BaylorGrad

Sorry that being Caucasian bothers you. Sorry. Had to be said... Okay. I'll bite. Define: RACE. Was geocaching in Central Park just before the marathon. Lots of areas blocked off, but lots of Porta-Potties! Wrong race? So. You think that Hispanics are not Caucasians??? That should come as quite a shock to most Hispanics. Spain isn't part of Europe? How about Italians and Greeks? Do they qualify? Portuguese? Do I fit your definition of Causasian? Part German, part Scottish, part something else... Czech? Hungarian? We're not sure. Possibly Tartar? I'm definitely swarthy. So, I'll have to ask you to define 'Caucasian'. I geocache with a cubano (who is lighter skinned than I am). His grandparents were from Spain. He thinks he's Caucasian. You don't??? So, my answer to your racist question is: Geocaching appeals to those with the spare time available, and the funds necessary to purchase the equipment. That eliminates a lot of poorer people (many of whom are minorities). I would guess that there is some ethnic cultural reasoning as well. I used to think that geocaching would appeal to smarter people (off topic for your question). But, seeing some posts on the fora, that is obviously incorrect. Well, I anticipated that this conversation would bring about heated discussion, but I never thought it would provoke ignorant assumptions about my philosophy of diversity. As 99% of individuals who read my post will immediately realize, my question is not racist by any means. I want everyone to participate in Geocaching. Just because I observe that my roommate is African American, does that make me a racist? No. It's an observation, and a corrent one. My observation while Geocaching (and seeing pictures on the online logs) is that Geocaches tend to be light-skinned (if that clarifies my use of the word "Caucasian"). Is this racist? I do not think so. I think it's fantastic that you Geocache with an individual who is unlike those who I have observed Geocaching--this gives me hope, despite the fact that you completely misunderstood my comments. I'm a little more than mildly offended that you've made an assumption about my intelligence. I normally try to be extremely humble about my education, but since you've asked for it--I graduated with a double major with honors from a top-100 university last year and am now pursuing a master's in student affairs and higher education, a program that emphasizes issues of diversity as cornerstone to the profession that I'm entering. I do not consider myself intellgent, necessarily, but if you give me the opportunity, I'll be glad to prove myself.

Interesting that you made these points... I have had similar observations, but I decided to keep the topic solely on race to keep things easier to discuss.

Why does that bother you? Define minority. The USA is quite diverse in different races. In other countries, there may not be as much. I apologize for not being clear. For the first statement you cite, when I said "and this bothers me a little," I was referring to the previous sentence. So what I mean is, "The fact that non-Caucasians don't Geocache bothers me a little." If your question remains, this bothers me because I think it's an activity that could be enjoyed by all. So why isn't it? As to your second question, "minority" in this case refers to racial minorities, which in the United States has historically been anyone who is non-White or of Western European descent. I hope this clarifies.

EDIT: (Original Post Below!) Hi Everyone, After the comments that have come forth so far, I am going to remove myself from this thread and let the discussion continue as it may. If anyone has anything specific to say to me (and I'll gladly take criticism if you see fit--I have as much to learn as anyone), please send me a private message. Thanks to everyone who participated as I had originally intended, BaylorGrad - - - - - All right folks, I've decided to bring up a subject that has interested me as a Geocacher for a long time: race and ethnicity. A touchy subject in any circumstance, sure--but I cannot avoid it any longer. I have noticed, and perhaps this is solely a result of the locations where I've cached, that Geocaching seems to be an activity heavily dominated by Caucasians. I am a Caucasian myself, and this bothers me a little. What about Geocaching restricts (or deters) people of other races and ethnicities from participating? Has anyone else observed this trend? What does everyone think? Just one more observation I've made before we continue... If you feel up to it, go to the city of El Paso, Texas on the Geocaching maps. This is a city of 560,000 that I have visited on two separate occassions. The city is 80% Hispanic. Notice that you can easily view literally the entire city without exceeding the 500 cache limit. My question is--why? This city has excellent places for Geocaches, and the city actually enfolds an incredible, mountainous park. Why so few Geocaches? I should add two things to make this discussion more feasible: 1) Simply saying, "I Geocache, and I'm of a different race" is not all that helpful; however, an explanation of why you think minority populations are less attracted to the game would be helpful. 2) If you disagree with my observation, feel free to say so--no harm done at all. 3) Let's please keep this discussion as polite as possible... I know this subject can get touchy fast. Thanks--I'm very interested to hear everyone's responses! Just for reference, I have 102 found Geocaches, mostly in the city of Houston, TX and Terre Haute, IN. BaylorGrab

No one told me this until recently, and I haven't seen it mentioned yet on this thread, so here we go--if you're in the city, "lightpole caches" are quite common. Most lightpoles have a "skirt" to cover the bolts & such. You probably don't even notice them normally. Well, they can be lifted. And unless you're a Geocacher, you're unlikely to find the cache it's hiding!

So I guess Premium membership is required huh? Well--it's papercaching for me then.

All right, I'm relatively new to Geocaching, but I'm really enjoying it. Just today, I learned how to connect my Garmin Nuvi 255W to my laptop PC. I have figured out how to send a Geocache to my GPS, but is there any way for me to see the coordinates with my GPS? That's the main problem. Sure, my GPS can guide me to the location of Geocache X, but once I get there, I like to go to the "Where Am I?" tool on my Garmin, which updates the coordinates as I walk along whatever path. In other words, if I can't go paperless, I might as well return this cable to Best Buy and get my $20 back. So, is there any way to get the coordinates onto my GPS? (And no, I'm not interested in a Premium membership at the moment.) Thanks! JDBushnell