S Keillan

OK, there's been no activity on this thread for a couple of weeks, and in order to do this right, we'll probably need at least a few months preparation, something that I've been slacking on. I would still like to try this, but it might be best to wait until early 2006. This would give plenty of time to prepare, time for me to get an appropriate web site going, and everyone a chance to enter properly. When things get set up, I'll likely start a new thread in the Travel Bug forum. In the meanwhile, I hope those interested will remain interested.

It could be worse. There was an The Onion article spoofing the State Quarters program by saying the the U.S. Mint was releasing commemoritive pennies for each county in the country. Imagine every county having a Geocoin. Or worse, every cache having an associated Geocoin. I can imagine the following quote, "The cache may be archived, but the Geocoins live on."

That looks very interesting. Unfortunately, that's the same weekend as the Fall Picnic in Indiana, which I'm afraid has the priority. However, I hope that it goes well for all who attend.

Not yet. What I mean is that I too am planning a similarly-themed cache. Maybe when I get it functioning it'll be a good template.

No problem with that. Just keep us apprised with any info related to this.

I am willing to volunteer hosting such a gathering. Any particular location? Indianapolis would be ideal if there's just one event, but since it depends on Team Tecmage's attendance, the choice of location ultimately depends on them. (I toss up the idea of Lafayette as it isn't as far of a drive from Valparaiso, it's closer to the centre of the state, and it's where I live. )

Hmm, new idea. How about if we make the IN Fall Picnic down near Madison the official gathering point for the race. Then we start off in a nearby cache and make the finish line up in Lake County, say around Gary or Hammond. This would work better for me as I live closer to Lake County than either Steuben or Posey Counties. Plus I'm planning to attend the picnic in a couple of months, so I can take bugs with me for those not attending. Any comments?

Although I live in Indiana, I'm originally from Virginia, still have family there, and have gone geocaching there. Therefore, I would have some interest in VA geocoins, perhaps four, give or take a coin or two. I think the Jamestown sesquicentennial would be good, but I'd wait a couple of years for that. Given that Monticello is inconveniently removed from the five-cent piece for this year, that would be my recommendation.

I was just thinking that we could have a small event, such as a dinner at a restaurant or the like, where the IN Geocoins could be distributed to those who want to pick them up in person. It would be a good way of meeting some other geocachers, plus it would be an event find. It can also be an event where TB's can be exchanged, so those who didn't order won't be left out. Any thoughts on this?

Oh, I was just thinking that it should start not long after the Fall picnic. This would give people a chance to enter their travel bug while there. Since the picnic is in early September, I say that a launch point of either late September or early October would be best.

OK, we might have enough to at least begin planning such a race. I think maybe a fall start would be best, to give people a chance to sign up. Concerning rules, I'm thinking that they should be similar to what the Cannonball Run races have, with maybe a modification or two based on the fact that we'll almost always be within a few hours drive of the TB's as opposed to the longer cross-country races. Obviously the race needs to be run fair and square.

I was wondering if there would be any interest in having something of a travel bug race across Indiana. My idea would be to have TBs make the trek from Steuben County in the northeast corner to Posey County in the southwest corner (or vice-versa), with the caveat that they must move only one county at a time. I would be willing to handle the race details if there is interest.

I've posted a few SBA's lately for some caches in the area that I've not been to, but it should be obvious that the cache is not in play. Many of those have been "temporarily disabled" for close to a year, and the cache owners have not bothered to log on to check on their caches. I agree that it would be bad form to jump to conclusions regarding a cache just by interpreting a DNF or two, but I believe that if there is overwhelming evidence that the cache is gone and the owners AWOL, an SBA note is not inappropriate. Just my two cents.

OK, due to a fair bit of complaining, I've got one of the WJTB back into the wild with my new cache. And Joypa, there's a decent chance it will be there when you get back from Banff. Concerning the other WJTB that's in my wife's possession (of which I have no control), I may be able to convince her to keep it in the area if a "suitable" cache pops up around here. My little problem is that there's no caches around that I've not been to. THE GAUNTLET HAS BEEN THROWN.

Fear not, fellow Lafayette geocachers. While it's true that there are a couple of WJTB in possession of the Discovery Duo (my wife and me), they shall be released soon. The only question is, will you be able to find them?

You will want to review and comply with the License Agreement and the Geocaching.com Site Terms of Use Agreement. OK, this is a toughie. It sounds like there would be too much of a legal quagmire for having an "ISQ pocket query" available on an independent web site. I would speculate that if somehow it could be restricted to premier members that it might be allowed, but that's a guess. However, I suppose that there is technically no restriction regarding having a batch file that would allow premier members to access GPX downloads. It would be a matter of maintaining a database of the waypoints and letting the batch file do its thing. There might be an issue of using bandwidth, but that can happen anyway if someone where downloading the waypoints from each page individually. Now we just need somehow to show me how that is done.

I suppose that any data would be useful, or at least harmless if redundant. Right now, I suppose that I would need to get familiar with something like FrontPage (which I have) so that I don't have to format everything by typing all of the HTML tags. I suppose that we should decide what content such a web site would have. I think that in order to meet the desires originally brought up in this thread, there should be a section by which one can download waypoints for all the ISQs. I would guess that there's no problem with LOC files, but I would be concerned about storing GPX files. Does any know about legal issues regarding GPX?

In no way am I suggesting that the cache pages be reduced in terms of the information involved. That wasn't what I was thinking. The only thing that I concern myself over is the protracted use of printer cartridges and paper. For those of us that either don't have or can't find our PDA, paper is the medium of choice for essentual trail information. Fortunately, it's not too bad to go through a pocket query and reduce them for trail purposes. The only thing that I wish could happen in a pocket query is the use of keywords to have such queries be for ONLY the ISQ's. I guess until then, I'll have to edit out the other caches, although I think with GPX spinner that can be done without any difficulty. OK, I'm done now.

How much other means are we talking? I could say financial gain, but that would be too base and demeaning to the whole ISQ series. I really can't answer at this time because I have no idea how I can be convinced to put in a lot of volunteering time and effort. I will say that I can host such a site, even get an appropriate domain name, maybe indianaspiritquest.com. Thinking about it, most of the actual work is done already with the write-ups. It's just a matter of collecting everything together, indexing them, and expanding on them. What did I just talk myself into??

It would be nifty if there were some kind of web site devoted to the ISQ's. Sort of both a repository of the ISQ listings and a way to keep up a list of the caches as they come to GC.com. Perhaps additional background information regarding the Quest could be kept up. One thing that I would appreciate is perhaps an edited version of the listings be available. While the descriptions are quite good and well-worth reading, it makes getting printouts of the pages rather long, and editing them to the essential information tedious, even with a pocket query. Maybe a condensed version of the listings to carry on the hunt would be nice. No, I'm not volunteering, but I could be enticed into action via other means.

Most excellent. I have just remitted payment for the purchase of eight IN geocoins, which I must say looks very nice indeed.

Hey. First time posting, for what it's worth. I think that the idea of having duplicate TB tags ready is a rather cool idea. I will say that is something that I would not do myself. To me, doing this would really skew the mileage on the bug. Also, I tend to think of my TB's as unique. But that's just my viewpoint. I guess to answer the original question, from my viewpoint, I would mark the bug as missing only when it is actually missing, i.e. it being taken without being logged. Personally, I would keep the bug as listed in the delinquent's hands as a sign of their non-cooperation. Sort of a "Most Wanted" list. Who knows, it might pop back out sometime.