Steve&GeoCarolyn

That's okay. I don't think I'll ever understand how anyone can enjoy being "nipple deep in an alligator & venomous snake infested swamp"... At night! Don't forget, it's in an alligator and snake infested swamp AT NIGHT!! I don't know about anyone else, but at night an armadillo can sound like a monstrous creature out to eat me. Alligators and poisonous snakes are beyond the pale. Carolyn

After so many posts, you still have to qualify it with "maybe"? I guess I only exist as a cloud of probability. Actually, come to think of it, that might explain some things... Ah, well if you lived where Mr. Bort lives, you would know with the certainty of Schroedinger's Cat that you exist within a cloud of probability. Carolyn P.S. Wouldn't it be fun to have a Schroedinger's Cat Cache? (Making notes for future puzzles.) P.P.S. I also appreciate GuanoGerbil's respectful contributions to our conversation.

So far we haven't asked for a hint. We have posted DNFs asking if the cache is still there. We have also met the cache owner, batted our eyelashes (ok, my eyelashes) and said something to the effect of "We really love your X puzzle cache, though we are finding it difficult. It is a good challenge." We have often received hints from the cache owner in those circumstances. (The first time surprised us since we were not angling for a hint, but merely expressing admiration.) Mostly, I figure we are still very new at this so it is to be expected that we would wander about mystified much of the time. That's ok with us. Carolyn

This puzzles me (no pun intended): But earlier you said: My sense from your early post was that you found puzzles kind of tedious and not as rewarding or challenging as high level terrain caches. So I am surprised that you find them both elitist and dull. For what it is worth, I don't do puzzle caches because they put me in some sort of elite. (I didn't even know that they did. At least not anymore than kayak puzzles put NYPaddleCacher in an elite since he also does caches that few people do.) I do them because they are fun. The harder they are the more of a sense of accomplishment I have at the end. I feel the same after doing a cache in a terrain that challenges my abilities or finding a well-camouflaged cache. I'm mystified as to why doing any of these things should be seen as elitist. Carolyn

Spiritual geocaching challenges? I'm trying to call a image to my mind of a spiritually challenging cache, but nothing is entering. Carolyn

I buy cute erasers or small stuffed toys or jewelry (on sale at Claires) for the caches. You might be interested in seeing what people said in this thread which is about the same topic: What is your favorite swag to leave/find? http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=165080&hl= Carolyn

Some you can and some you can't. It depends on the type of car gps you have. I have a Garmin Nuvi and I can enter the coordinates by hand or even load the .gpx files in. We use a Garmin Nuvi to get to the cache site in the car and then an Oregon to get from the car to the cache. Carolyn

The hints are included in the .gpx file you get with the pocket queries. They're not included in the .Loc files. I think the membership fee is worth it for the pocket queries alone. Carolyn

Isn't that what the forums are for? LOL! Oh, no! Too much time on the forums and you start discussing what the government should or should not be doing. Or even worse, what other people's governments should do. Carolyn

OMG - my idea of Hell! I am really surprised at the level of enthusiasm at this event. But then again, if you're that way inclined, I guess it would be a fun day - especially working as a team. If I went along, I'd be in the same boat as nancois: "Whew! I'm glad someone else had to solve all of those eeeevil puzzles. All I had to do was wander around and look busy. And eat cookies at the finish!" It would be our idea of heaven.

I am too new to quite understand what the spirit of geocaching is. However, I love puzzle caches. We both do and we're glad they're a part of the game. I play a variety of board games as well as RPGs and other games. I don't typically do puzzles on my own if they're not attached to a cache or have some other meaning within a game. So when I say that it really isn't true for me that puzzle caches are similar to either playing solitaire or board games, I say that with a great deal of experience. Puzzle caches seem more like a live action role-playing game or a murder mystery party since the thinking is preparatory and alongside physical action. The best puzzles carry the theme through the cache and have some sort of meaning within the environment. It is also nice when you must puzzle additional things out in the field while searching for the cache. As I said, I'm not sure what the spirit of geocaching is supposed to be, but for me it is partially about solving mysteries, having adventures, and documenting them. (It is also about being in beautiful places, but that really doesn't apply to this conversation.) Puzzle caches add to the mystery component. Also, one cannot always be hiking. Sometimes it is too hot or too cold or one is injured or there is not enough time to geocache, but just enough time to think about a puzzle. Puzzle caches keep us engaged in geocaching even when we are housebound. Carolyn

I dare you to do it barefoot in shorts. There are people who do the swamps here in shorts and sandals. I am in awe. Carolyn

I'm glad you're ok! I'm sure that you and Angie will sleep better tonight knowing that you've had it looked at. If the tick is still there, it's pretty obvious. They have that "Don't mind me, I'm just hanging out here" look as they cling to your skin and suck your blood. If the tick has eaten and left, it is not so obvious that it was a tick. Carolyn

It is a sad fact of life that Carmen (the car) requires endless compliments so car bragging is a simple necessity at times; car maintenance, as it were. Of course, she is so cute that perfect strangers compliment her, ensuring that she is well-fed with praise. (I know they are perfect because they like Carmen.) In this case the question was not an excuse to show her off (though that is always fun) but to find out why SUVs apparently want her dead. Any ideas? Perhaps it is jealousy? Carolyn i was just funning. that's a very cool car, i think it looks even better than it's pontiac brother. jealous, never. Thank you! You are a person of great taste and refinement. She is a sweet car. I knew you were joking. I laughed out loud when I read your post. I didn't mean that you were jealous. I meant the SUVs. Whenever I'm frustrated about being nearly killed by an SUV I picture the SUV taking control away from the human. The human must be distracted or helpless in some way or the SUV couldn't take over. But what could the SUV's motive be? It is obvious. Carmen is prettier than any SUV so of course those unattractive SUVs must feel fierce jealousy and their little machine hearts go kill crazy. Up until Coyote Red's excellent explanation, this was my best theory for the reason SUVs seem to want Carmen dead. (It drives my beloved out of his mind whenever I propose the SUV Envy Hypothesis.) Carolyn

As Bittsen said, it may also be a spider bite. I had a large spider bite that looked like what you are describing. It could be nearly anything. Last time I had something unusual going on from geocaching I went to the Urgent Care clinic. It turned out to be nothing critical (a serious swollen bruise from excessive mosquito bites in the one square inch of my arm not covered with bug dope), but I got some excellent information of what to worry about and what not to worry about while hiking in this area. I was a bit embarrassed that I mistook my mosquito bruise for Lyme Disease, but the information I got from them was well worth the trip and cost. Carolyn

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. That makes a lot of sense and something I hadn't considered. That would explain why professional drivers don't drive into me even though they are driving much bigger vehicles. They've been trained. Perhaps drivers licenses should be given based on the class of vehicle so that people would have to learn the basics of each type before taking to the road. I have trouble seeing motorcycles as well sometimes and bicycles can be even worse. However, I try to be very careful since I used to be a bicycle commuter and remember the fear of doing that. Also, my beloved lost one of his friends when he was hit by a car while motorcycling. I would hate to be the cause of someone's injury or death. It is difficult for me to gauge the speed motorcycles are going and since they are so much more maneuverable they trick my mind at times, which is expecting one kind of turn radius and motorcyclists have a much smaller one. It is easier when they ride in packs since it creates a bigger object in my vision. Now that is just wrong. Do drivers attack motorcyclists in the same way they do bicycle commuters? (e.g. throw things at them or put their hands out to push the cyclist off the road or purposely drive close enough to force the cyclist off the road, etc.) Carolyn

Thank you. It is good to know that I needn't dress as a bellydancer in the New Jersey woods. I couldn't figure out how to keep the filmy skirts out of the brambles or how to protect one's midsection from ticks while wearing bellydance garb. Of course, if cartoons are anything to go by, merely dressing as a bellydancer, playing a drum, and doing hip circles is enough to get bears dancing along. Seriously, though, I doubt that I walk quietly enough to need bear bells. I probably scare wildlife for miles away. Like your wife, I would love to see bears, though I doubt that they are as tame and people-loving as the bears we saw in Yellowstone when I was a child. Carolyn

10b. Abandonment. So how long do these stages last?

This bear bell discussion is giving me the impression that the safest way to hike through bear country is dressed as a bellydancer with bells and coins sewn to one's clothes and moving while shimmying. It is an odd visual. Carolyn

It is a sad fact of life that Carmen (the car) requires endless compliments so car bragging is a simple necessity at times; car maintenance, as it were. Of course, she is so cute that perfect strangers compliment her, ensuring that she is well-fed with praise. (I know they are perfect because they like Carmen.) In this case the question was not an excuse to show her off (though that is always fun) but to find out why SUVs apparently want her dead. Any ideas? Perhaps it is jealousy? Carolyn

I have the same GPSr. Here's how you do it. 1. Unzip the file you get in your email. You should see 2 files ending with .gpx. Both will be named with a long number. One of them will end with -wpts.gpx. The one ending with the -wpts.gpx is filled with any additional waypoints (parking coordinates, etc.). The other one has the geocaches. 2. Plug your Oregon into the computer using the included cable. It will appear as an additional drive on your computer. 3. When you see it drag the files you unzipped to the Garmin/GPX folder. That's it. When you want to find the geocaches, go to the icon marked Geocaches on the Oregon. If you want to find the additional waypoints, go to Where to?/Waypoints. The only step that remains is to leave your house and find a cache! Carolyn

As a premium member you can get a "myfinds" pocket query. Using that you feed it into third party software or a third party web page to generate the statistics. Then you put it on your profile page. Lots of people here use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife). I use GCStatistic (Macintosh) and a web page http://www.mygeocachingprofile.com/ which also gives me cute little icons to put on my page. Carolyn

Thanks! Need more help I'm afraid as I do not know where exactly on the website I can find "contact this user". I have tried several options, but none offer a box to tick separately. Hope you can help again, thanks! rabolos Click on the person's profile. (For example, here is our profile: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=03...c-193d9779ff77) Then click Send Message (it's right by the email address label). Once you do that it will bring you to the place that allows you to write a message as well as tick the Send Friend Request box. You can also find another user to message from this screen. Hope that helps! Carolyn

I wanted to ask you something on the previous thread about this but it got too hot for me. I drive a darling little roadster. I am a very careful driver. (Especially careful since my beloved says that immediately after I get my first ticket we will be exchanging cars.) Nonetheless, I often find SUVs driving into me and I have to quickly get out of their way. It doesn't happen with normal cars or trucks. It doesn't happen with tractor trailers. It doesn't happen with motorcycles. Only SUVs. It doesn't seem to make a difference where I am in relation to them. It is as if their blind spot with regard to me extends all along the side and back of the vehicle and sometimes in front as well. What is going on with this? Do they have bad visibility? Is it that the drivers are often distracted by children? Or the inset TVs? Is it that my profile (low to the ground) is impossible to see from their height? Carolyn

I really think this is the key. There are people in the world who truly don't like being alone and it has nothing to do with fear. My mother won't walk from the living room to her bedroom without talking to someone either on the phone or in person. (At one point I suggested meditation as a form of stress relief to her but it was a resounding flop given her need for constant conversation. She finds life without chatter depressing.) For these people being alone is not a form of pleasure, it is a kind of isolating torture, a mental solitary confinement. There are other people who would like to be alone but are afraid to be. Being alone is not mental solitary confinement but a dangerous freedom. Their lives are diminished because their fear robs them of something they would enjoy. Since I was once one of these people, I feel sad whenever I hear of this and I hope that these people can find the balance point between caution and pleasure where bliss resides. Carolyn Update: Apparently this is the hundredth reply to this thread. I assume that there is some prize for getting the hundredth reply. Can someone please forward me the coordinates to my prize.