daxe

sure..go to the cache pages and save the pictures to your computer, then upload them to your handheld via whatever method you use to connect. including all the graphics in a GC listing in a PQ, even as an option, is going to greatly increase the server load for GC.com. Think about it..your queries are a certain size, but are limitedd to how many you can run during a given time period. Adding in the extra size of images would exacerbate the problem tremendously. What if you search for 200 caches in a single query? Are you going to ask for the linked photos from all of them? talk about size!!! But then again..if you were abel to specify that type of download for each individual cache in your list it might work. But then again, that's a lot like the amount of work it takes to go to the listing and save all the info yourselff. ~daxe

Not sure if this has been covered or not, but I had an issue with the columns in GSAK turning black when I clicked on the heading to sort them. Since I have a custom color scheme on my XP laptop, I figured it was related to this, but I didn't have a chance to figure it out til this morning. Seems the columns use the "message box" font but the background color from "tooltip" when the header is clicked to sort. In my case, since I had a black background on my tooltips and a black font in my message boxes, the entire column just turned black when I sorted it! hope this helps someone. happy GCing, ~daxe

The picture wasn't for one of the travel bugs I have encountered (got one just today), I just saw it in the gallery when I dropped in there. I actually emailed the general website contact and got an automated reply, then dropped in here to bring it to (hopefully) someone's attention. I see that has happened. When I look there now I still see the thumbnail for the pietro picture and the other nude beach one but clicking them shows 'archived' in the place where the enlarged pic would usually be. The rest of the log is intact. Glad this was dealt with before someone with more delicate eyes ran into it. ~daxe

just like it says..I checked the gallery to try and find info on a TB I found today and some clever dope named "pietro" has decided to post a picture of himself naked drinking wine. I didnt even see a travel bug in the picture. See for yourself! ~daxe

I was reading this thread and was going to add something along these lines. I GC with my wife and our two kids, aged 3 and 7. The 3 year old is a loud kid anyways, but when we find a cache he invariable screams something at the top of his lungs, even if we have just told him to be quiet. And yes, we have had his hearing checked. ~daxe

I think all the best suggestion have already been covered, but I'll put in my .02, anyway. I GC with my wife and out two kids, a boy 3.75 years old and a girl 6.75 years old. They absolutely love the whole concept and get excited when we set out for a days worth of GCing. To them it is very much about the prizes in the cache, but also being competitive about who can find it first. More often than not one of the grownups finds the cache and then stands aside giving hints and suggestions to let the kids be the "superfinders." We carry a backpack officially designated the "Geocaching bag." It contains the usual stuff like bug spray and first aid supplies for skinned knees and thorn-torn flesh, but we also throw in a good supply of granola bars and other snacks, plus a couple sports bottles of water. The kids get hungry and thirsty very easily and a fun GC can turn into an unfun experience with a three year old whining "I'm hungry..." every 15 seconds for half an hour. In the GC bag we also put our items for trade. My wife used to sell tupperware, so we have loads of useful little doodads around from that (toothbrush holders, citrus peelers, mini product keychains, etc.) promotional items from the hospital we both work for (pens, digital thermometers, cap grippers, squeezy balls, etc.) and we regularly take trips to closeout stores and dollar stores to get other good things like extension cords, folding frisbees, flashlights, decks of cards, lip balm, etc. Depending on the quality of what comes out of a cache, we will trade evenly for it. If it is an especially good cache finding-wise, or one that obviously took lots of work (multi-caches) we will often drop in something of greater value as a 'thank you.' The kids usually poop out earlier than the grownups during a day with 8 or more GCs planned. They don't recover as well from long hikes. We play it by ear. I usually plan out a route around an area with GCs in it, taking into consideration the difficulty and terrain rating, plus reading through logs to guage whether the kids would do well. I try to keep the round trip hike under a mile, if possible. They seem to enjoy more frequent and quicker finds. They also get easily diverted by playgrounds, which seem to be present at a lot of the parks where GCs get placed around here. After the find, we give them 15 or 20 minutes of swinging and sliding and seesawing. This makes them much more agreeable to more GCing. One of the nicest things about GCing is that it's something healthy the entire family can do together. It can be as hard or easy as you like depending on your energy level and mood. I am in my mid 40s and have/had a lot of health problems in my life. It's only recently that I have gotten them dealt with well enough to attempt something like hiking, so GCing is hiking with a purpose. IT gets me out from behind my computer screen but still allows me to indulge my well-developed affection for gadgets. I started with a used Garmin Etrex LEgend and because of how much use it got, I justified a brand new Garmin GPSMAP 60cs this year. Best of luck with your searching! ~daxe

I ordered a 60c late last night from getwetfeet.com. I will report back with my experience in getting the new unit when it arrives. ~daxe