Jeep4two

I have stopped phrasing things in that vieled manner, or "Are you looking for the same thing I am?" because once I got a reply that was less than savoury, from someone that was definitely not looking for the same thingh I was!!! Turns out I was in a local gay men's pick-up area! I find it much better to just come out and ask if they are geocaching. Gets the matter settled quickly and with no misunderstanding. If you get a blank stare, you have your answer! To answer the OP, I would take choice "C" In my case it was a lady (I a man) so I guess there could be another similar issue occur if she was actually 'working' but she was standing there with a rather bulky Nuvi and her boyfriend was coming down a hill from woods (perfectly in line with my bearing arrow) so I was 99.9999% sure of the answer to my question. However you bring up a good point. . . . a working girl or boy could be hanging out in one of the parks doing just what you suggest.

Not sure about the area you are from but where I live "cash only" tow companies are prime targets for the attorney generals office. Been bunches go down and flames of glory crying the same story you purport to be their reason for taking cash only. Didn't stand up in court. Why? The did as many do, and refuse to provide proper receipts for the cash, refuse to release cars to owners after they refused to provide receipts and ultimately were proven to be crooks, criminals and just plain shysters (many often towing illegally). There are reputable tow companies out there - most of them take cash, checks (with appropriate ID - check 21 laws make stop payments a moot point), or credit cards (instant authorization and crediting these days - no waiting to process the authorization). If they won't take credit, check and insist on cash they are likely operating at a minimum a little off the level and I'd highly recommend getting the local authorities involved.

I'll add that this quick pocket query reminded me of a new micro near my house that I'll probably go get (14 miles from me). I'm not a micro fan - but for a FTF I might just do it. . .

Yes - this is easy to do with a Pocket Query using the "Have Not Been Found" option, and then selecting a state, country, distance from zip, etc. Pocket Queries are great and make the $30 annual membership well worth every penny. I just ran one for Kentucky and it resulted in 17 caches.

I'm using my Mapsource Metroguide v6.0 (mapsource has been upgraded, but not the map data) on both my eTrex Legend ('old Blue) and my new Oregon 400t (used Metrowizzz to make it routable on the Oregon). Just look for unlocked or non-keyed maps.

Great - let me suggest a brand new GPS that is a great unit. The Garmin Venture HC - has long battery life, some map memory, high sensitivity, USB connections, geocaching mode, is rugged, easy to learn - all for about $125 if you look around. By the way - many older (and some newer ones) units that have been off for a a few months or more might take as long as 30 minutes to aquire a signal and that is perfectly normal operation. They need to download the sat almanac. If you want to live on the edge (not really - but slightly more risk than buying the new unit but spending half the price). . . You can get a refurbished (recertified) Venture HC for $69.00 (with free shipping). It appears that it includes the same Garmin 1 year parts/labor warranty. Adorama is a reputable store that's been in the electronics business for some time. Link to their product page: http://www.adorama.com/GPGETVEHCR.html Link to reseller ratings for Adorama.com: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Adorama (currently a 9.33 rating on a 10 point scale - pretty darn good) If I was in your shoes just getting started I'd go with the refurb that includes a warranty, save the dough for a later upgrade. Just my 0.02

I hope I run into webscouter out there (or anyone else that thinks as he does). The first (and only so far) time I ran into a fellow cacher I carefully observed as I approached the area to confirm they weren't muggles. Once that was done as quick "are you doing what I think you are doing" exchange confirmed we were on the same page and I discovered that I had just met some cachers out on their very first hunt. We had some nice conversation and we hunted the cache together. Once at GZ they made the find, took some photos and had a great time. They went on that day to find several more (a few that we recommended and had already done earlier). It was nice to meet a fellow cacher on the trail. That's one of the many joys of this great game. So I'm choosing C - final answer.

I would imagine that you are mostly paying for the trails and other POIs that are part of the maps you are buying. There are 24K topo maps out there for free (www.gpsfiledepot.com). I don't think these free maps will have trails listed, but I could be wrong. I have tried them for any national park properties - explore some for yourself and see.

Yep - this is true. Basemaps aren't terribly accurate. In addition some older maps aren't either. I have a version of Metroguide from around 2005 I think. (version 6.0). While at a park recently I had this map enabled on my Oregon 400t and noticed the next cache was about 100 yards out in the water according to the map. Sounds interesting I thought to myself. Of course once arriving we were at the lakes edge (20 feet or so from the edge). Keep in mind however there are some devious hides out there that include underwater caches. . . .

Welcome Tinkle, err, I mean Warren. . . I think your company has a winner with this product. Wife and I were talking and we both think it may make a great backup GPSr. May be on the list in the near future. Excellent product concept and as you can see from this thread it's appealing to an audience that I didn't initially expect.

Easy Solution: Visit your local China-Mart (Chinarget, etc.) Visit the electronics section and find an auto charger for a motorola that uses the microUSB (aka. miniUSB) plug. This charger will work fine with your Oregon 400t. Just make sure you do as the 2nd post mentions and set your interface to spanner and choose an adapter that has a straight plug (not a right angle plug). I've been using a Verizon branded one designed to be used with a Blackberry and it works fine. You just have to touch the NO button on the screen when plugging it in to say NO - Do not go to usb mass storage mode. Should be a $10 or less solution.

It really is a shame. I hope to release some trackables in the future. If I buy coins I'll buy a pair of any coin I plan on releasing so I'll have one as a 'collection' item.

That sounds like a great Head Hard Hat "How not to hunt for a micro" video. . .

Come to think of it... I forgot to ask "why"? Doesn't the world have too many of these already? but the OP didnt ask what we thought of the cache. But what do you think their chances were that they weren't going to? This can only mean one thing. After all these years, trackinthebox has finally succeeded in having caches outlawed in Wal-Mart parking lots without permission. Props to him, wherever he is. I read that thread (all the way through). Quite Amusing. . . I'm giong to have to steal one part of TrackInTheBox's material - I hope he doesn't mind. I'm having "Department of Cacheland Security" T-Shirts printed as we speak

Real bummer that you got towed. However keep in mind you are in a college town where people abuse parking all the time and sometimes it becomes a a problem for business owners. The KFC you reference is a popular 'park and ride' spot I suspect which would be why you got towed (I make this assumption since it's right at one of the interstate exits). Funny thing - the only car accident I've ever had was about 200 yards from there waiting to turn right into Wal-Mart. Guy on his cell phone in a Cadillac thought his ABS would stop him in 20 feet from 40 miles an hour on a rain slick road...

The Audubon Society has field guides for any activity that interests you. National Audubon Society Field Guides are excellent resources, no batteries required, portable and available in many Geocacher friendly flavors (Trees, Insects, Reptiles and Amphibians, Wildflowers, Birds. . . .) Here's the publisher list at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...DUBON%20SOCIETY

Did one stage of a multi at a roadside Starbucks the other day. The cache was located in a crevice in a rock wall (no spoiler there - in description). It was within view of the busy drive thru lane and somewhat in view of the tables on the patio (which were occupied). We really wanted to pickup this one as it was one of 6 separate caches that were needed to complete the 7th final cache. When I pulled up I sent my better half off with the GPSr to find the cache. I put the hood up on my Jeep after parking in the closest spot to the cache, got out and pulled my cell phone out to pretend to be calling for help (and deter helpful muggles that might want to help me fix my Jeep). Wife pulled the container, got in the Jeep to log it and write down the clue, and quickly replaced. Funny thing - that fixed my Jeep

Every eTrex unit I've had in my hands since 2001 had real time tracking of coordinates. I would say any of the basic Garmin handheld units will meet your needs. Your price point would indicate a Garmin eTrex H if you don't need mapping, the eTrex Legend H if you want minimal mapping. You may want to look at the Adorama Recertified eTrex Venture HC. You could get these for $69.95 with free shipping right now at Adorama. Great deal and they still come with a 1 year warranty from Garmin: http://www.adorama.com/GPGETVEHCR.html

I haven't bought any Garmin refurbs, however I had purchased many refurb items in my days. I've never been dissapointed. I have never had a problem with even a single refurb electronic device and I've had computers, pocket pc's, dvd players, vcr's, cd players, televisions. All held up well. In this case the unit comes with the same Garmin 1 years parts/labor warranty as any other new Garmin GSPr so I would say you can't really lose here. In addition - consider that warranty replacements for defective new units are typically refurb or re certified units - this is common practice in the electronics industry.

I didn't see in the documentation a mention of whether the Geomate.jr has a high sensitivity receiver or not. How is this unit performing in tree cover? My initial look at this little guy made me think it would be very useful as an entry level unit. I never thought of it as way to have such a large database of caches at your fingertips.

There are several out there. Garmin: Oregon 200, 300, 400, 550 (varying feature sets on each model). A nice touch screen interface, paperless caching, high sensitivity reciever, available with a camera integrated (3.2Mp cam on the 550). Expandable memory and electronic compass and barometric altimeter (300, 400 and 550 models) Garmin: Colorado series - similar to the Oregon witout the touch screen. Less money overall and uses a 'rock n roller' input wheel to enter data and navigate. Magellan has several models as well that do paperless caching. I personally landed on the Garmin Oregon 400t (retired my eTrex Legend to backup status). I've been tickled pink with it. Paperless caching lets me view details, logs, hints and I can add field notes to each cache as I find them. When I get home I just upload my geocache_visits.txt file from teh GPSr to GC.com and edit my final log notes while referencing the field notes I made earlier. I love it. The touchscreen makes life so much easier. Some will argue that the screen is a little on the dim side - I'll agree that it would be nice if it were somehow brighter, however I haven't found any problems with viewability while out caching or using it in my car as a navigator. I'm sure others will provide some guidance as well - and you can search the forum for more info - this is an often discussed topic

I think another thing that is probably being missed is cultural norms. I see the OP either lives or vacations frequently enough to maintain caches in another country. Culturally this type of artwork may be widely accepted there. Here however it would be considered offensive to most especially considering the setting. I'd have to agree with TFM that in the light of some land management groups, municipalities and other entities believing that there is potential for damage to the lands where caches are hidden this type of artwork could be just one more reason to disallow caching on their land.

I have no problem with artful nude works. They do however have their appropriate venue. I'm not sure the outside of a cache container often frequented by parents and children is that venue. The picture above would not be in an appropriate unless potential cachers were told about the artwork ahead of time and still chose to visit the cache. I can understand why someone might not be happy coming upon this.

Better yet - just camo it and start a Geocaching craze - "Camo Box" DVD exchange (I'm sure this has been done. . . just a brain fart really)

You could paint the container red and title the cache "Red Box"