CanadaKate

Fascinating stats ... thank you so much for posting them.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for my family, my health ... and for discovering caching as it's added a lot to our lives.

Here's the first cache along a 4.7 km loop that has 6 caches along the way. Not nearly as long as Hilton Falls Loop but an interesting hike over varied terrain that my family and I enjoyed a few years ago: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCR6QC_gest-1-who-let-you-drive Happy hiking.

Wonderful to hear that the WestCan series is continuing. I (and E of Team_BG) attended WestCan1 and had a great time. We're heading to the Maritime Mega this year but will definitely keep our eyes open for the announcements of WestCan4 and 5.

That is so sad. We went to WestCan1 in Alberta and were hoping that we could attend WestCan3. Sigh.

Smudge is the name of our geopup.

Congrats! We were happy to find the oldest cache in Pennsylvania this weekend on a road trip to a family wedding. There's something special about those pioneer caches -- that one was only a month younger than my younger daughter.

I found one this morning that was memorable because it had eluded me twice before. After school, I headed back out with daughter S of Team_BG so TBG would also have a find today and we went for a quick park and grab memorable only for being found today.

The Canadian version was good enough for an icon at the July 2011 Alberta Mega. And, in my opinion, the Canadian version is actually better and more up to date than the somewhat tired version that showed up at the Ontario Science Centre last year.

Absolutely. I've found many a cache while using my dog and/or children as camo. Recently, one of my daughters replaced a cache in a very public place while dancing and singing "look at me, look at me". Everyone just figured she was a kid fooling around and never noticed the cache in her hand.

One of my all time favourite caches was a "book" shelved with all the regular books in the library. If you can get permission, go for it.

It's almost a cliche in our house ... one or the other says "I'd never have know this [park/monument/trail/view] was here if there hadn't been a cache."

If it's helpful at any point for people like me who have been BTC members for decades to write a letter or send an email about how geocaching enriches/is consistent with/ my BTC experience, I'd be happy to do so.

Yes! I've really appreciated it when EC owners have taken the time to do that. As an aspiring EC owner, I hope to do the same. CanadaKate

Exactly ... if I am baffled by part of the EC or not sure if I have the answers right, I'd always welcome a gentle teacherly lesson in what I missed or how I might have formulated my answers differently. All part of the learning experience. BTW, your ECs look great. Just a bit far from Canada. CanadaKate

Welcome to a great way to definitely do something more interesting than watching TV. There are caches available for many different levels of physical activity ... you can always start with some that require a short walk and work up to the long woodland hikes. Have fun! CanadaKate

Hi, I'd be perfectly happy to have you hang on to one of my geocoins or TBs if it meant it would move far. CanadaKate

The geopup is an integral part of our caching team. And sometimes really, really good camofluage for rooting around in bushes.

When I log an Earthcache I'm sometimes not sure if my answers are accurate. I really appreciate EC owners who respond to tell me that I'm spot on or where I missed the point <or messed up my math> and why. Given the educational nature of ECs, I wish all EC owners would respond.

Logging a DNF doesn't stop you from logging a find in the future ... fortunately, as many of us, even as we gain experience will DNF a cache and then go back later with better equipment, a hint from the cache owner, or just more time and persistence. My approach is to always log my DNFs and be happy when I can later make a find. Welcome to caching ... I hope you continue and enjoy it.

Our family just had a lot of fun doing the six-cache Tug Trent series. Thanks to all who worked with Parks Canada to set up this series.

We don't take too much special equipment: a lobster pick and a bobby pin for fishing out those tiny logs in nanos, bandaids and polysporin for unfortunate accidents, and, my most useful special equipment ... a spouse who is taller than me who can reach those higher caches.

Happily, I could take advantage of the event pricing special that lasted until the 20th.

.. and there's always a silver lining! My new Garmin Oregon 450 arrived via FedEx this morning. I can't wait to go paperless caching. Meanwhile, the old GPSr is making a good paperweight.

I imagine there are some tired geocachers in Three Hills, Alberta taking a well earned rest. As a visiting cacher, it seemed as if everything ran smoothly this weekend but there were probably some challenges for the organizers behind the scenes. This was, by far, the best event I've ever attended -- or should I say, best cluster of events, starting with a fantastic canoe trip on Thursday, continuing through way too many interesting options on Friday, the parade on Saturday, right through the goodbye breakfast on Sunday. Photo opps with Jeremy and Signal were a bonus. Thank you for introducing me and my daughter (E of Team_BG) to the stunning vistas of rolling hills of brilliant yellow canola and rugged badlands. We had fun canoeing, caching, meeting and greeting and eating - Western hospitality at its best! The only negative ... our GPSr died on Sunday morning, ending our plans for a day of caching along the cache-rich side roads in the Drumheller area. Kudos to all the BAD guys -- you put on an event to remember.