m.austin

Edited because I obviously thought that my response was so inspiring I posted it twice!

I'm just curious - was "special equipment needed" marked as an attribute? There is a boat attribute that the cache owner should have marked if you needed a boat to get to the cache. Or a mention in the description. I would be annoyed at the CO if you had to have a boat to get to the cache & it wasn't marked anywhere on the cache page. I would be annoyed at myself if the CO marked the page & I just didn't look.

I knew where I wanted to hide my first cache. Mine too is in a very small rural town (although we have you beat by 200 people!). I wanted to bring people to my local library which is an old limestone building, originally a bank, with the bathroom in the safe. However, the library is only open 11 hours a week, so placing the cache inside really wasn't an option. So I placed a locked box nearby with a combination lock. You have to be observant when visiting the library to find the combination to the lock. Definately not difficult for those who have done a bit of caching. I then found some pretty spots nearby so anyone braving the 10+ mile drive to my tiny town would get in a few caches. Even with gas prices dropping people seem to be more aware of their gas usage so I wanted to make it worth their while to visit!

Here is what I see (the format is a bit different). The only reason it matters is I'm working on an ABC cache & it would be great if they were in order. Below is what I see regardless of whether I open the view option or the bookmark's name: S 17.9mi Traditional Cache SouthernKansasLighthouse = S [Edit] SS 18mi Traditional Cache Augusta Depot = A [Edit] SS 18.5mi Traditional Cache Bridge Over River Kwai (Walnut) = B [Edit] SS 23.9mi Letterbox Hybrid Cumberland Cache = C [Edit] SESE 11.7mi Traditional Cache ELDP #10 = E [Edit] SWSW 17.1mi Traditional Cache Greenwich Cemetery = G [Edit] SS 19.4mi Traditional Cache Haverhill Travel Bug Hideout = H [Edit] SS 17.9mi Traditional Cache ILEAN Revisited = I [Edit] SS 25.6mi Virtual Cache Jurassic Park = J [Edit] SWSW 17.6mi Traditional Cache K96 Travel Bug Hotel & Coin Bank Challenge Cache = K [Edit] SS 16.9mi Unknown Cache Kansas ABC Challenge Cache [Edit] SS 24.5mi Traditional Cache Low Water Bridge Cache #2 = L [Edit] SS 18.2mi Traditional Cache Mobile Oil Refinery = M [Edit] SS 15.4mi Traditional Cache North End Cache = N [Edit] SS 20.9mi Traditional Cache Old Gordon Road Cache = O [Edit] SS 19.2mi Traditional Cache Pipe Bomb = P [Edit] SS 16.4mi Traditional Cache Rocky Shores = R [Edit] SWSW 20.9mi Traditional Cache There's a big snake in the plane = T [Edit] SS 17.9mi Traditional Cache Where's the Tracks Now? = W [Edit] EE 28.9mi Traditional Cache X Marks the Spot = X

Not sure if this should go here or another area - move if not appropriate here. Is there some way to organize your bookmarks so they are alphabetized? Right now they seem to be going in my distance.

Personally I love cemetery caches. I have found some beautiful forgotten, out-of-the way cemeteries, learned some great history, admired the artwork of many old tombstones. I saved my 100th cache for one that was less than 100 feet from my younger sister's grave. While I was there I put flowers on a baby's grave nearby that seems to have been forgotten (it's about 80 years old). Now that is sad. BTW - just to appease my curiosity - if I purchased cemetery plots, do I not own that bit of land? How does that all work? I get that I purchase my plot from someone, and that that someone is responsible for maintaining the property, but who truly owns the land? How can plots be owned by multiple people, yet this be private or public land? Hmmm......

Thanks everyone for your input. We have decided to stick with these units. Most coordinates will be marked as waypoints on location, so there won't be many coordinates to log in, which would be a major pain!

Sometimes you just don't see them until BAM! there they are! I had a bridge cache once - rated 1/1. All logs said "easy find", "grabbed this one on my lunch break", etc. So I go back 5 times and I don't see it. I can't say it's gone because it is being found easily by others. The last trip to the bridge I sat down in frustration, looked up & there it was. It wasn't painted rust to blend in - nope, it was a shiny black key holder. AND it had the caching logo sticker stuck on it so not only was it NOT camo'd, but it was bright & colorful to boot! I couldn't believe I couldn't find it earlier, but it ended up being a satisfying find!

I just purchased 6 Garmin eTrex H for my school. I thought these had the same abilities to plug in to the computer that my Garmin eTrex Venture HC has. I knew the overall capabilities wouldn't be as great (about $100 less), but now I'm wondering if I should take them back & get the Garmin eTrex Legend. It appears you can plug those in to the computer & download your waypoints - is this correct? There isn't much price difference, so I'd like to get some systems that my students will be able to use for a few years.

I explored an area 35 miles from me today that in the past 20+ years I have never visited. After today's breathtaking views I will definately take my video camera with me next time I venture out to the beautiful Flinthills of Kansas.

I always carry 6 extra rechargeables with me - 4 for my digital camera, 2 for my Garmin. I can go an entire day caching on freshly charged batteries. The extra set is because I never change my batteries until they die. I couldn't afford to purchase alkaline batteries for my digital camera - they last less than 2 hours with normal use. You can purchase 4 rechargeable batteries + charger for about $12. 4 alkaline batteries cost about $6. I replace my rechargeable batteries about 1 time a year, because they do eventually wear out, and I use them a LOT!

Nudecacher - you are a hoot! I give you props. I couldn't do it - not a shyness factor, I'm just always cold! Today I cached in my dress with dress shoes. I got caught up in the FTF race & ended up cold, muddy, & miserable (until I signed that blank log!), and all because I entered the coordinates wrong. What was a 1/1 I turned into a 4/4! I need to pack caching clothes.

And here I thought you were talking about the best kind of geocache to find!

Stupid double post - and this one didn't even work right!

Sometimes no matter how easy some caches may be, sometimes I just don't see the darn cache. I had one bridge one that everyone else said as "easy park & grab", "found this one right away" - AAARRRRGGGHHH! It took me 5 trips to that darn bridge, & finally on the last day I sat down frustrated, looked up & it was right there. It wasn't even painted rust to match the bridge AND it had a big geocache sticker on it! I felt really dumb after I found it, but the sense of satisfaction getting to turn that blue smiley into a yellow one was awesome!

Maybe you should mention that you are a firm believer of "it's not about the numbers". Your post reminds me of a comment made to me on a water garden forum a few years back. Someone had asked a question & I responded with what I do in that situation. One person responded with "I'm not sure that is a good answer - I'm going to wait until someone with more posts responds". I was both amused & insulted at the same time. Think about it - does having 2000 posts in this forum make you an expert by that fact alone? Does someone who has 1000 finds but only posts to the forums 10x a year not have enough experience to offer good advice? Some people just don't think before they speak, and some are so narrowly focused that they don't see the big picture. Enjoy your caching, keep going to those events & you'll meet someone who enjoys this hobby as much as you do!

Hmmm, I guess I'm pretty small town. I had no clue about the flashing dome lights or any of that other stuff. I had assumed that he was a scary creepy pervert who was 1) making himself happy & wanted to be sure I knew this, or 2) was wanting me to know he was going to do evil creepy things to me. I would have driven right to the police station & filed a report. But then again, I am a scaredy cat sissy.

I did one that was great. Pull up to the box that is attached to the side of a building. On the box are 4 coordinates to send you to areas around town to obtain the combination to the lock. Perfect for a cold rainy day! Edited because I can't spell!

Are they spotted cows? Looks like she could use a new leash... I never made the spotted cow connection! You are probably right! And yes, she has a tendency to play tug of war with her leash, so she gets a new one every month. Of course that's about how often I change purses, so at least we coordinate!

Tory is my 16 month old dalmatian. She loves the walking, the smells, meeting up with people, running in and out of my legs in an attempt to knock me to the ground so she can maul me with kisses, but most of all, she loves cows. No idea why. And no clue what she'd do if she actually caught up with one! She sure makes caching more fun!

I'm working on hiding my first cache(s). 1 puzzle cache will have an unactivated geocoin. 2 ammo cans - 1 with a hand crafted geo-puzzle I made, the other will have a bison tube with log ready to hide. 2 others are match containers, so no room for FTF prizes other than certificates. My caches are being set because there are no caches in my town, except for the one outside town that is part of a series. It is 10+ miles for the average cacher to drive so I wanted to give them a tour of my little town. The locations are all cool as well (as they should be). FTF prizes may or may not happen in the future, but the 3 I'm using now are special to me for different reasons - and these are my first hides so I want them to be special!

If I had a couple of guys who were going to FTF caches within an hour, I am competitive enough I'd want to find that cache in 59 minutes! But that's just me. I don't have many (5 FTF), but most of those just kind of happened - they were nearby, timing was right, etc. FTF is a fun addition to the game, but I have other "goals" - clear up those first two pages from my home coordinates and getting all the counties in my state are two of my biggies.

I'm not sure I'm following this thread. I have several caches around my area that have hidden costs. One is on turnpike, so I have to pay a toll to get to it. No biggie - next time I take the turnpike I'm going to grab it. There are a lot of caches at the state lake. You need a park permit to enter. Again, no biggie - I generally plan to do several of these at a time because of the cost. So a fee to text? Should be a non-issue. As for privacy - I know cell phones are fairly new technology, but I've got a book full of phone numbers (along with home addresses) that my phone company sends to me every year. Granted, it's not my cell phone, but same concept. Plus I can Google people & find out personal information about them with a click of my mouse. I would do this cache!

I had a Magellan Triton 400 & never could get it to play nice with my computer. I admire those who can get the durn thing to work (and I'm the school tech goddess - hey, I can give myself whatever name I want!)

I'm up to 5 FTF as of today, and today's was really interesting. I saw that unfound cache just down the road & wasn't planning on going for it, but it kept gnawing at me, so I said "to heck with the laundry, I'm going caching!" Found the cache, signed the log. As I drove off I passed a car driving REAL slow, then the brake lights came on right at the cache. I bet I beat them by 3 minutes! I'd have shared if I'd have realized sooner what they were doing. If they'd have been a bit quicker, or I had realized quicker I sure would have shared the FTF!