
2qwerqE
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Everything posted by 2qwerqE
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Looking at the world through GeoCaching colored glasses
2qwerqE replied to GetMeOutdoors's topic in General geocaching topics
I find that I am constantly scanning the sky for hawks and other interesting birds. Like this juvenile bald eagle: And I scan the ground for beautiful mushrooms and wild flowers and intersting insects. I see the details in the world, and find beauty in the oddest places. Never did that before caching! -
Caching introduced me to mushrooms a few years ago, and my friends all know I can't pass a nice bracket without shooting it. Sometimes, caching friends will email me with coords of a great spread that they are curious about, so that I can go and tell them what it is. Even though I've been seeking, photographing and studying mushrooms for years, I am never confident enough in my amatuer identifications to pick and eat what I find, with one exception: giant puffballs. Because nothing else in the kingdom looks like them, and most every other type of choice edible has a deadly counterpart that looks very similar. I like my liver the way it is, so I just photograph them and leave them where they are. Here's my Webshots mushroom album Here are some recent shots that I haven't added to the album yet (none edible, BTW):
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Yeah, it's great. Until, there you are, more than 500 miles from your computer and home, on a happy happy caching vacation in a new and exciting place, and your Palm chooses that moment to crap out on you. Happened to me on vacation last week. The Palm Z22 (bought in Jan07) just refused to power up, even when plugged into the wall. Yes, I still had the caches in my GPSr, but no descriptions, let alone hints. Yes, I kept on playing, with several DNF's because they were multis and puzzles, and so I wasted time seeking what could not be found. Luckily, for the first day, a caching friend had made a book of the caches in the area, and so a few hides that would have been zeros were OK, with his book's help. My friend was singularly unimpressed with my attempts to seduce him to the art of PDA caching. At first, he was intrigued. Until it died in my hands for no apparant reason. So, now I am tripping the support dance with Palm. They did manage to get it to turn on after hours plugged into my computer (once I got home from vacation.) Now I have to wait and see if it craps out again before they will entertain thoughts of repairs. Which means I likely have another date with blind caching in my near future. So, will I make trip sheets? Heck no! I'm paperless! (and lazy!)
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Ever heard of units just blacking out?
2qwerqE replied to Cache_advance's topic in GPS technology and devices
Similar thing happened to me Monday night. First time, with my 3 yr old VistaC. It would not power up. Removing and reinserting the batteries didn't help. New batteries didn't help, both lithium and rechargebales tried. I plugged it into the computer to see if I could at least get it to power up and save my data, and it came on fine. Since then, it's behaving normally on the rechargebales. How bizzarre! -
...And in this cache, all the way back in January of 2006, someone left a fluffy kitten behind, deep in the New Jersey woods.... I noticed a later log for this kitten cache. Clearly someone had traded up: >April 29 by cpfoley71 (60 found) This was one of my most memorable cache finds. The cache needs maintenance. The lid was off and the contents are wet. I couldn't sign the log. But what makes it so memorable is there is a raccoon living in the same place as the cache hide. I had quite a start when I peered in and a pair of bandit eyes were staring back at me. I left everything pretty much as I found it, including the raccoon. The lid is still off the cache. Thanks for a great adventure.<
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Foraging for food while geocaching
2qwerqE replied to 2cvdriver's topic in General geocaching topics
Giant puffball mushrooms! They are in season now. Last weekend, I found a group of them in Kickapoo State Park. I picked a couple of them, the largest was 23" around. Not big for the species, but it's been a very dry season. Here's a pic of one I found in an Indianapolis park 2 years ago. 42" circumference, 6.5lbs! That was after the 05 hurricane season sent 3 soakers through Indiana in the space of about 3 weeks, including the remnants of Katrina. I took it home, and my cat checked it out. She is not a small kitty. But then, it's not all about size. The little ones were very nice this year as well. -
After my sister gifted me with her old monopod, for my digital camera, and it folded up under me when I trusted my weight to it, I went in search of a hiking pole/monopod that could really stand up to both tasks. I Found it in Trek-Tech's Trekpod. It's a solid, dependable hiking stick, and en excellent tripod. Yep. I said TRIpod. The bottom segment opens into three legs, so I can shoot my own pic at any cache site, or join the group pic at an event, using the camera's auto timer. Also, the camera mount is not a screw-on. It's a Rare Earth magnet. Pop it on and pop it off. Fast and easy for catching wildlife on the move. On the downside, it does fold up, but no as compact as I'd like. I had to buy a bigger suitcase for it for my Yosemite trip. And it's a tad heavier than the Aspen stick I cut and carved myself in Colorado over a decade ago, but then pretty much anything woulf HAVE to be heavier than that lovely aspen stick. I still have that stick, and both the new and the old sticks are side by side in my car's trunk, ready for action. But I always reach for the TrekPod these days. Here's the link (oh, and you can buy it for alot less at cheaperthandirt.com). Trek-Tech TrekPod
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Thanks, jtbrady01, I'll look forward to visiting that cache this winter. I know part of the trick to catching a wintering eagle is to visit early, and at dusk, when they are feeding, fron Nov-Feb. My sister lives in St Louis, MO, and there is a town about 45 minutes north called Alton, IL, where eagles winter by the hundreds because 3 sets of locks and dams keep the 3 rivers confluence from ever freezing over solid. We always spend a day or two every winter seeking the birds, and they are not hard to find near the dams. They make their nests in the white river bluffs that line the east side of the Mississippi/Missouri Rivers. But this solitary, summertime eagle in Idiana is still a fairly uncommon sight, especially so close to the city. I can only theorize that that oxbow lake created by the White River keeps the eagle in fish all year long. I know that when Jennischmeni and I saw him last spring, we saw 3 dead fish in the neaby corn stubble before we saw the eagle. You'd think he'd go and pickup what he dropped, but maybe it's just as easy for him to go back to the river for a new fish. Grins, -2q
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Oh, I am so thrilled I just have to share this! I cached Southwestway Park yesterday, and got buzzed by the resident bald eagle. Last spring, Jenischmeni and I did the caches around the oxbow lake in the extreme south end of the park, but two of them had gone missing and we DNF'd them. Not before we saw the eagle, though. I missed the opportunity with my camera, because shooting with a digital camera with no viewfinder, and a one second zoom lag makes catching birds on the wing darn near impossible. But yesterday, I went to seek these caches, since they ahve been replaced. Near SWW Shelter cache, GC107HN, I sat at a picnic table on the edge of the lake, nursing my numerous battle wounds from the SWW Excursion cache. GC107HV I saw a big shadow of wings cross the sun. My first impulse was heron, but then I saw it again, and heron do not circle, so I looked up to see that the eagle had come to check me out again. He's very curious, and this time, he circled above me for a good 5 minutes. It took 50 frames of blue sky to get this shot!
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Sunset From The Cache - Please Share
2qwerqE replied to StarBrand's topic in General geocaching topics
Thanks for bumping this old thread. I've enjoyed trolling trhu, so here are some more: From Monday this week, Indianapolis: From the sandhill crane migration, Jasper Polaski Preserve, IN From the Grand Canyon: Muskrat at sunset: -
I've seen that and have it marked to show 5 past logs, but still I have nothing on my PDA. Sigh. Any more suggestions?.
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Torry, I thought of you recently while I was caching. Oh, I just knew your mind would fly to that special place only it knows the way to. No, the muse was prompted by this photo, and I thought you might have some fun with it:
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I do everything that Team C says, but I don't get the past logs either, and I don't know why. If anyone can figure it out, I'd like to know too.
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Hi, and welcome. The annual Fall Picnic event is this Sat. It's one of the biggest events for caching in IN every year. Check it out: GC12X5F If you are seeking a caching partner for a day, feel free to tag me. I'm available on weekends, love distance hiking in the deep green, and live on Indy's westside. Local urban caching is good too.
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This article ranks right up with the best I've seen. Very detailed. They did not cut corners or eliminate hunks, as far as I can see, in the interest of limited column space. Very nice job. The only thing that gave me pause was this line from a cacher named Mike Hendricks: "“When the guys get there and dig it up, if they want something they’ll leave something - maybe their trademark - it’s all on the honor system..." When they dig it up?! Yikes!
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Creatures I've found guarding caches: This fishing spider looks more evil than it is, but I had to look it up online later to lear whether or not it would kill me. It was in a cache hole at a cemetery. Another, in a cache hole in a rock gardenin Illinoise: Harmless rat snake, guarding a cache in a prayer garden, Indiana:
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Here is the cache description from the cache page: In the early 1800's, according to the Eagle Creek Park office and Nature Center, Daniel Boone carved his name in this beech tree. The inscription is nearly gone now, owing to this tree's surrender to rot and weather. But with a little imagination, you can still make out the 'D Boo-' and the outline of a bear's foot carved within a circle. The Nature Center told me there was once a plaque here, but that it (depending upon which person you talk to) was either stolen or simply fell off. One person said that it originally said 'Daniel Boone kilt a b'ar here.' Another said that it was just his initials, and the shape of a bear's paw inside the circle. The legend is that he killed a black bear at this spot, and then carved the tree to warn other travelers that there were bears in the area. No longer a threat today. Too bad. Whether it was really Daniel Boone's inscription is debatable among those who debate such things. Some Boone buffs say it's too far north for him to have done it, and that the tree is too young, not nearly the 200+ years old that it would need to be. Others say that Boone definately walked this region, and that the tree is plenty old enough. Come and see for yourself. The cache IS NOT in the Boone tree. The tree is distressed enough, and I didn't want alot of people digging around in its rotting base. The cache, a 1 qt thermos jug, is nearby. Please keep it well covered, as it is quite near a busy trail.
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I placed a cache near a tree in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, that has an inscription on it that is credited to be Daniel Boone's. The cache had to be archived when the park changed it's caching policy, and when I tried to comply and have it relisted, they said no, becasue that poor tree was a danger to passing hikers (it was right on the trail's edge) and they took it out shortly after it was archived. There used to be a plaque at the tree to tell of it's history, but it was stolen (or just fell off, depending on who you talk to.) The park service said they were planning on preserving the inscription part of the tree and putting it on display in the nature center. Don't know if they did that or not. here are pics of the tree and the inscription: Daniel Boon's Graffiti The ancient beech tree: The inscription:
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Mounds State Park in Anderson is a very nice, caching friendly park with great history. But there's a park entrance fee ($4, $5 on weekends.) Here's a cache there, so you can bring up the map and see what's there: Not Quite an Almond Joy If you'd like a free venue, Cool Creek Park in Carmel, IN, is on the far north side, 151st St at Meridian, so it's sorta halfway between Indy and Muncie. It's a great wooded park with nice trails along a creek. Here's a reference cache there: Shady Path Grins, -2qwerqE
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OK, here are the first 4 caches in the series: J's Broken Foot Series FTF has already been claimed on all of them. Sorry bout that, J&K.
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Sure, why not? Thanks to D Able Cachers, cajitracks, Rinkey and Jim Honey, and Bad Majec, who have all emailed me with their intent to place 'J's Broken Foot Series' caches.
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The first four caches in the 'J's Broken Foot Series' are awaiting approval and should post any time. Three other cachers have emailed me to say that they plan on adding to the series. Any more takers? C'mon, kids. J&K are prodigious cachers and have done everything that's already out there on local asphalt paths. Let's give an old gimpy friend a day in the sun. Think of your own agonizing withdrawal if you were similarly sidelined. (Sorry, Jerry!) -2q
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Hi, gang. Saturday, Jerry (Team J&K) broke his foot and sprained his ankle at Tennison's 'Fisher's Challenge #3' cache. He fell out of a tree at a height of about 9 feet, into a rocky creekbed. I have an idea, and am seeking local caching talent for a series in his honor. And Karen's too, of course, because they always cache together. Tonight, I will place a couple of new caches (along a new asphalt trail just south of Eagle Crk Park entrance) called 'J's Broken Foot Series.' They will be 1:1's, or maybe 1.5's since Karen can help him seek. But the point is to make them on a flat, wheelchair friendly trail like the Monon or Pleasant Run Pkwy. He has a wheelchair and Karen says he's already getting restless. If you would like to help, it's easy: 1. place a new cache in a very wheelchair easy place around Indy. 2. Name it 'J's Broken Foot Series: Whatever' (that way, no one needs to keep track of #'s. 3. In the description, just state that it's for Jerry and his broken foot, and link to the cache description page that Karen wrote of his accident.: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...aa-3b220ac9125d It may be a little while until he's ready and able to play, so we have time. Let's see if we can't make him feel a tad better. Grins, 2q
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Two fawns, twins, I guess, at a cache I placed in Morgan Monroe State Forest, Indiana.
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OK, but how do you decide what cache to put it at, and how do you know if the pics it takes are of the maggot or just an everyday humb;e cacher seeking your find?