silverquill

Places > Natural Places > River Headwaters/Mouths/Confluences This Waymark category would help map and rivers of the world and provide a great way to see some of the beautiful country. There are three types of waymarks for any river: Using the Connecticut River as an example >> Headwaters - the orgin of the river: Fourth Connecticut Lake in extreme Northern, NH >> Mouth - the termination of a river whether into an ocean, lake, or other river: Upper Long Island Sound near Old Saybrook, CT >> Confluences - rivers and streams that flow into the river: Sugar River at Claremont, NH Although these could be sub-categories, in a sense, they logically belong together so it would be a multiple waymark system. Each river would have a waymark for its headwaters, its mouth, and waymarks for any confluences along its course. These could be submitted by the same or different persons, to document the entire river.

Great category! Places that are accessible, but still scenic and sometimes remote or out of the way. I suspect many of these could also sustain traditional caches.

Totally agree that hiking trails would be a great waymaking project. While trailheads are certainly appropriate, for longer trails it might be good to mark points along the way. There is already a category like this for the Appalachian Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail is certainly one that needs a more extensive Waymarking I would propose a sub-category for the New Hampshire Heritage Trail that extends nerly the full length of our state following the Merrimack, Pemigewasset and Connecticut Rivers. Waymarks could be made at many points along the trail

Hmmm. This previous proposal seems to be for railway stations that are physically located underground. However, I took this to refer to the underground railroad that existed to transport slaves from the south to the north around the time of the U.S. Civil War. That would indeed be a fascinating category! I'm aware of one such site in Boston (I'm sure there are more). These are often not widely known places, so the educational value of Waymarking along this historic network would be enormous! Hope this one makes it . . . .

Around Town Category Proposals -- Municipal Parks Yesterday I did a multi-cache that took my wife and me through a half-dozen of our municipal parks to gather information for the final cache. Most of these parks would be difficult for even micro caches, let alone traditional caches. Yet, each one had a story to tell. In small towns and large cities around the world, local municipal parks embody much of our history and culture, and are perfect for Waymarking. Variables: Monuments and dedications, recreational facilities, unique elements of history or function, special events hosted -- Town/City Halls (previously proposed) From historic to modern, local town/city halls have a story to tell! Variables: Date built, memorials, other historic or contemporary details of interest -- Post Offices Variables: Date built, zip code, any historic details -- Mail Boxes?? I'm not sure I would actually propose this, but since there is a category for pay phones . . . . . Ever try to find a mail box? They used to be on many corners, but they are a vanishing species along with phone booths. -- Farmer's Markets This is a growing movement in the United States in small town, rural areas, and even some cities. Farmers bring their produce, homemade items, crafts, etc. to an open-air, public markets. Variables: Date established, days and dates open, any specialties. -- Hospitals Variables: public/private, specialty, ED services, beds, research, affiliations -- Red Cross Facilities Variables: Type (office/blood donation, emergency facility), services offered, volunteers, special events -- Fairgrounds I still remember the county fairs when I was just four or five, and the fun they have been down through the years. They convey so much of a places culture. From state fairs, and county fairs to local fairs or heritage days, there is so much to learn and experience. Variables: Type: National/State/County/Local, dates, history, special features

Recreation Category Proposals Miniature Golf Courses Variables: Theme, number of courses, dates open, quality/difficulty review Bowling Alleys Variables: Type of pins (ten pin, candlepin, duck pin), number of alleys, events hosted (PBA etc.) Roller Skating Rinks Variables: Size, inline skating?, instruction offered, events hosted, dates open Ice Skating Rinks Variables: Size, hockey?, instruction offered, events hosted, dates open Paintball Sites Variables: Indoor/outdoor, description of facilities, dates open Public Swimming Pools Variables: Size, depth, diving equipment, children's facilities, events hosted, environment Hang Gliding Sites Variables: Terrain description -- height, etc., facilities, instruction available, events hosted Marinas Variables: Public/Private, number of slips, types of vessels accommodated, dates open, events hosted

That is reassuring (sort of) because last night my Magellan showed me driving right into a lake! Nice trick, but, alas, I was still on dry land. Unfortunately, I can't get my Topo 3D to run on my computer and Magellan support has been abysmal.

NEWBIE OBSERVATIONS I'm one of the multitude, apparently, of new geocachers who finally got a GPSr for Christmas! What a thrill it was to venture out to find my first cache -- a micro actually found by my 84 year-old mother who gave me the Garmin. Then my little nephews scrambled down the bank near a flooded river to find an ammo can. And, my graduate-school daughter made her first find, a FTF on an Oregon sand dune, and later a micro on her college campus. (I found a few, too). So, looking from the outside in gives me some different perspectives. I'm not even sure I understand the difference between locationless and virtual caches, but they didn't interest me much from what I was able to read. A treasure hunt needs a treasure! Finding benchmarks has an appeal -- at least something actually to find and record. Then I stumbled on the Waymarking thread. I find the whole concept fascinating! Not geocaching, not geodashing, but another way to use my GPSr and have interesting trips and see interesting things. I'm fascinated by waterfalls, so I find that category a lot of fun, for instance. And, I'm waiting for the covered bridges category to be created; they are special places here in New England. Maybe I'm missing the point, but it almost seems to me that the principal goal of Waymarking is to create the waymarks and post them more than it is to visit already established Waymarks. For instance, I might go out of my way to create a Waymark for a fire house (I did today, in fact), but wouldn't load the waymark for one already created just to visit it and log it. That might be the case with something I'm more interested in, though, such as waterfalls or covered bridges -- but, creating them would still probably be more fun. As I look at the category structure and proposals, it is easy to see that this approach to Waymarking has a lot of potential, from the inane to the truly valuable and adventuresome. There should be something here for everyone, and I think it is a great complement to the traditional, physical, treasure hunting geocaching sport! All of the debate about the appropriateness of migrating virtual and locationless caches to Waymarking and creating a separate site/system seems to range from pettiness to thoughtful, constructive suggestions. To a newcomer, who lacks the historical view and has no vested interests, most of it just seems irrelevant. I look forward to geocaching (hiding and finding) and to Waymarking, maybe some benchmarking. I've no interest in turf wars and such -- I just want to enjoy this new hobby in all of its diversity. Waymarking will certainly be a part of this! If it is not someone's cup of tea, there is plenty of the rest to go around. There may even be some who will be ardent Waymarkers with little interest in grubbing around for ammo cans and film containers. Imagine that!

Ha! Just turned 59. Got my Magellan for my birthday from my mother whos will be 84 in a few weeks. She actually found the cache on our very first trip (the grand kids missed it!) -- a micro on the Oregon coast. Found another one on that short trip. So, it is a sport for the young and the old. I'm back in New England now. No funny looks yet. (I think). I learned about this from my son-in-law who learned about it while walking near his college with his mother and observed a cacher making his hide! He took the time to explain what he was doing, instead of reverting to secretive, covert mode, and thereby stimulated a new chain of geocachers that spans the east and west coasts!

Category with sub-categories Proposal Under Places/Entertainment Amateur Radio Comment: As a group, amateur (ham) radio operators are technologically inclined and I suspect a good percentage own GPS units and may already be inclined toward geocaching and Waymarking. In fact, there is a separate forum for ham radio and geocaching! Many ham radio activities lend themselves well to Waymarking, and there is already one category related to that. It would make sense to group them under one heading. Here is a proposal for several new sub-categories with some explanation -- Amateur Radio Repeaters This is an existing category currently placed under Things/Machines. These are remotely located radio transmitters that receive a signal from a radio and rebroadcasts it to a larger area. They are usually located in high places on buildings in urban environments or on hills and mountains in the country-side. -- Field Day Sites Every year hams head to unusual locations for Field Day. Many stations are set up to run on auxiliary power of some type. For a day, hams operate from remote locations and contact as many other hams as possible. This is often a group activity. Basic info for Waymarking would include call signs of participants, photo of Field Day Station, and standard FD information and description. -- DXPeditions Hams love to make contact with other radio operators in remote corners of the globe. Since many areas have few or no ham radio operators, expeditions are organized to visit this places, set up temporary radio stations for making world-wide contact running into the tens of thousands. These DXPeditions are usually undertaken by teams of hams who travel to unusual locations such as remote islands, and other exotic areas. These would be fascinating waymarks identified by members of the DXPedition team, sponsors, and basic station and operating specifications along with appropriate photos. -- Special Event Stations Hams often set up stations to commemorate special events such as centennial celebrations, scouting events, facility dedications, charity events, civic activities, etc. These would be interesting waymarks with info about the station, the special event and location. -- County Lines There is a dedicated group of hams who attempt to make contact with another station in each of the 3,076 counties in the United States. Often these are mobile stations who travel from county to county to offer these contacts. Frequently they will stop on a county line, thereby providing contact for two counties in one radio exchange. The waymark would be for a county line, showing county line signs for both counties and pertinent description such as the name of the road/highway, whether it is "wet," (consisting of a river or other body of water), and other notes. This sub-category could be cross listed with the Things/Signs category. -- Club Stations Many local, regional, and special interest ham radio clubs maintain a club station, or have a particular station designated as a club station. Waymarking info should include particulars about the club, and both exterior photos of the station location, and the equipment, antennas, etc. I'm sure there are some other possible sub-categories possible under Amateur Radio, but these would be a good start, and I'd love to see them included. I think they would generate a lot of interest! Larry Wilson, KE1HZ silverquill

This is an example to illustrate the fact that great care needs to be taken in setting up the taxonomy of the category structure! As described, "Winter Sports Locations" really refers only to "Ski Resorts." There is nothing wrong with the caqtegory; it is just mis-named so that it sounds broader than it is. A more logical system would have Winter Sports Locations with sub-categories such as Ski Resorts, Sledding Hills, Ice Skating Rinks, Ice Fishing Lakes, etc. This would in no way diminish the existing category, while providing a common sense way to add related categories without a haphazard spawling of categories. As I see it . . .

Two sub-categories under Places/Busines and Commerce/ Antique Stores Antique stores dot the contryside and both serious and casual antiquers will plan trip routes to take in these places. Some are in cities, some in large consignment buildings, some in private homes, and each is unique with a story to tell. Antiquarian Book Dealers Though many antique stores have books, antiquarian book dealers are a breed unto themselves. They have their unique speciialties and events. Basic Info for the Waymark Location Proprietor Specialty

Two related sub-categories under Places/Lodging/ Very popular in North America, Bed & Breakfast accomodations often offer unique historical settings and examples of local culture, frequently off the beaten path. They are highly suited to Waymarking. In Europe and Asia and other world areas, the Youth Hostel system offers accomodations to adventurous world travelers, meeting places for trekkers -- maybe even geocachers! Basic info for the Waymark: Location Number of accomodations Dates open Proprietor Theme or unique features Nearby Attractions

There is already a "Winter Sports" category with no sub-categories. It does seem rather broad, and would be better with some sub categores such as alpine skiing, nordic skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling, sledding hills, etc. Having worked on other projects involving developing catgories for broad ranges of interest, I know that the taxonomy can be challenging. I'm sure the bosses are wrestiling with this so as not to have a chaotic jumble of categories arising from our whims as geocachers.

Absolutely! These are almost always scenic, historic fascinating sites and there are only a few U.S. states that do NOT have covered bridges. They are highly treasured here in New England. I lived just a few miles from the country's longest covered bridge (the Cornish-Windsore bridge crossing the Connecticut River) and used it often. But, Indiana, for instance, has even more! Most Canadian Provinces also have covered bridges. Here is one site that has one of the most comprehensive directories: http://www.dalejtravis.com/bridge/cbridges.htm I'm not sure why this doesn't seem to be an approved category, or sub-category under "Bridges," but it certainly should be. Good for Waymarking and also for traditional geocaching, of course. If it needs a manager, I'd be glad to assume it. Certainly would look forward to contributing to it, for sure! silverquill

I'm having the same sort of problem with my new MapSend Topo 3D USA wh ich came with my E600. There appears, however, to be no patch available for this product! It is also unacceptable to me that a company would ship software with a product where there is a known incompatibility to such a widely used OS as Windows XP! And, it is more outrageous that they wouldn't even add a note to a patch or other solution! At these prices, why should I have to spend hours of frustration and more hours slogging through third-party forums to find out what is going on? I spent a lot of time selecting this unit, and am gravely disappointed. That is my rant.

Very frustrated with this! My laptap won't run it at all !! My desk top will install all three disks, but then refuses to run it, constantly requesting for disk 3 to be inserted even though it is in there. I've read a lot of negative reports about their tech support, so I'm not optimistic about their being able to offer a solution. I've also read a lot of negative reviews of MapSend accuracy, so I'm beginning to think I've wasted a lot of money by choosing the Explorist 600 Topo3D package!!