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ValleyRat & TillyMouse

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Everything posted by ValleyRat & TillyMouse

  1. We're placing caches across the Rio Grande River where they might be accidentally found by Mexicans. Can anyone provide a Spanish translation of the Geocache Info Sheet? oops on spelling of español in the title. I knew that!
  2. I object to using tadpole as a symbol due to religious reasons. . l Welcome to dnk, anyway! Our website, http://valleygeocachers.com is almost ready. Boy, that takes a lot of work.
  3. We're placing a few caches in Mexico and need the form that's shown here in Spanish. If there's a member with translation skills, I would appreciate a copy of the note sent to writer29@rgv.rr.com. Thanks
  4. There are lots of caches in the Rio Grande Valley that were placed in tree hollows. Most have been muggled one or more times, then had to be replaced. Have a look at this one. One of the best I've seen was a micro with a tiny eye-hook screwed into a tree above eye level, and a matching hook on the lid of the camo-taped 35mm film canister. I can't imagine any damage happening to the tree from the hook.
  5. I think I've got it now, but my 75-year-old brain had a hard time there for a while.
  6. We're planning an event for our fledgling Valley Geocachers group and need to post an event cache. How about a short tutorial on that subjet -- or point me to an existing one. Thanks
  7. Other forums (fora?) I've been on have a link from a member's profile that says, "See all this member's posts." I made an error in one of my past posts and would like to correct it. Can someone tell me how to find the link for "my posts?" Thanks
  8. Sort of like the UN; Lots of talk, more opinions, some oil-for-food, and no authority. I think not.
  9. This is not intended to be a political statement, rather a point of interest. Yo Leatherman I'm amazed that someone else is aware of the meaning of this hand signal. With more than ten years working in the Arab world, Tilly and I learned first hand that the "thumbs-up" gesture has the same meaning there as the "middle-finger" in this area. Every American expatriate sees it every day; only the newbies smile back at the toothy grin that accompanies the signal. Despite the fact that we're doing a good job over there, it's absolutely hilarious to note how embedded reporters in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to report how the locals always "show their respect and support by giving the thumbs-up, 'the worldwide signal for good job' for our work. Sort of like the CIA agents when we lived in Jordan. They used to spend all day, lounging around the pool at the embassy in Amman, Heineken in one hand and LeCarre in the other, gathering data to write their report. Bless their pointy little heads; all the PTB needed to do was ask an expatriate worker.
  10. The best we've found are retired ski poles. Not as exotic as a mesquite limb, but hundreds (thousands?) are available in thrift shops in ski country. They sell for about $1. Sharpen the tip, so it's also a snake stick, then carry it with the leather thong on your wrist. It's great! Leave the rubber web on the bottom to trap the snake if you miss stabbing him.
  11. Would it be possible to pin a topic "Want to Trade Caches" where members could post a note such as "Cache Near Corpus Christi --- Trade for one near McAllen?"
  12. Because we are RVers, Cache Along a Route is number one on my wishlist.
  13. Here's the best explanation I've seen Lat/Lon Explanation.
  14. I keep a few personal cards in the cache-bag. In each case, we've used our Seal-A-Meal machine to make a bag exactly the size of the card. Just first cut the bag to 1/4" larger than the card, then use the machine to seal the bag at the edge. Sealing cuts the bag off where it's sealed. I also have a laminator, and sometimes laminate special cards or the Geocaching Info sheet. We don't smash a card down into a crowded cache. Another possibility is buying cards printed on plastic. Google on Plastic Business Cards. Cheaper than you might think. Or go here.
  15. Go to this site for a comparison of all Garmin products.
  16. Today was a cold (50°) rainy day in the Rio Grande Valley; we spent it packaging our swag items. Folks who have been Geocaching for a long time probably already know about this routine, but it's new to us. We retrieved our old Seal-A-Meal machine from the storage building and now use it for waterproof packaging of small/medium swag items. If we run out ofe regular Seal-A-Meal bags, we just use cut-down baggies or ziploks.
  17. USAF Electronic Intelligence -- AFSS, 1st and 8th Radio Squadrons. Japanese Occupation Korean Happy Days. That was another "non-war" (Police Action), despite the death of almost 40,000 American servicemen/women. The only objection I had to serviing was the "Truman Year" we all received due to the conflict. Oh, and I didn't get enough days off after July 1950 to spend chasing all the little Japanese girls. Here's a Kamikaze (suicide) airplane that was near the gate of Johnson AFB in late 40's Japan.
  18. It seems that many cachers from "Up Nawth" speak about Ticks when they actually mean Chiggers. As a lifelong resident of Texas, I don't remember ever seeing a tick in South Texas, but have read many forum posts about the area being infested; they're endemic in the piney woods of East Texas, however. Tick: A pin-head sized insect that attaches itself to your skin and must be carefully removed to avoid leaving its head imbedded in the skin. To safely remove, tick experts warm their (the tick's) behind with a hot ember -- we don't use cigarettes anymore. After a few hours of sucking your blood, the tick can become like a brown marble, up to 3/8" in diameter. Click here to see. The deer tick can carry Lime (or Lyme) Disease, an extremely serious infection. If you're caching in deer country, watch out for the little bullseye-shaped lesion caused by that insect. Chigger: Virtually invisible insect, often called a redbug, that the victim seldom sees because it's so tiny. He does, however, see and feel the itching bump that's left by the chigger, beginning the next day and lasting for up to a week. Probably no creature on earth can cause as much torment for its size than the tiny chigger. Chigger mites are about 1/20 inch long, usually bright red, have hairy bodies, and travel rapidly. They reside in grassy areas. Click here to see a chigger. Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. A single chigger may remain on your skin for hours, producing a dozen or more itching bumps. You can avoid a lot of bites by showering soon after exposure to grassy areas that are infested. Afficianados treat the bumps with a coating of clear fingernail polish or New Skin. If the bumps become red and infected, doctors recommend they be treated with an antibiotic cream (Neosporin is our OTC choice).
  19. Most anything different is good for swag. We make periodic trips to businesses with Yellow-Page listings under "Advertising Items." You will be amazed at the "oops" stuff (misprints) that these folks throw away, or sell cheaply. Garage sales are great sources for costume-jewelry items. My granddaughter and surrogate granddaughter both are cachers. The girls love my caches, because they always contain neat kid-stuff; retired earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. We found a gold heart-shaped pin with a tab for a name (paid a quarter) in a g-sale last week. Painted the heart purple and took it to Wal-Mart to have "Geocaching" engraved on the tab ($1). This $1.50 medal is now our Geocaching purple heart, to be awarded to the next friend who suffers a cactus-prick while caching. Cactus-prick? That's a common injury in South Texas. Some cruel cachers delight in hiding the best caches under a prickly-pear plant. When we find a unique item in a cache, we're always pleased, and we try to replace it with one of our own creations. Prior to placing any personal item in a cache, we always cleanse them thoroughly, using antibacterial soap to soak the items.
  20. And of course, I know how to spell "course." Sorry. copy editors.
  21. Southeast? Oh well, nobody understands us Texans. Our fledgling organization, Valley Geocachers (NO DUES), is planning its first Dutch Treat dinner tomorrow evening. You and your interested friends are all invited. Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2005 Time: 6:00 P.M. Place: The Golden Corral, 1100 E. Jackson Avenue at Expwy-83 (S Side of 83) in McAllen, Texas RSVP; Please let us know if you and your geocaching friends can come, so we can reserve chairs for you. You can call or eMail before 12 Noon on Wednesday. Thanks, Buck and Tilly Buchanan 361-563-0577
  22. The eTrex Legend C is being advertised online at $279.95 with free shipping. Does anyone have one of these that's ready for retirement to South Texas for a really really really reasonable (cheap?) price? PM me if you do.
  23. I've had good luck selling my retired GPSr on this forum's Garage Sale threads.
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