medoug

Actually, RAGBRAI goes right by "GRRP5 Grandpa George's Homeland" and "Big Spring Cache" this year (both on the Great River Road between Garnavillo and Guttenberg in its final stretch). Big Spring Cache was the third cache that I ever found, and I'd have to agree that it definitely rates as one of my most favorite. Also, don't let the terrain rating of 4.5 scare you. It's much easier than that (more like a 3.5) if you go about it the right way. medoug.

Nice series "Kit Fox"! The only problem I see is that the last digits in the coordinates, C & F, might not really be necessary since without them you could get pretty close. My brother and I recently created a similar series (Great River Road Passage series) in Iowa. We placed 7 regular caches with numbers on the inside lids. We then also placed a "bonus" two-stage multicache with numbers on the inside lid of the first stage. All of the 8 numbers then had to be added together to determine the coordinates for the second/final stage of the "bonus" cache. (See the description for the Great River Road Passage Bonus cache for details.) Like Kit Fox's series, each of the caches can be logged individually as well as being able to log the bonus cache to mark the completion of the entire series. I'd be interested in how others have set up their series, especially if it includes a method for logging the completion of the series. medoug.

RAGBRAI ends in Guttenberg, Iowa this year. If you have a little spare time (and spare energy) at the end of the ride, here are a couple of nice scenic caches in the area: GRRP5 Buechel Hill Trail Big Spring Cache If you have a bit more spare time (about 6 hours round trip by car) and would like to see some of the area's more scenic Mississippi River vistas, you could complete the Great River Road Passage of caches series recently set up by my brother and I. Here they are: GRRP cache series If you decide to complete the GRRP series and have a couple more hours yet to spare, you can visit the following caches as well along the way: Pikes Peak Gold Breathtaking Finley's Landing Little Maquoketa Mounds Enjoy, medoug.

O.K., I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this statement, but "Isn't the Ivory-billed woodpecker essentially the same as the common pileated woodpecker except that it has a white-colored beak?" What's the big deal? It's just another big-a** woodpecker? BTW, has anyone ever heard a pileated woodpecker's call? It is quite strange. It sounds like someone playing a tom-tom drum or trying to start a put-put motor. The first time I heard one, I thought, "what the heck is that noise?" medoug.

According to this article, they found it buried in an old barn gutter, not on their property: Caught in their lies Enjoy the story, medoug.

You could try this site: Buxley geocaching waypoints You can search by entering the states you will be traveling through also. Unfortunately, though, there are no roads shown on the map. Newer caches aren't on it since it appears that it is only periodically updated. medoug.

I don't know if it was a real hamburger. If it was, I would guess that S10 would have removed it yesterday during his visits since he was kind enough to restock these caches with a few items after discovering that they had been raided. S10, if you read this forum: Thank you for helping out these raided caches with your items. We need more cachers like you. And good luck in completing the Great River Road Passage of caches! medoug.

Yes, he admitted to taking all of the items. Now he knows that he did the wrong thing. Also, yesterday he put back the items as promised. So he is trying to do the right thing. medoug.

I finally received a response. He is pleading misunderstanding of the rules. Here is his posting: "Medoug, Sorry about raiding the caches. I did look through the forums before ever starting out to see what the rules were for geocaching (see copy from the official rules forum page below) What are the rules in Geocaching? Geocaching is a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, the rules are very simple: 1. Take something from the cache 2. Leave something in the cache 3. Write about it in the logbook Where you place a cache is up to you. What is usually in a cache? A cache can come in many forms but the first item should always be the logbook. In its simplest form a cache can be just a logbook and nothing else. The logbook contains information from the founder of the cache and notes from the cache's visitors. The logbook can contain much valuable, rewarding, and entertaining information. A logbook might contain information about nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished caches, and even jokes written by visitors. If you get some information from a logbook you should give some back. At the very least you can leave the date and time you visited the cache. Larger caches may consist of a waterproof plastic bucket placed tastefully within the local terrain. The bucket will contain the logbook and any number of more or less valuable items. These items turn the cache into a true treasure hunt. You never know what the founder or other visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. Remember, if you take something, its only fair for you to leave something in return. Items in a bucket cache could be: Maps, books, software, hardware, CD's, videos, pictures, money, jewelry, tickets, antiques, tools, games, etc. It is recommended that items in a bucket cache be individually packaged in a clear zipped plastic bag to protect them. As you can see, there is nothing in the rules for what you can take or how much. I did leave stuff in each of them as the rules state. As for feeling guilty, I don't, since I was following the official guidelines for geocaching. However, I will return the items back to the caches since it was never my intent to break any unofficial rules, conduct or expected practices. It may be helpful to ask to have the rules expanded to include the take ONE leave ONE practice for any other new comer to geocaching. dnelson1 PS- I'm sure you tried to contact me BEFORE posting anything on the forums since that too would be unethical" Oops on the PS portion. Are we really that bad for discussing this here? (And, yes, we did try to contact him before we posted here. Perhaps he did not have access to his computer to reply during the day.) Anyway, here was my response: "Thank you for the response. We appreciate that you plan to the return most of the items (keep 1 item for yourself) to the caches. After doing so, feel free to enjoy the GRR passage of caches. As far as the rules, I believe you misunderstood. Notice that the single word "something" is used, not the two words "some things". "Something" means 1 item. "Some things" would mean multiple items. Hopefully this is a learning experience. medoug. P.S. In the future, it might be best to not use the terms "raid" or "greedy" in you logs. These terms definitely give other cachers the impression that you are up to no good and only concerned about helping yourself." Well, at least he is willing to put back the items, and now he understands the rules, written or unwritten. If he does as he says, all will be forgiven. Hopefully he will become a "good" part of the geocaching community. I consider this issue closed. Thank you all for the moral support. medoug.

Here is what I sent him: "I understand that you are new to geocaching. Perhaps you don't understand how geocaching works. You are supposed to take only one item out of the cache in exchange for replacing it with another item. This ensures that there are cache items for other geocachers. Geocaching is not a "raiding/free-for-all" game. It is a sharing game. There is no tolerance for greed. If you can't play by the rules, please don't play the game. Timber Hawk and I have put a lot of work into establishing the GRR passage of caches and have invested our own money to supply our caches with high quality starting items. You essentially stole from us and other cachers visiting our caches by taking all of the items out of our caches. If this message makes you feel guilty, good, that was its intent. If you have half a concience, you will return all but one of the items in each cache. Hopefully, this was just a misunderstanding and you will do the right thing. medoug." Here is what Timber Hawk sent him: " I sure you were joking about taking ALL the puzzles from the cache. We have stocked that cache with nice swag items. Wouldn't it be disappointing to be the second or third-to-find on a puzzle cache only to find a few beads. One general guide line to trading swag items is if you take an item you should leave an item of the same general value or trade up. There have been plenty of discussions about this in the forums. NEVER take all the items. If you are not joking about taking all the items (I hope you were) I ask that you PLEASE! Put back the puzzles except for 1 into the cache. These were meant for several people to enjoy not just one. I am sure this will not be a problem since you state that you do live near this location. If you chose not to do this, I do ask you please do not visit any more of the GRRP caches or any other caches placed by myself "TIMBER HAWK" or placed by "MEDOUG" in the future. If this comes across as being a little harsh I do apologize. It is just that Medoug and myself have spent countless hours setting up this series and several dollars to have most of the caches stocked with higher quality items for all to enjoy. As you being a schoolteacher, I am sure you can understand the importance and ethnics of being able to share with other geocache seekers. Sincerely, Timber Hawk" We both sent these messages independent of each other before starting this forum discussion. Neither of us has received a reply back from him. We tried to be as diplomatic as possible without expressing our full resentment. I hope he changes his ways. Unfortunately, he has made it clear that he also plans to visit the other caches in the series. This is Timber Hawk's and mine first time placing caches and we are both becoming a bit disheartened after this experience. I guess we shouldn't hide good stuff in the woods. We expected that it wouldn't take long before our good starting stuff in the cache would be depleted, but we never imagined that it would happen with one visit.

Unfortunately, "The Lepracaun's" idea (do onto others as they do onto you) will not work because this guy doesn't have any caches that he placed. With his greedy, take-all mentality, I doubt that this guy will ever place a cache. medoug.

I am Timber Hawk's brother and we worked together to set up this series of caches. Here's what dnelson1 wrote on my cache log: "I waw first to find this cache as part of the GRRP. The view up here was great. The cache was easy to find and raid (still feeling greedy) Left a toy car and hamburger. There seemed to be just enough light left to go look for 1 more part of the GRRP cache list. dnelson1" He actually admits to "raid"ing the cache. How do you deal with a guy like this? He is ruining it for the 2nd and 3rd to finders. I hope he didn't leave a real hamburger in the cache. That could get nasty! At least, I think, he is returning the containers. medoug.

In the past I would go on many pointless, but fun, joyrides on my motorcycle (60+ mpg). Geocaching now gives me a purpose behind my motorcycle joyrides. Geocaching on a motorcycle is a great way to save gas! Unfortunately the fact that it is a dual-purpose motorcycle actually probably makes it more impractical for geocaching than a regular motorcycle. I have realized that very few geocaches are located in areas where off-road motorcycles (or 4x4 SUVs or pickup trucks) are required (or even allowed for that matter) to get to them. Instead, I tend to limit my motorcycling geocaching to a 30 mile radius because the knobby tires and suspension tend to beat up your body on longer trips. Doug.

I have an eTrex Legend. Can I add new waypoints and routes to my GPSr without automatically erasing and having to reload my existing MapSource maps from my unit? I guess what I'm wondering is if this automatic erasing only applies to maps, or if waypoints and routes are also erased everytime new information is loaded. Thanks for any replies, Doug.

The eTrex Legend has now dropped a few more dollars on Amazon.com. It now lists for $131.76 (You have to add it to your shopping cart to see the actual price.) Doug.

You can go here to compare the features of the two models: Garmin models comparisons I would say that you definitely lucked out. Doug.

Amazon just raised the price from $69.99 to $79.99, so the best net price you can get has gone from $20 to $30. This is still probably a better deal than you'll be able to get anywhere else on this model. Doug.

I'm curious about people's opinion... How useful/neccessary/desirable/etc. is a carrying case, especially with the Garmin eTrex models? Would you reccomend purchasing one? If so, should I stick with the Garmin specific one or are there other ones which work as well or better for less money? Thanks, Doug.

Hey Pamgod, Unfortunately, the approval of my card is pending. Did you do something special to get instant approval? (My credit is perfect, I've purchased from Amazon before, and I can't think of any response that I gave to make my approval questionable.) I tried immediately making a purchase after submitting my card application and it asks for my Amazon.com Visa card number which is something I obviously won't have for 2 weeks. Did you get your card number when you received your instant approval, or does Amazon automatically know your new card number? Thank you in advance for any response, Doug.

Hey, arparkguy, Let us know how you like it once you get a change to play with it a bit. I think my friend would like to know before he orders his (when he finally gets the Amazon.com Visa card in the mail and if it is still on sale then). Thanks, Doug.

Welch, I think it would be expected that it would be applied to the Amazon.com Visa card since that that was the point of getting you to sign up for it. I figured one could always sign up for the card, make a one-time payment in full, and then cancel the card if it wasn't wanted. Doug.

No, I hadn't tried to order myself until I tried for my friend today. I did find this a bit deceiving on Amazon's part since their website implied that the $30 could be directly deducted from the purchase price of the GPSr when your order was placed. Instead, you must either apply the $30 to a future purchase, or sign up for the card now and wait to order the GPSr in 2 weeks after you receive the card in the mail. It's still available at $20 net price, but now it requires some additional patience to complete the full transaction. I see that Amazon just ended its sale prices on many of their other GPSr units, but this one still remains on sale for the $69.99 price, for now. Even without the $30 card sign-up incentive, $50 after rebate is still a great price for this GPSr. Doug.

I just tried to order one of these for a friend. It seems that there is a minor catch. You must sign up for the Amazon.com Visa card now, but then wait 2 weeks to receive it in the mail. Then, after you receive the card, you can order the GPSr with the $30 discount. I don't know how long this item is on sale at Amazon, but if it last until the end of December, you could sign up for the Visa card now and still purchase it for the $20 net price before the rebate expires. Doug.

I just found this incredible deal on Amazon.com and thought that I'd share the details here: $69.99 Garmin Geko 101 GPSr (on sale until ????) -$20.00 mail-in rebate (must purchase in Dec. 2004) -$30.00 if new signup for Amazon.com Visa card +$0.00 free SuperSaver shipping available ------------- $19.99 total Probably the cheapest price out there for a quality-brand GPSr. Great deal on a GPSr as a back-up, for your kids to use, or if you are new to geocaching and don't want to spend much until you are sure the activity is right for you. Doug.