Zhanna

You are welcome! I'm so glad it helped, at least to some degree.

As someone who has searched for and documented well over 1,200 benchmarks over the past 20 years, it certainly was very surprising and disappointing to discover that the benchmark hunting section of Geocaching.com was gone without any warning to me. I do not regularly read the forums, so I had no idea this change was imminent. I only found out when I researched it after the fact. I receive plenty of emails from Groundspeak about souvenirs and their latest promotions—would it have been that difficult for them to send a message about the "retirement" of the benchmark pages? Another thing that should have been done was to add a deprecation announcement to each benchmark page, so it would be obvious to anyone viewing the pages that after a certain date, the benchmark pages would no longer be available. It's just standard practice. But apparently it's too late for any of that. I understand the need to move away from legacy code that has become a maintenance burden, hinders future innovation, and does not fit the current goals of the organization. Frankly, given the lack of updates to the benchmarking portion of the site, I expected this to happen a long time ago, and that's why I began documenting my survey mark recoveries on my own website instead. But many people did not have that option, and they put a lot of time and effort into their benchmark logs on Geocaching.com. We have also heard over and over how useful geocachers' logs have been for professional surveyors. We had built an impressive archive of historical documentation over the decades, much of which is not available elsewhere, and it is a shame to lose that. For anyone who wants to retrieve the text (not the photos) of their benchmark logs and see others' logs for a particular mark, you can use Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The benchmarking home page (as of December 30, 2022) is available here: https://web.archive.org/web/20221230041305/https://www.geocaching.com/mark/ The postal code search doesn't work, but the PID search does, at least for all PIDs I have tried. To go directly to a mark's page, you can use URLs of the form: https://web.archive.org/web/20221208090238/https://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=[PID] where [PID] is the mark's PID. Unfortunately, because I don't see a way to view the marks a user has logged, you will need to know the PIDs of any marks you want to look up on the Wayback Machine archive. The NGS Data Explorer can help with that: https://geodesy.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/ I hope this is useful. To anyone who enjoyed this activity, took it seriously, and understands its value, please spend some time on the NGS website and learn how to submit your data directly to them instead. Survey marks are still in constant use and your efforts will be appreciated there.

(My apologies if this has been posted before ... the search feature didn't find anything similar.) Here's a funny Flash animation brought to you by the fine folks at BLM: Life of a Survey Monument ~Zhanna

I just re-sent the e-mail. Please let me know if you get it this time (or if you don't!). Thanks! Zhanna

Has anyone heard from Dave Doyle or Deb Brown recently? (DaveD, are you out there? ) I'm asking because I sent a couple e-mails over the past two weeks or so and haven't heard back from either one, which is unusual. I understand if you're busy ... I just want to make sure they went through! Thanks! ~Zhanna

If you can do this for the entire U.S., it would be extremely helpful (and I will be eternally grateful)! ~Zhanna

I haven't used PDF Online, but I definitely can recommend OpenOffice.org! I use it at home and actually prefer it, at least for simpler projects, to the resource hog that is Adobe Acrobat. BDT: snail-mail is just fine, of course. ~Zhanna

I'm workin' on it ... ~Zhanna

OK, but if you can't, just snail-mail them to me and I will do it. (E-mail me if you need my mailing address.) ~Zhanna

I'm willing to host them, no problem. If people are able to create PDFs and send them to me that would be quickest (for me), of course. But if that's not possible, I'm certainly also willing to accept photocopies through the mail and scan them myself (or make my work-study students do it ... he-he ). I have some datasheets available on my site already, but so far they only represent some areas of PA, CA, AZ, NY/NJ, and ME. http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/USGS/USGS_PA.shtml ~Zhanna

Howdy guys! I know I've been away from the forums for a while, but rest assured I am still hunting benchmarks like crazy whenever I have the time. I just checked in today to see what's been going on and I came across this thread. I'm glad to see that there's some interest in USGS marks and recoveries. I've been using their datasheets for a few years now and I really enjoy the challenge. I also have been submitting recoveries to them, but I was never quite sure how useful they really were. I'm very glad to read that our recoveries are being accepted with open arms. I'd like to put out a call to all those who have requested USGS datasheets for their local quads. I have more than enough space, and I would be happy to host these datasheets on my own website, adding to the (small) collection I have so far. Is anyone interested? If so, please contact me here or via e-mail, and we can set something up. Thanks! ~Zhanna

[removed duplicate post] ~Zh.

That was one of mine, and I also immediately noticed the omission of the station mark. (But I have not questioned them about it). I can assure you that I did indeed submit close-ups and area views of the station mark as well as the reference marks, all clearly legible (and labeled, in addition), so all the information was readily available to them. I can't explain why the layout turned out as it did! ~Zhanna

Some sample pages are now available for viewing. I was surprised to see that one of my "stories" is among them! ~Zhanna

I submitted around half a dozen photo/story combinations, and have been told that at least three of them made it into the book. I'm getting more excited by the day ... ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

Sorry to say I don't have the answer to your questions (and I did wonder the same thing myself when I found this mark last year). I do, however, have the relevant USGS datasheets on my site, if you'd like to take a look at them: Third-Order Leveling, Bar Harbor Quad (1977) This should help fill in some of the "holes" in the series. Some of the others in the series can be found here: Third-Order Leveling, Mount Desert Quad (1934) but it will take some digging because that set doesn't have a handy index. ~Zhanna, impatiently awaiting her upcoming trip to Maine http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

Yes, I'd be more than happy to add to my site any new links you may find. Please keep them coming! You can e-mail me through my profile or via the link on my Local Control Monument Databases page. ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

ArtMan, I'm sure you're better off staying where you are this time of year! If there's ever a benchmark event I'm able to attend, I will be sure to bring along a bunch for everyone to sample. I currently have a raspberry gelatin benchmark chilling in the fridge. I can't wait to see how that turns out! ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

As promised, here's a page demonstrating the mold-making process for my chocolate benchmarks: Zhanna's Chocolate Benchmarks Enjoy! ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/ Cape Cod Cacher: priyatno poznakomitsa ... vy govorite po-russki?

Dental alginate sets in a few minutes, but from what I've read it doesn't last. Once the water evaporates, the mold shrinks. So if you were going to do a plaster cast, for example, right away and only wanted to use it once, it would probably work. But the mold won't hold up for future uses. ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

This is what I use: Silicone Plastique I bought one pound to start. So far I've made molds of two 4-inch disks and one 1-inch replica pin, and I've used just a little over half of the original amount of the product. When I get my web page ready, I'll be sure to include all these details. ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/

I just realized you're in NEPA like me. I would love a cache like this! Of course, I've never gone scuba diving, but if I could obtain the equipment and some skills I would be more than willing to try. I'm looking forward to some more challenging caches in the area. ~Zhanna

Interesting ... I have just been working on a web page demonstrating my process for making molded chocolate benchmarks! So far I have used only the benchmarks in my collection (destroyed marks that I was instructed to remove, or unused disks that were sent to me), but I was thinking that the same process could be used in the field to create a mold of a particularly interesting mark. For my molds, I have used a two-part silicone molding compound. You simply mix the catalyst and base together, then form the resulting "goo" over the shape you wish to replicate. After about an hour the compound cures and you have a sturdy, flexible, heat- and cold-resistant mold. I used a food-safe formulation because my intent was to make chocolates, but if you don't plan to use the molds for food products there are lower-grade (cheaper!) molding products available that will work just as well. I'll post a link to my page when it's ready. ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/ [Edit: fixed typo]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I corresponded with Craig several times, and his responses to my requests were always immediate and thorough. My condolences to his friends, family and colleagues. ~Zhanna

Good idea, Paul. I've been doing that for quite some time—mostly just for completeness of the log, not for the reason you mention. But I never thought to suggest it on the forum. After my regular geocaching log (which I tend to write in an informal style, telling the story of the expedition), I indicate what I've reported to NGS. Assuming I've made updates to the description, I include the wording of my NGS recovery, like this (from KV3628): A report on the condition of the station mark and reference marks 1 and 3 was submitted to NGS, along with the following recovery note: The station mark and reference marks 1 and 3 were recovered in good condition. The 1942 description is adequate, with the following additions. Kunkletown-Port Phillip Rd. is now called Smith Gap Road. There is a small parking area at the point where the Appalachian Trail crosses this road. The blazed tree was not found. The station mark is now approximately one foot below the surface of the ground, is covered by loose soil and several flat stones, and is surrounded by a circle of rocks approximately 6 feet in diameter. Reference mark 1 is covered by several flat rocks. If no updates are necessary, I just make a simple note such as A report on the condition of this mark has been submitted to NGS. ~Zhanna http://surveymarks.planetzhanna.com/