mommio

what exactly are you looking for? I have a couple of powerpoints that I made to use with a high school class that I taught.

I LOVE hiding caches. I carry a box of caches with me at all times. Whenever I go caching and find one lonely cache along a road, I try to place a couple of additional caches to keep it company- makes the trip worthwhile for other cachers what with gas prices being so high. I also have researched ghost towns in my area and placed caches at them to bring folks to what I hope will be interesting spots. And those historic markers along the road that people whiz by call to me begging for a cache so travelers will stop. I can't resist a great view, an abandoned house along a country road, a tiny ancient cemetery in the middle of nowhere, a county road that loops around through scenic countryside, etc. Whenever I am on the road, I can't help but notice places that crave a cache. And not just any cache, but sneaky, evil caches. I have a lot of "simple" cache containers; but oh, how the the creative juices flow when I spot something in a store that cries out to be a cache container. Or see things in the forum that just HAVE to be copied or adapted. Or find "stuff" along the road when out caching that would make perfect camo for a container. I can't help myself. Hiding has become my addiction. I admit it.

Thanks, I am search challenged and couldn't come up with the right thing to ask. Not a child, so must be senility that has set in.

Recently I read about a cache that consisted of a pipe attached to something. It had a small hole in the bottom and was open at the other end. Waterproof cache dropped inside. You had to pour water in pipe to float the cache. Thought I might try it but wanted to know how the cache page was written. How do cachers know to bring water or do they just discover that after they get there?????

Never mind, looked at wrong post and suggest a list for wrong area.

I hide a lot of pill bottles at historic markers and ghost towns--trying to bring folks to interesting spots. One thing I have found that works is to tie the cache in place (a branch, fence wire, fence post, etc.) with twine leaving just enough extra twine to allow cachers to get to the cache, open it, remove log, sign, and return log to container. Cache doesn't get to move from correct location. Twine usually blends in fairly well with environment that the cache is in.

I am looking for geocaching challenges that are state-wide in state parks and sponsored by/supported by the state's parks department. Have found a few (Minnesota, Indiana, and Kansas) and am searching for more. The goal is to put together a similar program for the parks in the state where I live and present it to the Commissioner of Parks and Wildlife. I need information in order to prepare a presentation that will demonstrate that this idea has been done elsewhere and was, hopefully, successful.

Here is my deletion question. I hid a cache in a tree. It was over my head but I was able to stretch to tie it in place and out of sight. And, by the way, I am 5 feet 1 inch tall. The first two logs made no mention of its placement. The next cacher said he had to use a ladder to reach the cache and he is 6 feet 1 inch tall. (He had looked for it once before, did not DNF, but informed me by e-mail that it was gone. I responded in an e-mail that I was sure it was still there and that he needed to look up.) After he left his log, I politely asked him to edit it and remove any reference to the height of the cache because I felt it was a spoiler. His response was:"When we had to drive back to ... to pickup a ladder to reach this one it was not placed in an authorized hight. If a ladder was required you should have listed that as a requirement." I have again asked him to edit his log explaining that I did not need a ladder to place it. Obviously it couldn't have moved because it is tied in place. If he doesn't do the edit, should I delete the log? And, by the way, where did he come up with "an authorized height?"

GCW56Y This is another "interesting" cache not too far from the one you asked about.

This is my log from the other day. I posted it on all the caches I visited that day because the bits and pieces needed to be seen as an over all picture of the day's caching. 26 Feb 08 My Day of Caching 1. Visited my cache Down by the Riverside (East) because there had been a number of DNFs on it. Bigger than Dallas, there it was exactly where I had left it. (Shaking head) 2. Visited my cache Car Lot. Checked to see if there was a possibility of replacing the replacement cache, which I had put out after the owners had removed every bit of ground cover and thrown away the cache - placed with their permission. Have in mind a new cache once again filled with cars and trucks to trade for the same spot. 3. The Old Road at SASP-North Shore: First stop for finding caches. What a joy! First we stumbled over the dead cow, then the half dozen dead raccoons, and finally the motorcycle tire cemetery. Found cache lying in the open and returned it to where the GPSr zeroed out. 4. Carlsbad Loop Park: Next stop with more joy. Passed a dead goat and the remains of a deer on the way to this one. And, got a finger full of cactus thorns retrieving the cache. But that’s par for me. If there are cactus, chiggers, or mesquite thorns within a 50-foot radius of a cache, I will acquire them. 5. North End: Once again dead goat came into view on the way to this one. No problem finding it. Biggest problem today has been the malodorous approaches. 6. Kirby Park Dam: More dead deer strewing the highway. Searched high and low and the only thing we found was a lady walking her dog who we enlightened as to the joys of geocaching- minus ANY references to dead fauna. She seemed interested and may become our newest local geocacher. 7. Soccer Kick: Alas this part of the journey we only found smaller game- dead. A bird that didn’t survive some unknown mishap and a road kill squirrel. Took a little muscle power to dislodge this one. 8. On Guard 2: Once again we encountered another deer specimen deteriorating in the sun. And had to fight our way through sticker-y things. Cache found and logged. 9. Deere John: Not sure exactly what the remains were, but they definitely were remains. Cache seems to have disappeared – replaced by cleared land. 10. Small Forest: Deer had met its maker nearby, but the cache was there. The cover has disappeared until spring. However, the log was mush so was unable to sign it. 11. Road to Nowhere: Trip to this one involved passing by a dead goat, dead chicken, and “dead” sofa. And, once again, I got up close and personal with cactus and mesquite thorns. Left area with blood running down my leg. 12. On a positive note, I encountered no SNAKES- dead or alive. So I count this as a good day.

GC13XEZ I used an old mailbox and placed it where no mail box would be used. Made it into a Geo-Post Office

I love hiding caches! Have over 200 hidden. There aren't a lot of active cachers in the area currently. My caching buddy and I are teaching a class of teachers about geocaching this week and they in turn are starting a geocaching class at their school which hopefully will spread to other schools. I just wish the local cachers would hide more so I would have some to find. They sit poised at their computers waiting for the next one I put out so they can rush to FTF it. But they don't hide any and I promise myself I won't hide any more until they do but then that perfect spot catches my eye and......

"visit with the park or historic site superintendent and discuss the location where you intend to place the cache. Some parks or historic sites may be entirely off-limits to geocaching due to the sensitive resources contained within the sites. The superintendent may limit placement of caches in some areas due to archeological or historical resources, endangered species or concerns for visitor safety. If the placement is approved, obtain a copy of a geocache permit in order to complete the contact and placement information." This a quote from the Texas Parks and Wildlife site. At the San Angelo SP they maintain a list of the approved caches at the gate.

I have been asked to teach a group of 9th grade teachers how to use a GPSr and the basics of geocaching. They in turn will be teaching an extracurricular class titled "Geocaching." The assistant principal wants me to hide a number of temporary caches around the campus for his teachers to find. He has purchased 15 Garmin Etrex units. As it now stands, I will have to load a minimum of 15 temporary caches into each GPSr manually. Is there any other way to load these coordinates? A website where I can load them and then download them to the GPSRs? Because of time limitations of the class, the coordinates will have to be loaded beforehand. Thank you for any and all suggestions.

ALWAYS TRUST YOUR GPS. NOT! A local cacher who has a very expensive GPS unit that he is MIGHTY proud of related in one of my cache logs that he followed "Jill's" (GPS voice name) directions down a caliche county road instead of returning the way he had come to a paved road a mile away. He ended up 85 miles south of where he wanted to be. At the price of gas today, Jill cost him more than I am sure he wanted to pay for one cache.

Upload a picture of the background you want to a site like Photobucket. Then copy and paste the code into the background box. I have a couple of backgrounds that I use for different types of caches. I uploaded the pictures, copied the code for each into a Word document, and whenever I want to add a different background, I open the document, copy the code, and paste it into the form.

Here is a cache I recently did when I happened across the memorial: GC17W89 Florene Miller Watson Memorial During World War II, a hand-picked group of young women pilots became pioneers, national heroes, role models.. called Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. These ladies flew their way into the annals of women’s history as the first women in U.S. history trained to fly American military aircraft. Florene Watson was born on December 7, 1920 in San Angelo, Texas. She grew up in Big Lake, Texas, where her father, T.L. Miller owned a jewelry store. In 1937, Florene graduated from Reagan County High School. Her first flight at 8 years old was in Big Lake in a World War I barnstormer plane. By age 19 she had finished two years of college and had also obtained a pilot’s license. Mrs. Watson earned her flight and ground school instructors’ ratings and was teaching men to fly in the War Training Program in Odessa and Lubbock, Texas, when World War II began. Florene Watson was one of the elite group of only 25 experienced women civilian pilots who met the military requirements in 1942 and volunteered to fly for the Ferrying Command. They were called the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Almost a year later in 1943, their name was changed to Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) to include women pilots as they graduated from their military training schools in 1943 and 1944. Some of the 1078 graduates flew for the Ferrying Command, but most were assigned varied flying duties in the Training Command. Thirty-eight WASPS lost their lives during their service to the war. Mrs. Watson was the first commanding officer of the WAFS-WASP stationed at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. She flew all the basic Arny Air Corps trainers, fighters, and cargo planes, including twin and four-engine bombers, transporting them all over the United States for the Ferrying Command. In addition to her ferrying duties, Mrs. Watson tested radar equipment and served as a military airline pilot in 1944. Her favorite airplane was the North American Mustang p-51.

I love historical caches! My passion is looking for ghost towns and old cemeteries. Have caches at 71 ghost towns and numerous old cemeteries. I research the ghost towns and include the history on the cache page. Have even met the author of a book about some of the ghost towns I've done. He's a geocacher himself and was delighted to see the caches and the information I had included from his book. He placed caches at the rest of the ghost towns in his book- the ones I hadn't been able to find. And is now researching others in his county to place more caches. So yes, I like to see historical information on a cache page and will read every word.

My favorite milestone at the moment was today when I hit my 300th find and 200th hide. Maybe my next favorite milestone will be when I have an equal number of both. LOL

I started hiding caches because there were few cachers in my area and I wanted to give them something to find at an interesting place to pay back for their caches. Then I got interested in themed caches--everything in cache is related, i.e. key rings, balls, magnets, etc. Then I moved on to doing "exotic" cache containers, i.e. mice, lizards, etc. Next were historic markers in the area. Finally I got interested in ghost towns and I researched the counties around my home and did caches at ghost towns. Usually if they were along a cache empty road, I would put some out at scenic spots so that the cachers would have more than one cache to find along that stretch of road to justify the usage of gas/time . Basically, my caches have been to bring people to an interesting/scenic spot, to provide fun caches for families, and to bring a smile to the seekers' faces. Currently the only caches I am planning are more ghost towns-amazing how many there are out in west Texas.

I used an old mailbox and hung it on a fence post down a rarely visited country road. Seemed appropriate.

Here in Texas deer skeletons along country roads are common- usually road kill. Found one awhile back when I had gotten out of the car to hide a cache along a fence line. Was old and clean so just hid a micro in the skull and called it "Oh deer!"

I've been reading this thread for awhile and finally had to put in my two cents worth. Logs are an important part of the pleasure I receive from hiding caches. I have hidden over 70 caches at ghost towns and old cemeteries in order to share the history of the area where I live. I've driven hundreds of miles, met wonderful people who have told me terrific stories about the towns and cemeteries, and learned much from researching the sites on the web and in books. I've spent time preparing the caches, planning an efficient route, and actually traveling for most of the day to place a number of caches at one time. I have shared the information I have found or been given on the cache pages. It has been a labor of love. I realize there are lots of cachers out there who never read the cache pages and are only interested in the smiley they will get. I can live with that because for every one of those people who log one of my ghost towns or cemeteries, there are others who are gracious in their comments and have expressed pleasure at finding the cache at an interesting place and learning some history. Balances out. The only reason I am responding today is because three days ago I put out eleven caches - 9 at ghost towns and cemeteries and 2 at just interesting places. Two cachers went out together today and found 9 of the caches and all I got was TFTC FTF SL TNLN. It was disappointing. I'll get over it and will look forward to better logs from other cachers; but wanted to share my thoughts. The good logs I get inspire me to continue finding interesting places to hide caches at. The multitude of blah logs just make me wonder sometimes why I bother.

This is a cache link Check out the bees that took residence just above where my cache was originally located. A cacher reported that they formed a mass 4 feet by 6 feet. Wonder how many more are inside the walls of this abandoned building. One cacher was stung around the corner from the hive before a local cacher moved the cache out of harm's way for me.

I have a degree in history and got interested in the ghost towns of the area where I live. So...I place caches at the ghost towns that I have visited. Have done 50+ so far.