Team Neos

Never mind, I misunderstood

And are you sure they have gotten your email? As you know, there has been some problem with email not going through from gc to some email addresses lately. Or they could have gone on vacation or be dealing with a family emergency. Unless they have a whole string of "finds" under suspicious circumstances, you might want to let this one simmer a while. You can always delete it later it you still think that is what you need to do. There is no cut off for when you can delete the find.

I know it sounds harsh to ask how you know a cache has been moved, but it isn't. When we first started, there were two very near our home we couldn't find. We looked twice for at least a half an hour each. The first time we were brand new, so we figured we were just terrible at geocaching. The second time, we had found ten other caches, so we logged a DNF on both caches. Not because we thought they were missing, but because we thought we knew enough about what we were doing to admit that we had looked, but hadn't found the cache. One cache owner wrote back to say that they "never logged a DNF unless they were sure the cache was missing" and that really threw me for a loop. I wondered how I could decide a cache was missing if I didn't really know where it was supposed to be because I hadn't found it? It sounded like some kind of Catch-22. Since then I've run across a handful of caches that really were missing, as the owner admitted later. If I am fairly sure the caches is missing, I write the owner to tell them all the places I looked. That usually lets them decide if they need to check on the cache. If I'm just overlooking the cache, they usually write to ask if I'd like a hint. But I've also found parts of caches and begun to think they were missing, only to find a whole cache two feet away. And I've looked four times for a caches that other people said "Thanks for the easy one!" on the logs. Just last Sunday, we looked exactly where the cache was three times before we saw it. Literally. We had already looked for the cache one other day, and the cache owner had told us a funny story about the cache moving on him before when he took guests out to it. When several people in a row didn't find it, he emailed us to ask us to look again and included a big fat hint. So we went to try again. We looked where we "knew" it had to be, didn't see it, looked where we thought it might be if it wasn't the first place. Looked again in "the right spot"...Checked another location about thirty feet away that also fit the decription. And then looked one more time in the "right place" My husband was going crazy. Just as he said "It ought to be right here when you do this" I suddenly SAW it--right there, just were it was supposed to be, and just where we had looked every time before.

I would add just one thing about using the SBA for a cache that doesn't meet the guidelines. Some caches did meet the guidelines when they were placed, and are "grandfathered" in, even though they would not be approved today. It doesn't hurt to drop a note to the cache owner before submitting a SBA log. They placed the cache and want people to find it safely so they will want to fix any problems. They may be able to provide information you didn't have that addresses any concerns--or it may help them fix a problem with the cache that has ocurred since they placed it. Of course, if the owner doesn't respond in a reasonable amount of time, or if there is an urgent need to have the cache removed, then the SBA log will call it to the attention of the reviewers.

I've never found a sprinkler head caches in an area that had other (real) sprinkler heads. I wouldn't hide one like that either. And if I came to a spot where I thought that was the case, I would likely walk away without checking the sprinkler heads for the cache unless one of them said "geosprinkler" or something equally obvious.

Honestly, I just like caches. Sometimes I want one or two nice caches out of a great hike, other times I want a cluster in a large park, and still other times I'd rather do a few quick grabs in an urban setting...and everything inbetween. They all have their own appeal, depending on the weather, my health, my mood, and how much time I have that day. I'm really fond of caches that show me something that I would have never seen if the cache hadn't taken me there.

We have a few serious FTF hounds around here. Some of them are retired and can go caching anytime, and one fellow has a job that takes him all over town in a vehicle that is wired for geocaching. They are competitive with each other in a friendly way, and it's fun to read their logs. It's also really great when you happen to catch them napping and get the FTF, which we've done a couple of times. It feels like a real accomplishment to know that you can run with the big dogs. Beffums and JAPTKD were in town visiting one day and N1 and I tried to take them to a new cache to try to snag an FTF before the usual suspects got there. We might have made it, too, if we hadn't of had to wait for the police at the cache before that one. As it was, the usual guys beat us there by about a half an hour --and apparently they all got there about the same time. The FTF left a nice larger bison container for the next cacher, and that was me, so that made the failed FTF attempt not sting so badly.

It looks like I am going to have to buy GPS units for my science classroom out of my own pocket. If you have a very inexpensive used unit (geko, etc) for sale, please pm, email me, or post it here. Not really blaming the school, our budget has been frozen for all but essentials for three years now, because of a huge problem with county taxes when they switched to new computers --taxes weren't calculated right, then they weren't billed right, then they weren't paid on time etc. In the mean time, the school had to take out loans to operate normally, and now we are having to pay them back (with the usual interest). We did get a little science budget last year, but I have to share with three other science teachers, and....well, even though they all think GPS would be neat, they don't see how it fits their curriculum. I do. I want the kids to use the GPS to keep track of local wetland loss, to help mark biological points of interest on a new walking trail in the community, and to just know how to use them to help explain satellite orbits better in the classroom, among other things. I want it badly enough to fork over some cash myself. I've written all the grants I can find, I have asked the parent-teacher-student association for $$, I have put out feelers in the local geocaching community, and now I am asking here. If you are selling a unit or know of a great sale price on less expensive models suitable for highschool students (Geko, eTrex Legend, Lowrance, etc) please let me know. PS-Other teachers may watch this thread too--so you may end up helping someone in your local area.

If you hear of great sales on the geko, please let me know. I am using GPS in my science classroom soon and need a few more units. The budget won't be approved until January, so they are going to have to come of out my pocket--actually once the budget is approved there own't be spare money for "frivolous" purchases (which is what "they" deemed the GPS units last year--even though I wanted them, the physics teacher wanted them, and the world geography teachers wanted them! ....So I give up, I'll buyt them myself, since I don't think the uses I am putting them to will be frivolous---but still, the cheaper the better. More directly in response to the original poster: I started out with the Garmin eTrex Legend. It was a fantastic starter unit. They sell from about $120-$150 now, sometimes less if you can catch them on sale. I would definitely recommend you look at a Legend.

Since you haven't logged anything yet, we can't look at your profile to see your caching area. If you would log one or two of the finds, or post the GC number of a cache near you here, folks would be happy to suggest some of their favorite caches near you.

To turn the electronic compass off, hold down the "page" button. To turn it back on, do the same thing. It doesn't matter which screen you are on when you hold down the button.

Yeah, you can use the method Zombie Woof pointed out--or if you aren't comfortable with that, email the owner to ask them if they mind if you log it. They can make it a normal cache long enough for you to log it--or perhaps they'll just tell you to use the workaround.

So Mousey, any updates on the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't cache? I keep expecting you to post that you emailed the owner, they told you the cords were still the same, and you went out and found it.

Or if you do collect rocks, make them really big ones, and make sure Torry is with you to carry them up that last really long, steep hill because he feels sorry for you because you are soaking wet and it's snowing.

Have you checked out the GPS in Education forums for grants? I've applied for grants the last two years to try to get gps units and other equipment for my clasroom. No luck last year, but my fingers are crossed for this year....

Congratulations on the find, and welcome to the sport. Hope you enjoy each and every hunt.

And I've noticed that my units become more accuarate the longer I leave them turned on. My accuracy can jumpe around when I first turn them on, and by the end of the day the accuracy readings are low and I am practically walking right up to caches.

And it looks like the nice folks that own that cache are just using it to park TBs and coins until they place them somewhere--to keep them off their account page, probably. The account pages could look pretty crowded with that many trackables on them--Parking the trackables on your own cache page makes it less likely that you'll mess up and drop the wrong trackable into a cache--more work too, but they must think it's worth it.

Well, I'm not following. I've hiked Squaw Peak in Phoenix, and thought that squaw was just a name referring to a female Native American. I still don't know specifically what female body part it supposedly refers to, but, if it doesn't, why have there been protests by the Native Americans themselves? My only point with PC is that if a particular group finds a term that is used to represent them to be highly offensive, then why would we choose to use that word? Confrontation? Why? And if that word has an emotional charge, in my opinion it should be left out of usage in a corporate sponsorship deal. There have been protests by Native Americans over the usage of the word for two reasons: First, many NAs don't have nay idea of the true origin of the word, and were also taken in by the activists. Someone told them it was a "bad" word and they believed them. Secondly, many NAs who do know their native language are offended by having a Massachusett word used for someone in their group. Much like someone from California might object to being called a Hoosier (the nickname for a person form Indiana). Massachusett is one languages from the Algonquian family of languages. In the Algonquian language, the word means "female" --just as the wife in housewife, midwife, goodwife, and so forth all imply a female. (See my earlier post for links). By the way, there are also groups of Native Americans who are equally anxious to make others aware of the true etymology of the word, and promote the use of native language words, because it helps to accurately portray to history of their culture. There are even groups who go so far as to assert that some people want remove all traces of native words from the language to eradicate all traces of native peoples). Still, I'm glad that Jeremy and crew have opted to remove all the potentially misunderstood names from the jeeps. Too few people are willing to use these kinds of events as learning experiences and too anxious to use them to raise an uproar.

Yeah, that's my take on it, too. I still say that listing the cache as container size unknown is the way to go with that kind of hide. A few people may be disappointed to learn that it is a micro and they can't trade items there, but most people will get a grin from the cache when they find it.

Interesting how the PC craze of the 70s led to so many erroneous claims. As for the etymology of the word squaw, there is some fascinating reading for anyone who wants facts instead of controversy: Here here and here As to the second part of the name, well, science and geology are rampant with reference to various female physical features. warning-other potentially offensive terms used another one you didn't think of here

I thought nutlady was talking about multis too, until I looked at here caches and saw that she onlyhad one multi, and it was disabled.

I'm not sure I am following you. If I hide a small container with a logbook in a hollow tree, I have hidden a small cache. If I hide a film can in a statue of an elephant, I have hidden a micro. I don't hide an ammo box with a micro in it and call it a micro, if that is what you are asking. If I did want to mislead people that way, I would call it an unknown cache.

Sorry for my part in the hijacking...in my defense, my reeeealllllly long post was on topic!

Out local club has a whole system set up to get help out to an ailing cache. We have some really great old caches in the area that people still come to visit. The original owner may be long gone, and they might be officially adopted by ones of us, but we all take care of them. I've been known to replace a leaky container if I have one like it with me. I carry the supplies to identify/mark the cache appropriately, or to replace orings and gaskets. I usually even have a couple of ammo cans in the truck. If not, I at least patch the cache up as best I can and tell the owner what I found. Once when we were introducing my sister-in-law to caching, and she broke a magnetic key holder that was the container for part of a really great series of caches in Chicago. I didn't have a magnetic key holder with me, so we walked back to the car and drove to a store that sold them, drove/walked back to the cache and replaced the cache. The new key holder was a different color, but the same style. I dropped the owner a note to confess what we'd done, so he wasn't so surprised the next time he visited.