Dan-oh

I placed my first cache Saturday, had a quick approval (thanks Hemlock) with the page up Saturday PM. So why hasn't anyone found it yet? Its not like there wasn't an entire day available to look for it. Just a continuation of my obsession with the whole thing.

This is bound to be a hot topic...or not. Today I found another "americablessgod.com" tract in the Clevenger Canyon Cache. I found the other in Part Way Up Boden Canyon. It chronicles that 'we've forgotten about God', a relationship with God, the solution and how to find a church. Nah, it isn't about September 11th, its an attempt to convert non-christians. Just to be clear, I'm not christian and have no desire to be. I'm offended by attempts to convert me. I don't like to be 'sold' anything. My mini-rant isn't about religion or that I'm offended by this or by that. I do feel that its in bad form to use caches to proselytize, for commercial sales purposes or for political reasons. BTW, I brought this to the SD thread as I've just seen these tracts in SD caches. Perhaps the cacher that placed them will own up. Comments?

Great minds think alike! I'm setting up my first cache this w/e and plan on doing the same thing. I have tons of ABS and PVC scraps here at work, all I need is the plug. If I keep the pipe short enough, a solid cap on one end with the removable plug at the other, everything should be easy to get at. As far as ammo cans being cheaper, its about materials you're familiar with and whats at hand. I'm in Home Depot 2-3x per week and have a few aisles memorized.

Wow, not as vauge as I thought. There's even a Hamster Huey TB that comes up in a Google search. Send a SASE for those prizes. All applicable taxes are paid by winner.

But are you related to "Hampster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie"? Prize of 2 (dead) AA batteries and 1 McToy to the first geocacher that names the reference.

Now that I have a few finds to my name and I've seen what makes up a good cache, I want to hide one of my own. Cool...find and area, interesting location, a good hidey hole and set the coordinates. Sounds easy enough. Ha! Dunno if its anal renentive me or the fact that its my first hide. I want all the criteria in the same location! - The area needs to be away from other caches and have a few decent trails. - An overlook or cool rock outcropping is would be nice. I don't want to just drop it in the middle of the weeds. - I need a good hiding spot. That big boulder overlooking the lake just doesn't have any good cracks or crevaces for a cache. - The location needs to match the difficulty level that I've make up in my head. I'm headed back today after work to scout another trail off-shoot in the same area. I'm bound to find something. Any comments on finds that seem like they were thrown from the window of a moving car vs. carefully thought out hides? There must be a quality-quantity issue in here as well.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot tonight. Checking Topo's web site - kinda like RTFM?

I'm using National Geographic Topo! mapping software on my PC. The California edition comes with 10 CD's, approx 650 M each. It sure is annoying to keep changing CDs when I zoom in or out. Has anyone had luck copying the contents to their hard drive? Its no longer an issue with my newer 40G drive and it would be worth the 6-7G of storage. I'm not sure exactly how to redirect from the CD to another drive. Is it even possible?

Perhaps a trade Bons? There's a few areas that you can get back into (to check caches) but many burned areas are closed. Cuyamaca State Park is one of 'em. Can't wait till it opens back up, though it won't be the same in for years.

Top speed is distance vs time. Didja ever think that its the time thats off kilter? Imagine the military's Project Time Warp. Or is it just UFOs? It's just a jump to the left And then a step to the right... Let's do the Time Warp again!

I think you'll have a hard time getting grass, moss (or anything) to grow on a metal ammo can. Jackets and cars are temporary and not sustainable. These projects are watered several times a day and need liquid fertilizer to keep them alive. Soil provides nutrients and holds moisture for plant roots. The ammo can has neither. Its possible to get seed to germinate and grow but they just won't last. Moss is a better idea but the moisture holding ability on the can is nill. Clay pots and rocks can grow moss because they're porous. Consider affixing bark and dead moss with some sort of an adhesive. You would still blend in and there's no fussing with it. BTW, my background is landscape contracting and an Ornamental Horticulture grad in California...and I'm the eternal pessimist.

Assuming your spouse does not geocach, could it be grounds for divorce?

Were the coordinates set 100' away, at the end of the rope?

Gadzooks! There's some nasty sounding crashes. I didn't intend for this to be the 5 o'clock traffic report.

I was headed back down the hill from the Soledad Splendor urban cache in San Diego and saw this: Being in construction, I have a good idea just how much work is involved here...empty dirt, crane truck, re-load dirt into new truck, deal with spilled fuel, on and on. The driver noticed me shooting and asked me not to take his picture. I think I'd feel the same if it happend to me so I blurred him out. A bad day at work defined!

Very nice containers and labels. I've always liked the "official geocache" decals (made or purchased) as they're less likely to be removed or plundered. With the waterproof labels and a laser printer, its nearly bomb-proof.

E) Decided I was ready to stop lurking and start posting...about the 2nd day they were down. Now I need to come up with some content!