Pioneer 'n' Tiff

I hate to drag up an old thread but this news just couldn't go anywhere else here. Tiff and I are honored to have this weeks cover story in the San Diego Reader magazine.

Before I jump in here, can I ask a couple of questions. When the original thread was censored in the GCA forums, did you ask for an explanation, and if none was forthcoming, did you make representation with the event cache owner? As I understand the NSW geocaching association is a registered not for profit organisation, they are bound to hold AGM by virtue of the relevant state legislations. (I can give you the Qld equivalent.) By being a not for profit, they are also involved with furthering the sport, demonstrated by the post AGM activities with guest lectures and activities. OK, so if the event was a guest lecture on activities minus the AGM, would there still be an issue? I would think not, but, I could be wrong. So, if the back half of the meeting with traditional geocaching activities is acceptable, then it's only the front half, the actual "group meeting" that's a problem. Is the NSW association the association which is lobbying for geocaching in State Forrests? Are they the organization working with the Environment Minister preserving wildlife habitats and establishing geocaching guidelines in those areas? (Clarification may be needed). Ok, so as an ex pat Qld-er, I have been to some "general meeting" events which involve aspects of geocaching such as caches in the Anza Borrego Desert (California) and a local wildlife park. I think that the guidelines were designed to prevent an Amway Meeting being used to bring geocachers in, but, as they are guidelines and not fundamental, the event appears legitimate in furthering the sport, in that, it is geocachers getting together, and not Exxon pulling geocachers in.

GCZM42

If you don't get any takers, PM me. I can give you a Brisbane address who can portal it through our wormhole cache.

I should have organized a bicycle meet up at 6am to do the Chuy and Cohort new bike trial?

Slip over to the geocaching AU forums - the Brisvegas people are more then willing to help out. Side issue: if you're between Bne and Mel for two weeks, Charleville is a long way out of that equation. Flying? Driving?

Hmmm, 8000 miles. I just happen to know a way to reduce that in one swoop, but that's after it leaves the cache. I haven't driven that road, and my Buick is probably not the best choice, so if a SD cacher can get the TB to the WeWillDo7 event Saturday, I'll take it off their hands and do my part.

Ah thanks....I got that first up but thought that there may have been a code in the words I missed...I figured 66 virtuals would make this a 5 rating.

Hello from Las Vegas, My parents are in from Australia so I took them on a little road trip to Las Vegas. As a side issue, you wouldn't believe how many caches along the route out I got where the name before mine was kawikaturn. But I need some help...with a puzzle FTF. GC1QA9N I'm not a puzzle maestro but I hate the idea that a FTF has been sitting waiting for....over a month. (It would never have survived in SD county so I figure all bets are off, get help before Chuy! drives out here.)

I did some caches just south of LAX and there are a couple of caches placed in El Segurio (?spelling) around the Boeing building, and I think I did one which mentions Boeing by name...maybe Freedom Cache?

Hey hey, you win, you got to me first. Since I missed your event in Bne I'll drive up and cache with you on the weekends. You still got the email address?

...and I'll be there with my two "girls", Tiff and Tiffette#2. Murphy will not be making the trip, apparently he had had some prescheduled digging in the back yard he couldn't change.

Chuy, What's the terrain on the walk like? Tiff and Tiffette#2 want to go but need to check their footwear first.

In Easter 2010 Australia is holding it's first ever Mega event in New South Wales. Preparations are underway. You're probably thinking "Australia? Long way to go for a FTF." Air fares have crashed to the land down under and currently you could fly return to Sydney for about US$700 per person. Once in Sydney there are two possible ways to get to the site, a connector flight for about $90 each way or hire a vehicle for the 6 hour drive out to Wagga. Wagga is a military town, owned by the Air Force. They will treat servicemen and women with the proper respect. The drive out of Sydney takes you through the Blue Mountains, and then south on an explorers trail (now a dual lane highway), to the Goulburn gold mining district. Head south for about 90 minutes and you will be in Canberra, the nations capital. Keep going west and through the farmlands and heartland to Wagga a large country town. April is cooler, probably not a bad time to be out there. Camping is available but Australians tend to "rough" their camping, there will be no Winnebago's parked out there but plenty of SUV's with on board sleepers. It may get "some rain" that weekend. In Wagga, that could be as little as a sweat, or 4 days bringing floodwaters. There are one or two nastys in that part of the world, that should stay away with all the commotion. If you ever wanted to see Australia at a rock bottom price, the Mega event would be a good time. The AU Geocaching forums have all the details, and if you have any questions, I'll help out. I have been there a few times, it's one of those places you "have" to stop when travelling because there's nothing else around. They also have a good size zoo as their major tourist attraction. I alas, cannot attend, I have a daughter who doesn't know yet that her Dad will be flying in the following month for her 21st birthday.

Skillet what's the driving time to get out there from El Cajon? Just a ballpark number please.

That looks like the markings but in the wrong coloring. When I saw this guy the oval markings were bright red almost red like this guy... but the colorings don't match, and his head wasn't "flat". Let's call it a Southern Pacific rattlesnake that was just as frightened to see me as I was him, he'll do his laundry, I'll do mine and hopefully we never meet again. (After checking on the recommended snake) Oh great....venemous....potentially dangerous...heat seeking sensors on the side of it's head...holy crap...it's a terminator. Just give me the good old Australian snake. Everything red or brown will kill you inside 8 minutes, none of this false identification or "check the barbs"...just 8 minutes.

No white, my guy is almost uniformly green, no stripes or barbs across him, no stripes down the side. Just the Xmas tablecloth look on top, red ovals lengthwise with white speckles. I looked at my cell phone photo...that's not much help, colors all washed out.

I'm looking for some guidance in snake identification after a Close Encounter needing Laundry this morning. I was in the Lake Jennings Park heading down the trail towards GC16M52 when I froze in my tracks. On the trail was a snake with colorings I'd not see before. I didn't have the camera on me so all I got was a poor cell phone photo from about 6 feet back. My trail invader was about two feet long and uniform thickness all the way along. Head was sculpted like a whip snake but colorings is what stuck out. Light green almost mint colored and across the back were red oval shapes with white speckles around it. I thought it was a gag snake until it moved forward towards me. I looked through this site but couldn't find anything close to what I saw. The closest I could find was the mountain kingsnake but my guy didn't have bands, definitely ovals. Identification would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Side issue: you're in Escondido and you're father is in Sydney. I'm in El Cajon and my father is in Brisbane, but I'm the transplant from AU. You or your father Australian? Or is he just there to sample God's Country. ..although I can think of a few finer places then Sydney.

I take it that there is a new cache just waiting to be published? Link to Union Tribune blog entry.

Suggestions: You have the Flash Mob Event scheduled for Adelaide this year. PM the event organiser and ask them to put you in contact with one of the geocoin collectors. Buddy up to them, ask to see their collection, discover some coins, and if I may suggest, make a purchase form them. I see you have not many trackables in your list, get a coin and get it out there. You never know where it will go.

I have held coins, sometimes, for up to 6 months...cause it's a long swim from SoCal to Qld. In most cases however when I picked up the coins I reference that I may hold on to the coin longer then the courtesy "month" as most accept. Where I have received an email "hey, what about my coin" a short reply along the lines solves most concerns. Only one time I have had a coin owner complain bitterly. The coin was picked up by me in Tennessee when I was attending to family matters. The coin had a purpose "want to get to location X" which was like a mile away from my home cache in Australia. When I picked up the coin I logged that I would be going to Australia once I had completed business in Tennessee. Cacher emailed me a week later most rude and arrogant. "Hey, you have my coin too long, drop it off." I dropped it off at the next cache and karma got them...the cache was muggled days later and the coin never seen again. Cacher sent me another email "check on my coin" but I was already out of the state. Disclaimer: my feeling is that you look to see who has it, how often they cache, if they are caching in their home area or away on holidays, and whether they have passed through a cache that could hold the coin. A month, to me, seems a little "early" to be asking questions. As a side issue: as much as we would like everyone to abide by the same rules that we play by, some don't, and you have to accept that the beautiful coin you released, most probably will go missing.

We can help out as well, we can put your TB through our home cache in SoCal, then transfer them to our home cache in Queensland.

Fishabunga, What state are you in? Our home cache in Queensland is a portal into SoCal, a nd I know of two others, one in Vic and one in Sydney.

I was in SF in February at the Convention Center but stayed in Chinatown. Opinion: most of the city caches are walking distance in the evening, I grabbed caches within three blocks of the Moscoyne Center on lunch breaks. I didn't wander too far south as the neighborhood got derelict. One evening, I headed out and did what I call my "Dirty Harry" run, I did the caches from Chinatown up to the Tower that were in the Clint Eastwood film of the same name. (Wife and I like Clint.) Took me about three hours and I had no fear where I was. Between the Moscoyne Centre, the Embarcadero and the Tower there are a selection of regular, multi, virtual and earthcaches. I passed on the few puzzles in town due to time solving them. It's one of the easiest central business districts to geocache in, since most of the locations have a film/writting reference. (You must do the Sam Spade multi!) Buy a daypass and use the trolley to save some tread. Take a jacket at all times!!!