geowoodstock

Sorry for the long delay in responding. Thanks for the link dabhid07. I actually put my TB in the UK one (GCD653) for more sentimental reasons! Marking the TB missing really isn't the same. The next one that come's up missing, I might just mark it, but the first one had to have some kind of closure!! It is good to know that option is there, though. Congrats on your bug moving along and hopefully it will have a pleasant journey from here on out!!

It does really suck having a travel bug being held by someone for a long period of time, be it 1 week or even 1 year. But wait until the cache your bug is in is MIA. I was actually heart broken over my $2 TB when the cache was destroyed. Talk about depressed!! I eventually "buried" it in a Travel Bug Graveyard (places to put your TB when things like this happen)! Even though it has been over a year, I haven't gotten over it yet, but when I do, I plan on using the copy of the TB tag to send another bug in it's place. By the way, I also have a TB that has been in someone's hands for about 15 months now!! Very frustrating!! Just keep your feelings in mind when you pick up someone's TB and remember to try and place in another cache in a timely manner so they wont be having to write you a polite note!! PS: As a TB owner, I love to have pics of my TB seeing different sites and trying new things! Therefore I try to do the same for bugs I pick up!! See the gallery Lone Star Pokey TB for some funny pics!! (I don't know how to put the link here!)

I am shocked that no one has informed the forum as to how to properly relieve oneself while in the woods. I'm talking about the poo not the pee form. As you do not want to see anyone's scat (for a better word) we don't want to see yours either. (1) It is just disgusting and (2) It is very unsanitary. The proper way to rid your body of human scat is to make sure you are far away (I have heard anywhere from 50 to 200 feet~the latter the better) from any water source or potential water source. There dig a hole about 6 to 8 inches deep. Do your business, wipe with a natural wipe as long as it isn't poisonous , stir it up (to help in the decomposition process), then cover back up with the dirt. If you happen to use actual toilet paper, you must take it back with you. Do you bury, burn or leave it in the woods. If we, as geocachers, don't take care of our natuarl surroundings, they wont be around or be available to the public to hide caches in. This, of course, includes staying on the trails when available and don't cut across switchbacks (which will erode the earth). Please, please, please I beg you for my grandchildren's sake (no, they wont even be around until about 10-20 years from now) take care of our land and treat it with respect!!!

When I first started I got a Magellean Sportrac(?) at Wal Mart for somewhere between $150 and $180. It wasn't the cheapest Magellean, but it wasn't the expensive one either. I loved it. It was to manuver, download points from computer, etc. At a geocaching event, I actually won a Lowrance iFinder Pro. They said it would retail around $350, but that was a year ago and at the time it was one of the top ones. I didn't ever use it, because it was too confusing in the beginning. Then one night my Magellean got stolen from my car and I was forced to learn how to use the Lowrance. Now, I absolutely love the Lowrance and would buy another one if I had to choose again. As far as learning to use a GPS, if your local (or closest) outfitter offers any classes on GPS or even on Geocaching, they might be a good place to start. Sportsman's Warehouse is one of these. (http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/events.htm) I actually took a class at a Becoming An Outdoors Woman seminar titled GPS101 and learned a lot about the GPS itself. They had Garmin GPSs I think and were pretty usuer friendly. The main thing I learned was that all (or most) GPSs have the same 6 main screens. They show the same information pretty much just a different order or some other minor differences.

In the end isn't it up to a higher being as to whether we were honest with ourselves and with other geocachers (cache owners)? It would be real easy to get online and log cache finds without even leaving the comforts of my recliner, but my conscience would get the better of me! Besides that, I don't find caches for the smiley's (even though I take pride each time my numbers go up). I find caches because I enjoy the hunt, I enjoy making my mind think differently and I enjoy being outdoors and not in my recliner. I figure if someone wants to sign the log for one of my caches without visiting it, they are the ones who have to live with themselves and with their outcome on life. There is nothing I can do about it except be rude and stoop their level by deleting their online log. No thanks, let them deal with their conscience! I have enough to worry about without worrying about someone elses problems!