95_Camaro_Couple

A 2004 Volvo S60 2.5T AWD. After that, it's my feet. Haven't had the opportunity yet to do anything more involved! And you may be wondering...where's the Camaro for the Camaro Couple? Waiting to be shipped to the States from Germany...and it will probably never be a cachemobile. Paula

I agree with IV Warrior...post a note. Since you didn't actually make it to the cache...for other reasons than not being able to find it...I don't feel that a DNF is warranted. Now, if you'd searched and searched through mud, etc, and tried your hardest and still couldn't find it, then I'd go with a DNF. But you didn't. Post a note. Paula

Just don't give away any specific details as to the location of the cache itself. Welcome! Paula

Why thanks, Warbones! I encourage others to enjoy themselves responsibly while I'm in the gestational way.... Paula

Oh but you see, you could always decide to go pick your TB up at its new location (or at least check in on its progress...). Have some of the amber stuff, enjoy it, and make your way back. It's much more fun that way! Paula

Virtuals aren't a no-no anymore...they're just somewhat discouraged and difficult to get approved. I'd go with the micro. Paula

Welcome to the sport, Bill! It is such an awesome way to spend time with your family, that's for sure! You're in a great spot for some geocaching, too. I live in El Paso, TX, currently, but grew up just north of you (DeLand). Can't wait to return home for some more caching! Glad you're enjoying yourself! Edited to add: If you haven't already, you may want to check out Florida Caching. Paula

You could also look up one cache in the area you're interested in, and click on the 'Find All Nearby Caches' link. Paula

Really, thank you so much for the encouragement! I know we'll get better with experience. Heck, we only have a handful of finds (and they're mostly mine, since my husband wasn't with me), so we can only get better at this point. We'll just have to put on the ol' caching cap and think like a cacher. And patience! Must practice that, but it can be done. I hadn't thought about making an account for the baby yet! That's pretty funny. Paula

I know what you mean about logging the DNFs, I really do! I did log one because the previous cacher had logged one as well, and if it really was missing I thought the owner should know. And of course I went back the next day and found the cache (with help), so I felt like a heel. The main reason I haven't logged any other DNFs is because I *know* they're there...they've been found right before I've been there, and they've been found again after I've left. It is me and my impatience and frustration that keeps me from finding them, and I just can't make myself log a DNF for that reason. Maybe that makes me a bad cacher, I don't know. What we need is a good, experienced caching buddy who can help us out. The friend who introduced us to the sport, aside from hating micros, has already returned home after his visit, so I guess our best bet is to befriend the local community. Practice makes perfect...or at least, better! Paula

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I'm still pretty frustrated with myself for giving up so easily yesterday, but I'll just have to get out there and try again. That, and continue searching for traditional caches (that I can manage while pregnant) for more practice. Again, that's another frustration...wanting to get out and find them, yet not being able to deal with the terrain and heat in my current physical state. Guess I'm a bit impatient! Thankfully, while I realize that parenthood is a lifelong occupation, pregnancy is not, and I'll be able to get those more difficult caches in a few months' time. Now it's just a matter of keeping my husband motivated enough to get out there with me! He's part of this team too, so that's important for me. Thanks again everyone (for the baby wishes as well!), Paula

If the park has as much acreage as you say, why don't just go the proper distance and place your own cache? That way if anyone else in your area feels the same way, they have an alternative cache to find and won't feel like, as you say, a nutcase. Paula

I agree with GPSKitty's advice. This happened to me recently, and it worked out. It ended up being 6 of us looking for the same cache...one guy found it, stepped back, announced his find, and each of us took a turn looking in the right area until we found it. It was a great find after having spent a lot of time there the night before while looking. I don't live in my hometown...I will again someday, but until then I sit back and longingly read through the cache descriptions and logs from the area. It's a relatively small town and microcache-dense, and cachers seem to bump into each other all the time. They all seem to be pretty tight-knit and help each other out a lot when they all stumble onto a cache together. It happens. Paula

If you don't get any responses here, try checking Florida Caching. Good luck! Paula

Hi Gang! Alright, so obviously I haven't been caching very long. In fact, we just got our new Garmin Legend a few weeks ago and we're still learning it. My husband isn't quite as interested as I am in caching...he loves looking for multis or traditionals, but the idea of a micro doesn't really tickle his fancy. And right now, we can't get to a lot of the bigger caches in our area because I'm 7 months pregnant and can't manage the mountains where they're hidden. I'll look for anything. My problem is, I get too frustrated too easily. I could easily have DNFs in the double digits, but I don't log them for fear of looking like an idiot. We went out today and looked for one for the longest time, and ended up calling it quits. I'm reading the clues. Once I get within so many feet of a cache, I put the GPSr away and really start looking. But, come on, are these things so cleverly hidden that you need to find them by written invitation? I'm sorry to complain so much, but it seems like there are two different categories of micros (*Ones You're Meant To Find* and *Ones You Aren't*), and we always seem to be looking for the second kind. So, I guess the whole point of this is...does anyone have any practical pointers for scoping out well-hidden micros? I'm not about to give up geocaching, but I could sure use some encouragement. Thanks. Paula

I just found out last week that parts of the movie were shot here in El Paso, using local soldiers from Ft. Bliss. Pretty cool, eh? Paula

Oh yeah, there's the whole 'first hide' thing going on, too! That's a bit daunting in and of itself. We're not from this area and are still unfamiliar with some great hiding spots, so that's going to be a challenge. However, we've already begun to think of things to put in the cache, and possibly a theme and a name. We'll see...maybe I'll contact a couple of other local cachers and see if they'd be willing to help us pick a spot, and then they can have it when we leave. Thanks for the advice, guys! Paula

Just make sure you wear your seatbelt and obey the traffic laws...we don't want to have to end up using CPR on you! Paula

From my experience, if you have to ask...it's too expensive! Paula

Maybe, if someone did take it while not realizing what it was, they wrote you a note in the logbook. Mystery may be solved once you get the logbook in the mail! Interesting, indeed. Paula

I agree with the suggestion to raise the difficulty level, and also use a fair amount of warning in your desription. Poison Ivy doesn't affect everyone, so that should have you covered. Paula

Hi Gang! Well, I won an ammo can at an event cache on the first of May. The intention, of course, being that my husband and I hide a cache with it. The issue here is, we're going to be moving before the end of the year, probably never to return to this area. I would hate to hide a cache only to have to find a new owner for it in a few months, but I almost feel obligated to do so since I won the can from local cachers. What would you do in this situation? Thanks for the input! Paula

I think it's worthwhile! Of course, just because you're FTF doesn't mean you have to take the FTF prize. If they're already CPR certified or don't want to take the time to learn, that's up to them. I say it's a great idea! Paula

I'd have to say I'm somewhere between a Level 2-Level 3. See, a friend introduced me and my husband to geocaching while he was in town for school. We didn't have our own GPSr at the time, so we'd go out with him on weekends. Then my husband had to go out of town for a few weeks, and I got to continue feeding the caching habit on the weekends with our friend. Then I decided that I wanted to buy a GPSr, and I *also* wanted to go visit my family in Florida. So I started looking into all the great caches located in my hometown, on the way home from the airport, around the places my family members work, etc. It became quite the obsession, that's for sure. And I bought a Legend, which showed up on my doorstep a week before my trip. My husband came home from his out-of-town trip in time to see me off and not learn how to use the Legend. I cached as much as I could while at home for a week...which was not much, let me say. I ended up logging, gosh, maybe 4 finds? I was busy almost the whole time anyway. But, I do look forward to the time we move back home and I...I mean, we...can get back out there and cache some more in our hometown. Now that I'm back in El Paso and we're learning the Legend together, we haven't been out to do any caching. Most of the good ones are hidden away in the mountains, and the terrain is too difficult for me, at 7 months pregnant, to navigate. My husband isn't quite to the level of obsession that I am, so I'm going to get pretty frustrated here soon! Paula

I just logged my first DNF last weekend, and I definitely feel I jumped the gun. I was out searching with my brother and his wife (it was their 2nd cache, first having been found maybe 15 minutes earlier) after a *very* long day. We put in a good half-hour, if not more, and got supremely frustrated before giving up. The light was getting bad and their toddler was awaiting them at home, so we called it quits. Got home and logged a DNF after noticing that a previous attempt by another cacher had been a DNF as well. I decided that thirty minutes wasn't enough, for me, to give up, so I grabbed my dad this time and went out to hunt for it again the next afternoon. We showed up at the cache only to find another caching pair on the hunt as well, and were soon joined by two more people on the hunt! One of the other cachers found the elusive micro but did not say exactly where it was...instead, we each went to the general area where he was standing and looked around until we spotted it. A very clever hide indeed, hidden in plain sight. When we went home to log the find I noticed I had gotten two emails from the cache owner...one was a hint, and the other was his phone number in case I needed more help. It was very nice of him, and I felt supremely stupid for giving up so easily the night before. So, there you have it...for me, I guess I really don't want to log a DNF unless I know it's absolutely hopeless. I am patient in most things, but looking for a cache, apparently, isn't one of them. Paula