River_Lime

It has been some time since I've logged on, and I am very saddened by this news. My sincerest condolences to you and your family, Deb. Joey U.

Evenfall, sometimes you gotta go with the flow. I actually agree with you, folks should use the correct terminology, and I enjoy learning about professional surveying, mapping, etc. 2oldfarts is enjoying himself, having a nice time, enjoying life. This is good, we all need to enjoy life a little more. Lord knows this Earth needs it! I once posted about different people enjoying different things. As long as you're not harming anybody/anything - well - why not? I am still very new to this forum, but I think *both* of you are cool guys from all my impressions. I think possibly a little stepping back and taking stock are in order . . . . . . it's just an internet forum after all.

Hello, thought I'd chime in too. My name is Joey, another newbie benchmark hunter. I'm here in Gwinnett County, GA, outside Atlanta. I have experienced a similar situation here, as many marks have been destroyed by seemingly rampant develpment. I have also slowed down a bit in my searches, mainly because of the vegetation which grows quite well here (has anybody yet found a use for Kudzu? ). I might try doing a little urban hunting in Atlanta this weekend if I have time.

Hello, omnis audis, I'm still a newbie myself. I'm still learning everyday about benchmarking, and I have a funny feeling I won't ever learn all there is to know about it. One thing is certain, it is very technical in a number of ways, which personally I find appealing. A recovery is simply a verification that you have located the mark, in its' (as far as you can determine) original location. Any 'Recovery' you log with the NGS comes with a very high standard of accuracy, as this becomes an official document folks rely upon. The description fo DY0388 is as follows: DY0388_U.S. NATIONAL GRID SPATIAL ADDRESS: 11SLT912367(NAD 83) DY0388_MARKER: DD = SURVEY DISK DY0388_SETTING: 7 = SET IN TOP OF CONCRETE MONUMENT DY0388_SP_SET: SET IN TOP OF CONCRETE MONUMENT DY0388_STAMPING: BM 15 DY0388_STABILITY: C = MAY HOLD, BUT OF TYPE COMMONLY SUBJECT TO DY0388+STABILITY: SURFACE MOTION You recovered a mark stamped "Around the top left it read: C.L.B. On the top right: B.M. 154 Along the bottom centered: 1998" The "1998" is an obvious indication this is not the correct mark, as it implies the mark was set in the year 1998. Also it should be stamped "BM 15" not "BM 154." Another thing is the coordinates are scaled, which means (somebody can better answer this) the GPS coordinates may be off by quite a bit. I'll let the other more experienced benchmarkers chime in now.

Or perhaps Earth will look like Coruscant from Star Wars fame - the planet which is entirely covered by a city.

Yes, the loss of quality is noticeable, but it's still acceptable, IMHO.

Nice video!

Indeed, one guy likes brunettes, another blondes. One drinks beer, another one drinks Scotch. Some like geocaching, others confluence hunting, and others benchmark hunting. I betcha there are some who like doing all three! These differences are what makes this world interesting, and we have to respect each others' different interests. Hey, it's all good, clean, healthy fun!

I also live in a very fast growing county - Gwinnet County, GA. It indeed makes "benchmarking" more of a challenge. As I understand, the criteria for formally logging a benchmark as destroyed with the NGS is very high - basically you have to witness or have direct evidence to log with certainty a mark as being destroyed. As to logging here on Geocaching.com, this is a much less formal site, although personally I prefer to log (I've seen others do this which has influenced me) as "mark not found - presumed destroyed due to . . ." I am still very new at this too, so I'm sure other members here will add their input.

I have to say those are all great photographs!

LOL, yeah, I was actually thinking about that - but not seriously, though. That day was one of those where I was fairly certain I wouldn't find any of the benchmarks on my list, but I still like to log and document them.

Well, surprise surprise, the pasture is now becoming a subdivision. See my report here: EE1643 Benchmark hunting is tough here in Gwinnett County, with all the explosive growth the last 15 years. But I'm not getting discouraged at all. I'm learning new things everytime I go "hunting."

While searching out nearby prospects to look for tomorrow, I ran across one that definitely made me laugh out loud . . . EE1643 (scroll down to the recoveries . . .)

Well, offhand I would say it's just a dedication plaque, but the meaning of what each particular line means I'm not sure - but I'll take a gander. "station 311+45" sounds like IDOT's inventory number for this structure. "F.A. RT. 86 SEC 113B-2" I'll guess is possibly the bid number and section for this particular project - most large highway projects are divided into sections and bid on separately - this bridge reconstruction was probably part of a larger project. "loading HS20" - don't know BTW - I'm also new at benchmark hunting, too. It's a very addictive hobby. I'm also wondering if the mark is still there, since it was set in 1976 and the bridge was reconstructed in 1977 . . . ?