thecaswellfamily

Like this? Pricey at $5 a pop. I got a "Sin Boldly" pint glass for Christmas a couple years back. One of my favorites. Seen any Festivus Tracts? I'd put some in! Yes, that's the one! I had no idea they cost so much! I completely forgot about Festivus ... priceless! -Momma Caswell

FTF card games, signal antenna balls, compass clips, mini maglights, our very own wooden-nickels, OH!- geocaching beer cosies... and usually an unactivated coin for the FTF just cause we feel like it. Obviously we don't have many out there (of our mere 4 one was adopted). I like to go a little nuts with it (it's FUN)! - Momma Caswell

Ha ha ha ha, oh I love this thread! I have a "Sin Boldly" Martin Luther card somewhere... I think maybe they are available online (am I allowed to say where?). Don't forget the nasty little comic book tracts, you know-how like the one where kids who trick-or-treat get tainted candy and then die and go to hell. I had a warped cousin who was collecting those for a while. What a fun idea for a cache! - Momma Caswell

Well, when we first heard about the stolen cache we didn't think it was that big of a deal (they'd replaced the lid twice last year, I thought for sure they would replace the cache too). Being a bit of a noob still, I didn't realize the history of archiving APE caches if the original container wasn't in place. As sad as I am (we were planning on attending the Going APE... All Over Again event this summer and walking through the tunnel), I am intrigued by the recent posts on that same page that something is in the works... I think we'll continue to plan on heading up there that weekend and see what they come up with. While I am sad that we won't ever get a chance to do that historic cache now (and kind of kicking myself for not doing it when we could)... I am optimistically looking forward to see what comes next. In fact, the more I think about it... I'm actually kind of excited...

Oooooh, I like this idea (you can't steal something that is virtual) but I suppose the traditionalists will cry foul. Now I'm wishin' we'd run up and found it while we could rather than waiting for the tunnel to open. *sigh*

Oh dear, when I got the notification about this last night I didn't realize the history behind archiving them if the container wasn't original. I went to bed last night under the assumption that it would be replaced, just as the lids were last year (once in the summer, again in November- apparently by the same nasty person with a vendetta against GS and the CO). This makes me so sad. We were very much looking forward to the big tunnel opening event in August, it was going to be our first real event (we've attended a local "non-event" but never a real, official event). *sigh* Even bought glow-bracelets and headlamps for the kids (I know that doesn't compare to a plane ticket).

I want to clarify that the friends who introduced us, who were also newbies at the time, told us to keep our logs as brief as possible, and that we should learn all of the acronyms and use them as much as possible! I actually thought it was BAD to write more, but I just couldn't help myself... I am afraid it has only gotten worse with time, LOL! Edited to add the pretty little quote box that everybody else has.

Oh man... there's another one that for my bucket list! I'll probably never get there but it sure sounds like a fascinating place to explore!

No, it's still there. Look in the lower left hand corner of the homepage. It says-find my location and you can search. When I first bring up the homepage I see the link, but by the time I move the mouse to click on it, it disappears. Golly! Glad you all mentioned finding the option from the profile page, I guess I'll be doing that from now on!

My understanding is that if you ask nicely and the reviewer feels like it (and has the time- they have lives too) they will honor reasonable requests for date/time activations. At least I was told that was the case in my area, and when I did ask my reviewer was kind enough to humor me (thanks again Rock Rabbit!).

I did some simple calculations that hopefully is not too far wrong. Each microsecond change in the day length affects position by less than 0.5mm per day, assuming no correction. And I believe the satellites are sent correction information frequently. Oh wow, I knew SOMEBODY on here would know how to calculate all that! Thank you for that... in the meantime our prayers continue to be with all those over in Japan...

We have a local cacher who is addicted to altoids! She is a very experienced cacher and has hidden quite a few, most are attatched to something metal using magnets and sheilded from the elements (undersides and insides of things)... those hold up fairly well. However, I have also seen some (hidden by a different cacher) that now look like the photo above... not pretty at all. One in particular was tucked into an old tire... that fills up with water each and every rain. *sigh*

Oh wow! Now that I think about it... I remember reading one time about things along a fault line in California that had moved over time... was that a thread in here? I remember seeing a photo of a fence line that was WAY out of line, LOL! Fascinating...

Disclaimer: I am not an extremely technical person, but I know that many of you are and will hopefully be able to satisfy my curiousity. CNN reported that the earth is now spinning a little bit faster after the big subduction zone earthquake in Japan... also that Japan has "moved" as much as 8 feet in at least one place and the earth has shifted on it's axis link to article. My question is, will this affect our GPSrs in any significant fashion? How will this affect the satelites in their orbit (don't they read from ground locations?)? Granted, we are not geocaching in Japan (I assume the Japan maps will be off right now- or will they?), but will there be any difference worldwide? I'm also wondering if rescuers rushing into the area will be able to use GPS technology... I think that is pretty standard, so will their stuff still work? P.S. Still looking for an article on the spinning faster bit- saw that comment live on CNN last night.

As noted by many previous posters, our kids love to find ammo cans full of goodies. Our seven year old recently opened her own geocaching.com account, and now is showing an interest in micros for the first time ever. Until recently it was ALL about the swag for both of them. They have been known to trade for: erasers, broken pencil sharpener, golf balls, ping-pong balls, bouncy balls (the 3 year old loves balls), figurines, McToys, plastic rings, plastic necklaces, a small frisbee, keychains, flashlights (even if broken- I have no idea why), and "special stones" (those clear squashed marble things sold in florist shops). We leave brightly colored compass caribeaner clips and plastic "jewels" from the craft store. Thank you for keeping kids in mind when placing your caches!

Oh this is just too cute, I had to play too. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

We use a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1... waterproof (with a setting for underwater shots), shockproof (supposedly I could drive over it and still be okay), and freezeproof (I haven't tested this one). It takes HD video as well as stills and fits into my pocket. It's a little bulkier than some of the newer digital cameras, but being a bit of a clutz and having two little ones who like to get their hands on things, it has been great for us. I love the flat sides that allow us to balance it on end to take timer-photos of the whole family in either verticle or horizontal format. My only wish is that I had bought the bright orange instead of the forest green, I have dropped it many times while caching and it's not the easiest thing to spot. Have fun camera shopping and good luck!

Wow, that looks just GREAT! Way to go snapshot7... we would LOVE finding something like that! Very nice... very nice indeed.

My first vehicle was a 2 wheel drive toyota pickup named "Casper"... even though it was brown. Then I got a '97 Jeep Wrangler that was "Unsinkable Molly". After we were married my husband and I had a '95 mustang named "Strawberry" after a really WRONG Snoop song. Now we have a Chevrolet SS pickup known as "The Big Red Beast" and an '11 mustang GT known as the "Snazzy Hot Rod" (both named by our children). I covet a 4-door Rubicon (maroon, and I will call her Ruby) but alas, we spent too much on that GT for my husband. My first GPS, a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx was just known as "Garmin"... but my new Oregon is "Sweet Thing."

Our three year old found an ammo can while on our way to another cache. She was riding piggy back, and I was staring down at the GPSr while running down the trail. She called out, "Mom, I see it!" I looked at the GPSr and replied, "No, it's still .2 mile that way." She argued, "No, it's an ammo can, RIGHT THERE!" I look up. "Oh wow, there is an ammo can!" She got the Jr. Geocacher gold star for that day. Another time I was looking for a good spot to hide a new one when I saw the perfect location... I walked up to take a reading on the GPSr and noticed the avaiable cammo looked a little TOO good, picked up a piece and VIOLA! Puzzle cache found. I felt like I was finally becoming a REAL geocacher when that happened.

He's not as into it as I am, but my Valentine does cache with us now and then. Today, for Valentine's Day, we just hid a new cache "Heart of the Forest"... it hasn't been approved yet (and may not be today) but I am excited about it just the same. And yes, the container is a cammo'd heart. My sweetie knows I love this WAY better than flowers and chocolate!

Don't give up hope! Our first trackable, Light Up Lego Man, had a similar fate. Just when we had given up on him though, he swung back into action and is now happily traveling thousands of miles from home.

1210 caches within 20 miles of our home coordinates (Lacey, WA) Sheesh, and we've only found 202?!?! We'd better get goin'!

LOL, I know. We've read and heard all about power trails. We decided early on that we were going to take it slow and enjoy each cache... although the pace has picked up quite a bit since we've gone paperless. I also love that each person can play this game his/her own way, and I love hearing about everyone else's caching adventures. Some of those number runs sound pretty crazy!

I would really like to hear that story sometime! Well, we did it! Find #200, Payback 13 - The Outhouse vs. 2 by ohjoy!. You can read our log (there is even a photo from our outhouse wedding ) here. And yes, we really did have something old (the old outhouse we got married in front of, which used to belong to my great grandparents) something new (a handbuilt two seater with a picture window on loan from a friend of ours) something borrowed (the same) and something blue (a sanican my dad brought in for the festivities).