lazylightning

The last I ever hid something of this caliber it almost landed me in jail. There is a story in there some where just waiting to get out. My son's Geocaching name is GeoDudeGPS, I just sent him the picture. I'm sure he'll be surprised!

I should have learned my lesson with the last magellan product I bought. It was JUNK and the toughcase is JUNK too. magellan products are pretty worthless. Stay with Garmin, they have quality products.

Well, I'm going to give my presentation to the Missouri Parks and Recreation Association annual conference this Thursday (3/8) and I'm really excited about it! I appreciate all of the replies and all the great information. I will be working on my Powerpoint presentation today and tomorrow and just wanted to give a "last call" for any land managing agencies that support geocaching. Right now, I'm really looking for examples of where the land managers sponsor (cosponsor) activities or events that are for Geocachers and Geocaching. I'd like to show the departments that are attending the session how these agencies are involved, what programs they do, and what kind of response they get. I'd like to give them some ideas on how they can get started in offering Geocaching events. Again thanks for all the great info and thanks in advance for the info yet to come!

I've gotten roped into presenting an educational session at the Missouri Park & Recreation Assn annual conference on Geocaching. I'm supposed to talk on how different places manage Geocaching on thier lands. Of course I would like to focus on those who are really supportive and minimize those who are stinkers about caching. Could you please let me know what agencies you've run across that are Geocachingly progressive? I'd especially like to see any that have websites that have policies on caching. Caching policy success stories are highly coveted! Thanks in advance for your help Lazylightning

I kinda like my Garmin Legend but I've never named it. I have called it some names before, but nothing I'd feel safe in mentioning. I also have a Magellan and a lot of us around these parts jokingly refer to them as YUGO's, after those junky cars. I'm sure some proud Magellan owners will take exception to that!

Hi everybody! Cabin Fever Geocaching Pot Luck #2 http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...80-e9606b971029 GCKQWB I've just finished getting the GeoBingo portion of the event together. I have put a page up on the JC Parks and Rec website that has the Bingo rules and also has the coordinates to the Bingo caches. You may download them now but PLEASE DO NOT start hunting them until 12:00 noon on Saturday. I put up both a LOC and a GPX file for you. The LOC file has hints encoded but the GPX file does not. Here is the link: http://www.jeffcitymo.org/jeffcityweb.nsf/...33;OpenDocument If the above link doesn't work, go to www.jeffcitymo.org/parks and click on the Geocaching link on the left side menu. You will be taken to a page that will get you all you need to know about the event. Be sure to stop by the McClung Park Pavilion before you start hunting on Saturday. I have a little gift that I want to give everyone before you begin hunting. You will need it to play the game.

Hi everybody, I am planning a Geocaching Potluck for January 15th in Jefferson City. This is the second annual event and it will be a BLAST! Everyone will gather at Jefferson City's McClung Park at about noon on Saturday, January 15th, spend the day caching around Jeff City and then eat pot luck and enjoy retelling of war stories which starts at about 6:00 p.m. We will be playing GeoBingo at this event. I will have placed 38 logable micro caches around the most interesting and beautiful places in Jefferson City. At each cache, you can grab one number and then you can head out to the next cache. At 6:00 p.m. you will come back and get your bingo board and see how you do. I have lots of really nice prizes for just about everyone. You can visit the event cache page at: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...80-e9606b971029 or just search for cache # GCKQWB If you are interested in spending the night in Jeff City, I have negotiated discounts at a number of area hotels. Check the cache page for a link to the list of hotels and prices. I will also be putting on a Geocaching 101 class from 10:00 to Noon on January 15th too. If you are new to caching this will be a great chance to get a good start. I hope to see lots of folks at this event! Lazylighting (Mike Bollinger)

Missouri State Parks has a fairly good policy on geocaching. The person who put the policy in place with State Parks system is a strong advocate of geocaching. I'm sure that any organization that has questions or concerns should contact MoStPks and see how geocaching and parks can mutually coexist and even benefit each other. One of the State Parks is even putting out their own caches. They can be found at GCH7CP and GCH6V3. Here is the link to the MoStPk policy on Geocaching http://www.mostateparks.com/geocaching.pdf

I got a converter http://www.mentorsoftwareinc.com/Freebie/FREE1198.HTM <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< clearly the degrees and whole minutes will be the same, so we just need to do something to the seconds to make them the bit after the decimal point of the minutes. ANd it's really simple. Divide the seconds by 60, then add that to the minutes, rounding to three decimal places. Taking some obvious examples to check our maths: N00 00' 15.000 => 15.000 / 60 = 0.250 => N00 00.250 N00 00' 30.000 => 30.000 / 60 = 0.500 => N00 00.500 N00 00' 45.000 => 45.000 / 60 = 0.750 => N00 00.750

I have a compass course that I set up for my daycamp program in Jefferson City MO(compass heading & distance) and thought I'd set it up as waypoints for a gps. I found this very interesting. I ran the waypoints on my Garmin Legend and at the time, I had about 15-18 foot accuracy. A couple of weeks later I got our Park Planner out with his $10,000 Tremble backpack unit. I compared 8 waypoints. On every latitude measurement, I was either right on or 1 off of his measurements (38.36.176 vs 38.36.177). On longitude, there was a little more discrepancy. I had one that was exact, 4 that were 1 off, the worst was 5 off (92.18.272 vs 92.18.267) The ones that were off the most had some tree cover to the north but were clear east & west. One set exactly matched lat & long with the Tremble. I was very impressed by the performance of the Garmin after that.

We found this tag that said Witness tree - WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?!?! <img

I work for a Parks and Rec Dept in Missouri. A guy came by and asked permission to put caches in our parks. Being unfamiliar with caching, I was the most against allowing it. Our staff decided to allow it and put me in charge of monitoring caches for compliance assuming I would be very critical. I went out, bought a Garmin and went to find some caches. I had a ball. I went home and got the wife & kids and went out to find some more. Everyone fell in love with caching. When I placed my first cache, the approver sent me an email with about 20 questions including "did you get permission". (He didn't know I worked for the P&R Dept). That sealed it as being an a-ok thing for our parks. I started 9 months ago and am creeping up on 200 finds. I'm hosting a Geocaching Potluck at the end of the month, co-sponsored by our department (that way I can get the facility for free). It just gets funner and funner!

I just went in and changed it myself. I don't have 10 posts yet but I am no longer a tadpole! I could be dangerous if I knew what I was doing.

MidMO Geocachers are planning an informal get-together for geocachers and their families on Saturday, January 31, 2004 in Jefferson City, MO. Special lodging rates have been arranged with local hotels for those wishing to stay overnight. What better way to beat the winter blues with Geocaching and a potluck. We begin by gathering at McClung Indoor Pavilion at about 12 noon. Then we’ll go out to hit some caches. There are a number of caches in Jeff City and more will be placed prior to the event. Once it gets dark (around 6pm), we will then come back for eating and telling ‘war stories’. I hope that you will consider coming to the event. It's sure to be a great time, and even better if you come. The event is listed on Geocaching.com as GCHB4D. If you have any questions or would like the lodging rates, please don't hesitate to contact me! Lazylightning.

I see PWs all the time, but I work for Jefferson City MO Parks & Rec. There are some really duzzies out there! #1 crazy thing happend one time I was going out to one of our picnic pavilions about 7pm on a summer evening. There were 4 guys, one on the roof of the pavilion, one on a picnic table right next to the roof edge and two on the ground. They were trying to put picnic tables on the roof. They already had a couple up on top when I got there. They were lifting another table up when I pulled up and the two on the ground got scared and let go of the table. The one on the roof was pulling it up and was suddenly left holding the bag. It pulled him off the roof and he fell to the ground. He landed head first and didn't look too good. His buddies were laughing as they ran off. I called 911 and they didn't believe me at first and thought it was a prank call.

This one is compliments of a-pinapple "There is one sure fire way to get to this cache right off the bat, but I won't tell you in a hint. I bet you thought that this was going to have a whole lot of helpfull information, didn't you. Well, you were wrong. I really hope you didn't decode this by hand, because it would really be a big waste of time. There are no hints that I can give you here- just that all you will need to know will be revealed to you on the hint page at Rhett's Run." Isn't he nice?

I'm getting ready to put out my first few caches. It seems like getting permission is going to be harder than hiking 20 miles straight up hill in the hot summer sun through poison ivy and stinging nettles with ticks and rattle snakes. From MO Dept of Conservation I got this reply: ...we do not have a formal policy (at this time) on geocaching.... Our position is that we are allowing it on a site by site basis through a Special Use Permit. The permit enables the area manager to ensure the cache is appropriate, its location does not impair area management or other area users, ensure it is consistent with wildlife regulations (no soil disturbance--burying it would be violation),and avoids any sensitive resources. If you need area manager information you may contact me with the name of the conservation area in which you have interest, or you can contact the appropriate regional office http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/about/srvcentr.html for contact information. Thanks for your interest in conservation. Ken Drenon drenok@mdc.state.mo.us 573/522-4115, ext 3848 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< From Dept of Natural Resources-State Parks I got this: Thank you for your interest in Missouri's state parks and historic sites. We are in the process of finalizing a policy on geocaching in the Missouri state park system. At this time, we do ask that you contact park staff prior to placement of a cache to make sure the location is acceptable. Angie Even, Web Maintainer MoDNR/Division of State Parks P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102 nrevena@mail.dnr.state.mo.us <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I work for Jeff City Parks and Rec and was apprehensive about geocaching at first. Matt13:44 came and made a presentation and, as a staff, we said why not give it a try. Since then, the department had received many good comments on logs and everyone here thinks this is GREAT! Personally, my family and I have fallen in love with the sport. We go out frequently as a family and have some real quality time together. We've discovered and re-discovered lots of great outdoor areas. Besides that, I've lost about 5 pounds and can take a good hike without passing out. I think an organization will serve many needs. It will prove that Geocaching is a respectable sport that can regulate itself. This will ease land manager's concerns. Second, as a group, we can help get Geocaching approved in areas where individuals might not be able to. There might be an opportunity to do a presentation at the Missouri Parks and Recreation Association (MPRA) annual conference in Columbia next spring. If there is an organization by then, we, as a group could have a great opportunity to reach almost every P&R Dept. in the State, as well as some state agencies. P.S. I used to work for Columbia Parks and Rec for 8 years before I came to JC. I know some folks up there and might be able to help put in a good word for us. I'm all for organizing and will try to attend the get-together.

I was considering a cache on Hart Creek Conservation Area near Hartsburg, I called the state office in JC and got transfered to 'protection' and they said NO hesitantly and gave me the number of the Regional Office in Columbia and I was told NO again. The reason was potential conflicts with hunters and cachers. I tend to agree with the concern of cachers wandering around during deer season. I am an avid hunter and am very careful, but there are a lot of yahoos out there that would shoot anything that moves. Here is an official response I got from them in the email box today: <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Here's an excerpt from a response to this previously asked question:...we do not have a formal policy (at this time) on geocaching.... Our position is that we are allowing it on a site by site basis through a Special Use Permit. The permit enables the area manager to ensure the cache is appropriate, its location does not impair area management or other area users, ensure it is consistent with wildlife regulations (no soil disturbance--burying it would be violation),and avoids any sensitive resources. If you need area manager information you may contact me with the name of the conservation area in which you have interest, or you can contact the appropriate regional office http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/about/srvcentr.html for contact information. Thanks for your interest in conservation. Ken Drenon drenok@mdc.state.mo.us 573/522-4115, ext 3848 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<