ammo cans and regulars would be placed so younger cachers could trade swag.

   We were miffed! We had put all that work into the containers and the cache pages and finding the perfect spots for our cache critters and we're told the containers should have been bigger! Did he not understand our series?

      Well, we calmed down and realized, he was a good, highly respected cacher who was just stating his opinion and a valid one at that. We can take critiscm. There was no need to bear ill feelings, just as he bore none against us. And in that calmer, more serene state of mind we planned our revenge.

   We decided upon a 3 prong attack, a fully coordinated, synchronized assault upon the vulnerable salients of his fortified domicile. Sending in sappers and our elite Guardian insect troops through the front and sides as a diversion while the reptile Guardians would make the main thrust into the rear and overtake the occupants. Then they would know beyond all doubt that not all Guardians can carry ammo cans!! Yet they can still be an effective fighting force in the war on unfound caches!    

   Or

  We could be a bit more subtle and stealthy and advance our cause through the very heart of his opinion. We would place ammo cans. Not just ordinary ammo cans, mind you. A Generic Ammo Can with a message! (Those of you who have read other stories in this column will recognize the "ANNOUNCER."  The following cache description was the first time he made an appearance in my writings.

.................................................................................................

Generic Ammo Can

Read all of the following, out loud, in your best Radio Announcer voice, with enthusiasm! Also read the fine print very quick and monotone.

 The pitch:

    Introducing... The Not another micro in the woods! The 16 gauge industrial steel, built to government spec, stout as a log, alternative to Tupperware. The surprise under the unnatural pile of sticks! The weatherproof, all terrain, keep those trade goods dry .......Generic Ammo Can!!!!  Camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings, it holds a treasure trove of swag in its spacious 461.3 cubic inch interior. Perfect for the family outing!! And talk about your travel bugs, this baby has room for them, keeping them safe and dry in between journeys. Come out for a test find today and see if you don't agree that the Generic Ammo Can is the best caching experience around!

                                              The fine print:

 Taxes, title and license waived, 50 cal version covered with optional camo upgrade, must seek from hidden stock before muggled and archived, thanks to mastercacher  for  this container ,that we won  at the "Geocache the Bluffs" event. Original contents include: children's puzzles, fast food toys, Sacagawea dollar.   Cache description inspired by the thought "How do I sell another Generic Ammo Can?" Please rehide as found, trade even or trade up, please log your visit in a cheerful, fun loving manner. Don't log it was an easy find, of course it is, it's an ammo can under an unnatural pile of sticks in the woods. Coordinates may be Gitchie when the tree cover fills back in. Watch for wildlife of all sorts, enjoy the surroundings, and take some time to appreciate the riparian forest ecosystem. Did you know that Sacagawea lived in this immediate area after the Lewis and Clark journey? Don't listen to, or spread urban legends, no one was ever lynched here and albino's live in houses like you and I, not in trees. Cache in trash out! Unfortunately, the amount of trash dumped here is scary. Help to reclaim this cacher's playground for future generations of cachers to enjoy. Thanks for listening to me ramble and spout, now... go out there and find those caches! Don't you just love this hobby? Wasn't it fun to play announcer and use your big voice like that?

.........................................................................................................................

    So how is that for a retaliatory strike? I had also picked at a few other nits in there, but they don't come into this story. We weren't done there though. We had another guardian (Don't' Worry be Hoppy!) log stating a regular would have been a better choice from this same cacher. This guardian wanted to live under a bridge. The bridge he lived under was over a creek flowing through an urban park. Tough to find unoccupied bridges in this town, the trolls have claimed almost all of them, so he snapped it up. But because of the nearby wooded areas along the banks, let alone the unnatural yet unoccupied, pile of sticks only yards away, I could once again understand the cacher's point of view. So once again we turned to an ammo can to redress this affront to our cache hides. 

..........................................................................

Howdy Neighbor

Hoppy, GC18CY7 was so pleased with the area his guard shack is in that he invited his friend, Howdy, the horse trader,(they can't all be Guardians) to build his cache barn nearby. He took him up on the offer and built a fancy red barn just down the road a piece. There's plenty of room for a trade or two and non-trading visitors are welcome also.
Howdy and Hoppy both, would like to say "Happy Trails to You" as you cache off into the sunset.

................................................................................

   Subtle, but we felt our point was made. And in a very neighborly un-confrontational manner. Now it might seem that I have wandered off a bit from the beginning where I was talking about a liars cache. Well, just like when I'm out caching I wander some, but eventually get to where I need to be. That don't mean I see the cache, but that I got to where I need to be.

 Time to claim the liars cache and post my final act of revenge upon this outspoken cacher. I had worked several days on my log and felt it had believable details, ok, mostly believable. I had learned a long time ago at work, that if you make something up, do it to the fourth decimal place and it usually won't be questioned. The beginning had a dream sequence that was followed by the fictitious account of my hardships in tackling this challenge. After finding the actual cache and sitting down to log the find, Vic talked me out of posting the dream sequence saying something about burying the hatchet before someone gets hurt. Actually, she didn't like it, plain and simple. She used the hatchet to cut that part out. And I was hurt! What a critic!

And now for the first time in print, the uncut catsnfish Liars Log.

.............................................................

   Well we finally got around to working the puzzle for this one and after several days and late nights we had it solved. It was too cold and late for the attempt so I called and talked to my nephew about prusik knots because my monkey skills are not what they used to be. A last minute check to make sure all my gear was assembled and off to bed anticipating the effort it would take to get this cache.

         It wasn't long after falling asleep that Wedge woke me up,  whining like she wanted to play with something but couldn't get to it. I'm tempted to go back to sleep but my tummy is rumbling (darn diet) and I figure I would raid the fridge. Going to the kitchen wedge is wagging her tail while looking at the wall, silly dog. Anyway, I have a look in the fridge hoping for some leftover tidbit to tide me over till morning.

   I hear a low wavery "catsnfishhh" and turn to see a spectral figure appearing out of the wall. It seemed to be a man, clothed in khaki, wearing a back pack, and an old ball cap. As the figure became more solid I noticed he was spraying something from a can all over himself and that he was followed by dozens of ammo cans strung together on a chain. Ok the "Christmas Carol" bit, I'll play along. Not recognizing the Marley in front of me I ask "Who are you?" As he replaced the can into his pack he replied "I am the Missing Cacher,  by the way you have termites, can't stand termites ughh, worse than ticks!." O ..K, After he took a moment to bend down and play with wedge and even slipped her a dog biscuit, I said "Can we move this along? I'd like to get back to bed" with a long sigh he began his lecture, "This power trail that I'm lugging behind me are the regular caches I did not place in my life. Too many nanos, key holders, yada yada, you get the picture. You, Catsnfish, have a much longer train of cans since you have never ever placed an ammo can!" "So? " I reply "So Repent! What do you think this dream is about? You'll have the standard three spectral visits to show you the error of your ways." "Gotcha O K uh" I didn't know what to say. "Don't just stand there slack jawed, move, so I can go out the window, I won't go through that wall again, can't stand termites! You will be visited by three..." and his voice trailed off as the ammo cans clunked after him.

   I awoke in my bed and thought 'how strange?' the exterminator was here just last year. Hmm maybe the yogurt I had last night was expired. Darn diet!

   Wedge woke me by nudging her cold nose against my hand. "Ok ok I'll let you out, quit drinking so much before bedtime." She bounded into the other room and when I turned the corner into my living room, I stepped into a bright,  boulder strewn, mountain meadow with butterflies flitting and birds chirping and a cool pleasant breeze swaying the wildflowers like a chorus line. 

   Not 20 yards from me was a slender man, again dressed in khaki, sporting a large white handlebar mustache and pith helmet tipped at a jaunty angle. He was leaning over a five gallon bucket that was tucked in between a couple of large rocks. In one hand was a teddy bear and the other a nalgene bottle. Dropping the bottle into the bucket he replaced the lid, and made sure that it was well sealed.

    Turning to look at me, I addressed him "Are you the Ghost of Caches Past?" "Why, yes I am!" as he bounded over and began shaking my hand. " Catsnfish! It's so jolly good to meet another cacher, there's not many of us you know. Maybe one should create a cache to meet other cachers at? Eh what, yes, yes, that would do! Oh dear!, Wedge, I didn't see you. What?" and he flipped a biscuit towards my dog. Seems we have a character here. Reluctant to turn the mood by getting down to business, I hesitantly ask "Aren't you suppose to show me how things were better in the old days of caching before nano's and bison's?" Taking on a very Charlton Heston type demeanor, he stated "Look around, Son, you've found this cache but the next one is in that valley over there, a good eight hour hike away. On that hike you'll see wondrous sights, a bugling elk, beaver in their ponds, boulders from the dawn of time, even a herd of them bison you asked about. This is adventure for those stout enough to seek it! And treasure, the treasure is right here" he said pointing to the chest of the teddy bear. Now I was confused, should all caches be long hikes in glorious settings and have teddy bears to trade? I asked that and he replied " Listen, Son, the adventure is what you make it to be, whether in a wilderness or a back alley.. the treasure's in your heart and what you take from the experience." Beginning to fade as his message was said, his demeanor changed as the British accent reemerged and he began mumbling as he strode off "who'd want to seek a bison? Bison move around. what? Hmm a moving cache! No, wouldn't last, I dare say, what?" I could hear the faint echo of "Tally Ho the Cache!" as I once again found myself in bed.

      "Yes wedge, who is here this time? Let me guess, another ghost?" Whoda thought that? Tail wagging, she leads me down the hallway. The hallway seems endless and is changing as I walk along. By the time I reach the end it has become a bridge and there is a small roundish person dressed in black, standing at the end of it. "Are you the Ghost of Caches Present?" "Do I look like a ghost? No. I'm the Troll of Caches Present!" I should have known better, ghosts wear khaki. "Take my spare Magellan so we can give you the guidance you need." " I can't I'm a Garmin man!" I  exclaim. "You'll be forgiven that, ..maybe, now take it!" he then rocked a little on his feet and popped off like he had been stuck to the surface. As I am pulled along behind him I catch a glimpse of Wedge snapping up a milkbone.

   All was black until little teeny lights began to glow and fade and glow again all around us. In that glow I came to the realization I was upside down with quite a start." Just keep your feet flat you'll be ok" he said noticing my discomfort. Relaxing a bit  I asked about the lights." Those are blinkies! And my Magellan makes them light up, can your Garmin do that?" "no" I said weakly and he gave out a great big guffaw and said "I wish it could, I'd hunt nano's at night all the time. Nope this is a dream, Catsnfish, and they are glowing to make a point." Ok, feeling better that my Garmin wasn't  technologically inferior, I ask "What's the point?" "Why , that there's a bunch of em! What else?" It's kinda peaceful and pretty watching the blinkies while hanging upside down under a bridge. Looking around, I spot a lonely green glow off to the north and ask if that's the nuclear power plant over that way.  "Hmm" he growls as he pulls a logbook from under his hat and flips through some pages "Let's see, .. here it is, the color code for this dream is... nano's are red, reactors are blue, ammo can's green and so are you! Poof" with that last poof,  he pointed his finger at me and we promptly disappeared .

    Back at home, I hadn't turned green at all, that guy was a real kidder. Between worrying about developing a chartreuse hue and the anticipation of the last and most worrisome of the spectral visitors, there was no way I was going to sleep. Making a pot of coffee and grabbing another yogurt, I settle down to relax, wishing I had a big gooey fudge brownie instead..

   In a short while Wedge, who was at my feet, hopped up and started wagging her tail. Slowly a few people came into view, materializing along with some chairs and bistro tables. There was someone in a uniform writing on a tablet, I think he was taking orders, cause I heard something about a tri tip of bison and a side of bananas or maybe it was I'm tired of bison's and signing damn nano's. Somewhere else I catch "natural carrot sticks" or was it unnatural pile of sticks? Hard to tell when there are so many conversations going on at once.

   I heard the words 'ammo can' and perked up, that's what I'm here for! Down at the far table sat a woman in a red flannel shirt, a fishing vest and boonie hat, looking at a palm pilot in her hand, could this be the Ghost of Caching's Future? She must have carried some influence with the assembled crowd because when she cleared her throat and tapped the palm everyone got quiet. "Welcome Catsnfish! I am the Moderator of the Caching Future topics. Everyone here has an opinion on what caching should be. On what to hide and where it should go. How big it must be and what's a no no. Can't hide in the woods, it must have trade goods! Don't place it too high or make us all lie. Must sign in the log, can't sign if a dog! No bargain buys for FTF prize!"

 The waiter stepped up and she turned to that side " He'll have the house special, cut extra wide."

"Stop it!  Stop it! I say! Knock off the verse before it gets worse. Sheesh, the Breakfast at Moose with Seuss on the Loose? Stop it! I say!"

   Incredulous faces looked toward me, then shifted their gaze to the Moderator. Slowly, the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile.

" Whew! that's better. Thank you, Catsnfish, those Off Topic forum games are addictive! Even for us moderators." As the varied conversations began to renew around us, I was motioned to a seat on her right. "As I was saying, everyone has an opinion of what caching should be. Part of the appeal it has for many cachers is the variety. A steady diet  of ammo cans or nano's for that matter, can be as boring as well,  eating yogurt for every meal. There is room for all types and cachers can go where their preferences take them. How to play is not written in stone. Partly for this reason, it is open to interpretation and opinions. Sometimes the expression of these opinions becomes heated, agitated, and even nasty at times. That's where my job comes in. Keep things civil and the forums can be a great source of new ideas that add to the experience of caching. So remember everyone has an opinion, the right to feel strongly about it and to express it in a civil manner for others to agree or disagree with. Got it?"

"Yeah, I think so."  A big grin lights up my face "I'm right they're wrong, but they're entitled to be wrong and all our post counts go up!"

   With a shrug of her shoulders, the moderator mumbled something about 'job security.'

       Right after my last statement, a turtle brownie, drizzled in goo arrived, as I reach for my fork, everything begins to fade away. Figures, Darn diet! Nooooo!!

   At last the visits are over and I can get some sleep! Hmm, Wedge is gnawing on a big rawhide bone that I've never seen before, "Wedge, did you have anything to do with this?"

She just cocked her head in a quizzical look  and went back to her rawhide, wagging her tail.

    Aah, the day begins, I felt rested and strangely refreshed and ready to tackle this long put off cache. The plan was for me to plunge in and Vicki and Wedge would follow along to pull me out of trouble if need be. (Wedge has done that before, literally) I thought the water crossing was safe, but slipped on the ice and tore up my pants on a rock. I checked for lacerations but it was just bruised and scraped. I kept on going and recovered the clue and did the math. Limped on to the next stage. I tossed the rope over and made it fast and tried to climb, but my knots kept slipping. So Vic called my nephew and described the problem. He told her I had to use a flat webbing not a round rope for the prusik knots. Luckily, Wedge's leash was the retractable type and had plenty of length for my needs. Come to think of it, her pinch collar wrapped around my boots would have kept me from slipping on the ice. Oh well, we learn by adversity, hmm, that might be a good subtitle for this cache. Ok got those coordinates and it's on to the physical cache, I knew there were some nasties protecting it from reading past logs, and I figured I could dash in grab the cache and roll on past it to a safe distance to sign the log, but they must have been huddled up for warmth and left me alone. Good thing because I didn't have a plan to rehide the cache. Well by this time my fingers were so stiff and painful from the cold I had to put them under my armpits to warm up. Finally, able to open the container and maneuver my pencil, I signed the log for catsnfish and wedge the cacher, who, being a dog and leashless came bounding up without any trouble at all. Dropped off Everglades 3 Geocoin. SL. Good luck to the next person foolish enough to try this one.

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And now I expect you're looking for a moral to the story. I think the Ghost of Caching Future pretty much summed it up, that and fight cachers with caches.

In a humorous manner of course! That way we all win.

Fri, Dec 25, 2009

There are some days that they are so beautiful!!! The weather is clean, the sun is shining and you can’t wait to go out for geocaching or a picnic, under the trees, in the nature…

You were probably making plans for this day for a long time ago and you were anxiously waiting this day to come! And… when everything looks great… some strange events makes you realize that this is definitely not your day!!! Everything goes wrong and the hits are coming like waves….

That happened to us one geocaching day too…..

Oh… only God knows how much we wanted to go for geocaching… the last days, were not so good, it was raining. It was windy… so when we saw that this weekend the weather was going to be fine we started making plans!!!

….. Oh… we will go for geocaching, we will change a cache from micro into a regular and then we were going to have a barbeque near the sea… sausages and hotdogs…. Everything was going to be perfect…. or not???

My sister and my brother in law came with their car and took us! We were holding bags etc like we were going on a cruise! 

Everything was so perfect! We decided to go first to find a cache in Prasonisi, which is at the end of Rhodes and change a cache from micro to a normal size (I am co owner of this cache!)! Prasonisi is a small island that is connected with Rhodes with a sand road! Of course during winter, this road is not always above water!!! Many times the island is not connected! The stream there is quite strong and in older times accidents happen there, so….

When we went there we saw that it was impossible to pass the road and go to Prasonisi! The sand road was under water and we were not dressed properly to pass…

So… we decided to go back to an area some kilometers back, where a cache was! We wanted to find it quickly and then to eat near the sea…

Our parents couldn’t follow because the place was rocky, but they had no problem at all! My mother saw that the area was clean and that she could relax, see the beautiful view, and maybe collect some snails!

Oh yes! She loves to eat snails!!! Hmm… I do not!!! 

It was not summer anymore, so we had to hurry! We started our way and some meters away we realized that the area was a snail paradise!!! WOW!!! Ok, we couldn’t stop geocaching for them, but we were collecting all the snails that were ok, in our way!

Of course we were following the red spots the area had, marking the way! The owners of the cache had done this to help the cachers to find the way!

There were some goats there guarding the area! They looked surprised to see us there!

My brother in law started telling us to hurry up a little… collecting snails may take more time than you can imagine!!! Anyway… we came in the area where the cache was…. But.. Where was the cache??? We started searching the caves there because the hint was saying that it was hidden in a small cave! My brother in law, walk a little farther, and he continued to see red spots…. I knew that the geocachers who placed the cache there continued their way but… I started having thoughts that we were searching the wrong place… but… the stone arch that was in the cache area was there… the GPS was saying that we were in the destination…..

We started searching and searching but the only thing we could see was snails! 

We climbed on rocks, we went close to the edge of the rocks (it was tall enough and the cliff ended in a rocky area in the sea!!) Unfortunately we couldn’t find it and we realized that the sun was leaving! Night was coming!!! WOW! We were away for too long!!! We started our way back disappointed for the DNF, and we were so hungry… Cold or the moisture started falling and we were talking about my parents… oh… they will be worried and hungry too!! I was saying… how we will eat now? If night falls…. Well there was some light left, so if we were in a hurry… we could eat….

After some time my brother in law turned to us with fear in his eyes!!!!

- Where is my mobile phone???

- Where did you have it??? Isn’t there???

My brother in law made a mistake! He had his mobile hanging from the belt of his banana bag (the bad we wear around our waist…)

Oh and where the mobile phone had fallen???? Why he didn’t put the phone in the bag??? Questions like that were coming in our minds but we did not expect any answers…..

My brother in law wanted to go back but it was late enough! He asked if we could call his number so we could hear the ring…. Then we realized some unexpected things…. My sister didn’t have her mobile phone with her, she had forgotten it at home, and my mobile phone had low battery!!!!! Well… at least did we have any flash lights??? Nope!!!!

We decided to go to the car and see because my brother in law said that the mobile may had forgotten inside!

On our way back, I found a relic of WWII! It was an iron head of a mortar shell! WOW! I picked it up for my millitaria collection! It was not something dangerous so it was ok! It was quite heavy!!!

When we reached the car it was almost dark! Our parents were so worried…. They asked us what happen and we told them the whole thing!

Nothing was in the car, so we had to see what to do!!! It was dark, it was cold and we saw that heavy clouds were coming in the area!!! Oh boy…. If it started raining…. The mobile was going to die!!! Ok, it was in a leather mobile case, but the water….

So… everyone decided to go back home, take jackets, mobile phones, flashlights etc, and come back! There was no time to eat now! Even if we were starving, we had to rescue the mobile phone first! After all… it was a very expensive one!!!!!

We reached home and we started our preparations! We left my mother at home at least to cook something for later, and we left to go back! Me, my brother in law, my sister, and my father who brought a strong flashlight and his mobile phone too!

On our way it started raining!!! What a heavy rain!!!!

My brother in law was desperate! He was saying to go back and forget the mobile phone, but we insisted!!! We brought the car as close as possible, from another road, and we were waiting for the rain to pass! The area was very dangerous to go at night, so it was extremely dangerous to go with or after a rain!!!! When we reached the area we had left the car the first time, it was raining cats and dogs! We couldn’t see clearly, so we decided to wait until the rain stops!

While we were waiting in the car, we made our plan…. Me and my brother in law were going to search for the mobile phone, and.. My sister and my father would stay in the car and my sister would call my brother in law's phone number so we can hear it if we were close! Since the mobile was dark colored and…in black leather case…..

There was a little problem with that….

Ok, my brother’s in law mobile battery was full, but…. With all that rain…. The mobile phone might not work anymore….

Well. We didn’t have any other choice… did we?

After about half an hour, the rain stopped! It was time to move…time to go and find this mobile phone!

We put our jackets (it was cold after the rain), we opened our flash lights and left the car! WOW! During night, the area looked so different!!! Because of the rain it was very slippery too! One wrong step on the rocks…

My sister was calling the number all the time and we were trying to hear the mobile ringing! I hoped that it was somewhere close!

Snails were everywhere now! Everything was wet, there was no sunlight, so it was the best time for them to come out and eat! We couldn’t avoid all of them when we were walking… I still remember the sound of their shell breaking because we stepped on them!

We took a path but after a while we realized that it was a wrong one! Instead of going to the arch, we were going up on a mountain! So, we went back and started again, and this time we were on the right path!

We passed a wire fence and after some time we had to climb down a little… there, I slipped on a rock! I didn’t fell but from that time my anklebone was hurting me….

Where we started seeing the arch we heard a strange noise… a song!!! Oh boy!!! It was the ring tone of the mobile phone!!! We went quickly to the area we were hearing the song louder and YES!!!! The mobile phone was about 30 meters away from the place we first heard the ring tone! It was close to a rock, and that actually saved it!!!

There were only 2 – 3 drops of water on the case!!! WOW!!! We were lucky!!!

My brother in law was so happy! He took it in his hands and thanked God!!! He saw that the battery was running low! After so many calls from my sister (counted more than 100!!!) the battery had only one line….

At that time the phone started ringing again! My sister didn’t know that we found it so she was still trying…. 

My brother in law answered it but he changed his voice! My sister didn’t recognize him and when she asked who was answering the call, my brother in law told her….. “It’s me… the goat from the mountain!”!!! My sister was a little shocked but after some seconds of silence, she started laughing! We were all so happy!!!!

Now we could go and eat!!!! 

On our way back, I had once again a small accident! Jesus… Why all these things happen to me????

The area was full of wire fences, but one of them was so strange… it was tall like it was not there to keep animals out, but humans!!! I didn’t see it in the night and I fell on it! The wire with the iron thorns was on my throat but didn’t hurt me… thank God!!!

We were close to the car when we realized that the sky was clean!!!! Clean??? So it rained only to make things harder???? Hmmmmm……

In our home, my mother prepared food to eat! My sister called her from the car and told her the whole story! Yammies!!!! Plates with spaghetti were waiting us on the table!!!! We ate so quickly!!! We were starving….

I took a shower and then I opened my PC to se if I had any emails and to log the DNF! We were not feeling ok with that and we agreed to go back the next Sunday! This time we were going earlier to find the cache!!! 

The owners saw my log and helped a little with the hint photo! We were waiting the days to pass and Sunday came! This time nothing was going to stop us!!! We went in the area and we found the cache quickly!!! ….Yes!!! We collected some snails again!!! 

This time things were different! We had time to eat and relax after geocaching, in the area near the sea…! 

Now that all these passed, we remember them and laugh…. WOW!! What a day!!! Hey… we went there at night?? …does this considered to be night caching??? 

This game is so fascinating and all you can have adventures all the time….but… isn’t that the salt of life??  After all… everything that is valuable…hurts and is difficult….

Sun, Dec 20, 2009

You know how it is. You've been cooped up most of the winter. Caching is almost nonexistent because deep snow has made it almost impossible to find anything. Then spring comes and you get these deceivingly nice days. The sun comes out, the snow recedes to a few inches and right away you get antsy to go try your luck. That's exactly what we foolishly did.

Me: "There's a five-stage multi with a bonus cache off Cascade Rd we could do."

Wife: "I like multis, let's do it."

Off we go. We arrive to the park and start on our quest. The first stage is under a boardwalk in a swampy area.

Me: "Okay, give me the mirror."

Wife: "Oh, did you need it? I was primping on the way here and left it in the car. If you want I can try to lay on the boardwalk and lean over to see the cords. Of course my back isn't as good as yours seeing I had the operation and..."

Me: "All right, all right, I'll do it."

There was still plenty of snow on the walk so my clothes were getting wet. I'm not sure if the wife was listening, she says I don't speak clearly, but after repeating the numbers to her many times we finally had the coords right. Of course my head was dipping into the water which added to my enjoyment.

Wife: "Sometimes you can be so testy."

Me: "Just give me some more of your tissues so I can dry my head."

Wife: "Don't use them all I'll need them."

The second stage was uneventful so off we go to the third. The third stage was a fairly quick find for the wife. The fourth stage was very difficult. We were about to give up when the wife made the find.

Wife: "There it is. How could I have missed that?"

Me: "Maybe because you had us looking in the wrong area. You had the GPS and we were looking way over there."

Wife: "Its not my fault you're too cheap to get a better one."

We use an E-Trex we got from Marlboro when we used to smoke. It had sat in the drawer for a few years because I couldn't figure out how to use it. Those instruction manuals can be very confusing. Finally someone at work introduced me to geocaching and showed me how to use the GPS. It has worked well, even though I have to admit it can be temperamental at times.

Me: "This one works fine. By the way there's another cache by this stage. It should be a quick grab."

We put in the coords and looked for about an hour.

Me: "I don't know who found this last but I don't think they wanted anyone else to find it. I think they took a shovel and buried it."

Wife: "Here it is. That was sure hidden well."

Me: "Good now let's go to the final of the multi."

Wife: "The GPS is pointing right down there. You go that way and I'll go this way. That way we'll cover more ground."

Me: "Good idea."

I'm not saying it was deliberate but she did make the find awfully quickly.