Shel

I've done a few geocaching pages to include in my or the kids' scrapbooks, and most especially in my caching buddy's book (which, if it were left up to him, would just be photos in a shoebox, of course). I'm not the most creative scrapbooker, but one thing that came out nicely was printing out the cache page after I'd logged it on the site and then cutting out my log and using it as the caption for the photo. I have one page where the log describes the beautiful Indian summer day we were having in town and how 50 miles away at the cache location (on top of a mountain) it was a white out blizzard! (Yes, wavydave got out and looked for the cache anyway). It would be fun to find a way to post those pages so everyone could not only read about the hunts but also see the visuals that go with them.

You said that you're selling them at a loss? That doesn't seem right ... How much would you have to sell the shirts for in order to break even? I guess you'd want to honor the listed price, besides which changing it in midstream would make it a nightmare to figure out who saw what price, but some of us might be able to make up the difference, at least for the ones we order...

ooh, ditto on the youth-sized shirts. My seven-year-old will be out helping clean up, but he'll be swimming even in a small-sized adult shirt

any more info on consignment? is that somewhere else and I'm just blind today?

In the link on 'how to place a cache' off the main geocaching page, it explains: you need a cache container, a logbook and something to write with. The geocaching note is encouraged, and trinkets are welcome, but optional. So that pretty much tells us what the basic idea of a geocache is. We were reading a log book on a southeastern Idaho cache that said ... "crossed the bridge from h*ll!" We laughed out loud, because we had just crossed that bridge, too. But that wasn't in the online log, only on the physical log. Physical logs add an element of enjoyment and expression to the sport. Other times it's too dang cold to write in the logbook, and I've written exactly that: "Too cold -- more online!" So obviously I think log books are a good idea However, they are sometimes a struggle to include in microcaches, so, for the record, I voted they be optional for micros.

It's not very often that I come visit the forums and find out that a cache I've hunted this afternoon has generated a four-page thread. In fact, I can say this is a first. But having hunted this cache -- after finding seven others today -- I feel reasonably qualified to offer my point of view. This cache is in a undeveloped field next to a housing tract. From what I can deduce, there was an original cache filled with film canisters, and the point was to remove a film canister and hide it someplace else as a new cache. The only requirement was that it include the original cache's name as part of the new cache's designation. Hence, why some folks are concerned that empty film canisters are being scattered across the planet and called caches. It turns out when I got home to the computer, I learned (from a spoiler in another log) that Billybob's cache is a film canister, although his cache description lists it as a regular cache. It's also listed as a mystery cache, which I've never hunted before. But walking around a field of sagebrush looking for, well, I didn't know what, and then not finding it ... or maybe I did -- maybe the point of the cache called 'Assimilation' was that all those houses in that tract look exactly the same ... maybe the cache was supposed to be a social reflection ... Well, since I didn't know if I'd found it or not, I didn't even feel like I'd been skunked. Renegade Night successfully logged this cache, and he is a player whose talents and associates I respect. I think if Billybob is under his tutelage, so to speak, he'll enjoy the game and we'll enjoy hunting for his caches. But this particular cache wasn't a great way to start, and I'm glad that the cache approvers made the effort to see that he had some dialogue on how to place a successful cache. Maybe caches should have logs, and maybe not all can, but IMHO a cache ought to be somthing besides an empty film canister in an nondescript field with only a funky name to its credit. It would be a great way to practice using your GPS for the first time, but it didn't feel much like a cache.

We don't have an official, organized caching group here in southeastern Idaho, but wavydave and I were just talking about whether we should host an event cache to meet all the new names we've seen crop up in the logs over the last year. This gives us an even better idea -- we'll see if we can pull something together, even if it's just our little group of cachers

We don't have an official, organized caching group here in southeastern Idaho, but wavydave and I were just talking about whether we should host an event cache to meet all the new names we've seen crop up in the logs over the last year. This gives us an even better idea -- we'll see if we can pull something together, even if it's just our little group of cachers

For the past two winters I have used a wire hanger to place my Christmas ornament cache. The container's handle is attached to the "bucket" part rather than the lid, so it doesn't crash to the ground. I don't hang it very far off the ground, so a person who's about 6' can reach it easily and hand it down to others if needed. And, I don't put anything very heavy in it. To form the hook, we just pulled the hanger into a 'straight' line opposite the hook and then bent it to hold the cache -- the hook hangs on the branch of the tree, and from the bottom part hangs the cache. I also try to make sure the cache rest lightly on a tree branch so the hanger is just stabilizing it. (These are older pine trees I'm using, not deciduous trees....)

I was just commenting today how much more difficult it is to cache in the snow... If you're caching in the spring or summer, even through most of the fall, and rummaging around in the underbrush, everything mostly stays "attached" to each other --leaves and branches don't necessarily fall off when you move them around. But in the winter, move a snow-laden branch and even if there is a cache under it, the snow that falls off the branch buries it. Snow changes the hunt quite a bit. Basically I just add 1 to 1.5 levels of difficulty to the rating of any cache I try and see if I'm up to tackling that level of difficulty in the cold. I find that during the winter I spend a lot more time on the forums, planning caches to hide and scouting out hiding places than actually hunting. Winter is also the time I'm most likely to dabble in the ocationless caches, just for something to keep my mind occupied.

I was just commenting today how much more difficult it is to cache in the snow... If you're caching in the spring or summer, even through most of the fall, and rummaging around in the underbrush, everything mostly stays "attached" to each other --leaves and branches don't necessarily fall off when you move them around. But in the winter, move a snow-laden branch and even if there is a cache under it, the snow that falls off the branch buries it. Snow changes the hunt quite a bit. Basically I just add 1 to 1.5 levels of difficulty to the rating of any cache I try and see if I'm up to tackling that level of difficulty in the cold. I find that during the winter I spend a lot more time on the forums, planning caches to hide and scouting out hiding places than actually hunting. Winter is also the time I'm most likely to dabble in the ocationless caches, just for something to keep my mind occupied.

Well, in my (limited) experience, cachers like to socialize. Just a few minutes might not be long enough! We had an event cache barbecue last Saturday and were really excited when about 6 families came. But we did announce it two months in advance, and I also went through all the finds on local caches and emailed each active cacher from our area (and a few others) to let them know the date and direct them to the cache page. Isent out about 25 emails and we ended up with about 11 responses in all. Maybe you could meet at a food booth for coffee or a soda? But I would give it a window of time, say start 1-1/2 hours before the race and end in time for people toget their seats. Good luck! Our cache was a blast

Well, in my (limited) experience, cachers like to socialize. Just a few minutes might not be long enough! We had an event cache barbecue last Saturday and were really excited when about 6 families came. But we did announce it two months in advance, and I also went through all the finds on local caches and emailed each active cacher from our area (and a few others) to let them know the date and direct them to the cache page. Isent out about 25 emails and we ended up with about 11 responses in all. Maybe you could meet at a food booth for coffee or a soda? But I would give it a window of time, say start 1-1/2 hours before the race and end in time for people toget their seats. Good luck! Our cache was a blast

Any news on these caches? I might be going to Yellowstone over the Memorial Day weekend ... I had emailed the main geocaching dudes and haven't heard back or seen updates posted on this thread, so I was kinda wondering ...

It would be great to share in some of the wonderful handmade items people create and are willing to leave in caches. I've often wished that I lived closer to some of the more active caching areas just to have a chance to find the really cool stuff ... But do I have to put them ALL in caches? Could I get "pick of the litter" for helping with the placing? So who says it's all about the journey, anyway? (okay, it's mostly about the journey ... least sometimes!)

It would be great to share in some of the wonderful handmade items people create and are willing to leave in caches. I've often wished that I lived closer to some of the more active caching areas just to have a chance to find the really cool stuff ... But do I have to put them ALL in caches? Could I get "pick of the litter" for helping with the placing? So who says it's all about the journey, anyway? (okay, it's mostly about the journey ... least sometimes!)

whatever happened with getting these caches approved? any news?

Okay, I've been to Yellowstone bunches of times and have seen a few of the things people don't see when they make the trip in a weekend. I love the waterfalls and have seen the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (although without a GPS, so I don't know if that makes up your canyon caches or not.) I haven't seen the Madison River. I haven't seen Yellowstone Lake. I probably know a fair amount about the caldera, but I don't know if I've visited the lookout your cache refers to. And, I don't care if I never see Old Faithful again. These should definitely be separate caches. Not everyone is going to want to see the same things in the park, especially if time is short or the roads are crowded and navigating them seems less than a vacation. I think you've done a good job of including a few highlights that not everyone would normally stop to see. To me, that's one of the points of geocaching -- helping others find point of beauty or interest they would otherwise miss. So, the kids (big and little) can't log the cache on their vacation because they ran out of time to do all six legs? Nope, definitely separate caches. I can't think this is the NPS saying we can't have that many caches, virtual or otherwise, in a park. They have their own junior ranger programs that prompt visitors to see and do much more than this cache asks of its seekers. Hopefully, somewhere, SOMEday, the NPS will realize that geocaching -- especially in its virtual form -- is part of what they do anyway ... they just get to put in boardwalks, too. Shel

quote:Originally posted by The GeoGadgets Team: I will be watching this cache carefully too, because my kids now want to do a bookcrossing.com Kids Only cache! It is harder to find real little kids paperback books though. I have purchased (way too) many books through the Scholastic Books Club order forms that come home with my kids from school. Ummm, in fact, their teachers don't just send them home, they tell MY kids, "make sure your Mom sees this ..." They will often have Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners in paperback (identified as such, of course, so you don't have to guess) as well as good buys on some of the popular series in paperback form. They will often have a few 95-cent specials as well -- this school year I picked up multiple copies of "The Little Prince" and HG Wells' "The Time Machine" specifically as cache prizes. So maybe that will help your kids as they plan their own book cache. And if I check out BookCrossing.com, then maybe I will also get/find time to read again?

What a great idea! I'm not so sure I understand the Bookcrossing.com part of it, maybe because I think a book cache is cool all by itself. Is it that you get to see what others think of the books you've read and sent along? I did one called "Some Light Reading" to introduce folks to a local author (Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows), but the cache ended up disappearing early this spring. I've found myself still collecting books (mostly children's books)to restock it, so I guess that means I still really want to do a cache like this. Can we steal your idea? With credits, of course! I'm finally getting my rock cache ready to go, so I know how excited you must feel to get a cache out there you've been working on for months! shel p.s. and in my book cache, I used a ziploc freezer bag for each book and then placed them in an ammo box with no problem... however, since we've been in drought conditions for, oh, a couple years, I'm not sure that's much of an indication ..

What a great idea! I'm not so sure I understand the Bookcrossing.com part of it, maybe because I think a book cache is cool all by itself. Is it that you get to see what others think of the books you've read and sent along? I did one called "Some Light Reading" to introduce folks to a local author (Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows), but the cache ended up disappearing early this spring. I've found myself still collecting books (mostly children's books)to restock it, so I guess that means I still really want to do a cache like this. Can we steal your idea? With credits, of course! I'm finally getting my rock cache ready to go, so I know how excited you must feel to get a cache out there you've been working on for months! shel p.s. and in my book cache, I used a ziploc freezer bag for each book and then placed them in an ammo box with no problem... however, since we've been in drought conditions for, oh, a couple years, I'm not sure that's much of an indication ..

This is probably the dumbest question that will appear on this thread, but, here goes... I set out my first cache without getting permission because I didn't want to go through a lot of red tape only to learn that we don't have any cachers in Idaho anyway. Turns out I was wrong and I've had many visitors and postive comments. But now the dilemma: How do I get permission for something I've already done? I don't want to find out that I've done something wrong. What if they say no and just shut down my hobby? I need an amnesty day like they have for overdue movie rentals -- just come and talk to us, and we won't throw you in jail ... OK, so that's not a question, but can you turn it into one? I really would like to see a park manager's response -- especially if you're doing city park officials. another real question would be: what do they need to see to decide if it's worth supporting? Usage numbers? More info on the sport? And do they want that in a letter or a web site or documentation from other places that have allowed caching

This is a great idea!

This is a great idea!

Actually, kablooey was in chat last night and is also working on creating a Clue cache for his neck of the woods. I think he said there was one in England (?) already. He had the room concept worked out, but was still puzzling over the murderer and weapon parts. You could email him and compare notes ...